Can you use Silent Spell to affect a spell you cast on your next turn?

Question

I was wondering, if a wizard on round 1 cast a spell requiring 2 actions and ends its turn with preparing a silent spell, is he able to use the benefits of this feat at round 2?

If yes, can he then at round 2 cast a spell requiring 2 actions (for example fireball with somatic and verbal) and reduce it to 1 action requirement (1 somatic action only for the fireball example)?

Edit: after several comments and metamagic rule attached below, we found out 2 answers that leads to additional question.

According to metamagic rule: "You must use a metamagic action directly before Casting the Spell you want to alter. If you use any action (including free actions and reactions) other than Cast a Spell directly after, you waste the benefits of the metamagic action."

The term "directly" stands naturally for saying that no real time must occurred in-between the metamagic action and casting the spell. And so, the answer is no, there is no way to delay the benefits of this feat from the end of a round to the start of next one.

However, the rule specifies also that using a free action or/and a reaction in-between will waste the benefits of this feat. As far as I know, reaction can only be done when a character's turn doesn't occurred. So, if the rule specifies a case where it is possible to waste the benefits of the feat during a moment where it is not your turn, that should mean that there is no restrictions by delaying the benefits of the feat from a round to the next one. And so then, "directly" means here "no other action must be done in-between" wether than "the moment right after, no delays allowed". In this case, the answer should be yes.

In order to make a choice, we can extend the consequences to the balance and mechanics of the game.

If we rethink this (in the case where the wizard could delay the silent spell), it is basically a way for the wizard only to trade an eventual reaction (for example a counter spell) or several free actions for a 1 action discount the next turn. Or in other words, the rules wanted to specifie that a wizard cannot perform in the same round a delay silent spell and a reaction (for example a counter spell which could result to use 3 spells in a row : the counter spell in reaction, a spell with 1 action discount and a standard cost spell the same round).

IMO, it won't be shocking to have the wizard to be capable of such performance as in pathfinder 2e, wizard, bards, druids, cleric shares numerous spells due to the fact that arcane and divine type of spellcaster doesn't exist anymore. For example, a wizard share the exact same control or AoE spell list than a druid do. So they are technically equally effective to cast it but one have more versatility because he has access to all primal spells and the other has to add it in his grimoire (kind of poorly, 2 spells each level). Moreover, the druid have shild block reaction as standard which the wizard don't and so on...

In overall, I think that's fair for an exclusive wizard ability, balancelly and mechanically talking.

What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

No

The description of metamagic says (link goes to Archives of Nethys, which cites the Core Rulebook page 634):

You must use a metamagic action directly before Casting the Spell you want to alter. If you use any action (including free actions and reactions) other than Cast a Spell directly after, you waste the benefits of the metamagic action.

If you use Silent Spell as your third action a turn, you can't apply its effects to a spell in the next round because it wasn't directly before the spell - the rest of the round happened in the middle there.

Additionally, you can't even use a reaction or a free action after Silent Spell. Doing so wastes the metamagic action.

Answer 2

'I was wondering, if a wizard on round 1 cast a spell requiring 2 actions and ends its turn with preparing a silent spell, is he able to use the benefits of this feat at round 2?'

Ask your GM

'You must use a metamagic action directly before Casting the Spell you want to alter. If you use any action (including free actions and reactions) other than Cast a Spell directly after, you waste the benefits of the metamagic action.'

Until this is errata'd, or we get guidance from the designers, then we don't know what 'directly' means exactly.

What is clear is that using a free action or reaction other than to cast a spell, would result in the metamagic not working. Note that some spells, such as Feather Fall, are cast using such actions and would still qualify.

A similar question arises for the feat Bespell Weapon. The playtest made it clear that it's analogue Magical Striker did not carry over into the next round, but the CRB lacks the language that the playtest had to prevent this:

'..., and is wasted if you don't strike by the end of your turn.'

It would however be reasonable to interpret metamagic's use of the word 'directly' as during the same turn.

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'If yes, can he then at round 2 cast a spell requiring 2 actions (for example fireball with somatic and verbal) and reduce it to 1 action requirement (1 somatic action only for the fireball example)?'

No

Using metamagic adds an extra action to any spell you cast. It does not count as part of the actions spent on casting that spell, even if the traits align. Removing a trait from a spell (such with silent spell) also doesn't result in the spell taking fewer actions. The two correlate when you look at spells - i.e. a spell with Somatic, Verbal and Material will likely take three actions. But they are not required to, and removing say Verbal from that list does not reduce that spell to two actions.