Mystic Past Life - Spell Levels

[Minigiant]

Now I just want to confirm something because I cannot find any rules stating either way

Samsaran Druid picking from the Paladin list with their Mystic Past Life

They select Litany of Vengeance.

Now it is a level 4 Paladin spell

But the Samsaran Druid would not get this until level 5 spells are available correct? Because Level 5 is the highest level of this spell

[willuwontu]

No, it gains it at the level of the selected spell list you gain it from. Since you're gaining it from the paladin spell list, it is a 4th level spell.

[Azothath]

Samsarans gain Mythic Past life as an alternate racial trait. It only sets a limit on the type(arcane or divine), class list, and total number imported. No limit on spell level so with 5 spells you could go 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 6th. The spells are added to your class list (thus you may have to learn them normally) so they also grant use of scrolls, wands etc based on those spells. As you import spells from a single specified class list they come in at those spell levels.
With a limited list like Paladin, you'll get some spell level savings but the spells top out at 4th spell level.

Imported spells are cast as your base spellcasting class. So being a druid you will cast druid style replacing components with your druid style of casting (some spells may go from material components to holy symbol focus component or vice versa).

In any event you should consult with your home game GM as he may set additional criteria.
While it's nice, Litany for a 4th level spell has a duration of only 1 round. Compare to Bestow Curse.
possibly helpful thread 3 best spells per spllvl

[Minigiant]

I figured out where my confusion comes from

"In Pathfinder Society there is a house rule that says:

Any spell selected with the mystic past life alternate racial trait must follow the same guideline used for determining the spell level for a scroll found on page 25 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide.

So in PFS that would be the case, but in other games it'll depend on how your GM rules it."

Thank you @Azothath for the link, much appreciated. Litany vs Bestow Curse, the big thing in Litanys favor is the swift action casting time

[blahpers]

And the lack of saving throw. That's a pretty nice perk if your buddies are already set up for full attacks.

[Azothath]

Minigiant wrote:

I figured out where my confusion comes from

"In Pathfinder Society there is a house rule that says:

Any spell selected with the mystic past life alternate racial trait must follow the same guideline used for determining the spell level for a scroll found on page 25 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide.

So in PFS that would be the case, but in other games it'll depend on how your GM rules it."

Thank you @Azothath for the link, much appreciated. Litany vs Bestow Curse, the big thing in Litanys favor is the swift action casting time

the PFS rule about scroll spell level is there to provide a more uniform spell level for common spells (ones that appear on several lists). It's not a bad rule as uniformity is generally a good thing.

I think when importing spells GMs want to know what's going on as there are some wonky spells out there and game balance is a thing GMs want to maintain.

After 10 years of development in PF1 there are a significant number of unique class spells that appear on the shorter lists, such as Paladin. The 4th spell level spells on such lists also tend to be a bit better quality or 5th spell level common spell (thus the scroll rule above).

I run several PFS samsaran wizards and I usually choose from the witch list. It's very useful to have cure light wounds and cure moderate wounds on a wizard with reach metamagic. Nobody complains about having more healing options and those two spells are common for desirable wands.
Conversely, barkskin is an excellent divine spell and worth going after.