These ideas were originally posted on the Chameleon handbook and I wanted some more fed back.
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8750.40The goal is to gain access to spell levels greater than the max level for your class before epic levels. I and other came across a number of prestige classes that grant bonus spells of any spell level you can currently cast. Specifically from the SRD:
Dragon disciples gain bonus spells as they gain levels in this prestige class, as if from having a high ability score, as given on Table: The Dragon Disciple. A bonus spell can be added to any level of spells the disciple already has the ability to cast.
The
Eunuch Warlock from Oriental Adventures and the
Mystic from dragon mag #274 also gain bonus spells worded as "Similar to bonus spells for high ability scores...", while the
Wonder Worker from the Book of exalted deeds gains bonus spells without any reference to ability scores.
Now you can easily gain access to higher level spells through the use of the Versatile Spellcaster Feat as per the FAQ:
Obviously this works best with heighten spell or a class that knows all the spells on its list like a Beguiler, Chameleon, Dreadnecro, and warmage. Similarly tricks with Heighten/Earth Spell and Sanctum spell could boost your max spell level.
The Big Question is how do these work together. Say you have access to 9th level spells and sanctum spell so that your 9th level spells can be bumped up to 10th, then you take a level of one of the above PrC's to gain a bonus spell for any level spell you can cast. Can you pick a 10th level slot?
First off bonus spells from high ability scores are covered in the SRD:
Abilities And Spellcasters The ability that governs bonus spells depends on what type of spellcaster your character is: Intelligence for wizards; Wisdom for clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers; or Charisma for sorcerers and bards. In addition to having a high ability score, a spellcaster must be of high enough class level to be able to cast spells of a given spell level.
The bold region could be trouble, but use of the wonderworker completely circumvents this since their bonus spells are not linked to high ability scores in any regard. The similar to high ability scores classes should also work since the bonus is not tied to your score in any way.
Any takers on this?