So, I was talking with a friend of mine and we discussed the lack of flexibility that spell slots bring on the table when it comes to high level spellcasters. To be more precise, he mentioned that a spell caster who could cast 9th level spells should have reached a point where his lower level magicks would come effortlessly to him, and I see the point he makes.
So I proposed this house rule but I want your opinions on the matter before I apply it to our campaign. When a spellcaster reaches the point where they can cast 6th level spells, their 1st level spells become "spells per encounter" instead of "spells per day". This means that these spell slots, if consumed during an encounter, are automatically replenished after 1 minute following the encounter's end. If a spellcaster casts these spells out of combat, no matter which spell was last cast, he must wait 1 full minute without casting anything at all for these slots to be replenished.
This house rule applies to 2nd level spells when the caster reaches 7th level spells, to 3rd level spells then attaining 8th level spells, and finally to 4th level spells when reaching the last, 9th level spells.
So, do you guys think this is a bit too much? Should the system remain as is, or would it be a good idea to give it a try? Thanks for taking your time to read this post, and I appreciate any feedback you give me! Have a nice day everyone!
Casters are already really powerful, and they don't need any more help. In addition the way the game works is more like each magic uses energy(slots). As casters grow in power they get to cast more powerful spells more times per day. So from a flavor stand point the current rules work, and from a mechanical standpoint they work. Your friend's flavor(view) of how he thinks it should be is coloring things.
Managing resources is also part of the game,and not having some caster be able to spam spells at you is a good thing.
As an example a balancing point of prepared casters is them having to choose how many time to prepare spell X, and lower level spells such as greater invisibility, restoration, dimension door stay useful at higher level.
You really don't want caster to be able to spam confusion, even when the party or the enemies are past level 17.