Advancing capped out spellcasting pre epic levels

[Yogibear41]

If you have say 8 levels in blackguard or a similar prestige class, and then you take 3 or more levels of another class that advances casting choosing blackguard each time, what happens with that last level? I know you do not get any additional spell slots because there are none to gain, but does your caster level increase past 10 up to 11 and so on if you continue to advance it?

[Curmudgeon]

You can't take more levels than exist in a class. Pre-Epic, there isn't an 11th level of Blackguard.

[Chronos]

But that's not what he asked. You can't take an 11th level of blackguard, but what if you take another PrC that says you get "+1 of existing casting class"?

I'm pretty sure that such classes would still increase your caster level, but not anything else.

[Curmudgeon]

My point was that you can't do it. There's no arithmetic which leads to effective Blackguard 11 if Blackguard 11 is illegal until level 21.
A ten-level prestige class can progress beyond 10th level, but only if the character level is already 20th or higher. A class with fewer than ten levels cannot progress beyond the maximum for that class, regardless of character level.

[The Grue]

My point was that you can't do it. There's no arithmetic which leads to effective Blackguard 11 if Blackguard 11 is illegal until level 21.

And Chrono's point was that this isn't what the OP was asking.

[Curmudgeon]

And Chrono's point was that this isn't what the OP was asking.
If you've got Blackguard 10, and try to do the "+1 level of existing class" arithmetic, you get an overflow because Blackguard 11 doesn't exist (yet).

[Blackhawk748]

If you've got Blackguard 10, and try to do the "+1 level of existing class" arithmetic, you get an overflow because Blackguard 11 doesn't exist (yet).

He means casting only, not Legacy Champion shenanigans. I believe that your CL would increase but thats all you would get.

[Khedrac]

He means casting only, not Legacy Champion shenanigans. I believe that your CL would increase but thats all you would get.
Personally, I agree with you, but RAW Curmudgeon is right - since there is no such class level as Blackguard 11 something that advances your Blackguard casting level by 1 when you are already at 10 has no effect (at best - at worst it would remove your Blackguard casting as you have gone from casting as a BG10 to casting as something that doesn't exist).

Further there is also an argument that even post-epic there is no such class level as "Blackguard 11" - there is a class level "Epic Blackguard 11" but that is for a different class...
(I don't agree with this one, if it was true there would be a new set of entry pre-requisites.)

[atemu1234]

Personally, I agree with you, but RAW Curmudgeon is right - since there is no such class level as Blackguard 11 something that advances your Blackguard casting level by 1 when you are already at 10 has no effect (at best - at worst it would remove your Blackguard casting as you have gone from casting as a BG10 to casting as something that doesn't exist).

Further there is also an argument that even post-epic there is no such class level as "Blackguard 11" - there is a class level "Epic Blackguard 11" but that is for a different class...
(I don't agree with this one, if it was true there would be a new set of entry pre-requisites.)

And this is open to a (very painful) series of interpretations. Is it truly a new class, or is it the same class in which your ability to take levels is restricted?