Ways to break CL Ceilings

[cartejos]

What ways are there to go above the max CL cap for spells?

The only one I know if is Reserves of Strength that can break the cap by 3.

I know there are spells that don't have limits, but some of the ones that do would be more interesting if they hadn't. I'm sure there is a reason for the spells to have those caps, but there's usually a way to pull shenanigans in this game.


Edit: "Cap" refers to something like the 10D6 Fireball cap

[AlbanLusitanae]

Normally only Psions can actually go above the cap with Augmentation / Overchannel. But seriously, there is no need for Spellcasters to go above the cap, being spellcasters the most protected / splatbooked conceptual class out there, I'm SURE there will be a spell that does what you want at -3 Spell Level is some book...

Just out of curiosity, which spells did you have in mind, maybe I can give you some alternatives. :)

[MaxiDuRaritry]

What ways are there to go above the max CL cap for spells?

The only one I know if is Reserves of Strength that can break the cap by 3.

I know there are spells that don't have limits, but some of the ones that do would be more interesting if they hadn't. I'm sure there is a reason for the spells to have those caps, but there's usually a way to pull shenanigans in this game.I'm pretty sure Reserves of Strength breaks the CL ceiling altogether, but it also raises your CL by 3.

[cartejos]

Just out of curiosity, which spells did you have in mind, maybe I can give you some alternatives. :)

I didn't have any particular spells in mind, I was really just looking for reference to look at when picking some spells and feats and items and such

[AlbanLusitanae]

I'm pretty sure Reserves of Strength breaks the CL ceiling altogether, but it also raises your CL by 3.

See? ;) There is nothing spellcasters can't have in a splatbook :)

[cartejos]

I'm pretty sure Reserves of Strength breaks the CL ceiling altogether, but it also raises your CL by 3.

The feat only states that it itself can raise the CL above the cap

[PunBlake]

A couple things that come to my mind:
All the [Reserve] feats give a +1 competence bonus to CL that can raise your CL above its max for the associated subschool, but the typing means it's unlikely to stack with similar bonuses or items.
I'm sure there are other PrCs that do similar things, but Master Specialist adds an untyped bonus to CL for a specialist wizard's school of choice while also fully advancing casting. (Most PrCs that give a CL boost for a school or subschool also lose a level of casting which the CL boost offsets, making Practiced Spellcaster necessary to break your cap.)

[Feantar]

A couple things that come to my mind:
All the [Reserve] feats give a +1 competence bonus to CL that can raise your CL above its max for the associated subschool, but the typing means it's unlikely to stack with similar bonuses or items.
I'm sure there are other PrCs that do similar things, but Master Specialist adds an untyped bonus to CL for a specialist wizard's school of choice while also fully advancing casting. (Most PrCs that give a CL boost for a school or subschool also lose a level of casting which the CL boost offsets, making Practiced Spellcaster necessary to break your cap.)

I think what the OP meant by CL cap reffers to, for example, the damage cap in fireball (10d6 max) which can be increased through reserves of strength for instance, instead of the usual max CL = HD.

In case they just meant raising CL, the best way I know how is through Circle Casting (Hathran, Halruuan Elder or Red Wizard).

[Sleven]

The feat only states that it itself can raise the CL above the cap

Re-read the feat. The caster level increase and cap removal are separate sentences.

By RAW it removes caps. Most people houserule that it doesn’t because of how ridiculous it makes the feat.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Re-read the feat. The caster level increase and cap removal are separate sentences.

By RAW it removes caps. Most people houserule that it doesn’t because of how ridiculous it makes the feat.It's a bit less ridunkulous if you're using spell points, because at that point you're paying more points for most spells that make use of the feat.

[Rebel7284]

As far as I know, Reserves of Strength is the only way to categorically break the cap for any spell (whether you can break it by 3 or if it uncaps completely is unclear and can be argued both ways.)

Outside of that, you have either very specific class features (Dread Necromancer changing the control cap for Animate Dead) or spell research to get uncapped versions of spells.

[Khedrac]

It may be a really really bad feat, but I find it hard to believe no one has mentioned enhance spell yet.


ENHANCE SPELL [METAMAGIC][EPIC]
Prerequisite: Maximize Spell.

Benefit: The damage cap for the character’s spells increases by 10 dice (for spells that deal a number of dice of damage equal to caster level) or by 5 dice (for spells that deal a number of dice of damage equal to half caster level). An enhanced spell uses up a spell slot four levels higher than the spell’s actual level. This feat has no effect on spells that don’t specifically deal a number of dice of damage equal to the caster’s level or half level, even if the spell’s effect is largely dictated by the caster’s level.

Normal: Without this feat, use the damage dice caps indicated in the spell’s description.

Special: A character may gain this feat multiple times. Each time he or she selects this feat, the damage cap increases by 10 dice or 5 dice, as appropriate to the spell, and the enhanced spell takes up a spell slot an additional four levels higher.