Bob's sucky spell.

Stats: If the chooser takes all 12's then he is 2.5 points behind the average roll. I could give them 37 or 38 points, I guess, but 35 seems better. The math is crazy though, huh? Remember, a roller is just as likely to roll three 5's as he is three 20's. Yet, this isn't 3d6, it's 5d4 which makes either very unlikely. DM's can be choosers. Hell, they can even make the players be choosers.

A minimum stat of 5 is fine. Isn't that shitty enough? I really think choosing leads to "all fighters are ugly" type games. Why bother with Cha unless you're a cleric? At least with rolling there's a chance a guy might have a good stat left over for Cha. I don't know, you can make people choose in your campaign. -Rolling is just optional.

Ok, this is it: choosers get all 5's and 36 points. -Break it as you wish. I don't even want to think about the fighter with Ag:14, Ch: 5, In:5, En: 15, St:17. -Bleh.

Casting time: Casting time is critical for metamagic. Also, it's very easy. I cast a spell with -4 casting time. My initiative is 8, my spell takes effect at initiative 4.

Before, we had mages able to lose concentration up until their initiative, so casting time was initiative-dependent by default. In this system, there are a quite a few rules, like combat abilities, that are dependent upon initiative. Casting is one of them. In the majority of cases, the time is just the circle of the spell. 5th circle spell cast at initiative 8 goes off at 3. It's not hard to do. Also, it might encourage a bit of strategy on a mage's part. -Cast a fast low circle spell, or a slow powerful high circle one?

We did have casting times before, we just calculated it differently.

Spell names: I guess we like the flavor as players. It stirs the imagination. There is a spellcraft ability, so it fits with the system that some popular spells might be out there floating around with their creator's name on them. -Character's could aspire to do the same.