Priests rock.

New deal for priests: Not only are saves vs. their spells modified by the circle of the priest casting it, but they can consolidate spells.

It's not spell points.

A priest can sacrifice two spells of one circle to gain one spell of the next higher circle. For example: A priest could remove two 3rd circle spells from his repertoire to add one 4th circle spell. -Of course, he must have 4th circle spell ability.

If a priest got tricky, he could combine some 1st, some 2nd, some third, and get a 4th if he really needed it.

It's not off-the-hook. Just some flava to give them some fluidity.

Huh?

Most priest spells don't take multiple rounds. Basically, 95% don't. Also, a 10 round heal only takes 'real-time' if you cast it in combat. Otherwise, after combat, you say: "I cast heal minor wounds", DM says "ok", and the story picks up two minutes of 'game-time' and 1 second of 'real-time' later.

I am just making some healing, the more potent healing, be non-combat. That's all.

Boredom

I think you are overlooking my main point. You can have a heal take 3 hours of real time because you think it's "balanced" or w/e, but that will just dissuade people from playing the class or taking that spell. I'm saying if many priest spells take multiple rounds, people won't want to play a priest because it's boring; unless they want to write a paper while they play their character ("I start my heal, wake me up in 20 minutes.").

Garlic-butter flavored crust.

Not all heals are 10 rounds, just the most potent ones are. In fact, there is a 2nd circle spell called 'Mend' that heals 2d4 + (priest's circle) in one round. -Thus, it's a minimum of 4-10.

I've just limited the number of combat heals. However, priests have more options to get the party back to full after combat is done.

It's kinda like Little Caesar's Hot-n-Now. If you want it now, it's gonna be pepperoni. If you've got a little bit of time, you can get more toppings.

10 round heal?

I still don't like the idea of a 10 round heal spell. Think about actually playing the priest--you say you cast a heal, and then you can literally go in the other room to order and wait for a pizza while everyone else gets to play 10 rounds of combat.

Mark

Two changes in magic.

First, I've simplified priest magic in the sense of domains. There are now only 4 domains: Benefaction, Damnation, Revelation and Tellurgy. Although deities can vary in their ethos, each one 'centers' upon one of these domains. As such, a priest can cast 1-3rd circle from 3 domains, 4-6th from 2 domains, and 7-8th from one domain. In this system, priests are 'high and mighty' with only general commitment to worldly constructs.

The whole 'undead' thing is now the providence of ritualists, a.k.a. 'necromancers'. Ritualists are infernal meddlers, demon-summoners, witches or wicans, perverting the transient favor of multiple other-worldly powers to their own end.

I've also simplified the resistance to spells (saves). Now, for hermetic, hedge, or ritualist magic, the general modifier for any save is simply +1 per circle of the spell. However, priests are different. The save versus any given faith magic spell is not dependent upon the spell, but +1 per circle of the priest casting it.