- Does it need to do anything at all? Maybe whether or not you cast a spell should be determined by whether or not you have the spell option on your character sheet and pay the resource cost, and your opponent just defends against a fixed strength level. This is how 3.x targeted spells work.
- Should you still have to hit just like a ranged attacker? Maybe casting the spell itself doesn't require a roll, but you still have to actually hit your opponent with the effect. This is how 3.x ranged touch spells work.
- Should you have to successfully cast the spell itself, with a chance for failure? This can make the act of actually casting a spell more interesting, but your failure chance needs to be small or you're just going to make spellcasting a trap option. This is mostly how SR4 spellcasting works.
- Should the success of your spell be assured, but you still have to roll to determine how hard you win? This was basically how our original concept worked, but some members of the team felt that it needed to have more potential for unexpected results (botches that cause your spell to go hilariously wrong). It also has a problem being conceptually crammed into the same space as damage rolls, particularly if you have to roll separately.
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