Unspecified Levels

[Amadeus]

In some places in some books certain abilities read "per level" without noting whether these are caster levels, class levels, character levels, etc...

Is there any RAW ruling to it? If not, how would you count them?

(this page (http://home.comcast.net/~ftm3/ASMoNM/domains.html), for example has 7 such instances (text is identical to that in the books))

[Darrin]

In some places in some books certain abilities read "per level" without noting whether these are caster levels, class levels, character levels, etc...

Is there any RAW ruling to it? If not, how would you count them?

(this page (http://home.comcast.net/~ftm3/ASMoNM/domains.html), for example has 7 such instances (text is identical to that in the books))

I think the default is "class level", but I'm not sure if this is explicit in the RAW. However, I did find this in the PHB glossary:

"class level: A character’s level in a single class. Class features generally depend on class level rather than character level."

I'd probably go so far as to say "it depends on the context", as in, if you see "level" in a spell description, then it probably refers to caster level. If it's a class ability (and I think domains would count as class abilities), then the default is class level (by RAW). For feats... I'd probably say assume the default is character level, but I'm not feeling super-confident about that.

[Psyren]

In Pathfinder this is explicitly "class level" unless otherwise stated. Not sure about 3.5, though Darrin's quote appears to say that the general rule is the same.

[OldTrees1]

In some places in some books certain abilities read "per level" without noting whether these are caster levels, class levels, character levels, etc...

Is there any RAW ruling to it? If not, how would you count them?

(this page (http://home.comcast.net/~ftm3/ASMoNM/domains.html), for example has 7 such instances (text is identical to that in the books))

Spells descriptions reference per caster level
Class Features(including Domain Powers) reference effective class level(in the rare cases where a prestige class continues to progress that class feature) when unspecified.

[Amadeus]

All good and well and obviously in spells "levels" refer to caster levels, but... In the granted power description most descriptions state "cleric level", while a few refer to the generic "level".
Does this mean that the granted powers for "cleric level" only apply to clerics (and not other classes that gain domains) and for "level" all classes gain that power based on class level?
Or are granted powers an attribute of the religious character, thus "cleric level" are class levels and "level" are character levels?

[RedMage125]

All good and well and obviously in spells "levels" refer to caster levels, but... In the granted power description most descriptions state "cleric level", while a few refer to the generic "level".
Does this mean that the granted powers for "cleric level" only apply to clerics (and not other classes that gain domains) and for "level" all classes gain that power based on class level?
Or are granted powers an attribute of the religious character, thus "cleric level" are class levels and "level" are character levels?

For Domain Granted Powers, only "class level" matters.

[Bronk]

The default for SLAs in 3.5 is by HD. From the SRD:


For creatures with spell-like abilities, a designated caster level defines how difficult it is to dispel their spell-like effects and to define any level-dependent variables (such as range and duration) the abilities might have. 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. If no caster level is specified, the caster level is equal to the creature’s Hit Dice. The saving throw (if any) against a spell-like ability is 10 + the level of the spell the ability resembles or duplicates + the creature’s Cha modifier.