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View Full Version : 3rd Ed Sublime Chord - mathamatical headache



thecrimsondawn
2015-03-11, 03:51 PM
So I have been working on making a NE Bard, and ive gotten adding in the levels of Sublime Chord.

Upon reading how the spellcasting works, it brought up a question, that turned into a headache to think about, so I am just going to ask as I simply know this has come up more then once before.

Spells per Day:
A sublime chord has the ability to cast a small number of arcane spells, all of 4th level or higher. To cast a sublime chord spell, a character must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell’s level, so if she has a Charisma of 13 or lower, she cannot cast any sublime chord spells. Bonus spells are based on Charisma, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + the sublime chord’s Cha modifier. A sublime chord can choose spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list or the bard spell list; if a spell appears on both lists at different levels, she
uses the bard version of the spell. A sublime chord’s caster level for both her sublime chord spells and the spells she gains from other arcane spellcasting classes is determined by adding her sublime chord level to her level in another arcane spellcasting class. If she had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a sublime chord, she must choose to which class to add her sublime chord levels for the purpose of determining her sublime chord spellcaster level. A sublime chord prepares and casts spells spontaneously. Including the ability to replace a known sublime chord spell with a new spell at every even-numbered class level beginning at 4th.


So from this, am I correct in assuming that I treat the spells of this prc as if I just took a level in another spellcasting class, and thus have to keep it separate as per spells per day and spells known?

2nt, am I right in assuming if the first is right, then it gets bonus spells for a high cha score, effectively giving me bonus spells twice for my bard?

3rd and since my caster level is the sum of my SC and Bard levels, I am effectively like a mystic theurge - only with Bard/SC?

Lastly, bardic sage says
Spellcasting

A bardic sage learns and casts spells as a normal bard, with a few exceptions. In addition to the normal number of spells known, a bardic sage knows one divination spell of each spell level he is capable of casting. For example, a 1st-level bardic sage knows four 0-level bard spells plus one 0-level bard spell of the divination school (such as detect magic, know direction, or read magic. The bardic sage's number of spells per day does not change.

So would I get free divination spells effectively like a cleric domain? By the way its written, I am able to cast it as its a prestige class.

AvatarVecna
2015-03-11, 04:03 PM
You don't get Bard class features for Sublime Chord levels. Sublime Chord has its own casting and CL, which is tracked separately from the Bard casting. The way the PrC is set up, it's like being a Bard that turned into a Sorcerer.

What makes Sublime Chord interesting is when you go Bard 1/Wizard 9/Sublime Chord 1/Ultimate Magus 9; using Ultimate Magus to upgrade your Wizard and Sublime Chord casting results in a powerful double caster.

Troacctid
2015-03-11, 04:55 PM
1. Yes. It is considered a separate spellcasting class.
2. Yes. Bonus spells are calculated separately for separate classes. Note that since Sublime Chord only has spells of 4th level or higher and you presumably only have 1st-3rd level spells as a Bard, this will probably not result in any actual double-dipping.
3. No. Your caster level is the variable that determines the power of your spells in regards to range, damage, number of targets affected, and so on. It is not the same as your level in a class for the purposes of determining spells per day and spells known. Your caster level will improve, but you will not gain any new spell slots or spells known as a Bard.
4. No. The Bardic Sage bonuses only apply to your Bard spellcasting. You do not gain extra divination spells for your Sublime Chord levels.

Warrnan
2015-03-11, 05:01 PM
Yep. Like having two Seperate classes. On my character sheet I wrote bard next to spell levels 0-3 and sublime chord next to 4-9. Sort of helps it make more sense to me.