Can we talk about this X/day thing?
In theory, I see where you are coming from. In fact, my reviews history will show that I consider classes that slap in a new spell like ability every level, 3/day, is pretty lazy and usually gets low marks from me.
That said, I like the general convention of X/day. I didn't like it so much until my second 3e campaign. In that campaign, I had a player who REALLY didn't take it well when the dice weren't going his way. And I could sympathize with him.
Now to me, it's neat to have abilities that have you running at full steam, taking you above your norm. But how are you going to do that? Well, there are a variety of ways. But giving the player CONTROL of when that happens, instead of making them make rage rolls or whatever, puts them in control, which seems to be what most players work.
You could also make an account of points, but that just adds accounting, which some players aren't comfortable with.
So, in conclusion, I think that X/day has some real advantages in terms of satisfying game play. It just gives you the added repsonsibility of making the call when to use it and/or rationalizing it in context of the mileu.
)
