The inverse idea is pretty cool, I hadn't thought of it that much, but it makes sense. But again that just gives wizards a reason to carry around some extra mana lanterns huh? On the whole the World MP is meant for an MMO setting where it will take a large amount of wizards in an area to have any true effect on the mana. Sort of like draining a pond with buckets....

Another thought for this system. This one will take some explaining.

First I'll introduce what I'll call manavision. Or astral sight whatever you want to call it. Players who are not magic users don't see anything when a wizard casts a spell until the end effect happens (i.e. the fireball flies across the screen) Magic users however see all of these neeto keen partical effects as a spell is being cast.

This brings us to....COUNTER SPELLS (useful for PVP or certain PVE encounters) This part of the game relies very heavily on PLAYER SKILL and not character skill. As players put together unique spells, they get a particle effect that starts swirling around them that a trained player should be able to look at and figure out what type of spell thier opponent is casting. The element will give the spell its color, the effect will give it a certain set of particles (skulls, XX's, Eyes, Chains, etc) and the pattern of movement will tell its target type. A skilled player can then Match those parameters, and cast off a quick spell to counter the one the opponent is casting before they are able to finish up the spell. (For mult-slot spells the effect in the first slot will be the one used for the counterspell) How the counterspell affects the opponent i'll leave up to individual developers, though it could range from merely stopping the opponents spell, causing a loss of mana, or having the spell affect them....

Next we'll use mana vision to disect the astral space around wizards.

Ley-lines A grid work of very heavy, concentrated mana. Spells cast while in a ley-line are vastly more powerful...though there could be some side effects...sort of like plugging your hair dryer into a 220v socket... These are visible to Wizareds as bright lines across the landscape some are so powerful they are visible to regular players as well.

Nexus Points If you though Ley-lines were mean...wait till you stand in a point where those things cross.....YOWSERS.

WEIRD MANA... Sometimes mana just isn't right...Casting in an area of WEIRD mana causes all sorts of oddities to happen. Wrong Elements come out of your spells, Weaker spells for more mana, stronger spells for less, Gain or lose a slot, Faster or slower casting times... Definately a way to keep players on thier toes.

The idea here...is to create a system where there are enough variables, that you can work out strategies, without creating "must haves" though that is always easier said than done.

I am really liking the thought of a free flowing system such as this, and have some ideas of my own to contribute. The idea of counter-spells and protective spells is a fantastic idea, and would add an extremely high level of diversity to playing a casting class (this can be modified slightly to include ALL casters). First off you could make 'manavision' a "skill" or "talent" that requires players to increase in level to make it more useful. Originally it could start out only showing which element is being used, and even then it may only show x seconds before the spell is finished, not allowing much time for a counter spell. As the skill gets better you learn to detect magic earlier, and get more detailed info such as target type and effects, so that more precise counters/protection can be cast. Only spells cast at you/your party would be shown to save on graphics cost.

Now as for protective spells, picture it like this. I see a mage start casting a fire spell, that is the only info I have, so I quickly press the keys to cast an Ice Shield over my entire group. If completed in time this saves x% of damage from all of us. Or I might just cast an Ice Shield on myself and it saves x+5% for me if the spell is in fact aimed only at me. As the caster gets higher in skill, more advanced spells will be available for protection as well as offense, and thirdly for counter attacks (though to a lesser degree).

With countering, it would make sense that you would have to cast almost the exact same spell, at the same time, to make it work. So my opponent casts a Single Target, plain fire ball at me. I cast a single target fire ball back at him and it hits the opponent for the original damage + x%. I could also have cast a single target ice ball (the direct opposite element) and if successful done (original damage + (x * 2)% damage.

If there was a space for players to setup hotkeys for spells, protections and counter spells, the caster's playability would become immensely more challenging (and if done correctly, fun) than is done in any current RPG's.

Also going to add some comments for other classes in that thread now. :)