Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Reylance 02-22-06, 01:33 PM	Here's a suggested rules change, for the RPGA as well as Wizards R&D: Effects that increase caster level above your starting caster level do not stack. If a particular spell would receive a caster level boost from multiple sources, only the highest is applied. (Calculate starting caster level after applying the Practiced Spellcaster feat and the wild mage level adjustment.) I exclude Practiced Spellcaster because it doesn't allow you to increase your caster level above your hit dice, and wild mage because that's the nature of the class. (I'd prefer that wild mages not benefit from Practiced Spellcaster, though.) A caster could cast a spell no higher than 4 levels above his or her hit dice, rather than the 10 that is possible now with an alignment domain, Orange Prism Ioun Stone, Bead of Karma, and Divine Spell Power.
Bob_the_Theurge 02-22-06, 01:41 PM	As long as certain regions are still inserting curses into their modules that can't be removed unless you have a Break Enchantment/Remove Curse of 17th to 20th level caster, I say no. This would be very,very bad.
JohnduBois 02-22-06, 01:48 PM	I disagree. If you want to spend your scarce resources (feats, domains, and to a lesser extent money) on increasing caster level, you are sacrificing the opportunity to make your character effective in other regards. That opportunity of choice is critical to the campaign's diversity.
Maesto 02-22-06, 05:19 PM	Come off it. You've got domain powers which give +1 to caster level for this that or the other, you've got archmage and heirophant taking a bonus caster level, you've got the ring from CA, and the ioun stone, and the bead of karma. There's just too much of it going around to nerf the lot, and they all say "bonus".
Reylance 02-22-06, 06:16 PM	Next time you meet an evil cleric who fires off a blasphemy under the influence of Divine Spell Power, a Bead of Karma, and the Evil domain, and your PC dies, maybe you'll see it as unbalanced.
Maesto 02-22-06, 11:28 PM	Perhaps. However, I know at least one cleric that is working towards holy word under the influence of the good domain, divine spell power, orange ioun stone, and bead of karma. There's only one meaning to it all - blasphemy, holy word, word of chaos and dictum aren't well written spells, especially when boosts to caster level are available. I personally detest the spells, especially when cast by PCs - I don't think that I should have a good aligned PC simply because it means I don't get screwed when holy word is cast. On the flip side, when cast by NPCs, usually it's equally stupid, and for that reason, unless specifically told to in a module, I will not use them on PCs.
JamesMaissen 02-24-06, 06:03 PM	Next time you meet an evil cleric who fires off a blasphemy under the influence of Divine Spell Power, a Bead of Karma, and the Evil domain, and your PC dies, maybe you'll see it as unbalanced. First of all, my main PC would not die. He's permanently deaf at this point.. takes his penalty to init and spellfailure chances and all because of Blasphemy. But on point it's not the caster level boosting that's the problem, it's the Holy/Unholy Word type spells. The next time you encounter a Hezrou or half-fiend as an APL+3 encounter the Blasphemy is going to be quite bad without ANY boost to thier caster levels. I think these spells are the problem and not the caster level boosting. Divine Spell Power is powerful, as are karma beads, but they loose thier lock on being broken without the Holy Word type spells. GMW, Magic Vestments and Greater Dispel and the like are nice uses for them, but nowhere near the SR or die within 40' that the Holy Words are. -James