a question about domain spells

[Alteisen Reise]

So if I have access to domain spells can I cast a domain spell that is a higher spell level than my spell slots if my caster level is high enough? Like a 4th level cleric casting spells of 4th level due to boosting their caster level to 8+?

[tyckspoon]

No. Access to spell slots is controlled by your number of levels in a spellcasting class; your 4th level Cleric only has access to 2nd level slots and can fill them with at most 2nd level spells, as shown by the chart depicting how their spellcasting advances. 'Caster level' is a separate trait - it affects primarily variable properties of spells, such as the maximum range, how many damage dice you roll, and and how many bonus points of healing you get on a Cure X Wound family spell.

[Bohandas]

No. Access to spell slots is controlled by your number of levels in a spellcasting class; your 4th level Cleric only has access to 2nd level slots and can fill them with at most 2nd level spells, as shown by the chart depicting how their spellcasting advances. 'Caster level' is a separate trait - it affects primarily variable properties of spells, such as the maximum range, how many damage dice you roll, and and how many bonus points of healing you get on a Cure X Wound family spell.
I think he means can it be cast if the ability prerequisite isn't met

[KillianHawkeye]

I think he means can it be cast if the ability prerequisite isn't met

He clearly is not asking that, but the answer is still no.

[Deophaun]

Like a 4th level cleric casting spells of 4th level due to boosting their caster level to 8+?
Yes, exactly like a 4th level cleric casting spells of 4th level due to boosting their caster level to 8+, in that neither of those work.

[ezekielraiden]

Unless you have a feature which explicitly lets you cast spells at a higher class or spell level, you can only cast what your class's writeup explicitly allows you to.

A big part of the confusion here is what "caster level" means. Caster level is not what determines the level of spells you can cast. It only determines the variable parts (damage, range, number of targets, etc.) of spells that have them. To flip this around: even if you were hit with a curse that set your caster level to 1, you could still (in theory) cast every spell on your list for your character level. You just wouldn't be very *good* with them.

A 4th level Cleric, Wizard, or Druid can only cast up to 2nd level spells. At class level 5 in any one of these classes, she could cast 5th level spells. Now, say a 5th level Cleric took 5 levels of Fighter, and the Practiced Spellcaster feat. Despite having a Cleric CL of 9, she cannot cast any spells that a 5th level Cleric cannot cast, because she *is* a 5th level Cleric.

This is a common mistake (3e uses the word "level" waaaaaay too often in distinct contexts), so don't feel bad. One way to help keep it straight is:

Spell level describes tiers of spells. You only unlock a new tier of spells by having a higher class level in a single casting class, either directly (e.g. going from Wiz 4 to Wiz 5) or indirectly (e.g. going from Wizard 16 to Wizard 16/Archmage 1, since the Archmage PrC counts as a level of Wizard for access to higher-tier spells).

Caster level describes potency of each spell you cast. Caster level can be increased in many ways (items, class features, feats, even some spells!), and you can have more than one CL at a time (e.g. a Wizard 3/Cleric 5 has CL 3 for his Wizard spells and CL 5 for his Cleric spells).

If you're familiar with MOBA-type games like LoL, "spell level" is like how you only get your ultimate ability after gaining enough character levels. "Caster level" is like your damage stat (e.g. "ability power" or "special attack" stats), in that it makes the abilities you already possess become numerically stronger, but cannot make you unlock an ability you haven't yet learned.

[Alteisen Reise]

Thank you all. I have never actually played a spellcaster in dnd. Going from a martial class to a spell casting has a whole new set of things to learn. I usually play a rogue. I thought they were separate but some of the cheese I read about when looking at hilarious tricks you can pull off in dnd made me a tad confused. That and the fact that domain spells just get added to your list, does that mean they you know but cannot cast them?

[Caudex Capite]

Generally speaking, the exploits that allow higher-level casting than your level would ordinarily allow are both rules-questionable (depending variously on what is required for a spell to be known, what it means to be able to cast a spell of a certain level and what the minimum caster level required to cast a spell is) and considerably more complicated than just a CL boost. As a vanilla cleric, your spells available are based entirely on the table in the cleric class entry, which goes by cleric class level, not caster level. A higher caster level would allow for more powerful spells of the levels you would be able to cast without boosting it, though. For example, a 5th-level cleric with a CL of 8 can't cast Cure Critical Wounds (a 4th-level spell that requires a Cleric level of 7), but their Cure Serious Wounds will heal 3d8+8 HP rather than 3d8+5 HP.

Domains don't change this: "Each domain gives the cleric access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast".

[ezekielraiden]

Thank you all. I have never actually played a spellcaster in dnd. Going from a martial class to a spell casting has a whole new set of things to learn. I usually play a rogue. I thought they were separate but some of the cheese I read about when looking at hilarious tricks you can pull off in dnd made me a tad confused. That and the fact that domain spells just get added to your list, does that mean they you know but cannot cast them?

Domain slots are special bonuses. Sometimes, a domain gives you access to a spell you don't get on your class list. This means you don't "know" the spell in the strict sense, and you cannot prepare that domain spell in your "regular" slots. You can prepare it in domain slots though, whether or not a given domain spell is on your normal list. You cannot prepare non-domain spells in the bonus domain slot.

Since Clerics usually get 2 domains, this means you pick one of your two domain spells for each spell level you're able to prepare and cast. (Technically I think you can also prepare metamagic-modified versions in higher-level slots if you have metamagic feats and high enough domain slots. But that isn't always useful.) Usually, you try to pick one domain for its spells and another for its domain power, since you can't prepare more than one domain spell at any single spell level (but if you have domains A and B, at say Cleric level 7, you can prepare all four domain slots with A-domain spells, all four with B-domain spells, or anything in-between.)

[Thurbane]

Generally speaking, there are two main ways to cast spells from domain slots that don't match the slot level:
- Prepare and cast lower level spells from higher level slots.
- Apply metamagic (such as Heighten spell) to increase the (effective) level of a spell and memorize it in an appropriate slot for the adjusted level.

[Psyren]

Thank you all. I have never actually played a spellcaster in dnd. Going from a martial class to a spell casting has a whole new set of things to learn. I usually play a rogue. I thought they were separate but some of the cheese I read about when looking at hilarious tricks you can pull off in dnd made me a tad confused. That and the fact that domain spells just get added to your list, does that mean they you know but cannot cast them?

Clerics know every spell on their entire list, yes (including domain spells). But they can neither prepare nor cast the ones they aren't high enough for yet.