caster level vs spell level vs pc level [Archive] - Wizards Community

caster level vs spell level vs pc level [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
invisble1
11-08-07, 07:35 PM okay, i dont know if im holding on to some obscure rule from 1st ed or soemthing but i feel like saying caster level is 1/2 your mage/preist level. am i wrong here, i probably am. im confused because the book just says caster level. caster level of a level 2 mage is 2. but can only cast level 1 spells...

confusion. just trying to clarify before i explain to my gf who wants to mage it up.
Wih
11-08-07, 08:45 PM "Caster Level" is how power you as a spellcaster are. It changes how long your spells run for, how many dice you roll for damage, and if your spells can punch through magical defenses.

"Spell Level" is how powerful a spell is. "Tenser's Floating Disk" is a 1st level spell. "Teleport" is a 5th level spell. "Time Stop" is a 9th level spell.
StevenO
11-09-07, 12:54 AM I'd say a spellcaster has three "levels" they need to be aware of.

The first is what "level" they use to determine spells per day and all that stuff. I tend to call this the "base casting level".

The second "level" you may worry about is spell level. This is a measure of a spell's potential. You typically only get so many spells of each "spell level" per day which is determined by following the table that corresponds with your "base casting level."

The final "level" is your actual caster level. This is the number you plug into a spell's variables (deals 1d6 damage per caster level) and what gets used to overcome spell resistance. Generally it is the same a your "base casting level" but there are a number of things that can raise or lower it. Changes here don't affect how many spells you can cast each day but they can change how well some of those spells work.
BlueDragonSoul
11-10-07, 03:52 PM Basically, here's what u need to know:

ECL, or Effective Character Level, is the total number of levels the character has. If the character has taken levels in only one class, the character's ECL is the same as the character's Class level.

Caster Levels are the number of levels you've taken in a casting class. For example, a 12th-level wizard has a Caster level of 12. For multiclassing characters, these levels stack for the purposes of determining damage. For example, a 12th-level wizard who has taken 2 levels of Sorcerer has a Caster Level of 14.

Spell Levels are simply a rough measure of the strength and usefulness of a spell. They are ranked from 0(almost useless) to 9(mostly uber).
steventirey1985
11-10-07, 04:19 PM Caster Levels are the number of levels you've taken in a casting class. For example, a 12th-level wizard has a Caster level of 12. For multiclassing characters, these levels stack for the purposes of determining damage. For example, a 12th-level wizard who has taken 2 levels of Sorcerer has a Caster Level of 14.

The bolded part is not right. He dosn't have a caster level of 14. He has a caster level of 12 for the spells he prepares as a wizard, and a caster level of 2 for his sorcerer spells.
StevenO
11-10-07, 08:12 PM Basically, here's what u need to know:

ECL, or Effective Character Level, is the total number of levels the character has. If the character has taken levels in only one class, the character's ECL is the same as the character's Class level.

Caster Levels are the number of levels you've taken in a casting class. For example, a 12th-level wizard has a Caster level of 12. For multiclassing characters, these levels stack for the purposes of determining damage. For example, a 12th-level wizard who has taken 2 levels of Sorcerer has a Caster Level of 14.

Spell Levels are simply a rough measure of the strength and usefulness of a spell. They are ranked from 0(almost useless) to 9(mostly uber).
So many problems with that post.

ECL (Equivalent/Effective Character Level) is NOT the same as a character's total number of levels. ECL is used to determine XP awards, leveling, and possibly starting gold but everything else just uses Character Level. Character Level equals the number of HD a character has; ECL equals character level plus any Level Adjustments (LA) a character may have. If a character has no LA and only has one class then class level = character level = ECL.

As already noted a Wiz12/Sor2 does NOT naturally have a caster level of 14. His character level is 14 but his caster levels are 12 for wizard and 2 for sorcerer. As I noted earlier there are ways to increase caster level.

The spell level description is somewhat accurate but what is "useless" depends a lot on what character levels you are looking at.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
invisble1 11-08-07, 07:35 PM	okay, i dont know if im holding on to some obscure rule from 1st ed or soemthing but i feel like saying caster level is 1/2 your mage/preist level. am i wrong here, i probably am. im confused because the book just says caster level. caster level of a level 2 mage is 2. but can only cast level 1 spells... confusion. just trying to clarify before i explain to my gf who wants to mage it up.
Wih 11-08-07, 08:45 PM	"Caster Level" is how power you as a spellcaster are. It changes how long your spells run for, how many dice you roll for damage, and if your spells can punch through magical defenses. "Spell Level" is how powerful a spell is. "Tenser's Floating Disk" is a 1st level spell. "Teleport" is a 5th level spell. "Time Stop" is a 9th level spell.
StevenO 11-09-07, 12:54 AM	I'd say a spellcaster has three "levels" they need to be aware of. The first is what "level" they use to determine spells per day and all that stuff. I tend to call this the "base casting level". The second "level" you may worry about is spell level. This is a measure of a spell's potential. You typically only get so many spells of each "spell level" per day which is determined by following the table that corresponds with your "base casting level." The final "level" is your actual caster level. This is the number you plug into a spell's variables (deals 1d6 damage per caster level) and what gets used to overcome spell resistance. Generally it is the same a your "base casting level" but there are a number of things that can raise or lower it. Changes here don't affect how many spells you can cast each day but they can change how well some of those spells work.
BlueDragonSoul 11-10-07, 03:52 PM	Basically, here's what u need to know: ECL, or Effective Character Level, is the total number of levels the character has. If the character has taken levels in only one class, the character's ECL is the same as the character's Class level. Caster Levels are the number of levels you've taken in a casting class. For example, a 12th-level wizard has a Caster level of 12. For multiclassing characters, these levels stack for the purposes of determining damage. For example, a 12th-level wizard who has taken 2 levels of Sorcerer has a Caster Level of 14. Spell Levels are simply a rough measure of the strength and usefulness of a spell. They are ranked from 0(almost useless) to 9(mostly uber).
steventirey1985 11-10-07, 04:19 PM	Caster Levels are the number of levels you've taken in a casting class. For example, a 12th-level wizard has a Caster level of 12. For multiclassing characters, these levels stack for the purposes of determining damage. For example, a 12th-level wizard who has taken 2 levels of Sorcerer has a Caster Level of 14. The bolded part is not right. He dosn't have a caster level of 14. He has a caster level of 12 for the spells he prepares as a wizard, and a caster level of 2 for his sorcerer spells.
StevenO 11-10-07, 08:12 PM	Basically, here's what u need to know: ECL, or Effective Character Level, is the total number of levels the character has. If the character has taken levels in only one class, the character's ECL is the same as the character's Class level. Caster Levels are the number of levels you've taken in a casting class. For example, a 12th-level wizard has a Caster level of 12. For multiclassing characters, these levels stack for the purposes of determining damage. For example, a 12th-level wizard who has taken 2 levels of Sorcerer has a Caster Level of 14. Spell Levels are simply a rough measure of the strength and usefulness of a spell. They are ranked from 0(almost useless) to 9(mostly uber). So many problems with that post. ECL (Equivalent/Effective Character Level) is NOT the same as a character's total number of levels. ECL is used to determine XP awards, leveling, and possibly starting gold but everything else just uses Character Level. Character Level equals the number of HD a character has; ECL equals character level plus any Level Adjustments (LA) a character may have. If a character has no LA and only has one class then class level = character level = ECL. As already noted a Wiz12/Sor2 does NOT naturally have a caster level of 14. His character level is 14 but his caster levels are 12 for wizard and 2 for sorcerer. As I noted earlier there are ways to increase caster level. The spell level description is somewhat accurate but what is "useless" depends a lot on what character levels you are looking at.