Shade
Monster Junkie
I sent the following e-mail to Sage Advice, but figured I'd increase my chances by asking it in other forums. I'm looking for an official stance, not opinions (I've got plenty of those
).
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This question has been bothering me for awhile now, and I can't seem to find the answer in any of the rules FAQs or articles on wizards.com. Can Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus be used with spell-like abilities? I've seen these feats given to monsters with spell-like abilities (but no spellcasting ability) on occasion, but that doesn't necessarily indicate that it is a correct application.
The feat states "Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against spells from the school of magic you select." Unlike a feat such as Combat Casting which specifically indicates that it applies to both spells and spell-like abilities, Spell Focus only states "spells". However, since spell-like abilities are still from certain schools of magic, it would seem logical that Spell Focus would apply. On the other hand, metamagic feats do not apply to spell-like abilities, so it also seems logical that Spell Focus would not apply either.
On a related note, when applying the Ability Focus feat to spell-like abilities, does it apply to only one spell-like ability (such as fireball) or to all spell-like abilities? The former would seem to make the most sense in terms of game balance. If the monster has a spell-like ability that is not in the normal spell-like abilities entry (such as the marut's fists), should all aspects of that spell-like ability gain the +2 bonus on DC (as is the case with the marut)?

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This question has been bothering me for awhile now, and I can't seem to find the answer in any of the rules FAQs or articles on wizards.com. Can Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus be used with spell-like abilities? I've seen these feats given to monsters with spell-like abilities (but no spellcasting ability) on occasion, but that doesn't necessarily indicate that it is a correct application.
The feat states "Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against spells from the school of magic you select." Unlike a feat such as Combat Casting which specifically indicates that it applies to both spells and spell-like abilities, Spell Focus only states "spells". However, since spell-like abilities are still from certain schools of magic, it would seem logical that Spell Focus would apply. On the other hand, metamagic feats do not apply to spell-like abilities, so it also seems logical that Spell Focus would not apply either.
On a related note, when applying the Ability Focus feat to spell-like abilities, does it apply to only one spell-like ability (such as fireball) or to all spell-like abilities? The former would seem to make the most sense in terms of game balance. If the monster has a spell-like ability that is not in the normal spell-like abilities entry (such as the marut's fists), should all aspects of that spell-like ability gain the +2 bonus on DC (as is the case with the marut)?