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Okay, True Seeing counteracting the Invisiblity from a Cloak of Elvenkind (Greater) came up in our session last week, and I couldn't find anything concrete at the time (the GM didn't seem to roll badly enough for Crit Fail, so the exact DC didn't seem important considering the -2 spell level difference, but now I am giving this a second thought).
Source
Core Rulebook pg. 458 1.1
When attempting a counteract check, add the relevant skill modifier or other appropriate modifier to your check against the target’s DC. If you’re counteracting an affliction, the DC is in the affliction’s stat block. If it’s a spell, use the caster’s DC. The GM can also calculate a DC based on the target effect’s level. For spells, the counteract check modifier is your spellcasting ability modifier plus your spellcasting proficiency bonus, plus any bonuses and penalties that specifically apply to counteract checks. What you can counteract depends on the check result and the target’s level. If an effect is a spell, its level is the counteract level. Otherwise, halve its level and round up to determine its counteract level. If an effect’s level is unclear and it came from a creature, halve and round up the creature’s level.
Critical Success Counteract the target if its counteract level is no more than 3 levels higher than your effect’s counteract level.
Success Counteract the target if its counteract level is no more than 1 level higher than your effect’s counteract level.
Failure Counteract the target if its counteract level is lower than your effect’s counteract level.
Critical Failure You fail to counteract the target.
Okay, Cloak of Elvenkind (Greater) is a level 13 item with the following effect (text altered slightly to combine the basic effect with the 'Greater' version change):
Effect You draw the hood up and gain the effects of 4th-level invisibility, with the spell’s normal duration or until you pull the hood back down, whichever comes first. If you’re also wearing boots of elvenkind, you can activate this ability twice per day.Question 1: Is this Invisiblity treated as a spell or as an 'Otherwise'?
It seems like it should be treated as a level 4 spell, but it doesn't actually say you cast a spell (you just 'gain the effects'): I might be grasping at straws here...
If it is treated as 'otherwise', it would be level (13 / 2 = 6.5, which rounds up to) 7 and would therefore require a critical success to counteract with a level 6 True Seeing, which is a lot better than the 'don't roll a 1' for a level 4 spell.
Or would it still be level 4 since it is called out as such (though this might just clarify it uses the Heightened text?)
Question 2: How is the Counteract DC calculated?
If it is not actually a spell, I'm guessing we should we use the 'Table 10-5: DCs by Level' value for level 13 (which is 31)?
If it is an actual spell (without a provided DC), should we try to calculate a spell DC or just use the default 31?
I'm leaning toward using the DC 31 in either case, as determining a DC looks a bit messy (which proficiency level? which stat bonus?) I know there are rules for this with wands, scrolls, and even the Trick Magic Item feat, but items like cloaks don't quite seem to fit here since anyone can use them.
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I think the DC 31 should be the DC, but the spell level is 4, allowing for lower level spell slots to dispel it. This would also mean a fail off a level 5 slot would still dispel it, which seems fine since it's from an item and not a caster. The same would happen if a Level 13 Wizard cast Invisibility from a 4th level slot, so why would the item be more powerful than that?