Archives of Nethys

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Designing Spells / Step 1: Conceive

Flexibility is Strength

Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 114
When creating spells, keep in mind that the more options a spell provides, the more powerful it generally is, in that it allows a spellcaster to use one known spell to cover a large number of potential situations. This isn’t inherently bad, and spells that cover multiple situations can be very satisfying and mechanically sound; just keep in mind that you should adjust the relative strength of multiple effects so that it’s not a strictly better option than a more-focused spell. This also applies to spells whose effects scale, variable-level spells, and spells that have multiple simultaneous effects.