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Message: <blockquote data-quote="xXxTheBeastxXx" data-source="post: 5388616" data-attributes="member: 90543">Response 1 - Martial vs. Magic: This, for me, is more a flavor thing than anything else. And, lucky for me, my group is very agreeable in this matter. I believe, simply, that magic should be more powerful than martial combat by definition. It's farging magic, after all. Throwing bolts of lightning, destroying stone walls with a thought, creating things that aren't really there. All of these are beyond the scope of a warrior, so why, exactly, is a mage considered to be an equal? Yes, they are squishy, and that comes with the concept of hard study (and whatever limits sorcerers) rather than physical training. But they can make your brain explode.Is this to say that I think mages should be overwhelmingly superior? No. Absolutely not. As Jeff stated, balance is a good thing. I just think that magic should be better. It's the stuff of legends. This said, I absolutely understand the problem, getting a party of casters. Fortunately for me: my group understands and, for the most part, agrees.Response 2 - Prepared vs. Readied vs. Spontaneous: If I could re-make the casting system, I would have three types of magic. I would call them "Natural" magic, "Learned" magic, and "Granted" magic. Natural would be spontaneous casters for whom magic flows through their veins. Learned would be magic that is, literally, learned through study and must be prepared. And Granted would be divine magic, gifted by the gods. All would function differently and have their own sets of rules.As it stands, I don't have the time for something like that. So, instead, I get to work with what I'm given. First, let me justify my love of the readied system. It's all about the flavor. I understand the idea of preparing and forgetting spells. It makes sense to me, from a balance standpoint. However, it makes almost NO sense from a flavor standpoint. I'm a wizard. I study 5 spells at the beginning of the day. I cast one of them and...forget it completely until tomorrow? Do I forget a studied test answer the moment I write it down? Do I forget how to change a tire the moment I do it? No. So why should I forget my spell? I studied it, after all. Round 1: "Fireball! Hah! Take that, orcs!"Round 2: "Oh, no! A white dragon! I should cast fireball, but dammit I can't remember how! Curse you, six seconds!"A readied system just makes more sense. You study a spell at the beginning of the day, and can then cast it until you run out of energy. Tada! As stated, however, it causes a rift between spontaneous casters and "readied" casters. Readied casters are better. No questions asked. Now, how put spontaneous casters on the same level?Well, there are a few Ideas I like. Jeff's idea of creating drawbacks on learned casters' casting is a cool idea. Saving for ability damage might be a little harsh, but fatigue? Exhaustion at a certain point? Not out of the question.I also posted this thread on the paizo boards, and Kyrt-Ryder suggested an idea that I like. Maybe give the caster a small number of "ready slots." He suggested 2 per spell level. The caster then prepares spells normally, and any open, un-prepared slots can be filled at will with these readied spells.Response 3 - Conclusions: In the end, I think I'm going with a combination of Kyrt-ryder's idea and the concept of giving spontaneous casters a pool of points to allow them to boost their caster level with spells. As stated by Mowgli, this lends to power creep. But I trust my players enough not to abuse it. I'll post my final rules on this thread once I figure them out.As a second note, I think I will, slowly, work on the idea of re-writing the casting system, creating the three castes: Natural, Learned, and Granted magic. I'll get back to ENworld when I figure something out. Maybe I'll play with words of power. I always liked the idea of spontaneous casters "crafting" their spells on the fly, as opposed to using pre-established staples.Thanks for the feedback, and I hope to get more.-The Beast</blockquote>

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