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Things you guys might be missing.

It was my intent for 1st level spells to be nearly at will.  If you notice there are no minor spells.  So these low level spells even for a 1st level wizard are intended to be practically at will.

I never want high level spells to be a given.  I want even an 18th level wizard to figure a spell point is majorly at risk if he casts a ninth level spell.

All of that is intentional.  I also was thinking a 1 always fails as my preference.  As I want my Mages not casting utilities unless they have no other option.  

It is why the spell level is multiplied by 4.  It makes the curve work out.  It makes the lower spells become practically at-wills as intended and it keeps the at level spells close to encounter risk.  At higher levels the risk is higher even at level which is intended.  No Mage should cast these spells without thinking a spell point is at risk.

@lawrencehoy
You just made a perfectly linear system.  I think this is less than best at low and high levels and closer to right in the middle.  

@storyteller
I also thought about making utility magic having a higher minimum DC in general.  Then permit a bonus for doing the utility as a ritual instead.

@mithrus
I disagree that five is too high but it is nice to have a system where you can change one number to increase or decrease the way a class plays.  


Another idea I had was static DCs that rise with level of spell.  The number of spell points would go up gradually as the caster gained levels instead of the DCs.   So maybe the DC on a 9th level spell is 16.  The DC on a 1st is 1 or 2.  

I guess whatever I'm proposing I am seeking for a curve that maybe you guys disagree with.  Any thoughts on my idea of a curve so that lower levels are easy and higher levels are always hard?



 

@wrecan
I'm glad you liked it.  I am aiming for your best of page

 
As for your questions (yours in bold)
Would you get an Ability mod to the spellcasting check?

I considered this and decided no.  I didn't want something so vital being so ability dependent.  Obviously it could be an option but I'd raise DCs if so.

Does (dis)advantage apply to spellcasting checks?

I hadn't though of this.  My first instinct was to say now because this is a power resource management thing.  But it might be an interesting twist if damage increased your DC.


If a natural "1" always fails, does a natural "20" always succeed (i.e., does a level 1 mage have a 5% chance to cast a 9th level spell?)

No.  I want a 1 to always fail because I want a Mage to fear using magic for trivial reasons.   I'd probably require a roll even for scrolls.  I also was limiting Mages to spells of half their level rounded up.  Meaning regardless of DC they can't cast a nine level spell at first level.

I considered an alternate rule where the minimum was the spell level itself.  This makes 9th level spells always have a minimum 45% chance of using a spell point.  A 5th level spell would have a 25% chance minimum.  If I did this though I might have to increase spell points.



 

@wrecan
Thanks for the chart.   Having the DCs be included as the baseline for knowing a spell makes it harder.

My original proposal was based upon a max number of spells known being your int and you only get to learn one automatically when you got access to a new level of spell.  The rest had to be found.  Generous DMs could make it really easy to find spells and Stingier ones could be tougher.  This is a handy DM throttle for power.

A table could be provided to the caster that looked something like this for purposes of minimums.  I always want casting a spell to be a resource decision.

Spell Check DCs
	Spell Level
Character Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	3	7	11	15	19	23	27	31	35
2	2	6	10	14	18	22	26	30	34
3	1	5	9	13	17	21	25	29	33
4	1	4	8	12	16	20	24	28	32
5	1	3	7	11	15	19	23	27	31
6	1	2	6	10	14	18	22	26	30
7	1	2	5	9	13	17	21	25	29
8	1	2	4	8	12	16	20	24	28
9	1	2	3	7	11	15	19	23	27
10	1	2	3	6	10	14	18	22	26
11	1	2	3	5	9	13	17	21	25
12	1	2	3	4	8	12	16	20	24
13	1	2	3	4	7	11	15	19	23
14	1	2	3	4	6	10	14	18	22
15	1	2	3	4	5	9	13	17	21
16	1	2	3	4	5	8	12	16	20
17	1	2	3	4	5	7	11	15	19
18	1	2	3	4	5	6	10	14	18
19	1	2	3	4	5	6	9	13	17
20	1	2	3	4	5	6	8	12	16