This term was introduced in Secrets of Magic specifically in the discussion of the Magus and Summoner Multiclass Archetypes. It was never really defined, but appears to refer to the fact that in those archetypes as one gained levels, one would have spell slots for only the highest two spell ranks one could cast, and would lose any lower spell slots that one had previously. Reference was made to the base classes, whose spell slots worked the same way, but the term "bounded spellcasting" was never used directly in connection with the base classes. I think this was an oversight.
As I understand the term, then, "bounded spellcasting" refers to a case where, as a character increases in level, that character retains spell slots for only the two highest ranks of spell he can cast, losing any spell slots of lower rank he may previously have had.
The recently published Impossible Magic redesigned both the Magus and Summoner base classes and the corresponding archetypes so that their spell slots are no longer "bounded" in the sense above. In fact the term "bounded spellcasting" appears no where in the book.
As far as I know, no other spellcasting class or multiclass archetype is "bounded" in this way.
Conclusion: The term "bounded spellcasting" is obsolete, at least until (and if) Paizo decides to reintroduce it -- at which time I hope they'll be clearer as to what it means and to what it applies.
Did I miss something?
They idea of losing good low level spells as you level up probably didn't feel good to some, nor did the idea of forgoing higher level ones just to keep your lower level ones.
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They idea of losing good low level spells as you level up probably didn't feel good to some, nor did the idea of forgoing higher level ones just to keep your lower level ones.
And the confusion about if you could still cast from items like scrolls or staves that have spells of a Rank that you no longer have spell slots for. Which was fixed in errata, but still caused confusion and debate for quite a while.
And "Bounded Spellcasting" was at least the official name for that spell slot progression. I think it showed up in the Magus/Summoner multiclass archetype terminology.
"Wave Caster" was the community-created unofficial name for it.
The term bounded spellcasting may not be used in the description for the archetype, but cleric battle harbingers use that spell progression and players who know it will probably still use the term to refer to it
Other than that, yes, it might as well be obsolete
Yeah, I was just looking at the Battle Harbinger and discovered that.
What I said was that the term wasn't used in the description of the (Secrets of Magic) Classes. It was used in the description of the multiclass archetypes. Which is what threw me.