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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SteveC" data-source="post: 1796925" data-attributes="member: 9053">Here's a variant I've created for metamagic feats based on reading The Secret of the Sixth Magic. Not a very good book, but it made me think about metamagic as a school of magic that works in tandem with other spells rather than being an add-on. This might be waaaaay out of balance, but I think it's a good first idea. What do you think? METAMAGIC FEATSAs a spellcaster’s knowledge of magic grows, he can learn to cast spells from a special tenth school of magic: Metamagic. Metamagic is the school of magic that deals with the underlying power of spellcasting itself, and will only work in conjunction with other spells that you cast. By itself, a Metamagic spell is useless: it must be combined with another spell in order to work. Learning and casting Metamagic spells is difficult: they require you to spend feats to learn, and increase the difficulty of any spell they are used with. The return for using Metamagic, however, is additional flexibility and power for all of your magical abilities.A list of the core Metamagic spells by level:Level 1Enlarge SpellExtend SpellSilent SpellStill Spell Level 2Empower Spell Level 3Maximize SpellWiden Spell Level 4Quicken Spell Special Level SpellsHeighten Spell (a level “n:” spell) Metamagic BasicsOnce you learn a Metamagic feat, it becomes an additional spell that you may cast in the same method as your normal spells. A spellcaster that must prepare spells in advance (such as a cleric or wizard) must prepare a Metamagic spell, while a spontaneous caster (such as a sorcerer or bard) simply adds it to the list of spells he knows.  Casting a Metamagic spellA Metamagic spell cannot be cast by itself: it is always used in conjunction with another spell that you cast at the same time. Casting a spell in this way takes more time: any time you cast a Metamagic spell you must use a full-round action to cast a 1-action spell. Note that this is different from a spell with a casting time of 1 round. For a spell with a longer casting time, it takes an extra full-round action to cast the spell.The exception to this rule is Quicken Spell, which specifically changes the casting time of both spells to be a single swift action. Non-core Metamagic spells that affect casting times will have any additional mechanics noted in the feat description. When you cast the Metamagic spell, you must expend the slot for both spells at the same time. For casters who must prepare spells in advance, this means that if you wish to use a particular Metamagic spell more than once you must prepare it more than once. Spontaneous spell casters may use any of their Metamagic spells as many times as they wish, subject only to the limits of spells per day. In this way, these characters are better practiced in the use of Metamagic then their more traditional counterparts. Limitations on Metamagic SpellsYou may only apply Metamagic to spells that you have achieved sufficient practice and mastery with. To determine whether or not you can apply Metamagic to one of your spells, add the level of the Metamagic spell to the one you intend to apply it’s effects to. You may Metamagic it if you would be able to cast a spell of the combined levels. As an example, if you want to combine Extend Spell (1st level Metamagic) with Mage Armor (1st level Wizard spell) you must be able to cast spells of second level. You do not need to actually prepare the combination as a second level spell, you must simply be able to do so. In the example of Extend and Mage armor, this means that a 3rd level Wizard or 4th level Sorcerer could combine the two spells. Note: Metamagic cannot be used with all spells. See the specific feat descriptions for the spells that a particular Metamagic spell can’t modify. Casting More Than One Metamagic Spell at a TimeA spellcaster can cast more than one Metamagic spells at a time. In order to do so you must be able to cast a spell of the combined levels of all of the spells involved. In order to cast a Fireball that is both Maximized and Empowered, you must be able to cast a level 8 spell. A wizard who did this would need to prepare Fireball, Empower Spell and Maximize spell and use all of them at once. A sorcerer would spend a level two spell-slot and two level three spell-slots. You can’t cast the same Metamagic spell more than once to enhance a single spell.</blockquote>

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