Bard casting level?

[kenmeister]

It's not very often that I have a question for this forum that is actually pertinent to my current campaign, but here it is. I am using the bard class from Best of Dragon One. Is the bard's casting level his bard level, or do you use something like half the bard's level?

[coffee]

The class doesn't specifically say, so it could be presumed that the caster level would equal the bard's level.

But: for Thief skills, the Bard is treated as being at half his level, rounded down. Extending that to Magic-use as well could explain why a Bard doesn't get a spell at first level.

Also, note that at 10th level, he has the following spells: 4 2 1 - - - -. This is exactly the same as a fifth level magic-user.

So, while the article doesn't specifically state so, I would generally agree that the bard casts spells as a Magic-User of half his level, rounded down, same as his thief skills.

Of course, you can interpret things your own way. But now that I think about it, I like the idea of Magic-Use also being halved. The class would be way too powerful otherwise.

[kenmeister]

Agreed on all points coffee.

I really, really like this class. None of my players has taken it yet; the question actually arises because I am statting out a badguy and need to know how many magic missiles he can fire.

[coffee]

Bad guy bards can be dangerous!