Variable-Level Spells

[Porridge]

Here’s a question I’ve been thinking about for the last couple days:

The Long Version:

One of my favorite features of Starfinder is the implementation of a number of variable-level spells. I love this mechanic — after all, it seems weird that spontaneous casters can know how to cast sixth level cure spells, but not first level cure spells. And, of course, these kinds of spells are solid gold for spontaneous casters, since it gives them a lot more options.

Now, here are the variable-level spells in the Starfinder CRB:

• Creation 4-5
  
• Dismissal 4-5
  
• Fear 1-4
  
• Flight 1-6
  
• Holographic image 1-6
  
• Mind thrust 1-6
  
• Mystic cure 1-6
  
• Mystic cure mass, 5-6
  
• Planar binding 4-6
  

So far, so good. Now my question. Why did the designers make these particular spells variable-level spells, but not do so with other similar-themed spells? For example:

• Charm Person and Charm Monster
  
• Hold Person and Hold Monster
  
• Handy Junkbot and Battle Junkbot
  
• Dispel Magic and Greater Dispel Magic
  
• Invisibility and Greater Invisibility
  
• Teleport and Interplanetary Teleport
  
• Lesser Remove Condition, Remove Condition and Greater Remove Condition
  
• Lesser Restoration and Restoration
  
• Rewire Flesh and Mass Rewire Flesh
  
• Synaptic Pulse and Greater Synaptic Pulse
  

I guess the question is especially salient for spells with the same name, but with a “Lesser” or “Greater” out front. Why not make these variable-level spells as well? It’s too obvious an option for them to not have thought about, so I’m sure they had substantive reasons. But what were they?

TLDR: Why do you think the designers choose to make some spells variable-level (e.g., Flight, Mystic Cure or Planar Binding) but not others (e.g., the Remove Condition spells, the Restoration spells, the Dispel Magic spells)?

[Porridge]

Let me refine this a bit. Some of the groups of spells I talked about, like the Junkbot group of spells, are pretty different — I can see why those weren’t turned into a variable-level spell. Variable-level spells should be a bunch of virtually identical spells of different levels that are all small tweaks of each other.

So, going through the Starfinder CRB, let’s group all of the groups of spells whose description starts “This spell functions as X, except/but…” with spell X and each other. (So, for example, Hold Person has a given description, and then the description for Hold Monster starts “This spell functions as Hold Person, except…”, so those two would be grouped together.) Doing this gives us the following potential variable-level spells:

• Missing Variable-Level Spells:
  
• Charm (1,3) [Charm Person, Charm Monster]
  
• Command (1,5) [Command, Greater Command]
  
• Confusion (1,4) [Confusion, Greater Confusion]
  
• Daze (0,2) [Daze, Daze Monster]
  
• Discharge (3,6) [Discharge, Greater Discharge]
  
• Dispel Magic (3,5) [Dispel Magic, Greater Dispel Magic]
  
• Hold (2,4) [Hold Person, Hold Monster]
  
• Inflict Pain (2,6) [Inflict Pain, Mass Inflict Pain]
  
• Invisibility (2,4,6) [Invisibility, Greater Invisibility, Mass Invisibility]
  
• Mending (0,2) [Mending, Make Whole]
  
• Remove Condition (1,2,5) [Lesser Remove Condition, Remove Condition, Greater Remove Condition]
  
• Resistant Armor (3-6) [Lesser Resistant Armor, Resistant Armor, Resistant Aegis, Greater Resistant Armor]
  
• Restoration (2,4) [Lesser Restoration, Restoration]
  
• Rewire Flesh (4,6) [Rewire Flesh, Mass Rewire Flesh]
  
• Suggestion (3,6) [Suggestion, Mass Suggestion]
  
• Synaptic Pulse (3,5) [Synaptic Pulse, Greater Synaptic Pulse]
  
• Teleport (5-6) [Teleport, Interplanetary Teleport]
  

Now, as a house rule, one might introduce these as further variable-level spells. (In fact, I think I’ll probably do that…) But put that aside. My main question is: why didn’t the designers introduce these as further variable-level spells?

I’m 100% confident that they considered doing this for at least some of these options, and decided not to. So why did they decide not to in these cases?

[Mark Seifter]

I was considering making a few of these variable level during my late night spells pass that Owen mentioned on social media, but he had a solid reason why not to do so for the spells I was considering merging. See if you can figure out what Owen told me by looking at the two lists (Hint: resistant armor and teleport are outliers that aren't on the second list due to the general rule, but all the others are)

[Drali]

It's because the spells jump levels.

All the Variable-Level spells are within one level of each other.

Everything on the second list but Teleport and Resistant armor are not.

[David knott 242]

My guess is that variable level spells have to fill every spell level from the lowest level at which the spell can be learned up to 6th level with no gaps.

[Mark Seifter]

I figured you guys would guess it pretty quickly, but it was a fun puzzle. Paizo forums brain trust is pretty smart!

[DM_aka_Dudemeister]

Yeah, I had the same reaction as the OP at first, but then I saw that Lesser/Greater spells didn't fit smoothly into Level 1-X

I guess they didn't want to have variable level spell say something like:

Restoration (2,4)

I'm not sure I agree with that design decision, especially considering how precious spells known are (and they'll only get more valuable as later books are released).

But again, I don't houserule until I've played for a while as written to see what value is provided.

[David knott 242]

Drali's answer is the better one, as I mistakenly assumed that variable level spells had to go up to the maximum possible spell level (revealed as not true in the actual list of variable level spells).

[Porridge]

Mark Seifter wrote:

I was considering making a few of these variable level during my late night spells pass that Owen mentioned on social media, but he had a solid reason why not to do so for the spells I was considering merging. See if you can figure out what Owen told me by looking at the two lists (Hint: resistant armor and teleport are outliers that aren't on the second list due to the general rule, but all the others are)

Yeah, I was guessing that the level-gaps might be one of the considerations that pushed you guys away from a lot of these, but I was thrown by the exclusion of Teleport and the Resistant Armor groups.

So why were those two groups excluded? Inquiring minds want to know!

[Porridge]

ps: If you're up for talking about, I'd also be curious as to what the concern with the level gaps was. I can see that it's a way in which most of the above groups differ w.r.t. the variable-level spells that appear in the CRB. But why was this a desiderata?

pps: Thanks for chipping in!