ways to buff greater dispel magic above CL 20

[King of Nowhere]

we may or may not arrive that far, and it won't be for a couple years in any case, but i've been thinking about it and at this point it's at least as much a curiosity as a practical concern.
the new dm says he wants to reach level 30 in his campaign - without epic spellcasting, with most epic feats except the clearly broken ones.
caster level of all spell is going to increase at higher levels, but greater dispel magic caps at +20. sure, you have disjunction, but you don't always want to use that - and it's always going to be a limited resource anyway. are there ways to buff greater dispel magic so that its CL cap keeps pace with level increase?

[Fero]

Inquisition Domain (+4)
Elven Spell Lore (+2)
Soultouched Spellcasting (variable)
Master Specialist prc (up to +5)
Ashes of Power Component (roll twice)
Dispelling Cord (+2)
Reserves of Dyrength feat (up to +3)

[Anthrowhale]

L8 Chain Dispel caps at +25.

L8 Truename Dispel always succeeds, but you need to know the targets truename, so it's only useful for party members or persistent BBEGs.

[Darg]

L7 Antimagic Ray is an AMF but only for specifically the target (not held or worn items if a creature). I know it's not a way to boost the CL of a dispel, but it can serve the same purpose, just differently.

[loky1109]

Reserves of Strength +3

[Inevitability]

A 5th-level Cold Iron Warrior (https://web.archive.org/web/20050205023716/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20040507a) adds their wisdom modifier to dispel checks, but given that you're working from a half-caster chassis, good luck exceeding the wizard's base CL.

[Khedrac]

It's worth remembering to separate buffs to caster level from buffs to the dispel check.
A buff to caster level, even if limited to dispel checks, won't breach the spells cap (so 20 for GDM).
A buff to dispel checks (e.g. the inquisition domain ability) is a separate bonus and is what you need here.

Dispel Check boost: :smallsmile:
Inquisition Domain (untyped)
Soultouched Spellcasting (insight)
spellcaster's bane (insight)
Master Specialist (competence)
Dispelling Cord (competence)
Elven Spell Lore

Caster Level boost: :smallfrown:
Elven Spell Lore
Reserves of Strength (explicitly breaks cap so :smallsmile:)

Edited with corrections from below.

[Biggus]

Inquisition Domain (+4)
Elven Spell Lore (+2)
Soultouched Spellcasting (variable)
Master Specialist prc (up to +5)
Ashes of Power Component (roll twice)
Dispelling Cord (+2)
Reserves of Dyrength feat (up to +3)

Also Spellcaster's Bane (CM p.117).


It's worth remembering to separate buffs to caster level from buffs to the dispel check.
A buff to caster level, even if limited to dispel checks, won't breach the spells cap (so 20 for GDM).
A buff to dispel checks (e.g. the inquisition domain ability) is a separate bonus and is what you need here.
[...]
Caster Level boost: :smallfrown:
Elven Spell Lore


Elven Spell Lore doesn't actually say it increases your caster level, it says "When you cast dispel magic or greater dispel magic, you gain a +2 bonus on your caster level check".

[Inevitability]

And Reserves of Strength explicitly breaks the cap, too, so it's hardly a typical CL boost.

[Khedrac]

Also Spellcaster's Bane (CM p.117).Elven Spell Lore doesn't actually say it increases your caster level, it says "When you cast dispel magic or greater dispel magic, you gain a +2 bonus on your caster level check".
Good catch - thank-you for pointing out my error


And Reserves of Strength explicitly breaks the cap, too, so it's hardly a typical CL boost.
I missed that - another good catch.
I wonder if you could argue that using the feat allows you to break the level cap so that all of your level/level boosts can be applied over the cap, not simply those from this feat? Probably not I think.

[tyckspoon]

Good catch - thank-you for pointing out my error


I missed that - another good catch.
I wonder if you could argue that using the feat allows you to break the level cap so that all of your level/level boosts can be applied over the cap, not simply those from this feat? Probably not I think.

That is a pretty common argument/reading of the feat text, yes, because the text doesn't actually say 'you may only exceed the limit by the number of levels you choose to increase your level with this feat.' It's present by implication, at best - the way the text has it laid out the benefit for 'you can exceed the level limits of a spell' is a separate, independent clause. You arguably do not even need to be using Reserves of Strength to increase your caster level in order to get that benefit, it's just a thing taking the feat lets you do.

The counterargument tends to be either 'that is clearly not the intended reading of the feat' or more straightforward 'No, that's dumb, I'm ruling that doesn't work that way in my game.'

[Biggus]

That is a pretty common argument/reading of the feat text, yes, because the text doesn't actually say 'you may only exceed the limit by the number of levels you choose to increase your level with this feat.' It's present by implication, at best - the way the text has it laid out the benefit for 'you can exceed the level limits of a spell' is a separate, independent clause. You arguably do not even need to be using Reserves of Strength to increase your caster level in order to get that benefit, it's just a thing taking the feat lets you do.

The counterargument tends to be either 'that is clearly not the intended reading of the feat' or more straightforward 'No, that's dumb, I'm ruling that doesn't work that way in my game.'

Yeah, I've seen it used that way a lot in optimization exercises, but never in an actual game...

[Fero]

And Reserves of Strength explicitly breaks the cap, too, so it's hardly a typical CL boost.

On that note Cala****e Elementalist can get you another +1 if you go through the signifificant effort of adding the [fire] descriptor to your dispell magic.