Please rate Arcane Preparation

[smetzger]

Arcane Preparation [General]
REQ: You must be able to cast spells as a bard or a sorcerer
Benefit: Each day you are able to prepare one or more spells as a wizard does. If you are a sorcerer or a bard, this means that you can prepare a spell with a metamagic feat ahead of time, instead of casting it as a full- round action. Tome and Blood, pg 38.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

kind of lame, its use is basically hey look I can quicken spells as a sorcerer, while wrecking my sorcerer flavor, and hey look I can take the mage of the arcane order prestige class.

A better feat would of been, Quick cast, pre-req any metamagic feat, cast spells like a sorcerer. You apply this feat to one metamagic feat, this feat can be taken multiple times, each time if effects a new metamagic feat. You can cast spells that are modified by the metamagic feat you've choose with quick cast as a standard action.(or a free action if used for quicken) This only works for spells soley modified by metamagic feats that have the quick cast feat.

 

[Merlion]

I dont think theirs really a need for it to exist. IMO sorcerers should at least be able to use quicken as written...it should be the exeption to the rule. I some times think the full round casting time for sorcerer metamagic should be removed entirly but thats a bit more iffy. It doesnt really hurt the other metamagic feats enough to warrant taking Arcane Preperation, and they should be able to use Quicken without it

 

[Gez]

I'd like to plug this a bit.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Great for epic sorcerors

At low levels the preparation really doesn't do that much since most of the time you don't have enough options to warrant the effort. But drift into the epic levels where the sorceror has acquired energy substitution, admixture, extend, maximize, heighten, etc, etc, and it becomes a wonderful thing.

The weakness of the epic caster is power; they really don't do that much damage against epic opponents whose save almost automatically. Dice pools max and epic spells can only be cast a very few times a day and require very high levels to do more damage than an admixtured spell in a 10th+ spell slot.

Sorcerers are turbo lasers and with automatic quicken and multispell can do so wonderfully; heck they almost have to to cast spells with enough dice to do more than causing an annoying redness on the target; a full round action is a complete waste. Prep the sonic admixtured chain lightning in your 10th slot, have a quickened admixtured fireball in your 7th, and keep a couple of quickened acid-substituted otiluke's freezing sphere/rays ready and you can keep your rate of fire.

Oh, and your mobility. Nothing sucks more than being unable to fire off your "vulnerability blaster" spell because you can't take more than a 5' step and your opponents have reach.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I gave it a '5'.

I think this is a solid feat for a high level sorceror. At that point you will have oodles of metamagic and spell slots at your disposal -- presetting a few of your favorite combos would be a handy tactic with little downside.

The majority of the time taking a full action to get off a spell is not a big deal. But this feat let's you get two such spells off with Haste (v3.0) in the same round. Or let's you pump out of spell and make that tactical movement to get out of harm's way.

 

[Celtavian]

re

I have always felt the limit on Spells known was enough to offset the benefits of spontaneous casting. For a class that has limited feats to begin with, this is a feat I would almost never take. The only thing it allows you to do is use the quicken spell feat, and it is almost better to just wait until post 20 and obtain epic quickening feats rather than waste a feat slot on this pathetic feat.

 

[Pax]

Re: Great for epic sorcerors

At low levels the preparation really doesn't do that much since most of the time you don't have enough options to warrant the effort. But drift into the epic levels where the sorceror has acquired energy substitution, admixture, extend, maximize, heighten, etc, etc, and it becomes a wonderful thing.

Epic Sorcerors should just (a) obtain a Rod of Quickening, temporarily ... then (b) pick up Automatic Quicken multiple times.

Oh, and your mobility. Nothing sucks more than being unable to fire off your "vulnerability blaster" spell because you can't take more than a 5' step and your opponents have reach.

... which is why Improved Combat Casting exists. You simply stop provoking AoOs when you cast spells.

I gave Arcane Preparation a "1". It's just not worth it. Ever ... there are always better solutions to a Sorceror's metamagic-time-increase woes.

 

[Gez]

I gave it a 2, but if part of a feat chain that ultimately allows to use one set (emphasis on both "one" and "set") slot to prepare any spell from a spellbook, it would then be worth more -- probably a 5, as the prerequisites are steep so it don't deserve more.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Re: Re: Great for epic sorcerors

.. then (b) pick up Automatic Quicken multiple times.

I don't have my books handy but IIRC, quicken doesn't apply to full-round spells. So any metamagicked sorceror spells cannot be quickened without arcane prep. (If I'm wrong, I'm a very, very happy player)

... which is why Improved Combat Casting exists. You simply stop provoking AoOs when you cast spells.

Doesn't there exist a counter-feat, Threaten Caster(??), that forces casters to make their checks with a modifier based on the attackers BAB?