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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Other metamagic by CL penalty



ace rooster
2016-09-13, 06:28 AM
A thought I had about casting in general, but metamagic specifically. How viable would it be to work with variable CL penalties (applied last)? The idea would be that a still spell would be cast at -2 CL, for example. You cannot cast spells that you do not have a high enough CL for, so you would not be able to apply metamagics to your highest level spells. On the other hand, a gish with practiced spellcaster could metamagic their highest spell level, but could not cast the most powerful spells due to not having the slots.

As another example, a 16th level wizard could cast a maximised fireball at cl10. It would have a range of 800', do 60 damage, but would be easier to dispel.

Thoughts? It obviously makes casters stronger, because their lower level spell slots get better, but would it make losing a few caster levels more viable (due to practiced spellcaster)?

RatElemental
2016-09-15, 05:09 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't a caster choose to cast (and craft magic items) at a lower caster level intentionally?

If so, under such a system, could they then apply metamagic to their intentionally lowered CL?


Scratch all that. After rereading I think you mean that if your CL penalty would make your CL too low to cast the spell, then you couldn't cast it. Is that correct?