activating a scroll, multiple caster levels

[newguydude1]

lets say a guy has
slas cast at cl 12
1st arcane class cl 1
2nd arcane class cl 4
divine class cl 5

hes trying to activate a cl3 scroll thats only on the 1st arcane class spell list. so he needs to do a caster level check vs dc 14.

which caster level can he use? only 1? 4? 5? 12?

[Vaern]

You activate the scroll using the class whose spell list contains the spell on the scroll. In this case you'd have a caster level of 1 when activating that particular scroll.

[newguydude1]

You activate the scroll using the class whose spell list contains the spell on the scroll. In this case you'd have a caster level of 1 when activating that particular scroll.

do you have a citation anywhere? or example? just curious.

[Vaern]

Rules Compendium says that when making a caster level check you use the caster level of the appropriate class. A scroll requires that the scroll be of the correct type (arcane or divine) and that the spell be on your class spell list, so if you're activating an arcane wizard spell scroll then you need to be casting that spell as a wizard and would use your wizard caster level. A cleric can't activate that scroll normally without UMD, so it wouldn't be the appropriate class to use the caster level of. You can't use your cleric caster level to activate a wizard scroll any more than you could use your cleric caster level to overcome spell resistance when casting a wizard spell.

[Crake]

lets say a guy has
slas cast at cl 12
1st arcane class cl 1
2nd arcane class cl 4
divine class cl 5

hes trying to activate a cl3 scroll thats only on the 1st arcane class spell list. so he needs to do a caster level check vs dc 14.

which caster level can he use? only 1? 4? 5? 12?

I think you've got it wrong. Activating a scroll isn't a caster level check of 11+CL of the scroll, it's 1+CL of the scroll. So the DC is 4, not 14.


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.

As to which caster level you can use... It seems ambiguous, but as a DM I'd rule that you have to use a caster level of a class that has the scroll's spell on their spell list, otherwise it's a UMD check.

Edit: Seems the above post clarifies which CL to use, but the point about the DC being 4 not 14 still stands.