Caster Progressions

Every spellcasting class in Pathfinder 1e advances on one of a small set of shared progressions — the table that says how many spells of each level a caster can cast per day at each class level. Paizo reused the same handful of tables across the whole game, so it is worth knowing them by name.

A progression is separate from three things layered on top of it: your caster level (how strong each spell is), your save DC (10 + spell level + your casting ability modifier), and your bonus spells per day from a high casting ability. Spontaneous casters also track a second table — spells known. See How Spellcasting Works for those.

The Canonical Tiers

Spells Known (Spontaneous Casters)

A prepared caster (wizard, cleric) chooses new spells freely each day from a spellbook or the full class list. A spontaneous caster (sorcerer, oracle, bard) instead has a fixed, slowly growing list of spells it knows and can cast any of them using an available slot. Two spells-known tables cover the spontaneous classes.

Named vs. Custom Progressions

A standard class names one of the tiers above. A class whose casting ladder matches none of them — a hybrid class, a homebrew class, the Arcanist — carries its own full 20-row table directly, exactly the way every class already carries its own base attack and saving-throw tables rather than naming a shared "full BAB" progression.

See Publishing to the Library if you are building one.

Related

• How Spellcasting Works — preparation, concentration, DCs, and bonus spells.
• Arcane & Divine Magic — where a class's spell list comes from and how armor interacts with casting.
• Classes — each caster class's own page shows which progression it uses.