One question that has been ignored is whether we want to keep the sorcerer/wizard divide. If we do, then a spell that is Wizard 2 in the new system should also be Sorcerer 3, and we have to divide the first level wiz/sorc spells into both halves (for wizards) and thirds (for sorcerers). Bards and paladins also need consideration, although I don't think there is anything particularly new about them.
A complicated way to handle bonus spells which probably minimizes the power changes would be this. Calculate the number of level N spells per day you would have under the old system, including specialization, bonus spells and any other effect. Call this number Y. You then get Y/2 (round up) level 2N-1 spells per day and Y/2 (round down) level 2N spells per day in the new system. Basically, you alternate allocating spell slots to the lower, then higher, then lower, etc. level.
That probably needs some tweaking when you have level 2N-1 spells but not level 2N. I think then you should get Y 2N-1 spells and at the next level, additional spells all go to level 2N until you have the same number in each.
That's probably too complicated, especially since part of the motivation was to make the system easier to understand for new players. However, we probably want the actual rules to approximate that result.
Since there seems to be a consensus that high level casters are too powerful, we might want to consider splitting one level of spells into three levels somewhere around level 5. That would mean that casters essentially get the next (old) level of spells one level later, and the good ones don't arrive for two levels.
The effect of that would be strongest in the mid-teens. By level 20, it would be a minor effect, as all the spells would be available but many of the high-level spells would use a slot one level higher than otherwise.
A complicated way to handle bonus spells which probably minimizes the power changes would be this. Calculate the number of level N spells per day you would have under the old system, including specialization, bonus spells and any other effect. Call this number Y. You then get Y/2 (round up) level 2N-1 spells per day and Y/2 (round down) level 2N spells per day in the new system. Basically, you alternate allocating spell slots to the lower, then higher, then lower, etc. level.
That probably needs some tweaking when you have level 2N-1 spells but not level 2N. I think then you should get Y 2N-1 spells and at the next level, additional spells all go to level 2N until you have the same number in each.
That's probably too complicated, especially since part of the motivation was to make the system easier to understand for new players. However, we probably want the actual rules to approximate that result.
Since there seems to be a consensus that high level casters are too powerful, we might want to consider splitting one level of spells into three levels somewhere around level 5. That would mean that casters essentially get the next (old) level of spells one level later, and the good ones don't arrive for two levels.
The effect of that would be strongest in the mid-teens. By level 20, it would be a minor effect, as all the spells would be available but many of the high-level spells would use a slot one level higher than otherwise.
