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I have to start the section by saying that I have never run a magic heavy campaign, so you don't really have to listen to anything that is said here. I've never used a magic using OCC, but I have been a GM for a couple (mostly Dragon Hatchlings with a few spells). These rules and ideas came into play mostly because of a few problems that I've noticed when magic has come into play. I, at first thought that magic was totally under powered, then after watching some effective use of certain spells, I realized that only the offensive capabilities of the spells were underpowered. I for one agree with the people that have said magic users should not have to rely on tech weapons for their primary arsenal. They should be able to cast spells of comperable power, at first level. I'm not saying they should have the power of a full burst from a C-12 with a fireball spell, I'm just saying that they should have a couple of 2d6, or 3d6 spells to choose from. Also, spell strengths for all offensive spells should increase with the level. It doesn't have to be one extra die per level. You can space it out to every other, or every third level if the potential is too great. This reflects the mage's increasing control and understanding of spells.

Armor of Ithan
I for one have never thought of the Armor of Ithan spell as being too underpowered, or weak. But in the ever expanding power-creep of Palladiums future books, some do feel this way. I won't go as extreme as some other sights on here. Instead, I'll just make a slight alteration. The spell now has 25 MDC at level one + 10 MDC for each level afterwards. Remember this spell can be cast when needed (not stacking them on top of each other), as long as the mage has sufficient PPE. The spell also only suffers half damage from all magic, heat, cold, and electricity based attacks. That's better than the Glitter Boy's capabilities.

Carpet of Adhesion
This is considered a Munchkin spell by many GMs, so I'll just basically move this up to a level 9 spell. Simple as that.

Call Lightning
I like this spell, but I'm just trying to think logically here, as well as add a little thing that's been bugging me. The spell can not be used indoors if the ceiling is a solid opaque material (steel, concrete, hay, etc), The lightning comes from outside, so even if the structure is only an SDC building that structure would take all the damage. The lightning will not penetrate through solid objects, but it will work through glass (sun roofs, glass ceiling, etc). Also, the mage must make a strike roll to hit. No more of this automatic hitting crap.

Spell Strength
I've also seen a few ideas about spell strength (raising the saving throw for spells that require them) increasing as the mage increases in levels. This idea I liked, because it also made the higher level mages more powerful. I mean Psychics at first level are very powerful against weak minds at first level. I would suggest (I'm sure this has been suggested a few times by others) a bonus of +1 to spell strength given to ALL spell casters for every three levels of expereince (+1 at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15). Another thing is that the bonus a defender would use make a saving throw should depend on the type of spell directed at them. If it is a mind altering/illusion type spell, then the bonus should only come from the character's ME (Not PE). PE should only be used for physical effects from spells.

Using the rules I am proposing about time-dependent attacks/actions, I am now able to better determine how many actions/attacks spell casting during combat will take. This is just a basic rough outline that I'm using, so if you see anything doesn't make sense, please feel free to email me about it. I just wanted it to make more sense, because I see spell casting as time-dependent, no matter how quick the mages reflexes are (PP attribute), or if he knows how to box, it still takes time to focus the necessary energy to cast spells. Perhaps as a mage increases levels, he/she will be able to speed up their spell casting, but that's something I'll worry about adding later. For now, here's how I have it laid out.

Please refer to the Combat House Rules page to find out what I mean by time-dependent actions, and also to see how I divided the melee up into managable chunks to make combat easier, and more balanced.