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<blockquote data-quote="Ainamacar" data-source="post: 6066807" data-attributes="member: 70709">I could quibble with the numbers, but I think the basic separation into known spells, prepared spells, and spell &quot;slots&quot; is a great compromise between traditional Vancian and D&amp;D-style spontaneous casting.&nbsp; It's not because I think any particular balance of preparation and spontaneity is &quot;correct&quot;, but because the same system can also be smoothly scaled between either extreme with relatively small changes from the default which gives a taste of both flavors.This makes it a lot easier to introduce modifications to the spell system without needing to write a completely new version, and in fact means those different modifications will be easier to swap between various classes for those who are inclined to do so.&nbsp; One can head toward &quot;pure spontaneity&quot; by moving the number of prepared spells and number of known spells closer together.&nbsp; One can head toward pure preparation by specifying that some or all slots must have a pre-assigned spell.&nbsp; The details of these modifications need not be identical, so that two casters might have made starkly different trade-offs despite superficial similarity in the basic balance of preparation and spontaneity.&nbsp; Combined with the ability to modify slots or spells to create a more 4e-like caster one can have a single basic system that largely covers the traditional spectrum of D&amp;D casting.&nbsp; To me that sounds a lot better than a mess of independent alternate spell systems -- leave those for systems which step firmly outside the generalized known/prepared/slots family.I've successfully used a similar method in my own games.&nbsp; My homebrew system uses a fairly standard spontaneous spell-point system, except most spell points are &quot;earned&quot; during action and only a relatively small number are a daily resource.&nbsp; The wizard-like caster in this system can choose to dedicate 2 of these daily points to a specific spell in return for a third daily spell point, also only usable by that specific spell.&nbsp; They can do this to whatever extent desired, from none at all to dedicating all their daily spell points in this manner.&nbsp; Many other variations on this theme are possible, but the point is that this single spell system is compatible with various preparation vs. spontaneous preferences with quite minimal rules changes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ainamacar, post: 6066807, member: 70709"] I could quibble with the numbers, but I think the basic separation into known spells, prepared spells, and spell "slots" is a great compromise between traditional Vancian and D&D-style spontaneous casting. It's not because I think any particular balance of preparation and spontaneity is "correct", but because the same system can also be smoothly scaled between either extreme with relatively small changes from the default which gives a taste of both flavors. This makes it a lot easier to introduce modifications to the spell system without needing to write a completely new version, and in fact means those different modifications will be easier to swap between various classes for those who are inclined to do so. One can head toward "pure spontaneity" by moving the number of prepared spells and number of known spells closer together. One can head toward pure preparation by specifying that some or all slots must have a pre-assigned spell. The details of these modifications need not be identical, so that two casters might have made starkly different trade-offs despite superficial similarity in the basic balance of preparation and spontaneity. Combined with the ability to modify slots or spells to create a more 4e-like caster one can have a single basic system that largely covers the traditional spectrum of D&D casting. To me that sounds a lot better than a mess of independent alternate spell systems -- leave those for systems which step firmly outside the generalized known/prepared/slots family. I've successfully used a similar method in my own games. My homebrew system uses a fairly standard spontaneous spell-point system, except most spell points are "earned" during action and only a relatively small number are a daily resource. The wizard-like caster in this system can choose to dedicate 2 of these daily points to a specific spell in return for a third daily spell point, also only usable by that specific spell. They can do this to whatever extent desired, from none at all to dedicating all their daily spell points in this manner. Many other variations on this theme are possible, but the point is that this single spell system is compatible with various preparation vs. spontaneous preferences with quite minimal rules changes. [/QUOTE]

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