Wild Mage question

[karlosovic]

I just started using a wild mage for the first time. a few times as Ive cast a spell Ive gotten a message "your casting level has dropped x levels" or something. Are these levels permanent or how long does the drop last? can someone explain this to me please? there's nothing in the character info screen that gives a tally of lost casting levels, or even mentions it.

I know that wild mages get surges sometimes, but how drastic are these effects?

[Link]

There's a table in your Throne of Bhaal manual which tells you all about the possible effects of a wild surge.

I'm not sure if everything's permanent, but IIRC they're not [img]smile.gif[/img]

[LennonCook]

"Casting level" refers only to the effective level you cast that spell at.

[Nerull]

Technically, these are ToB spoilers:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Whenever a wild mage casts a spell, a random determination is made as to what caster level the spell is cast at. This varies from -5 levels to +5 levels, and is determined separately for each and every spell you cast. This level change affects anything based on levels (damage per level, duration based on level, etc.).

For example: a 10th level wild mage casts Sunfire, which does 1d6 per level (max. 15d6). When cast, the spell varies from -5 levels (5d6 damage) to +5 levels (15d6 damage). Cast Sunfire again, and it will once again vary from -5 levels to +5 levels (each casting is independent from the other).

Also, there is a 5% chance with each casting of getting a wild surge, a random effect (usually) instead of the desired spell. These vary from turning yourself into a squirrel to casting the spell at double level (there are 100 different random effects). This offsets the fact that the caster gets one extra spell per spell level like any other specialist wizard, without the opposition school.