Invested Magic - A Better Magic Paradigm

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Playing a mage in Skyrim can often be a source of irritation. Every two minutes or so you have to refresh all your buffs, and the mage armor spells are the most annoying example of this annoyance. So here's a way to eliminate that annoyance in what I hope is a balanced way.

• []All mage armor spells (oakflesh, stoneflesh, etc.) now cost only ten (10) magicka to cast - but hold on! []While active, mage armor spells require an investment of magicka to maintain them, reducing your maximum magicka by an amount proportional to the spell's power. []This "investment" cost can be halved by the appropriate Alteration perks (Novice, Apprentice, etc.) []Mage armor spells now last a long time. A full day, in fact. []Casting a mage armor spell while that spell is active will dispel the spell. (Mage armor spells are essentially toggles.)

Spells currently updated to use this logic:

• []Oakflesh []Stoneflesh []Ironflesh []Ebonyflesh []Dragonhide (now provides 120 armor base, which is then affected by mage armor perks) []Candlelight []Muffle []Waterbreathing []Invisibility []Flame Cloak []Frost Cloak []Lightning Cloak []Conjure Familiar []Flaming Familiar (now renamed Conjure Flaming Familiar) []Conjure Flame Atronach []Conjure Frost Atronach []Conjure Storm Atronach []Flame Thrall []Frost Thrall []Storm Thrall []Raise Zombie []Reanimate Corpse []Revenant []Dread Zombie []Dead Thrall []Bound Sword []Bound Battleaxe []Bound Bow []Conjure Dremora Lord

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Some perks no longer make any sense within this system. Duration increases are just pointless, as are most cost reductions. So we need to make a few changes to keep the perk trees worth the effort and character resource expenditure.

Alteration Perk Tree:

• []Stability increases stagger resistance and prevents your mage armor spells from being released when you run out of magicka. Since duration boosts no longer matter as much, this perk needed some extra oomph.

Conjuration Perk Tree []Summoner increases the number of creatures you can control []Twin Souls prevents your summons from being released when you run out of magicka. []Dark Souls actually does what it says. (Beth screwed the pooch on this one.) []Necromancy gives your undead rapid healing. []Elem