Level dependent benefits question

[Keltoi]

I see across the boards things like a barbarian should take a 1 level dip into Oracle with Lame curse as at 5th level you become immune to fatigue:

Lame: One of your legs is permanently wounded, reducing your base land speed by 10 feet if your base speed is 30 feet or more. If your base speed is less than 30 feet, your speed is reduced by 5 feet. Your speed is never reduced due to encumbrance. At 5th level, you are immune to the fatigued condition (but not exhaustion). At 10th level, your speed is never reduced by armor. At 15th level, you are immune to the exhausted condition.

So the interpretation is character levels not class levels. A Fighter's armor training states:

Starting at 3rd level, a fighter learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed.

Would this mean that it means character level also?

I am just a bit confused as to how you know when its class levels or character levels.

[Purplefixer]

I don't know what they're talking about. Text in a class ALWAYS refers to class levels, never character level.

[Grick]

Keltoi wrote:

I see across the boards things like a barbarian should take a 1 level dip into Oracle with Lame curse as at 5th level you become immune to fatigue

Generally they're talking about the Rage Prophet prestige class, the levels of which stack with oracle levels for revelations and curse.

-edit-
"An oracle's curse is based on her oracle level plus one for every two levels or Hit Dice other than oracle."

The following will get you the fatigue immunity:

Oracle2/Barbarian4/RageProphet1 (Character Level 7)
Oracle1/Barbarian5/RageProphet2 (Character Level 8)
Oracle1/Barbarian8 (Character Level 9)

Keltoi wrote:

I am just a bit confused as to how you know when its class levels or character levels.

SKR: "All descriptions of class abilities refer to class level rather than character level, unless otherwise specified."

[StabbittyDoom]

The Oracle has a specific exception that states that their curse's effective level == Oracle + 1/2 * Non-Oracle. But in general Purplefixer is right, text in the class description refers to the class level not the character level unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[Keltoi]

Ahhh I missed that Oracle exception and thats what confounded me!

Thanks for the clarification!

[Purplefixer]

And I learned something too! ^.^ I need to try Oracle one of these days...