Chuckles at [unixtime wrote:1183634945[/unixtime]]FrankTrollman at [unixtime wrote:1183605405[/unixtime]]Chuckles, are you seriously arguing that a Bard can't use the UMD skill to activate the raise dead option from a Staff of Healing on the grounds that they can activate the magic item at all without resorting to the skill?
Okay, this makes no sense, you use can and can't in the same sentence. I don't know what you are saying.
The Staff of Healing, according to the SRD, has Cure Serious Wounds, which is a Bard spell, and also Remove Disease which is not. By your argument, since a Bard can activate this Staff he may never roll UMD to activate this Staff. This means that the Bard may not cast Cure Serious Wounds at a higher CL. Bu it also means that the Bard cannot use the Staff to cast Cure Disease at all because he may never roll UMD to activate the Staff and he does not have Remove Disease in his spell list.
Chuckles at [unixtime wrote:1183634945[/unixtime]]FrankTrollman at [unixtime wrote:1183605405[/unixtime]]Or are we going to have to get into an argument about whether activating a better effect out of a magical item that can be activated to a lesser extent constitutes a "need"?
-Username17
So you do understand the you don't need a caster level to activate the staff. But you argument is that it makes the staff more powerful, so the character can makes another check. Where are you getting that from? Where is that in the rules?
When the Staff checks to see whether you have the spell on your spell list or not, you roll UMD to fool it.
When the Staff checks to see whether you have a higher caster level or not, you roll UMD to fool it.
It's a simple as that. If UMD is allowed to work at all it allows you to get a CL for the purpose of activating Staves.