Hi forum fellows,
I'm looking to start running one of the APs in the next several months and I'm thinking of enforcing a radical rule. Basically, that all spellcasting classes are 'prestige classes', only in the sense that PCs and NPCs must have half as many levels in a non-spellcasting class as they have in spellcasting classes. Consequently, all PCs begin with a level in a class that has no spellcasting progression.
The idea is that magic use in the game world is not rare, but access to the truly powerful spells (bard spell levels 5-6 and the other spell levels 7-9) is extremely rare. (I'm considering options for the paladin and ranger.)
What I'd like to know is whether anyone else on the forum has tried something similar with spellcasting classes. If so, what was your experience with gameplay? If not, can you think of things I might need to take into consideration besides the natural fact that the PCs (and NPCs) will not have the same access to conjuration (healing) magic?