so me and my friends just started playing 3.5 and we've all been learning as we go. i was looking online at some information about my character (level 4 sorcerer) and i saw that there are spells that increase in power determined by your caster level.
what exactly is caster level? my character is level 4, so does that mean my caster level is 4? i don't know how to determine it
Yes, sorcerer level = caster level. Certain items and prestige classes add to it, as do more sorcerer levels. (Duh.) Caster levels from different base classes do not stack.
and one more question, how exactly do feats work? it says they can be used once unless stated otherwise, so does that mean once per adventure? or once period? being able to use each feat only once ever seems ridiculous but i cant find any difinitive information that says otherwise
The PHB clearly says "selected once", meaning you can't choose a feat more than once. So you need to select a different feat at lvl 3 than you'd have selected at lvl 1, unless the feat description says otherwise.
Feats are always active or usable as many times as you want, unless they explicitly say otherwise. Stunning Fist is an example of the latter.
another question, on the monster stat cards, some have a x3 in there attack and damage stats. for example, one might say +1 (d6-1/x3) what exactly does the x3 mean?
I believe the X3 refers to critical damage (natural 20 dice roll unless otherwise modified by a particular weapon type or feat). Normally it is understood to be X2 unless otherwise stated.
