Quote Originally Posted by Cosi View Post
This kind of thing is tempting, but it's a bad idea. Mechanics that encourage people not to use their abilities make the game less interesting. People also respond irrationally to limited resource and uncertain refresh rates, which will tend to make the problem even worse.
I disagree. The powerful spellcaster can tend to outperform every other class when access to high level spells is unrestricted. This is why the rules time-gate them in the first place.

The RAW impose limits on the use of powerful magic, but if a DM finds the mages overpowering, and thus overshadowing the other characters in his campaign, he is well within his rights to make adjustments. The trick is to make adjustments which do not cripple any one character or render a class obsolete.

The wizard was never intended to be a solo front-line fighter. It is, and has always been, artillery support. From spell selection to study time to spells per day, every aspect of the class is about limiting access to powerful magic so the other classes are valued and even required, to achieve goals. The wizard was never intended to be the central character around which the game revolves. Enforcing time-gates such as study time bring the class back to its original purpose: to be a glass cannon with limited ammunition.

Overpowered mages is a problem I have never had, but then I have always built my campaigns around the idea that every character needs a moment to shine. Wizards are at their best when they are used strategically, not when every other class exists to guard the wizard in his sleep.