How good are caster level boosts?

[Joker]

I was looking at the Spell Power ability from the Archmage and the Orange Prism Ioun Stone. Both give you a +1 caster level.

I know they're useful but I was wondering if they were worth investing in.

Does anyone select the ability more than once (if that's possible) or craft several ioun stones to give them extra caster levels?

How useful would they be for a cleric who rarely uses spells that deal damage (i.e. rarely uses spells that scale with level)?

 

[Mistwell]

I was looking at the Spell Power ability from the Archmage and the Orange Prism Ioun Stone. Both give you a +1 caster level.

I know they're useful but I was wondering if they were worth investing in.

Does anyone select the ability more than once (if that's possible) or craft several ioun stones to give them extra caster levels?

How useful would they be for a cleric who rarely uses spells that deal damage (i.e. rarely uses spells that scale with level)?

Pretty useful, given that the "Prayer Beads: Karma Only" is perhaps the most popular cleric magic item at higher levels for clerics who like to buff a lot.

 

[Darkness]

Look closely at blasphemy and its cousins for the other alignments. Given enough caster level boosts, it gets really, really sick. (Of course, wizards generally can't cast it. Generally.)

 

[Rystil Arden]

In my campaign, many characters select these CL increases when they are available, particularly characters with LA-races who are trying to catch back up in what they an dispel and the effect of their spells. Some characters take this to the extreme. For instance, I created a powerful shadow-lich NPC who has epic levels in Red Wizard, plus his Archmage levels and magic items. In total, he gains something like +20 caster level to Illusion spells, so he just memorises almost everything as Illusion spells using Shades and Shadow Evocations (which he has augmented to be 100% real for his best spells). Strangely, this actually makes him substantially weaker against certain foes, but it pays off against creatures with Spell Resistance, since he can pretty-much always penetrate it. Fortunately for the PCs, the one time they ever encountered the lich (who far outclassed them in power), the bumbling wizard accidentally used his phylactery as a spell component.

 

[Joker]

the bumbling wizard accidentally used his phylactery as a spell component.

You mean instead of batguano ?

 

[Rystil Arden]

You mean instead of batguano ?

Nope, the phylactery was a blue-sapphire that perfectly matched the description for the material component of the wizard's newly researched "Improved Stoneskin" spell.

 

[Victim]

I was looking at the Spell Power ability from the Archmage and the Orange Prism Ioun Stone. Both give you a +1 caster level.

I know they're useful but I was wondering if they were worth investing in.

Does anyone select the ability more than once (if that's possible) or craft several ioun stones to give them extra caster levels?

How useful would they be for a cleric who rarely uses spells that deal damage (i.e. rarely uses spells that scale with level)?

Caster level increases for clerics are pretty huge for buffing spells. If you use alot of Greater Magic Weapon or Magic Vestment spells, a Bead of Karma gets you to the next +1 bonus, increases the duration, and makes your buffs resistant to dispels. Resistance to dispels is major concern for all cleric buffs.