Bloyamind: 3. How does leveling magic work? Does using spells of a specific element make you better at magic in this element/give you more choices of spells in it/add to your spell points in this category? Or is it purely based on the choices you make when levelling up? In that case, does for instance picking a fire spell give more fire spell options on next level-up? In other words, is there a similar 'learning-by-doing-system' in place like in 8?
It depends what aspect of magic you mean.
* To learn higher level spells, you need to raise the corresponding spellbook skill (Thaumaturgy, Theology, Alchemy, or Theosophy). These skills *only* increase through level up points; using magic will not help boost this faster. Class changing, however, will. Be aware, however, that each class (except maybe Fighter) have skills that are automatically increased, at the expense of points you would otherwise be free to allocate yourself, as long as they're under 50. For example, for Valkyries it's Pole & Staff, while for Priests it's Theology.
* To get SP to cast your spells, you need to learn a spell at level up (learning from a book doesn't count for this). In order to get SP for a realm at level up, you need to actually have SP in this realm to begin with. Furthermore, if you've recently class changed, you'll only get 1 SP per realm per level until you reach the highest level you've previously reached. (Apparently, there's a similar mechanic for HP, and for the hidden base miss chance (like D&D THAC0).)
* To cast spells at power levels higher than 1, you need to be of a high enough level. In particular, your level must be at least (SL + PL - 1) to cast the spell at that power level, so using a level 7 spell at power level 7 can't be done before level 11.
* For non-alchemy users, the chance of casting a spell successfully, particularly at higher power levels, is determined by the Oratory skill. Oratory, unlike the spellbook skills mentioned above, *does* increase with use. (So, in Wizardry 6, which has similar mechanics, but gives you a single pool for all your level up skill points, it might make sense to focus on the spellbook skill and allow Oratory to increase through practice.)
* SP regen is fixed at character creation, based on starting class, race (more for Fairies, less for Lizardmen), and starting stats (I know Piety matters and I think Vitality does as well), With that said, SP regen is so horrendously slow that, even with the best possible values, it still takes way too long to rest past the early game; you're going to want to find fountains and Magicfood items (which can be recharged via spell) if you want to get SP back in a reasonable amount of time.
