Caster level rules question

[Thac0 Redeye]

Hello all,
I'm a little confused on a magic user/caster level issue. I have a sorcerer with a caster level 13 and a CHA mod +7. I currently have access to 6th level spells. So here is my question, what do I need to do to cast a 7th level scroll, or an 8th? How does the caster level check work?
Thanks.

[Doctor Awkward]

In order to use a scroll, you must meet 3 requirements:

-The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine) for your spellcasting class.
-You must have the spell on your class list.
-You must have the requisite ability score.

The requisite ability score is 10 + spell level, so in order to cast a scroll with a 7th-level spell, you must have 17 Charisma.

If scroll's caster level spell level on the scroll is higher than what you can normally cast, then you must make a caster level check to activate it, DC 1 + the caster level of the scroll. A caster level check is a d20 + your caster level.

The caster level of the scroll is equal to whatever the creator set it as, up to their maximum level. So a scroll of fireball created by a 20th-level spellcaster would be a DC 21. You would have to roll an 8 or higher to succeed.

It is generally assumed that a scroll's caster level (especially when found as treasure) is the minimum level necessary to cast the spell, or 13 for 7th-level spells and 15 for 8th-level. Since a 1 auto-fails this check, you would have to roll a 2 or higher for both 7th and 8th-level spells.

[Diarmuid]

@Doc - Why do you think caster level checks auto fail on natural 1's?

[torrasque666]

Last Line of the activation rules.
If the user meets all the requirements noted above, and her caster level is at least equal to the spell’s caster level, she can automatically activate the spell without a check. If she meets all three requirements but her own caster level is lower than the scroll spell’s caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC = scroll’s caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully. If she fails, she must make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid a mishap (see Scroll Mishaps, below). A natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers. Could technically be referring to the Wisdom check, but could also mean the Caster Level check.

[Diarmuid]

Ah OK, so not saying that all CL checks fail on natural 1, but there's a specific overriding the general with regard to scroll activation.

Thanks.

[Doctor Awkward]

Last Line of the activation rules. Could technically be referring to the Wisdom check, but could also mean the Caster Level check.

That's actually a really good point...

Going over it again, the text is unclear as to whether it's the caster level check that fails on a natural 1, or the Wisdom check to avoid a mishap in the event of failure.

EDIT: The Rules Compendium is similarly unhelpful: "Unlike with normal checks, a natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers." This only clarifies explicitly that this is an exception to the normal rules that checks are not subject to critical rolls of the dice.


You could actually make a solid case that it's meant to be for both checks. Because on the one hand, a DC 5 Wisdom check is so absurdly easy that even a character with a -1 penalty has a 70% of not having a mishap, and clerics and druids would never run the risk of one. On the other hand, without a natural 1 rule on the caster level check, it's literally impossible to fail for scrolls above just one level above yours, which would beg the question, "Why don't all spellcasters carry around a scroll of one level higher than they can normally cast if funds allow for it?"

I'd ask your DM.