Balancing Vancian

[kitcik]

I would advise against that in 3e due to the fact that it won't do anything.

Allow me to explain.

Sorcerers cast metamagic'd spells as full round actions. Sorcerers who use metamagic'd spells in 3.5e are considered quite powerful. From this, I feel confident in concluding that upping the casting time on spells is going to accomplish diddly.

If you want to solve a problem with a class that can cast broken spells, you really should consider removing the broken spells.

So true.

Planar binding doesn't become more balanced if it takes half an hour minutes to cast or an entire day.

I think the concept is: if it takes enough time such that all of the opponents get a whack at the caster and a chance to interrupt the spell, this will have a nerfing impact. Especially true if you also nerf Concentration. So, if you REALLY extended casting times in 3E, beyond a full round action, it could have an impact.

BTW, I thought your IHS post in the other thread was hilarious but could not XP you.

 

[grodog]

One thing we did back when we played 2e was rolling for random new spells every time a Mage gained a level and strictly enforcing the learning chance for learning spells.

Also good points! The % to Learn, as well as the min/max numbers of spells per level (again, from AD&D 1e rules) were also strong factors in balancing/limiting power of MUs.