My initial impression is that magicians run out of juice too quickly. Although my players are nowhere near Dresden in power, we have seen him fight pretty hard and long in Changes, and elsewhere. Molly and the trainees can hang in as well. Yet the system is beating up my casters, who are out of Oomph after 3-4 spells, and this seems counter to the spirit of the books. And so:
1 What's your experience? Is there some part of the rules I've overlooked?
2 What do you do for recovery? Tricks, hints, etc.
3 How about a Refinement that lets you reduce the stress of a spell of a certain element by 1 or 2? Maybe have Rote spells cost less stress?
4 A spell with Shifts below your adjusted Discipline costs 0 mental stress?
Also, has anyone looked at making these casters more individualized and less cookie cutter?
Many thanks in advance.
I think it's pretty balanced, honestly. It feels about right. Sure in the last few books Dresden is slinging around a lot more power but he's seen as one of the most powerful wizards (as far as Raw power goes, not control) out there, especially with evocation. Spoiler from Changes Not to mention he's got sponsored magic (hellfire, soulfire, and finally Unseelie) backing him up.
If you have a power or skill stunt that reduces stress incurred by casting (something that I caution), it should have the stipulation that it cannot reduce the stress below 1 point (just like most discounts to Refresh, really). There has to be a limit to casting because of the power that it brings (equivalent to better than a rocket launcher quite often). However, this method really just leaves you with the same cost and benefit of Specialization. On a side note, a stunt or power that allows you to reduce backlash would be kind of cool (again, not below 1, so different from Control Specialization).
Are your players frequently casting spells with more shifts than their conviction scores? Are they taking consequences?
Also, remember that "navel-gazing maneuvers" are a great way to pump up the power of a spell without increasing its cost (two rounds of maneuvers, one to raise conviction one to raise discipline, then one round to cast) which fits flavor of weaker casters quite well (they can bring the hurt and bring it hard, but need more time than a more powerful or more trained wizard).
He has sponsored magic and is likely ringing up quite a tab.
I have to side with this. Let's face it: he has access to Hellfire by the end of Death Masks (#5), swaps that for Soulfire by Small Favor (#10), and by the time you hit the major scenes in Changes, he's tapping leylines and is probably selling himself to Maab more and more
I can also see Harry wracking up mental consequences left and right as things go along, as after most of those epic battles in the books, he's fried beyond belief (e.g. "lost" his magic in Fool Moon).
As for how to give casters more "oomph," dunno yet. I'll let you know after I finally get my table together to start playing, as I have three casters sitting around.
--Crion[/color]