So basically, we can currently use this spell framework to load a spell that requires less than a certain amount of power. If we go over that power limit then the spell may have random effects when cast due to errors introduced by the framework. While the spell is loaded we can cast it multiple times without any extra preparation, as long as we have the power to put into it. The framework also saps a certain amount of power constantly while it's active based on what spell is loaded into the framework.
Sort of? The cap is actually on spell complexity- there is a hard limit to how much power can be pushed through the framework, but spells that require that much power would have too high of an upkeep cost to leave idling for very long. The complexity cap can, of course, be bypassed with more elegant/efficient writing, but as a general rule, if a spell has made it into the manual without a
lot of warnings, it's probably been edited and bugtested from here to Timeheart and back- it's likely as efficiently written as it will be for the forseeable future, and any improvements will be minimal at best.
As for the effects of going over that limit, you don't really have to worry about random effects- unless the loaded spell is utterly
abominable in design, a few glitches aren't going to change the outcome majorly. On the other hand, if you leave the multicast framework running for long enough with a complex enough spell, you
will shortly wake up hours later with one of the worst headaches you've ever had, feeling as though you had collapsed just after finishing several marathons in a row.
Can you give some examples of what sort of power levels would be required for different spells? what can the current version of it handle versus what we could do with an improved version other than ranged effects.
I had a several-hundred-word-long mess to answer this, but the following is probably more succinct: spells that are vaguer in description have (as a general rule) a higher energy cost, and less extra features. More precisely written spells can have a lower energy cost, and more powerful and specialized effects, but might miss something that the brute force of the vaguer spell would slam right into and deal with. The current version of the framework can't run spells that are overly complex, and thus they must be vaguer in design. The improved version could run higher-precision spells.
(basically, if you want to try a spell with the current one, keep it simple and brute-force; if it won't work, I'll say so(in less time than it took me to write this up.))
edit:
While I'm thinking of it, our other options seem to be:
Standard battle spells which are one off spells and require an incantation to cast.
Finding spells specifically designed to be recast multiple times, basically the same as the framework but without the modular swapping.
Something completely different that the players might come up with.
Or not doing any sort of preparation at all and winging it if we get into combat.
1) Could work. Of course, even battle spells tend to take at least a minute to cast.
2) Are rather rare on a personal level; for the most part self renewing spells are things of decent scale that are meant to stay in operation for quite a while, while the closest most other spells get to multiple-cast is a matrix loaded with multiple instances of the same spell.
3) Is where Wizardry shines, honestly. The sky's the limit, given enough information and prep time. (This is what I both hope for and dread)
4) Honestly, could work; with improvisation and wizardry, every fight becomes a puzzle boss.
