Spell casting total level or class level?

[tim01300]

In my game a player has made a Mystic Theurge. He has 3 levels of cleric, 3 levels of wizard and 5 levels of the Theurge. When he casts a spell like Tasha's Hideous Laughter, and the duration is 1 round/level, does he cast it as a level 8 (3 levels of wiz and 5 theurge) or does he cast it at his total character 11 and include the cleric levels.

Thanks for the help

[Necroticplague]

CL is class-dependent.You cast as a level 8 wizard and level 8 cleric (odd choice of classes, though, as a side comment).

RAW citation,:

A spell’s power often depends on its caster level, which for most spellcasting characters is equal to your class level in the class you’re using to cast the spell.
The 'for most' is a reference to half-casters like the paladin, who have caster level equal to half of their class level.

[Brova]

The 'for most' is a reference to half-casters like the paladin, who have caster level equal to half of their class level.

Also Ur-Priests, Master Spellthieves and other people with caster levels (much) more than their class level.

[Chronos]

There are also other things that can affect caster level. There's an ioun stone that gives +1, for instance, and the Bead of Karma from a String of Prayer Beads gives +4. There's also a feat in Complete Arcane, often taken by theurge-types, called Practiced Spellcaster, which gives you +4 up to a maximum of your character level (in other words, making up for what you lost by taking some other class).

[Thurbane]

Also, the Martial Arcanist ability of the Abjurant Champion lets them use their BAB as their CL if higher than their normal CL. Great for Gishes.