scrolls & caster level checks

[dragonhunterq]

Can you help check I haven't missed anything stoopid.

So I have a player with a lvl 1 wizard/level 2 anyclass with the trait that gives you +2Caster level.

He has a scroll with a 2nd level spell on it - caster level 3.

Even though he can't cast 2nd level spells yet he can cast from the scroll with out a CL check because being able to cast the spell isn't a pre-requisite, the caster level is.

Am I right?

bonus question: can you 'know' spells you are unable to cast? for instance can this character scribe a 2nd level spell into his spell book, even though he can't cast it? Assuming he makes the DC22 spellcraft check to decipher it and the DC17 check to understand it.

[Half Brick In a Sock]

PRD, Magic Items wrote:

If the user meets all the requirements noted above, and her caster level is at least equal to the spell's caster level, she can automatically activate the spell without a check.

So yes, scroll use is based on caster level.

PRD, Magic wrote:

Spells Copied from Another's Spellbook or a Scroll: A wizard can also add a spell to his book whenever he encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard's spellbook. No matter what the spell's source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings). Next, he must spend 1 hour studying the spell. At the end of the hour, he must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level). A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from his specialty school. If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into his spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment.

No reference on whether or not you can cast the spell, so as long as you can make the Spellcraft check you can copy pretty much anything into your spellbook.

[dragonhunterq]

And once it's in his spell book, it's a little hard to argue that he doesn't know the spell, therefore he meets the pre-requisites for scribing it. They also make no mention of being able to cast the spell!

Thanks, just wanted to be sure as my first thought was 'hell no, that can't be right' and the more I read the more I was wrong.

[Lifat]

dragonhunterq wrote:

And once it's in his spell book, it's a little hard to argue that he doesn't know the spell, therefore he meets the pre-requisites for scribing it. They also make no mention of being able to cast the spell!

Thanks, just wanted to be sure as my first thought was 'hell no, that can't be right' and the more I read the more I was wrong.

Scribing a scroll requires the casting of the spell at least 1/day. (for a 2nd lvl scroll it is once). The scriber can have other people cast the spell but it has to be cast. (See magic item creation: Creating scrolls).

For the OPs questions:
Anyone who meets the requirements can cast a scroll without any checks. There is no requirement of being able to cast spells of the same level. There is a CL requirement, which the mentioned character would indeed live up to.

There are no rules against adding spells to your spellbook before being able to cast them. But it doesn't mean that you gain the ability to cast them, so it is usually only a good idea if you think you are going on a long travel without access to adding more spells of the spell levels you will gain access to during the travel.