What gives a caster level?

[mehs]

To be specific, what gives a caster level that qualifies for feats like craft wondrous items? Would a third level gnome fighter be able to qualify for craft wondrous items as they have a caster level when using their racial spellcasting?

Anyone know of a monster with an item creation feat with no level is a spellcasting class (just spell like abilities without it being noted that they cast spells as if they had a spellcasting class (as with dragons))?

[JNAProductions]

That would work, if gnomish SLAs had a Caster Level=Character Level clause.

To my knowledge, they do not-they're permanently Caster Level 1.

[mehs]

Gnome Magic: Gnomes add +1 to the DC of any saving throws against illusion spells that they cast. Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and speak with animals. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier.

They do have a SLA CL = Character level clause

And in any case, im not referring to specifically gnome, but any permanent source (race, feat, possibly an item) that gives any spell casting with a CL

[JNAProductions]

Gnome Magic: Gnomes add +1 to the DC of any saving throws against illusion spells that they cast. Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and speak with animals. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome’s level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Charisma modifier.

They do have a SLA CL = Character level clause

And in any case, im not referring to specifically gnome, but any permanent source (race, feat, possibly an item) that gives any spell casting with a CL

The SRD disagrees.


Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.

And that's what I use.

But yes-SLAs with a caster level grant you that caster level.

[catagent101]

The 3.5 gnome has non-scaling SLAs, while the PF gnome has scaling SLAs.

As to the OP's question,well...

To create magic items, spellcasters use special feats which allow them to invest time and money in an item’s creation.
And in a more direct fashion (emphasis mine):


Master Craftsman

Your superior crafting skills allow you to create simple magic items.

Prerequisites: 5 ranks in any Craft or Profession skill.

Benefit: Choose one Craft or Profession skill in which you possess at least 5 ranks. You receive a +2 bonus on your chosen Craft or Profession skill. Ranks in your chosen skill count as your caster level for the purposes of qualifying for the Craft Magic Arms and Armor and Craft Wondrous Item feats. You can create magic items using these feats, substituting your ranks in the chosen skill for your total caster level. You must use the chosen skill for the check to create the item. The DC to create the item still increases for any necessary spell requirements (see the magic item creation rules in Magic Items). You cannot use this feat to create any spell-trigger or spell-activation item.

Normal: Only spellcasters can qualify for the Craft Magic Arms and Armor and Craft Wondrous Item feats.
So it seem like it was at least intended for only spellcasting classes to count for caster level, and a gnome fighter would only have spell-like abilities, not spells. Though I doubt a gnome fighter would be OP if it was ruled that they do qualify.

Interestingly enough, you don't need to meet the spell prerequisites for magic items (except potion, spell-trigger, and spell completion ones). So the gnome wouldn't be limited to creating a small set of magic items. The DC increases by 5 for each one you don't meet though. And you only need to fail the DC by 5 to get a cursed item. So that might be the case effectively, even if the gnome isn't prohibited from trying to create them in the rules. I can't say I have played much Pathfinder, so I wouldn't know.

So in conclusion, no the gnome fighter can't get Craft Wondrous Item at level 3. Unless you ask your GM nicely and maybe get them some pizza. Pizza is good.

Cheers - Cat

[Silvercrys]

Originally, in Pathfinder, it was both RAI and RAW that caster levels for spell like abilities qualified you for item creation feats and such. It was listed that way in their FAQ and everything.

After a few years they changed their FAQ but never issued full errata against it; according to some forum posts from around then they changed it with the promise to make it easier for people to obtain those feats without having to play a race that granted a caster level.

Then they did literally nothing with the design space they'd opened up there except print the Master Craftsman feat, which only works on Magic Arms and Armor and Wonderous Items. So, no Brew Potion, no Craft Construct, etc. By making it require 5 ranks in the skill, they also made it impossible to be as good as a caster at crafting, and the additional feat tax is similarly horrible when you're already a martial character spending feats on not fighting stuff.

And then they added the Kineticist to the game and their FAQ made them print a feat for them, too, because Kineticists use SLAs so they couldn't make their own magic items.

Personally I'd ignore the FAQ, it's dumb, was never RAW, and the designers never even tried to capitalize on the change they made by reversing their own FAQ. Master Craftsman is still useful for dwarves, etc. who want to make their own magic weapons but don't have an SLA.