Can you apply the Seeking Spell and Empowered Spell Metamagics to the same spell?

Question

The general rule on Metamagic states (emphasis mine):

You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted.

Meanwhile, the Seeking Spell and Empowered Spell options state(emphasis mine):

If you make an attack roll for a spell and miss, you can spend 2 sorcery points to reroll the d20, and you must use the new roll. You can use Seeking Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell.

When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls. You can use Empowered Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell.

Unlike all the other Metamagics, these ones do not start with "when you cast a spell" but instead have their own timings. I am left unsure whether they fall under the general rule of "when you cast" and if they do, and thus would need explicit exception, I am unsure whether they actually make an explicit exception given that they use the phrase "during the casting of the spell". Do damage and attack rolls happen during the casting of a spell? Do the Metamagics happen when you cast the spell at all? In short, I'm unsure what rules apply to these, and thus do not know if these Metamagics can be used on the same spell.

Answer 1

Do damage and attack rolls happen during the casting of a spell?

Usually, but not always.

Examples where they do: Fireball, Scorcing Ray, Poison Spray.

Examples of spells where they do not happen "during the casting": Hex, Hunter's Mark, Spirit Guardians.

Examples of spells that do both: Spiritual Weapon.

And at least one spell where you get to choose: Delayed Blast Fireball.

Basically, if the attack or damage happens in the same action as the casting, it is "during the casting of a spell". If it happens after that, it isn't - the spell has already been cast at that point.

Do the Metamagics happen when you cast the spell at all?

Most metamagic happens "When you Cast a Spell" but the two you quote don't have that temporal limitation. They say they can be used when you attack or do damage which may happen "when you cast" or later if the spell attacks or dopes damage after it has been cast.

However, the phrase "You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it" is ambiguous. It can be read as a restriction on Metamagic that only applies when you cast it, that is, you can apply one when you cast it and as many as you like after that (if they are not limited to "when you cast"). Or it can be read that you can only apply one and that can only be applied "when you cast" (subject to exceptions).

Neither of the metamagic option you quote explicitly override the "when you cast it" restriction that may or may not apply generally, it's open to interpretation whether they work on spells where the attack or damage is delayed. In any event, they can each only be applied to a spell once (Sage Advice) and only one of them could be applied after the "when you cast" limit because if one is applied after it was not done "when you cast" and does not trigger the exception in the other.