Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Toloran 05-18-07, 06:31 PM	I have a question on the interaction between the Wild Mage's Wild Magic ability and the Practiced Spellcaster feat (both from Complete Arcane). Wild Magic lowers your caster level by 3 but whenever you cast a spell, you add 1d6 to your caster level (so sometimes it is -2 from normal, sometimes it is +3). Practiced Spellcaster increases your caster level by 4 but it will not increase it beyond your HD. So, how would these two interact (assuming I am a 5th level sorcerer/5th level wild mage): A) PS increases my CL to my HD (10), and then Wild Magic adds 1d6 to that (for a CL 11 to 16 range). B) Wild Magic adds 1d6 to my CL to give me a range of 8 to 13. However, since I have practiced spellcaster, when I roll a 1 or 2 it will increase it up to my HD (10). So I would actually have a range of CL 10 to CL 13. Which of the two is it? (or am I completely wrong). I'd rather possibility A, but B is much more likely.
Braids 05-18-07, 07:22 PM	I've always understood it as being up to your DM since I can't find anything to suggest either is more correct.
Comus 05-18-07, 07:51 PM	B is correct.
Dog_As_A_Devil_Deified 05-18-07, 08:07 PM	From the FAQ, if you trust the FAQ: How does Practiced Spellcaster interact with the wild magic class feature of the wild mage (from Complete Arcane)? The –3 penalty and +1d6 bonus to the wild mage’s caster level are applied as a single step in the process of determining the wild mage’s caster level. Since Practiced Spellcaster’s bonus is always applied when it is most beneficial to the character (see previous answer), a wild mage with Practiced Spellcaster would typically apply the wild magic class feature first (subtracting 3 and adding 1d6 to her caster level) and then add the Practiced Spellcaster benefit, up to a maximum value equal to her character level. For example, if a 5th-level wizard/4th-level wild mage with Practiced Spellcaster rolled a 1 on the 1d6 bonus to her caster level, her caster level for that spell would be 9th (base 9th, –3 from wild magic penalty, +1 from wild magic bonus, +4 from Practiced Spellcaster up to a maximum equal to her character level). If she rolled a 6, her caster level would be 12th (base 9th, –3 from wild magic penalty, +6 from wild magic bonus; the Practiced Spellcaster bonus would not apply since it would increase her caster level above her character level). On the other hand, imagine a wild mage whose caster level (before applying the effects of the wild magic class feature) is less than her character level, such as a wild mage with levels of rogue or other non-spellcasting class. She might well choose to apply the Practiced Spellcaster bonus first, before applying the wild magic modifiers. A rogue 4/wizard 5/wild mage 4 would have a base caster level of 9th before any other modifiers are applied. Adding Practiced Spellcaster’s bonus would increase this to 13th, at which point the penalty and bonus from wild magic would be applied. The Sage recommends that players averse to frequently recalculating caster level avoid playing a character with this combination, as it is likely to cause headaches.
StevenO 05-18-07, 09:38 PM	B is correct. Your CL will range from 10-13. You apply CL adjustments to your base CL in any order desired. Practice Spellcaster is +4 but caps at your HD. The CL adjustment for the Wild Mage is the Wild Magic adjustment and consists of both the -3 and +1d6 parts although you do get to know what the d6 will be before applying this bonus.