Empower Spell — D&D 3.5e, Pathfinder & 5e Metamagic
Empower Spell is a metamagic feat in D&D 3.5e and Pathfinder 1e. It makes a spell’s variable numeric effects half again as strong, at the cost of a spell slot two levels higher. D&D 2014 and 2024 have a similarly named but different Sorcerer feature: Empowered Spell lets you reroll damage dice.
Empower Spell at a Glance
| D&D 2024 | Empowered Spell — Sorcerer Metamagic option, not a feat; 1 Sorcery Point to reroll damage dice |
|---|---|
| D&D 2014 | Empowered Spell — Sorcerer Metamagic option, not a feat; 1 Sorcery Point to reroll damage dice |
| Pathfinder 1e | Empower Spell (Metamagic feat): variable effects ×1.5; spell slot +2 levels |
| D&D 3.5e | Empower Spell (Metamagic feat): variable effects ×1.5; spell slot +2 levels |
| Prerequisites | None in the printed Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e core feats |
| Main distinction | Older feat increases a spell’s variable results; newer Sorcerer feature rerolls selected damage dice |
Rules by Edition
Empowered Spell — D&D 2024 Sorcerer
Type: Sorcerer Metamagic option, not an independent feat. Cost: 1 Sorcery Point. When you roll spell damage, you can reroll a number of damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (at least one). You must use the new rolls, even if they are worse. Empowered Spell can be used even when you have already applied a different Metamagic option to that casting.
Example: A Sorcerer with Charisma 16 (+3) rolls 1, 2, 3 and 4 on four damage dice. They spend 1 Sorcery Point and reroll up to three of those dice, then keep the new results. This changes the rolled damage; it does not multiply all damage by 1.5.
Empowered Spell — D&D 2014 Sorcerer
Type: Sorcerer Metamagic option, not a feat. Cost: 1 Sorcery Point. When rolling damage for a spell, reroll a number of damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum one) and use the new rolls. This option can also be used even if another Metamagic option was applied to that spell.
Key limit: No extra spell-slot levels are required by this option. It is a selective reroll, not the 3.5e/Pathfinder feat’s 50% increase to variable numeric effects.
Source: 2014 Basic Rules — Sorcerer.
Empower Spell — Pathfinder 1e
Type: Metamagic feat. Prerequisites: None. Benefit: Increase the spell’s variable numeric effects by half, including bonuses to the affected dice rolls. The spell occupies a slot two levels above its normal spell level. Saving throws, opposed rolls and spells without random variables are not affected.
Example: A 3rd-level damaging spell whose affected dice produce a total of 20 points becomes 30 points of damage when empowered, before applying target defences. It uses a 5th-level slot. If the caster applies a numerical bonus to the affected roll, use the Pathfinder rule’s express instruction regarding that bonus.
Spontaneous casters using metamagic may require extra casting time under Pathfinder’s general metamagic rules; the feat does not automatically make a standard-action spell quick.
Empower Spell — D&D 3.5e
Type: Metamagic feat. Prerequisites: None. Benefit: All variable numeric effects of an empowered spell are increased by one-half. Saving throws and opposed rolls are not affected, and spells without random variables gain no benefit. The empowered spell uses a spell slot two levels higher than normal.
Example: A 3rd-level fire spell rolls 20 damage from its dice. Empower Spell makes the affected result 30 and requires a 5th-level slot. Its saving-throw DC is not automatically raised to that of a 5th-level spell.
Spellcasters who cast spontaneously may need the longer metamagic casting procedure under the original 3.5e rules. Empower Spell is not a free extra damage action.
Choosing the Right Rule
The question is whether your game uses an older metamagic feat or a fifth-edition Sorcerer feature. A Pathfinder or D&D 3.5e caster prepares or casts the empowered spell using a higher-level slot; a fifth-edition Sorcerer instead chooses individual damage dice to reroll using Sorcery Points. These are not interchangeable mechanics.
For other older metamagic options see Maximize Spell. Browse the Feats directory for the wider character-options archive.
Sources and Licensing
The original D&D 3.5e feat text on this page is retained in its edition panel and comes from the 3.5e SRD, published as Open Game Content under the Open Game License 1.0a. Pathfinder 1e feat wording is independently noted from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Fifth-edition summaries identify the Sorcerer Metamagic feature, not an Empower Spell feat; consult their respective Basic Rules.
The site has not added new fifth-edition feat mechanics or an unofficial conversion.
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