The +1 Level of Spellcasting Class always makes my head hurt. Now, I'm specifically looking at the Master Chymist prestige class for Alchemists:
I know you are not granted extracts from gaining a +1 Alchemist Level in the "Extracts per Day" part of the Master Chymist class, but does the increased Caster Level unlock higher tier extracts or simply increase extract effects based on CL?
Example
Does an Alchemist7/Master Chymist10 just have 5 1st and 2nd level extracts and 4 3rd level extracts operating at CL14?
OR
Does he have the same spells per day as a 14th level alchemist and simply needs to acquire the 4th and 5th level spells from copying scrolls or from a wizard's spellbook?
The 1st example is how I'm reading it, but this seems odd since you would max your extracts per day at Master Chymist7 and just get an additional CL2 for the other 3 levels in the class.
the second example is correct, you gain extracts per day and CL but not the extra 2 extracts per level in your formula book.
one thing to point out, alchemist are the only class(i think) who keep a 'book' (or familiar as in a witch) for spells that gain only one spell known when they level instead of two :
" At each new alchemist level, he gains one new formula of any level that he can create".
so going into the prestige class only make you miss one known spell per level, and you can just get it in scrolls if you have a nice enough gm.