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<blockquote data-quote="slobster" data-source="post: 5913507" data-attributes="member: 6693711">Day long buffs became a real headache by higher levels in 3.5. If they are to be in the game, I'd like to see their proliferation tightly leashed. It wasn't much of a problem for the cleric to cast protection from evil or something at the start of each day, but I don't want a return to Persistent Spell spreadsheets every time the group delves into a dungeon.Since splatbooks will inevitably breed in the dark places of the earth and come spilling forth in poorly vetted droves, my instinct is to avoid day-long buffs altogether. But they could be done well if the designers are very careful. For example, if a Vancian caster only had a dozen or so spell slots, ever, he'd be less likely to bust them by casting every buff on his spell list. I don't know if I'm on board with that design for the Vancian caster, but it is one way to deter buffing bookkeeping boredom.You could limit spellcasters to a certain maximum number of ongoing spells at a time. If you can't cast a sixth buff without one of your previous five lapsing, buffs are kept to a minimum. You could also approach this from the other side and limit the number of spell effects that can be active on an individual, in the same way that most editions somehow limit the number of magical items a character can benefit from at once.In summary, I'm not against long duration buffs per se, but they come with a lot of design challenges. There are ways to meet those challenges, but they probably require some new thinking about how magical buffs or magic in general are handled. I worry that the system could end up broken or simply very tedious if that is poorly executed.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="slobster, post: 5913507, member: 6693711"] Day long buffs became a real headache by higher levels in 3.5. If they are to be in the game, I'd like to see their proliferation tightly leashed. It wasn't much of a problem for the cleric to cast protection from evil or something at the start of each day, but I don't want a return to Persistent Spell spreadsheets every time the group delves into a dungeon. Since splatbooks will inevitably breed in the dark places of the earth and come spilling forth in poorly vetted droves, my instinct is to avoid day-long buffs altogether. But they could be done well if the designers are very careful. For example, if a Vancian caster only had a dozen or so spell slots, ever, he'd be less likely to bust them by casting every buff on his spell list. I don't know if I'm on board with that design for the Vancian caster, but it is one way to deter buffing bookkeeping boredom. You could limit spellcasters to a certain maximum number of ongoing spells at a time. If you can't cast a sixth buff without one of your previous five lapsing, buffs are kept to a minimum. You could also approach this from the other side and limit the number of spell effects that can be active on an individual, in the same way that most editions somehow limit the number of magical items a character can benefit from at once. In summary, I'm not against long duration buffs per se, but they come with a lot of design challenges. There are ways to meet those challenges, but they probably require some new thinking about how magical buffs or magic in general are handled. I worry that the system could end up broken or simply very tedious if that is poorly executed. [/QUOTE]

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