Quote Originally Posted by InvisibleBison View Post
It's pretty common for prestige classes to only advance spellcasting at some levels. Since Dashing Swordsman is a more martially-focused class, I think it being a partial casting prestige class would fit in with how other martially-focused caster prestige classes work. On the other hand, that may be too speculative for this thread.
The rule of thumb, as I understand it, is that we only put in abilities/levels that we can pretty definitively state are possessed or demonstrated. Hence the perennial argument over X being listed as Sorcerer 21+, it's overwhelmingly likely that he's intended to be higher level than that, but he COULD do everything seen at level 21 with the right build/items.

Similarly, Dashing Swordsman level 1 COULD advance bard casting and Dashing Swordsman 2 not do so, and that explains everything observed.

I'd say Bard 15+, Dashing Swordsman 1+, (bard caster level 16+) pretty well covers what we know he has.

I personally think that he's bard 16+, dashing swordsman 1+, and that Haley, Elan, and Belkar are all now level 17, but there's nothing in the rules that says Dashing Swordsman can't advance casting at level 1 (the actual abilities of Dashing Swordsmen being unknown except possibly to Rich), so I would not say that Bard 16+ is clearly demonstrated in the comic.