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I have been looking all over to find the answer to this question and I cannot seem to find it.
When you activate a staff using UMD, what stat do you use to determine the DC? The rule reads:
"Because they use the wielder’s ability score to set the save DC for the spells..."
But it doesn't say which ability score. Is there a ruling on this someone can link to? I could see it going charisma because I had to use UMD to activate. I can see it as the lowest level caster needed to cast this, but I assume cleric and wizard would bump heads somewhere and then it would be either wisdom or intelligence. As a GM, I would just allow the user's main stat. IE a cleric would use wisdom.
But nothing specifically states which stat.
Unless the character has a class ability, trait or some other way to change the governing stat for UMD, I think you would have to default to Charisma. You wouldn't use Constitution or Strength to pick a lock just because you had robust tools. Skills (UMD in this case) should always use the governing stat.
UMD is only used if you don't have the spell on your class list. If you have the spell on your list you can activate the staff without a check. My assumption would simply be that you use your highest mental stat, but I don't actually know where to look for this rule (I might look harder tonight if someone else doesn't fond it first).
Irranshalee specified "using UMD". That makes the question about skill usage. I stand by my answer.
Hmmm... I actually didn't notice that
BUT
One of the functions of UMD is to emulate an ability score, so that still might be a thing (not saying you're wrong, I just don't know).
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So no one really knows. It is surprising that no one noticed this until after 2nd edition came out.
One other thought is that I am using my caster level for determining effects, which to my understanding means total levels of casters. Thus if I was an 8th level cleric casting a fireball out of a staff, that said fireball is 8d6 due to my cl being 8. This might suggest that I use my main ability score, which is what I believe most people have assumed.
I just wish there was one thread that actually cleared it up for me. I dislike having to house rule.
Caster level is definitely not total levels of casters. It is the level of the casting class you are using to activate the staff. In the case of UMD it would be zero (which means you would use the level of the staff.) Unless your cleric has fireball on it's spell list, you can't use those caster levels to activate the fireball staff.
Similarly, I believe that when using UMD to activate a staff there is no relevant casting ability score. So you would use the minimum ability score required to cast the spell, just like wands do.
I agree with Dave, If you don't have a relevant casting ability score it reverts to the default for spell trigger items.- minimum ability score to cast the spell. Similarly if you don't have a caster level (or your caster level is lower) use the default caster level of the staff.
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I think I did not completely understand caster level until now. I have read some on caster level and more on UMD.
Essentially UMD is really rather weak once you get high level. For its part in the game, it either allows you to access your spells you cant normally access when low level or it lets you access lower level spells as low DCs/effects in classes you normally cannot access.
Is that essentially its design?
By using a staff or scroll, UMD allows you to access any spell in the game. It's always hugely powerful (if you can roll high enough), but often costly.
The usefulness of UMD depends largely on what items are available in your game - if there are high level wizards selling scrolls then great, if not then poop.
I'll house rule if I must. I think you would have to pick an ability tied to a class that can cast the spell. So the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list would require that you use Int or Cha. If it was on the Cleric spell list, then you would use Wis. If your ability scores weren't enough, then you would have to use UMD to emulate an ability score that will do the job. The spell DC would be calculated using your emulated ability score.
This does create a problem though. If the character is using magic items or some other trick to increase UMD, then a character could possibly have a higher DC than a spellcaster using the items normally.
I am pretty sure this is wrong.
UMD lets you emulate the score for the purposes of activation, but it does not actually give you the score to use. Here's how I see it:
1) Emulate a high casting stat
2) Activate the item (i.e. cause it to cast a spell)
3) Item checks your real stat and makes adjustments as indicated.
With class features, like Channel, you can activate thing that need that feature, but you cannot imbue it with a channel since you have 0 uses. Channel Foci require a channel to charge them up. You can UMD the activation, but since you have 0 uses, you cannot actually charge it. Otherwise, a Bronze gong can give you infinite ki.
More fun is with the Pages of Spell Knowledge. They don't have an activation, so cannot be UMD'd, and even if you could, you don't have spell slots to use for power.
Using Staves: Staves use the wielder's ability score and relevant feats to set the DC for saves against their spells. Unlike with other sorts of magic items, the wielder can use his caster level when activating the power of a staff if it's higher than the caster level of the staff.
Your 10th level cleric can use the staff's fireball at 10th level.
Fun comes in when a strait rouge does this. His CL is 0 so uses the stave's CL instead.
But I do see a way to get the casting stat you want: arcane can easily use INT (wizard) or CHR (sorcerer), and divine can easily use WIS (cleric) or CHR (oracle). Pick your high stat, then emulate the class feature "spells" of the suitable class, then activate the staff.
/cevah