Ur-Priest Fire Storm does...ehm...8d6 damage?

[Joker]

Hi there, I had a question about minimum caster levels.

Let's say you have a cleric 10/ Ur-Priest 10. He casts his 9th level spells as a 10th level caster right? And if he makes an item using a Craft Item feat, does he use *his* minimum level for the creation cost? I know it sounds kind of like a silly question but it seems to me that Ur-Priests can create really cheap items.

Another question, similar, but for spell like abilities. Let's say a creature has fireball as spell-like ability and takes the Mage Slayer, Pierce Magical Concealment and Pierce Magical Protection feats, reducing the caster level for his spell-like abilities by 12.
Can the caster level go below 5? Below 1? I.e. does he heal people with his fireballs . Ok, scratch the last one.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dcollins]

Guess I'll take a shot at this. I don't know exactly what book the "Ur-Priest" is from, nor do I have it in front of me. I'll assume that this is one of the prestige classes with "+1 level of existing class" spellcasting ability every level. I'll copy and look at the original class with that ability, the Loremaster from the core rules:

Spells per Day/Spells Known: When a new loremaster level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of loremaster to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

So, if this is the same ability the Ur-Priest has, then the spellcasting level in the example is in fact 19th. (DMG: "Loremaster")

Any spellcaster making an magic item of the potion/scroll/wand category can set the caster level lower for a cheaper item, to a minimum required for the spell (DMG, "Magic Item Descriptions: Caster Level").

I'm not familiar with the spell-like ability feats mentioned, but I'd be highly surprised if they actually function to lower caster level on spell-like abilities.

 

[Sammael]

Er, the ur-priest (Book of Vile Darkness) does not gain +1 level of existing class - it is a very specific class. And yes, the ur-priest has a pretty bad caster level - but this is probably supposed to be offset by the fact that he gains a new spell level to cast with every class level. Practised Spellcaster might help a bit.

I am really not sure I understand the second question.

 

[Jdvn1]

Ur-Priest, I believe, was updated in CD.

 

[dcollins]

Looks like I guessed wrong.

 

[Sithobi1]

The question you should be asking is why the hell would a cleric take Ur-priest? He loses pretty much all of his spellcasting ability, and would be better off taking fighter 10-he would get more weapon profs, and a lot more feats. If he wanted to be a decent spellcaster, he could be a druid, sorc, wizard, any spellcaster except a cleric, and take practiced spellcaster. An Ur-priest gets 1/2 his caster levels in any class except cleric to add to his Ur-priest caster level.

 

[Shin Okada]

Hi there,

Let's say you have a cleric 10/ Ur-Priest 10. He casts his 9th level spells as a 10th level caster right?

Right.

And if he makes an item using a Craft Item feat, does he use *his* minimum level for the creation cost?

If he want. A creator can set the CL of an item as long as it is not lower than the minimum level needed to cast the needed spell (of course the maximum CL is his CL). So, for example, that Ur-Priest can make a scroll of Summon Monster IX and can set the CL of it between 9 (minimum CL to cast the spell for his class) to 10 (his CL).

By the way, it is not a bad idea for a Ur-Priest to take Practiced spellcaster feat.

Another question, similar, but for spell like abilities. Let's say a creature has fireball as spell-like ability and takes the Mage Slayer, Pierce Magical Concealment and Pierce Magical Protection feats, reducing the caster level for his spell-like abilities by 12.
Can the caster level go below 5? Below 1? I.e. does he heal people with his fireballs . Ok, scratch the last one.

From MM P.315.

"The creature's caster level never affects which spell-like abilities the creature has; sometimes the given caster level is lower than the level a spellcasting character would need to cast the spell of the same name."

For example, Dretch has Stinking Cloud (usually a 3rd-level spell) spell-like ability at CL 2.

So the CL could go below 5. But I don't know if CL of 0 or lower is OK or not.

 

[Stalker0]

Alright something's weird here. You have to have a caster level of 17th in order to cast a 9th level spell. If your caster level is below that you shouldn't be able to cast it.

 

[Shin Okada]

Alright something's weird here. You have to have a caster level of 17th in order to cast a 9th level spell. If your caster level is below that you shouldn't be able to cast it.

Caster level doesn't matter actually. Class level in the spellcasting class do matter.

You must be a 17th-level Wizard to cast a 9th-level wizard spell.
You must be a 18th-level Sorcerer to cast a 9th-level sorcerer spell.
You must be a 9th-level Ur-Priest to cast a 9th-level Ur-Priest (Cleric) spell.

You must be a 3rd-level Druid to cast a 2nd-level Druid spell.
You must be a 4th-level Bard to cast a 2nd-level Bard spell.
You must be a 8th-level Paladin to cast a 2nd-level Paladin spell.

 

[Sammael]

Yup. Caster level has nothing to do with the highest level of spells available for casting whatsoever. The only thing that matters is that A) you get that level of spells to cast from a class; and B) you have a prime spellcasting ability score of 10 + spell level. That's it.