Ability to cast "X" spells

Racial Casting and PrC

I have a friend fond of qualifying for Bladesinger by using drow racial casting. Since drow is a subrace of elf, I suppose he has met that requirement, but what about "ability to cast 1st level arcane spells". Drow have darkness. I don't recall if they have more than 1 first level spell inately.
 

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Drow Darkness is a spell-like ability, not a spell. A drow has no ability to "cast arcane spells" unless he takes levels in an arcane spellcaster class.
 

AuraSeer said:
Drow Darkness is a spell-like ability, not a spell. A drow has no ability to "cast arcane spells" unless he takes levels in an arcane spellcaster class.

Isn't a spell-like ability the ability to cast a spell due to race rather than training? Is there a specific passage that says that spell-like abilities are different than spells? I agree with you, but I would like to make an airtight case for it.
 

It's like a spell, but not the same. Hence "spell-like." If it were the same thing, they'd just call it a spell.

Some differences: A SLA has no components unless otherwise specified. It cannot be counterspelled, nor can it be used as a counterspell itself. A deceased character brought back with Raise Dead has a chance to lose uncast spells, but not unused SLAs.
 


KaeYoss said:
Also, some DM's might not allow you to become a Drow Bladesinger. It's the old letter vs. spirit of the rules again,

It is technically valid, because "Drow" is a subrace of elf. I don't think I would allow it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still valid.

As for spell-like vs spells, I don't know if I could convince him by that method. I would be much happier if there was a sage ruling on it, but I don't think it is worth that much effort at the moment. Thanks for the reply, AuraSeer.
 

The matter of spells vs. spell-like abilities is crystal clear. Spells are spells are spells are not spell-like abilities.

As for dark elven bladesingers: of course it's technically valid. I never doubted it. But I did say that some DM's may forbid it nonetheless, arguing that the spirit of the rule means only the normal elven races, not the drow, since it's the elven way of fighting, not the drow way. (they have their own pantheon and even an own cleric domain, after all).
 

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