Quick Q.: Staff of Healing

[AE020704]

Morning ENners!

Just a quick, daft question: Staff of Healing has a CL requirement of 8th, and casts Cure Serious. Items cast spells at their minimum caster level, right? CSW is a 3rd level spell, requiring a Cleric5. So, would a CSW cast using a Staff of Healing cure 3d8 + 5 or 3d8 + 8? Either way we've been doing it wrong, doing 3d8 + 1 (don't ask, I don't know).

Ta!

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Staff Descriptions

Staffs use the wielder’s ability score and relevant feats to set the DC for saves against their spells. Unlike with other sorts of magic items, the wielder can use his caster level when activating the power of a staff if it’s higher than the caster level of the staff.

This means that staffs are far more potent in the hands of a powerful spellcaster. Because they use the wielder’s ability score to set the save DC for the spell, spells from a staff are often harder to resist than ones from other magic items, which use the minimum ability score required to cast the spell. Not only are aspects of the spell dependant on caster level (range, duration, and so on) potentially higher, but spells from a staff are harder to dispel and have a better chance of overcoming a target’s spell resistance.

Furthermore, a staff can hold a spell of any level, unlike a wand, which is limited to spells of 4th level or lower. The minimum caster level of a staff is 8th. Standard staffs are described below.

Emphasis, this guy.

-TRRW

 

[AE020704]

So, assuming the user has a lower CL, a SoH casts as an 8th level caster...yes? So 3d8 + 8?

Sorry for my idiocy, I just want to make sure I'm absolutely 100% before tonight's game, when I say "hey guys, we've been doing it wrong! Again!"

 

[Sound of Azure]

So, assuming the user has a lower CL, a SoH casts as an 8th level caster...yes? So 3d8 + 8?

Sorry for my idiocy, I just want to make sure I'm absolutely 100% before tonight's game, when I say "hey guys, we've been doing it wrong! Again!"

Yep, that's correct. N

ote that if the user of the Staff has a higher caster level, they can use their own caster level instead of the Staff's caster level.