A few spellcasting questions

[doosler]

The DC of a wizard's spell = 10 + Int modifier + spell level + any other bonuses the wizard happens to have (such as the Gnome +1 racial bonus to Illusion spells).

I am a little confused about how to determine spell level. Many spells increase in strength as the wizard increases levels.

For example, the range and duration of Charm Person increase with levels. The range and size of the effect of Silent Image increase with level. For these spells, what is their DC when cast by a 2nd level wizard? The spells are stronger when cast by a 2nd level wizard than the same spells cast by 1st level wizards. But they are still 1st level spells. So is their DC modifier +1 or +2?

The range of Scorching Ray increases with levels. (By the way, does a wizard get a second ray at 4th level or 7th level? The description says "one additional ray for every four levels above 3rd".) If you cast Scorching Ray at a sufficient level to shoot a second ray, does that mean you're casting it as a 2nd level spell or as a 4th/7th level spell? Do you need to prepare it using a higher level spell slot to get the second ray? For that matter, do you need to prepare Magic Missile using a higher level spell slot to get an additional missile?

If the DC modifier doesn't increase as the wizard's level increases, would it be possible to increase the DC of a spell by preparing it using a higher level spell slot? For example, perhaps a 5th level wizard could prepare Charm Person using his 3rd level spell slot in order to increase the DC modifier from +1 to +3.

What do you guys think?

 

[Christian]

DC is based on spell level, not caster level. And the DC only goes up when you prepare the spell in a higher-level slot if you used the Heighten Spell feat--that's exactly what it's for.

 

[irdeggman]

Nope it doesn't work that way.

You have the formula down correclty but seem to be confusing caster level and spell level.

One feat will increase spell level though (Heighten Spell).

Characters use highelr level spells when they can for this reason.

 

[Tiberius]

It should also be noted that you use the level of the spell appropriate for the character class in the calculation. For example, let's say that a cleric and a druid (each with Wis 16) are each casting Cure Serious Wounds on undead they are fighting. The undead are entitled to Will saves for half damage. The difficulty of the save would be as follows:

Cleric: 10 + 3 (Wis) + 3 (Cure Serious is Clr 3) = 16.
Druid: 10 + 3 (Wis) + 4 (Cure Serious is Drd 4) = 17.

So the druid version is available later, but more difficult to resist.

 

[doosler]

For Scorching Ray, does a wizard get a second ray at 4th level or 7th level? The description says "one additional ray for every four levels above 3rd".

Also, for spells like Scorching Ray and Magic Missle, where the number of attacks allowed depends on the level of the spellcaster, do you need to use a higher level spell slot to shoot additional rays or missiles? Or do you automatically shoot the extra rays/missiles when you gain sufficient levels?

 

[Tiberius]

For Scorching Ray, you get new rays at 7th and 11th. As a general rule, the level of a spell doesn't change without the application of metamagic feats. So a 3rd level caster with one ray and an 11th with three cast Scorching Ray as a 2nd level spell. Similarly, a 1st-level caster with one missile and a 9th with five cast Magic Missile as a 1st level spell.