Given the character has all their prerequisites
- 5th level Alchemist Artificer with the spells Absorb Elements, Shocking Grasp
- 3rd level Sorcerer (any) with Transmuted Spell metamagic
The description for Alchemist Savant says:
Whenever you cast a spell using your alchemist’s supplies as the spellcasting focus, you gain a bonus to one roll of the spell. That roll must restore hit points or be a damage roll that deals acid, fire, necrotic, or poison damage, and the bonus equals your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1).
And per this question, all Alchemist spells use the alchemist's supplies as material components. Therefore, both spells mentioned would use material components even though they both normally would not.
So here is the scenario:
An Artificer gets hit by a Fireball and casts Absorb Elements to reduce the damage and store the fire for their next melee attack. On their turn, they cast Shocking Grasp, a melee spell attack, which should be lightning damage, but they spend 1 sorcery point to Transmuted Spell it into fire.
My question is: Since this is two different spells being cast, Absorb Elements and Shocking Grasp, during the attack, do they both take advantage of the Savant feature (an Int bonus to both spells)?
There shouldn't be any doubt about the Shocking Grasp now that the damage type has been turned to fire.
I guess it boils down to; would Absorb Elements also benefit from the bonus damage? It is a spell that is cast and the roll would be damage of type fire. None of the features mention any time frame or even a "per turn"/"per round".
Best Answer
Alchemical Savant applies once per eligible spell
Each time you cast a spell that satisfies the requirements of Alchemical Savant, you get to add the damage bonus. In your example, the transmuted Shocking Grasp definitely satisfies these requirements, so you certainly add the bonus once. If your DM rules that Absorb Elements is also eligible for the ability, then you would also add the bonus when you roll the additional damage for this spell as well, with the final result that you roll for the normal damage of Shocking Grasp plus the normal damage of Absorb Elements plus 2 times your intelligence modifier.
However, the question of whether Absorb Elements is eligible for the damage bonus from Alchemical Savant is a surprisingly tricky one.
When does the damage bonus from Alchemical Savant apply?
One valid reading of "whenever you cast a spell" is that the damage bonus only applies to damage rolls that happen at the time of casting. If this is your DM's ruling, then Absorb Elements doesn't satisfy this requirement. On the other hand, it's an equally valid reading that the bonus you gain when casting the spell is something you hold onto and then use on the damage roll of your choice at any time during the spell's duration. This would be similar to an Illusionist wizard's Malleable Illusions, which applies "when you cast an illusion spell" but is unambiguously used during the spell's duration.
I would argue in favor of the latter, more permissive reading for Alchemical Savant. Two spells on the Alchemist Spells table, Flaming Sphere and Cloudkill, deal damage of an eligible type, but not at the time of casting. If you (or your DM) believe that these alchemist spells are supposed to get the damage bonus from Alchemical Savant, then the exact timing of the damage roll doesn't matter as long as it happens during the spell's duration. (Indeed, I've been adding the bonus to my castings of Flaming Sphere in actual play, and my DM hasn't batted an eye.)
Does Absorb Elements even have a damage roll?
You could also argue that Absorb Elements doesn't even have its own damage roll, but rather it adds additional damage to an attack. The spell says:
This wording closely matches that used in Flame Arrows:
as well as some magic items, such as the Frost Brand:
So it seems that this wording indicates that the damage is not a separate source of damage, but is added to the attack's damage. (This matters, for example, when determining whether the target must make one or two saving throws to maintain concentration.) If this is your DM's interpretation, then they might say that Absorb Elements is not eligible for Alchemical Savant because it doesn't deal its own damage, but rather modifies the damage of something else.
On the other hand, your DM might be perfectly satisfied with the straightforward logic that the if the text of Absorb Elements says to roll for fire damage, then the spell is the source of the fire damage, and hence the Alchemical Savant bonus applies. It's certainly a ruling that doesn't require cross-referencing multiple spells and magic items to compare their wordings.
In summary, there is ample room for a DM to rule either way on whether the additional attack damage from Absorb Elements gets the damage bonus from Alchemical Savant.