I’m finally digging into my copy of ACKS and wondering if I understand the “free-casting” system.
A 1st level Mage can cast one 1st level spell. That’s also the extent of his repertoire, unless he has bonus spells from high Int.
At 2nd level, he can cast two 1st level spells. That means that he can now have say, both Sleep and Charm Person in his repertoire. And he can also cast any combination of Sleep and Charm Person, twice per day. So he could cast two Sleeps on Monday, two Charm Persons on Tuesday, one of each on Wednesday, etc.
Is that about right? It’s late and I’ve had a long week, so I suspect I’m missing something. If I’m not, it pays to have a high Int in the Auran Empire.
One thing I’m toying with is a custom class that trades off casting potential for some casting versatility. Instead of X getting a custom power of, say, Fly 1x/day, they get Levitate and Fly as part of their repertoire in addition to spells earned by casting ability + Int.
The intent is that you get taught equal to the number and level of spells [a caster of ordinary intelligence] can use in a single day.
For example, let’s say that you are a Mage of 18 INT advancing to 3rd level. You gain 1 2nd level spell per day. With 18 INT, your 2nd level repertoire is (1+3) 4 spells. Your master will teach you 1 spell. It’s up to you to find a source for the other three spells.
Within the game-world, this simulates young apprentices of particular insight who “outrace” the curriculum.
