As they stand buff and heal spells are balanced only if they cannot use areas of effect. When a simple +1 MP general enhancement can turn it into an ‘affect the whole party’ spell then there are problems. This is not a problem for charm and compel spells due to their HD limit system. At low levels you can only affect a few weak creatures, at high levels opponents tend to have more HD, and it’s OK for low HD mooks to be charmed en masse.
I've had an idea on a simple fix for this with the following alteration. All Abjure, Heal, Infuse, Move and Transform spells can only affect a single target. You must pay the cost of the relevant spell effect, not including general enhancements, twice to make it area of affect. 0 MP costs are increased to 1 MP.
So an Infuse Force spell to grant a +5 to hit and damage to all within a 10’ radius for 10 minutes would under the old system cost 5 MP Infuse Force, 1 MP area, 1 MP discerning, 1 MP duration, total 8 MP. Under the new system it would cost 13 MP (5 MP Infuse Force twice), making it accessible only at a good deal higher level, as the mass spells are in the original rules. An Abjure Fire spell to grant a 100hp buffer would cost 6 MP Abjure Fire, 1 MP area, 1 MP discerning, 1 MP duration, total 9 MP. Under the new system it will cost a very high 15 MP. Of course you can still gain the same effect with lower level spells by repeated castings but that will drain MP at an alarming rate. To Abjure Fire everybody in a four character party would cost 28 MP (6 MP Abjure Fire, 1 MP duration, total 7 MP, times four). For a 9th level caster that’s a third of his daily MP, compared to just a ninth before. Stack up the buffs across the party and pretty soon you’ve got no MP left.
Heal area effect spells are similarly raised in price. A party can currently be granted a healing circle effect even more cheaply than a buff, since you don’t need a discerning enchantment. Adding discerning just lets you heal everybody while in the middle of a melee. A 6 MP spell can restore 6d6hp (average 21hp) to everyone (5 MP Heal Life, 1 MP area). With the amendment this spell would now cost 11 MP, nearly doubling it in price. Mass combined healing spells are now largely uncastable.
I think the principle behind making the mass effect buffs so much higher level in the original rules is that things which affect the PC's are more significant than things which affect opponents. Fast healing on opponents makes them a challenge. Fast healing on PC's is game breaking.
I've had an idea on a simple fix for this with the following alteration. All Abjure, Heal, Infuse, Move and Transform spells can only affect a single target. You must pay the cost of the relevant spell effect, not including general enhancements, twice to make it area of affect. 0 MP costs are increased to 1 MP.
So an Infuse Force spell to grant a +5 to hit and damage to all within a 10’ radius for 10 minutes would under the old system cost 5 MP Infuse Force, 1 MP area, 1 MP discerning, 1 MP duration, total 8 MP. Under the new system it would cost 13 MP (5 MP Infuse Force twice), making it accessible only at a good deal higher level, as the mass spells are in the original rules. An Abjure Fire spell to grant a 100hp buffer would cost 6 MP Abjure Fire, 1 MP area, 1 MP discerning, 1 MP duration, total 9 MP. Under the new system it will cost a very high 15 MP. Of course you can still gain the same effect with lower level spells by repeated castings but that will drain MP at an alarming rate. To Abjure Fire everybody in a four character party would cost 28 MP (6 MP Abjure Fire, 1 MP duration, total 7 MP, times four). For a 9th level caster that’s a third of his daily MP, compared to just a ninth before. Stack up the buffs across the party and pretty soon you’ve got no MP left.
Heal area effect spells are similarly raised in price. A party can currently be granted a healing circle effect even more cheaply than a buff, since you don’t need a discerning enchantment. Adding discerning just lets you heal everybody while in the middle of a melee. A 6 MP spell can restore 6d6hp (average 21hp) to everyone (5 MP Heal Life, 1 MP area). With the amendment this spell would now cost 11 MP, nearly doubling it in price. Mass combined healing spells are now largely uncastable.
I think the principle behind making the mass effect buffs so much higher level in the original rules is that things which affect the PC's are more significant than things which affect opponents. Fast healing on opponents makes them a challenge. Fast healing on PC's is game breaking.
