Re: Magic systems, Magic costs to much?
Maybe so, but I think it depends upon what style of spellcaster the player wants to play.
Most of my players, at least those playing a character who is primarily a spellcaster, tend to want the stereotypical wizard. I have a rogue-type with some magic for creating a pool of darkness and a mage hand spell for manipulating locks at a distance and no "blast 'em" spells. However, a typical spellcaster with a single attack spell of whatever type might as well be a fighter with a bow. Adding the variable advantage allows easy simulation of a wide repetoir of spells with similar SFX.
Personally, I prefer characters with a wide level of utility and many skills. My point in responding originally was that 200-250 point characters have plenty of points for magic and should look at putting together spells that are not superpowers. In D&D terms (the default lingua franca of roleplaying), I evaluate 125 point spellcasters at 3rd to 5th level (depending upon actual build) and the 200 point range as 18th to 20th level (again, depending upon the build). This is using the published monsters as a guide.