Post originally by James A Beggs at 2003-08-28 13:34:30
Converted from Phorums BB System

Hopefully to make it simple here:

A) you have a list of spells you know. Generally, like the Greenbond: "All simple spells plus spells with the Positive Energy and Plant Descriptors" or like the Magister: "All simple and complex spells."

B) You have a list of spells you have prepared, which you can prepare over the course of an hour - as many times during the day as you need to. Due to how spells work, you would never prepare the same spell more than once. This preparation would be much like how wizards or clerics do it otherwise.

C) In casting, you have a certain number of spells each level you can cast. This is a seperate # than those from B, above. When you wish to cast a spell, you burn one of the slots from this selection (C) and choose any spell you have prepared. Its important to note: the spells you have prepared NEVER disappear! Think of it like this: you are casting spells the same way the sorcerer or bard does - but the spells you have to choose from can be changed, given a single hour, from the entire pool of spells you "know."

D) Spell slots can also be woven, referring to C here. You can burn 3 slots of one level to gain a slot of the next higher level, or burn a slot of one level to gain two slots of the next lower level. This allows you flexibility almost akin to the 3E psion.

E) You can also apply templates. Generally, you gain access to templates by taking Feats, but then the templates can be assigned to spells to modify how the spell works, often giving additional, or extra, effects, at a small cost.

F) Most spells also have a diminished and heightened mode. Casting a spell in a diminished mode makes it burn a slot one level lower, while casting it in a heightened mode burns a slot one level higher (casting slots, not prepared slots, ala C above).

All in all, this makes spellcasters in AU FAR FAR more flexible than in standard 3E. To make up for this, their spell selections arent quite as powerful. For instance, there is no wish spells.

Also, there are a small selection of spells, both beneficial and hostile, that require the caster to know the person's true name. For instance, there are a selection of really nasty curses, with a permanent duration. They require the person's true name to work, though.

Unfortately, so does Raise Dead.

All in all, magic lost a little bit of power, but only a little, and in exchange gained a significant amount of flexibility. AU, frankly, blows standard 3E away as of this point. I'll never look back.