Practiced Spellcaster question

[Trainz]

In the Complete Divine (and Complete Arcane), there's a new feat called Practiced Spellcaster that let's your spellcaster level be equal to your character level, up to 4 over you basecaster class level. You don't gain spells, but your caster level is increased. A Cleric 8/Fighter 4 with that feat has the spells of an 8th level cleric, but a caster level of 12.

NOW...

Let's say you are a wizard 8/fighter 2 with that feat, and then take a 5 level PrC that has "+1 level of existing spellcaster class" feature at odd levels (1, 3, and 5). Although you now have the spells known of an 11th wizard, is your caster level now 15 ?

 

[hong]

In the Complete Divine (and Complete Arcane), there's a new feat called Practiced Spellcaster that let's your spellcaster level be equal to your character level, up to 4 over you basecaster class level. You don't gain spells, but your caster level is increased. A Cleric 8/Fighter 4 with that feat has the spells of an 8th level cleric, but a caster level of 12.

To be precise, PS gives you +4 to your caster level, up to a max of your character level. This doesn't affect spells known or spells/day, just things like spell effects, caster level checks, etc.

Let's say you are a wizard 8/fighter 2 with that feat, and then take a 5 level PrC that has "+1 level of existing spellcaster class" feature at odd levels (1, 3, and 5). Although you now have the spells known of an 11th wizard, is your caster level now 15 ?

Correct.

 

[Trainz]

Thanks Hong. You made my day.

 

[Cheiromancer]

It is worth noting that some classes have a caster level equal to half their class level (paladins and rangers come to mind), and these can benefit quite nicely from the practiced spellcaster feat.

Ur-priests, too.

 

[Lord Rasputin]

It is worth noting that some classes have a caster level equal to half their class level (paladins and rangers come to mind), and these can benefit quite nicely from the practiced spellcaster feat.

Ur-priests, too.

But paladins and rangers don't cast enough spells for this feat to be useful. Really, this feat is for the mystic theurges, the true necromancers, the arcane tricksters and other multiclassed spellcasters.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

But paladins and rangers don't cast enough spells for this feat to be useful. Really, this feat is for the mystic theurges, the true necromancers, the arcane tricksters and other multiclassed spellcasters.

Not only that, paladins and rangers hardly have the feats to spare to spend one on making a bad class feature into a slightly less bad one. Now if this feat were available as a reasonably-priced item, it might be interesting. But then, anything reasonably priced for paladin or ranger usefulness would be overpowered for the mystic theurges, the true necromancers, the arcane tricksters, and other multiclassed spellcasters. :\

 

[Cam Banks]

That would seem to be a little overpowered, in that case. In Dragonlance, for example, most wizards take levels in the wizard of High Sorcery PrC. A wizard who takes this feat is essentially boosting their spellcaster level not only from the PrC but from the feat, by as much as +4. Who needs Spell Focus or Spell Penetration when you can do that?

So, wizard 5/wizard of High Sorcery 4 with Practiced Spellcaster feat = caster level 13 with 9th level spells per day? Good grief.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Henrix]

So, wizard 5/wizard of High Sorcery 4 with Practiced Spellcaster feat = caster level 13 with 9th level spells per day? Good grief.

No. He'd still only have caster level 9, as the feat tops out at your character level.
Had he been a Wiz5/Whs4/Ftr3 his caster level would have been 12, but he'd have the same spell slots as the wiz5/Whs4.

 

[Cam Banks]

No. He'd still only have caster level 9, as the feat tops out at your character level.
Had he been a Wiz5/Whs4/Ftr3 his caster level would have been 12, but he'd have the same spell slots as the wiz5/Whs4.

Ah, right. But, it's good for characters with PrCs that have breaks in the spell progression bonus. That's not too bad, in that case.

Unless those bonus spell progression levels stack with the already increased caster level from the feat, in which case that'd be fairly broken.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Hypersmurf]

Unless those bonus spell progression levels stack with the already increased caster level from the feat, in which case that'd be fairly broken.

Huh?

How many Wizard levels do you have?
How many "+1 level of spellcasting class" do you have?
How many hit dice do you have?

If you're a Wizard 5, with 6 levels in a PrC that grants +1 spellcasting level every second level, then you have a caster level of 8, and 11 hit dice.

With Practised Spellcaster, you get to add 4 to your caster level, to a maximum of your hit dice.

8 + 4 is 12, so the hit dice cap kicks in; you thus have a caster level of 11 (but the spells per day of an 8th level wizard).

-Hyp.