+1 level of (class) question

[JDowling]

Green Whisperer, a PrC, has for Spells per Day/Spells Known: "+1 level of bard and druid class"

In the Spells per Day/Spells Known section it reads (paraphrased): "at each level, the character gains new druid spells per day as if she had gained a level in the druid class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit of the druid class."

You don't need any levels of Druid to qualify for the class.

If you had no Druid levels, but qualified for the class and took a level of it, do you gain spellcasting as a first level Druid?

I would say "yes" (unless there's some rule that I don't know of, which is why I'm asking). The wording isn't "+1 level of existing spellcasting class" it's "+1 level of druid class".

That then leads me to my next question: If you later picked up levels in Mystic Theurge could you bump up your druid spellcasting, even though you never had a level of druid?

As to using MyTh levels to then pump up Druid casting I'd guess it's a "no" because the wording is "...any one divine spellcasting class he belonged to previously" and you never belonged to the druid class.

Are MyTh bonus casting levels retroactive? (I have no class that I can target with the bonus now, but if I later take a level of Druid, then I will have an acceptable class) or do they simply vanish?

i was just courious about that stuff, thanks.

 

[werk]

What are the prereqs for green whisperer and where does the PrC appear?

edit:appears in Dragon #311?
(found on the web)
Nature speaks and the green whisperer listens. The green whisperer is attuned to nature and the wisdom of animals. They spend time in the wildest corners of the world, humming soft lullabies for an adoring audience of birds, beasts, and flowers. A green whisperer tends to be introspective and is more comfortable in the presence of unspoiled nature than in the depths of a dungeon. Still, they are not immune to the lure of adventure, and most share the bard's much storied wanderlust.
Most green whisperers are multiclass bard/druids.


So it sounds like it is not required, but it is usually the case. I'd say if you are not a druid or bard, you don't get spell levels.

 

[Infiniti2000]

A search brought up this. I'd say that it's a typo and they mean OR. At the very least I would not allow you to suddenly gain the spellcasting abilities of a druid in addition to improving your spellcasting as a bard. I know bards need all the help they can get, but c'mon!

 

[cmanos]

wait a minute....the only requirements are Alignment: any neutral Skills: Knowledge (nature) 8 ranks, Perform 8 ranks, Survival 5 ranks. You don't even have to be a bard either.....a high level fighter could take this PrC.

BUZZ!

Thanks, I'm banning this in my campaign.

 

[JDowling]

I'm fully aware that it could lead to silly consequences. That's why I'm asking if there's anything in the rules that deals with the situation.

 

[werk]

SRD, Classes, PrC: Some prestige classes add caster levels to an existing class.


That, to me, means existing class, not non-existing class...
I know, it says druid, but that's because it's...well...not official.

 

[JDowling]

...how do you read "+1 level of existing class"?

well, as I said above Green Whisperer never says "existing class" it says "bard" or "druid". I could find no mention of needing to already have those classes in Green Whisperer (and no mention of "existing class"), so I read it as "by RAW you can be 0 in Bard and Druid and cast as a 5th level Bard and a 5th level Druid if you took this class".

The other stuff, Mystic Theurge, I thought wouldn't do you any good to try to pump Green Whisperer anymore because Mystic Theurge acctually does say "existing class" so it would seem that a Fighter X/Green Whisperer 1/Mystic Theurge 1 wouldn't gain anything in spellcasting from Mystic Theurge.

Thanks for the SRD quote - that might lend some more weight to an argument that Green Whisperer doesn't give you Bard and Druid spellcasting if you didn't have the classes already .

Bard/Druid seems like a pretty weak combination to me anyway. Bard2/Druid3/Green Whisperer5/Sublime Chord1/Mystic Theurge9 might be promissing though (pump up Sublime Chord with Mystic Theurge) 9th level Sor/Wiz spells (as a Sorcerer) and 9th level Druid spells both at caster level 17. It would likely be a pretty weak compared to straight Sorceror, Bard, or Druid until late levels and lots of feats though.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

well, as I said above Green Whisperer never says "existing class" it says "bard" or "druid". I could find no mention of needing to already have those classes in Green Whisperer (and no mention of "existing class"), so I read it as "by RAW you can be 0 in Bard and Druid and cast as a 5th level Bard and a 5th level Druid if you took this class".

This is just another case where the general D&D stricture that "0 is different from N/A" applies.

Constructs have an Intelligence score of N/A. Anything that affects Intelligence doesn't act on them as if they had an Int score of 0, rather, it just doesn't apply to them.

Let's say you get a bonus of +X to your Bard casting level, and you haven't taken any levels in Bard. When asked, "What's your effective Bard level?" the answer is not "0 + X = X," it's "N/A + X = N/A." Similarly, a Fighter using an orange ioun stone doesn't have a Caster Level of 1 (0+1); he has no Caster Level at all.

In certain cases, the D&D rules specify that, when not otherwise mentioned, something actually has a value of 0 - like Natural Armor. In all other cases, however, use the "N/A is different from 0" rule and you won't go far wrong.