You are correct! Reveal Weakness is a really amazing debuff option for a caster. Especially if you pick up either a Quickened Metamagic rod or just the feat. You can really stick it to folks with Save or Suck spells. -6 to all STs is really amazing when you absolutely need that spell to hit.
Keep in mind that it's a standard action that only lasts one round, so you won't usually be able to benefit directly. Your party will love it in "boss fights", though.
Edit: Deleted for wrongness.
School Understanding: The arcanist can select one arcane school from any of the schools available to a character with the arcane school wizard class feature, but does not have to select any opposition schools. The arcanist gains one ability of that arcane school as though she were a 1st-level wizard, using her Charisma modifier in place of her Intelligence modifier for this ability. The ability must be one gained at 1st level and is limited in its use per day to 3 + the arcanist's Charisma modifier. As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using this ability for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). During this time, she also gains use of the other ability gained at 1st level for her selected school. She does not gain any other abilities when using this exploit in this way, such as those gained at 8th level. If the arcanist already has an arcane school (or gains one later), taking this exploit instead allows her arcanist levels to stack with the levels of the class that granted the arcane school when determining the powers and abilities of her arcane school.
This is the relevant text for the original posters ability that they wanted clarification on, taken straight from this website.
The exploit specifically restricts you to using it at 1st level. It explicitly requires you to spend arcana to use it at a higher level. That is your bottom line. It really doesn't matter how reveal weakness is worded, the exploit wording takes priority.
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School Understanding: The arcanist can select one arcane school from any of the schools available to a character with the arcane school wizard class feature, but does not have to select any opposition schools. The arcanist gains one ability of that arcane school as though she were a 1st-level wizard, using her Charisma modifier in place of her Intelligence modifier for this ability. The ability must be one gained at 1st level and is limited in its use per day to 3 + the arcanist's Charisma modifier. As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using this ability for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). During this time, she also gains use of the other ability gained at 1st level for her selected school. She does not gain any other abilities when using this exploit in this way, such as those gained at 8th level.
I think it's pretty clear. You use Reveal Weakness as if you were a level 1 wizard, and a level 1 wizard would have caster level 1.
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You should consider where the ability is coming from. If you get a spell-like ability from a class, its caster level comes from that class. If it comes from race, it tends to come from your HD/total character level.
I don't really see any reason to do it differently with supernatural abilities. If the supernatural ability comes from class X, then the caster level you have in class X is the caster level the ability is referring to.
Reasonably...
Yes, it would use wizard level.
But this is the fourms, so reason isn't exactly.... As applicable.
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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But supernatural abilities are not tied to any specific caster level. It's certainly a reasonable house rule that it would use your wizard caster level. But I don't think the rules actually tell you to.
Care to show me the rule that says "Su abilities use the highest caster level possessed" and I'll agree.
Until then, both are house rules. Because the rules don't indicate which way to work it. This means each GM determines how this works. Many will say it is CL 1 from "as a 1st level Wizard" and others may say CL 12.
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My understanding from reading the ability is that this line
". . .As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using this ability for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). . ."
indicates it operates as a 1st level wizard until you spend 1 point, then its treated as arcanist level equal to wizard level. I am not sure though if maybe I am just reading not enough into it but it seems pretty cut and dry.
Your caster level in a class is always the total number of levels in a class that lets you cast spells. It just is. Abilities from that class that depend on caster level refer to that number. They just do.Technically untrue with the Paladin/Ranger, who have a caster level distinct from their class level.
There's another situation, namely if you are multiclassing and using the Magical Knack trait which improves your caster level by two as long as it doesn't make your caster level go over your character level.
Not universally...
Pick a class when you gain this trait
Yes, it applies to only one class, but it makes your caster level and your class levels not equal. For example, a sorcerer 5/barbarian 2 with the trait counts has having 5 levels of sorcerer for everything except for caster level. A Draconic Sorcerer for example won't have claws that do 1d6 (or 1d4) damage.
The point is that there are exceptions to class level = caster level already present, so this also might be an exception.
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Owner - D20 Hobbies
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James, I agree that the rules don't talk about the issue at all. That's the problem. Unless there are specific rules, an ability that gives a penalty equal to half your caster level gives a -6 penalty if you have a caster level of 12. Period.
That is our difference, it is -6 if the GM interprets it that way. It could also be -1 if they interpret the CL 1 way. Basically GM call.
Even if you concede some ambiguity to the RAW (which I don't), can the RAI be any clearer?
RAI is that the ability was probably written forgetting that the Void school even existed or how it worked. Its the only school power that functions as it does and it was printed in an obscure source. When the ability was written for the Arcanists, Void was probably never even looked at.
But refardless, just add it to the numerous things in ACG that need errata. It works off of your caster level, even when you use it as a first level wizard, you are still using your caster level. Nothing in the ability says you would use it at CL 1. All the other school powers work off of Wizard level and not caster level.
This should just get FAQed and placed on errata for the ACG, but considering Void is obscure it is not likely.
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Owner - D20 Hobbies
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RAW, there is no limitation on what caster level you can use for these abilities.
You won't find a "it says I can't" in the rules because the entire language of the game is written under the assumption you are single classed.
They have explained this in a couple FAQ discussion threads, but these two FAQ are applicable here: