Okay, I understand that I lose access to casting 6th level spells if my primary casting stat is no longer 16 or higher, but do i still have the slots available to prepare lower level spells?
ie, lets say we have a Wizard (we'll call him Jhonny), and he's level 9 (5th level spells), and he currently has an Int score of 22.
all fine and dandy, he can cast up to fifth level spells, and has fifth level spell slots as a class feature.
now lets say he takes 8 points of Ability drain, putting his Int (effectively) at 14.
he can no longer cast 5th level spells, but can he use his 5th level spell slots for lets say, a second level spell?
effectively downranking the slot into a bonus second level spell slot.
yes i know DCs and stuff remain as if it was a Second level spell.
Thanks.
Well at least this is a variant of the normal questions on ability drain.
The answer is:
Yes you still have the spell slots, you could even prepare metamagic versions of the lower spells in those slots (you wouldn't keep the bonus slots for high intelligence of course) -- provided you didn't use the heighten spell metamagic feat.
Now ability damage doesn't lower the stat and doesn't affect what spells you can cast (the DC of the spell and what not are affected though).
Okay, I understand that I lose access to casting 6th level spells if my primary casting stat is no longer 16 or higher, but do i still have the slots available to prepare lower level spells?
ie, lets say we have a Wizard (we'll call him Jhonny), and he's level 9 (5th level spells), and he currently has an Int score of 22.
all fine and dandy, he can cast up to fifth level spells, and has fifth level spell slots as a class feature.now lets say he takes 8 points of Ability drain, putting his Int (effectively) at 14.
he can no longer cast 5th level spells, but can he use his 5th level spell slots for lets say, a second level spell?effectively downranking the slot into a bonus second level spell slot.
yes i know DCs and stuff remain as if it was a Second level spell.Thanks.
You lose the bonus slots you get due to a high mental stat, but the base ones stay.
Your base slots are a function of your class level. That is why they stay.
Okay, I understand that I lose access to casting 6th level spells if my primary casting stat is no longer 16 or higher, but do i still have the slots available to prepare lower level spells?
ie, lets say we have a Wizard (we'll call him Jhonny), and he's level 9 (5th level spells), and he currently has an Int score of 22.
all fine and dandy, he can cast up to fifth level spells, and has fifth level spell slots as a class feature.now lets say he takes 8 points of Ability drain, putting his Int (effectively) at 14.
he can no longer cast 5th level spells, but can he use his 5th level spell slots for lets say, a second level spell?effectively downranking the slot into a bonus second level spell slot.
yes i know DCs and stuff remain as if it was a Second level spell.Thanks.
You lose the bonus slots you get due to a high mental stat, but the base ones stay.
Your base slots are a function of your class level. That is why they stay.
good to know, my character has now gotten an obscene number of Enervations and Dimension Doors. (5, 6 and 7th level spells got eaten by a failed Contact Other Plane check)
The way they did this, according to the FAQ, isn't in the rules, isn't internally consistent, and is completely arbitrary. I'll see if i can find the FAQ tomorrow.
Q: I am confused on the different types of Ability Damage, Drain, and Penalty. Plus some spells like Ray of Enfeeblement and Touch of Idiocy seem to even have special rules. How do these effects really work?
A: (James Jacobs 4/23/10) Ability damage only results in a penalty to actions associated with that ability score; it does NOT make you lose access to feats or spells that require ability score minimums, since your actual ability score does not lower. Only ability DRAIN can make you lose access to spells you can cast or feats that have prerequisites.
But it's not that simple. Some effects that cause ability damage or ability penalties DO have additional effects. Touch of idiocy is one such spell, since it says in the spell's description that it affects the target's ability to cast some or all of its spells if the penalty imparted to the ability score drops low enough. This is an exception to the general rule for ability scores and applies only to touch of idiocy (the point of the spell, really, is to be a lesser version of feeblemind that screws over spellcasters, after all).
Ray of enfeeblement, on the other hand, does NOT have this type of language. It merely works as a normal penalty to an ability score.
1. A 12th-level wizard with a 16 Intelligence takes a 3 point Intelligence penalty from Touch of Idiocy. What is the highest level spell he can cast, sixth or third?
1. Third.
2. A 12th-level wizard with a 16 Intelligence takes 3 points of Intelligence damage. What is the highest level spell he can cast, sixth or third?
1. Sixth.
3. A 12th-level wizard with a 16 Intelligence takes 3 points of Intelligence drain. What is the highest level spell he can cast, sixth or third?
1. Third.
4. A fighter with 13 strength and the Power Attack feat takes a 3 point Strength penalty from Ray of Enfeeblement. Can he Power Attack?
1. Yes.
5. A fighter with 13 strength and the Power Attack feat takes 3 points of Strength Damage. Can he Power Attack?
1. Yes.
6. A fighter with 13 strength and the Power Attack feat takes 3 points of Strength Drain. Can he Power Attack?
1. No.
yeah, I understand the limits of Drain, damage, and Penalties, and how they interact with the ability to cast.
but you don't lose class base spell slots, meaning when you get drained or get some Penalty (or fail a Contact other plane check >.>), you still have those slots available for lower level spells, just not level appropriate spells.
yeah, I understand the limits of Drain, damage, and Penalties, and how they interact with the ability to cast.
but you don't lose class base spell slots, meaning when you get drained or get some Penalty (or fail a Contact other plane check >.>), you still have those slots available for lower level spells, just not level appropriate spells.
At point of loss yeah you do "lose" them actually. As a wizard you had X spells of Z level memorized. You then lost those spells from the damage/drain so they are gone for the day even if they weren't cast. If you keep the damage the next time you memorize spells you'd be able to replace the higher level spell slots with lower level spells, but at the time of the damage you are basically "out" those spells as you had them predetermined before the damage was inflicted.