How does Half-Elf Arcane Training work?

[Moonshadows]

So the Arcane Training alternate racial trait states: "They can use spell trigger and spell completion items for their favored class as if one level higher (or as a 1st-level character if they have no levels in that class)."

I'm trying to figure out if this is as good as it sounds... does that mean that if my character bought a wand of Mage Armour, for instance, that each use would operate at a caster level of 2, giving it a two hour duration rather than one? And for instance, that a scroll of burning hands would do 2d4 damage rather than 1d4?

[Jeff Merola]

No. It doesn't change the caster level of the item at all. What it does do is the following:

• If your favored class is Wizard, but you don't have any levels of it, you can use wands as a 1st level Wizard. That means you can use any wand that's on the Wizard list without having to use UMD as you would otherwise.
  
• If your favored class is Wizard, but you don't have any levels of it, you can use scrolls as a 1st level Wizard. That means you can use any CL 1 wizard scroll without having to roll (assuming you have enough intelligence to be able to cast that level of spell), and any Wizard scroll with a roll of 1d20+1 vs a CR of 1+the scroll's caster level (assuming you have enough intelligence to be able to cast that level of spell).
  
• If your favored class is Wizard, and you have levels of it, you can use wands as if you were one level higher. As far as I can tell, that doesn't actually grant any benefit, except I think it might boost the effect of the Staff-Like Wand discovery.
  
• If your favored class is Wizard, and you have levels of it, you can use scrolls as if you were one level higher. That means you can use any wizard scroll with at most a CL of your CL+1 without having to roll (assuming you have enough intelligence to be able to cast that level of spell), and any Wizard scroll with a roll of 1d20+CL+1 vs a CR of 1+the scroll's caster level (assuming you have enough intelligence to be able to cast that level of spell).

[UnArcaneElection]

Does this also mean that if you get Multitalented Mastery (all your classes become Favored Classes), you don't need UMD at all? Or does this only apply to low-level spells of all classes (unless you actually have high levels in a class).

[Jeff Merola]

UnArcaneElection wrote:

Does this also mean that if you get Multitalented Mastery (all your classes become Favored Classes), you don't need UMD at all? Or does this only apply to low-level spells of all classes (unless you actually have high levels in a class).

Nope, because Arcane Training replaces the multi-talented racial trait, which is needed for the Multitalented Mastery feat.

[UnArcaneElection]

^D'OH! Forgot about that.

[Jeff Merola]

As far as I can tell, though, if you somehow could get both, you'd just get a +1 CL for activating any scroll that's from one of your classes.