If I have a long-lasting spell effect with a save already in place, such as 5th-level illusory object for example, is the spell DC static, forever stuck at the DC it had when I cast it? Or does it increase with my level/ability advancements?
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I don't believe there are currently any rules which explicitly govern this scenario.
After going over counteract again, I can tell you how I, personally, would run it.
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. [Bold break] 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.
From this, I would rule thusly:
1) The Casters DC is taken when the counteract test occurs. Meaning that the DC dynamically scales with the caster.
- Keeping track of notif counteract modifiers and DC's retroactively is a pretty onerous task and one that has a high chance of being wrong.
- The DC check only occurs when something tries to counteract. Counteract doesn't look backwards, it takes the values as they are at the time of the check.
2) The spells level remains as it was when it was cast.
- For the purposes of what CAN be counteracted and the success grades, ala Dispel Magic, the spell still counts as the one it was cast at.
Meaning that your DC to counteract moves with you, but your lower level permanent spells stay as they are for counteracting eligibility.
I hadn't even brought up counteracting, though I can see why you did, and how it can support certain viewpoints.
I was thinking more like someone who interacted with a permanent illusion and attempted a normal save to disbelieve it, potentially years after it had been created.
ADDENDUM TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION: And if it does increase with my character advancement, could it also DECREASE under certain circumstances (such as when I take a penalty to my DCs)?
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Does PF2 have spell effects that can persist after the caster dies? If so, what happens to the spell DC then?
If it is decided that spell DCs are NOT affected by your character once cast, does that mean persistent spells--cloudkill or flaming sphere say--do not have their DCs adversely effected by Conditions that normally impact DCs (since they've already been cast)?
Does PF2 have spell effects that can persist after the caster dies? If so, what happens to the spell DC then?
Curiouser and curiouser.
Without reading anything on the subject, my first instinct is to say that all the particulars of the spell are set when it cast and made permanent.
If Ezren casts a spell at level 4 that has a duration of six months, and at the end of the AP when he's level 20 and the spell is still there, it uses the level 4 stats.
To be clear, level 4 is referencing Ezren's level and not the spell's level, correct?
Yea. If a wizard casts some little spell at level 4 caster that, say, put a trap on his laboratory door with a Reflex save for the would-be thief.
Then the wizard leaves. Goes off into the world and becomes a level 20 caster. I would think the spell he left back in his laboratory those years ago would not be a level 20 casting of a spell. The DC would stay static, right?
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As it is not specifically called out in the rules, I lean toward the sensible operation of:
Once a spell is cast its DCs and such are set at the point of casting.
I consider this the most sensible because for it to work otherwise opens up a series of possibilities that cannot remain consistent. The answer seems simple.