Paladin / ranger caster level

[bullrawg]

A thought occurred to me, Paladins and rangers at level 4 have ECL of 0, their spells last x rounds or minutes per level, when a paladin casts bless at level 4 it lasts 0 minutes. I assume there must be a minimum 1 somewhere, but I don't know where it is written, can anyone cite the rule for me?

[Imbicatus]

Paladin and Rangers have a caster level of class level -3. This means they have caster level 1 at 4th level, not 0.

[Some Other Guy]

It's clearly stated in the last sentence under spells that their caster level is class level -3, making it 1 at class level 4.

Quote:

Through 3rd level, a paladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is equal to her paladin level – 3.

[Claxon]

And, it is very common for paladins and rangers to choose Magical Knack as one of their traits to be at only -1 caster level.

[Arachnofiend]

Meanwhile Bloodragers get CL=Level once their casting comes online. I guess Paizo realized how silly it was to do it the original way.

[Claxon]

Arachnofiend wrote:

Meanwhile Bloodragers get CL=Level once their casting comes online. I guess Paizo realized how silly it was to do it the original way.

Probably, and it only continued because of their existence in 3.5 with that mechanic.

[Zenogu]

Actually, in 3.5 Rangers and Paladins had caster levels equal to half of their class levels. Which made me question why they had things like Greater Magic Weapon and such on their lists. Still, they are better off in Pathfinder, like mostly everything else.