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Message: <blockquote data-quote="irdeggman" data-source="post: 2801380" data-attributes="member: 16285">Interesting overall issue but really does not apply to the case in point since it is specific under what conditions it applies and what happens under those conditions. What I mean is that you are raising interesting questions about what does Caster Level mean overall, but in the case of negative levels the effects are laid out.–1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, reduce it by one for each negative level). If the victim casts spells, she loses access to one spell as if she had cast her highest-level, currently available spell. (If she has more than one spell at her highest level, she chooses which she loses.) In addition, when she next prepares spells or regains spell slots, she gets one less spell slot at her highest spell level. But the next bit of text in the section you are quoting also helps to clarify it’s intent.Which seems to lay out the things that are affected by Caster Level as the text refers to it.Now the overall questions you are raising with the quotes seem to be able to be answered, at least to me, by reading the text over again.For example.Now this specifies that essentially a wizard can’t cast a 3d6 fireball since he must be fifth level in order to cast it which gives him an effect of 5d6 since it is 1d6 per level max of 10d10.I had not noticed this bit of information before but now that I have . . . No issue hear since there is the modifier “for most spellcasting characters” when refereeing to a spell’s power depending on its caster level. Clerics, Druids, Wizards, Sorcerers and Bards have a CL equal to character level, while for example Paladins and Rangers have a CL as follows “Through 3rd level, a paladin (ranger)has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is one-half her paladin (ranger) level.” Now when something affects this caster level then it changes, like say a negative level which lowers it.Need to note that the effect for a negative level specifically does not say it affects Caster Level but it lowers the “effective level” whenever character level is used for die rolls or calculations.The next section (about loses spells) specifically addresses spell casters. If the lowers effective level was supposed to mean lowers caster level then the next modifier wouldn’t have been needed since the rules would already cover it by preventing casting of spells when CL is lowered below the minimum necessary to cast a spell. Since this is a special condition the rules for the specific case over rule the general rule when they conflict. So a fifth level wizard with a negative level could in fact cast a 4d6 fireball because the negative level rule supercedes the general Caster Level one.Still an interesting point and it does require some comparision reading between the different sections of RAW in order to have it make sense.</blockquote>

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