A_S
2012-08-15, 08:00 PM
There's a few cases in D&D where the order in which bonuses are applied matters (because the outcome will be different depending on which order is used). A couple examples (expanded from a couple questions I never managed to get answered in the Simple Questions and Answers thread):
Example 1:
A Bard 7 / Abjurant Champion 5 / Sublime Chord 8 has BAB 14. The Abjurant Champion's Martial Arcanist feature says "your caster level in a chosen arcane spellcasting class is equal to your base attack bonus (unless it would otherwise be higher)." The Sublime Chord's spellcasting says "a sublime chord's caster level...is determined by adding her sublime chord level to her level in another arcane spellcasting class."
Thus, if Martial Arcanist applies first (to Bard casting), the character's Bard caster level is 14 (the character's BAB), which gets added to the Sublime Chord caster level (8), for a total caster level of 22. If the Sublime Chord addition happens first, though, then the Bard caster level is only 12, Sublime Chord adds 8 to make 20, and Martial Arcanist does nothing (because the caster level is already higher than the character's BAB), resulting in a final caster level of 20.
Example 2:
A level 20 gish with 18 levels of wizard spellcasting has 8 levels of Unseen Seer. Due to the Divination Spell Power class feature, her caster level for divination spells is therefore 20, and her caster level for other spells is 16. If she takes the Practiced Spellcaster feat, though, three things could happen:
1. Practiced Spellcaster applies first. Thus, the character's caster levels for divination spells is 22 (Practiced Spellcaster bumps 18 up to 20, but caps out on hit dice, then Divination Spell Power adds 2), and the caster level for other spells is 18 (Again, Practiced Spellcaster makes it 20, and then it loses 2 for Divination Spell Power).
2. Practiced Spellcaster applies second. Thus, the character's caster level is 20 for all spells (Divination Spell Power makes the caster levels 20 and 16, and then Practiced Spellcaster makes up the difference for non-divinations, but has no effect on divinations due to the HD cap).
3. They apply in different orders to different spells (whichever is more beneficial), resulting in a caster level of 22 for divination spells and 20 for other spells.
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I have some vague memory of reading about bonuses applying in whatever order the player chooses, but I can't find any reference for it. Is there any RAW answer to how to handle these types of situations? Or is this "ask your DM" territory?
Example 1:
A Bard 7 / Abjurant Champion 5 / Sublime Chord 8 has BAB 14. The Abjurant Champion's Martial Arcanist feature says "your caster level in a chosen arcane spellcasting class is equal to your base attack bonus (unless it would otherwise be higher)." The Sublime Chord's spellcasting says "a sublime chord's caster level...is determined by adding her sublime chord level to her level in another arcane spellcasting class."
Thus, if Martial Arcanist applies first (to Bard casting), the character's Bard caster level is 14 (the character's BAB), which gets added to the Sublime Chord caster level (8), for a total caster level of 22. If the Sublime Chord addition happens first, though, then the Bard caster level is only 12, Sublime Chord adds 8 to make 20, and Martial Arcanist does nothing (because the caster level is already higher than the character's BAB), resulting in a final caster level of 20.
Example 2:
A level 20 gish with 18 levels of wizard spellcasting has 8 levels of Unseen Seer. Due to the Divination Spell Power class feature, her caster level for divination spells is therefore 20, and her caster level for other spells is 16. If she takes the Practiced Spellcaster feat, though, three things could happen:
1. Practiced Spellcaster applies first. Thus, the character's caster levels for divination spells is 22 (Practiced Spellcaster bumps 18 up to 20, but caps out on hit dice, then Divination Spell Power adds 2), and the caster level for other spells is 18 (Again, Practiced Spellcaster makes it 20, and then it loses 2 for Divination Spell Power).
2. Practiced Spellcaster applies second. Thus, the character's caster level is 20 for all spells (Divination Spell Power makes the caster levels 20 and 16, and then Practiced Spellcaster makes up the difference for non-divinations, but has no effect on divinations due to the HD cap).
3. They apply in different orders to different spells (whichever is more beneficial), resulting in a caster level of 22 for divination spells and 20 for other spells.
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I have some vague memory of reading about bonuses applying in whatever order the player chooses, but I can't find any reference for it. Is there any RAW answer to how to handle these types of situations? Or is this "ask your DM" territory?