Limiting Spell Recovery

[Talakeal]

Several years ago I instituted a policy of not allowing characters to regain spells after a rest. Instead, they must spend an extended period of time meditating in their sanctum, and this is (almost) always impossible during an adventure. In essence the character only gets one spell selection each adventure.

When I implemented the rule the magic using players, predictably, pitched a fit and claimed it was the end of their characters, however this never happened. Instead I found that high level combat was much more fun for everyone involved, the martial characters could actually pull their weight, and the spell casters actually had to think carefully about what was the best spell for a given situation instead of just going nova and blasting their way through any obstacle.

How do you think such a system would work for your game or for the game as a whole? Any problems with it? Has anyone else tried this or something similar?

[Gamer Girl]

I think it's the worst spellcaster fix and nerf ever. All it does is stop the spellcasters from playing the game and having fun.

Exactly how long does a single adventure last? Even if a spellcaster only used a couple spells a day, they would be out of spells in 3-5 days no problem. So if the adventure lasts for 10-15 days, that has the spellcaster not using any spells for a week. So then the player gets the fun of not playing a spellcaster and standing around a lot.

This fix makes it impossible for spellcasters to travel at all. A spellcaster can't go anywhere for any length of time.

And what about non combat spells? Like divination and healing spells or all the utility spells?

And once you get past 10th level, the home thing is pointless. Every spellcaster will just teleport home every day and study.

[ILM]

When I implemented the rule the magic using players, predictably, pitched a fit and claimed it was the end of their characters, however this never happened.
It sounds like you announced it mid-campaign. If that's the case, you're lucky the players stuck with you cause I would've walked then and there.

That said, if you'd announced that before players rolled characters, well, fair enough. I sure wouldn't have played a spellcaster though. With no way of knowing beforehand how long an adventure (i.e. time away from base) would last, all I know is I'd have about what, 50 spells? (not including cantrips, and at level 20) So at the most, 50 rounds' worth of casting before I'm completely useless. 50 rounds in an adventure - sounds like a bargain!

Plus, I could see how you'd want to 'fix' tier 1 classes, but you're also hitting bards, sorcs, hell even paladins and rangers. Talk about indiscriminate.

The problem is that for all we know you could make a dungeon with about 20 encounters and the mages would be bled dry of useful spell by the 10th. At this point, they stop having fun. Trying to ensure spell slots are not 1/encounter is a decent idea, but I think you went too far. Perhaps something like enforcing a strict 1/day rest tops (so they don't sleep after every fight) with maybe 4 or 5 encounters max might work. Remember, an equal-CR encounter should be designed to consume 25% of a party's resources - including spells.

[Talakeal]

As I said, that was the knee jerk reaction my players had as well. But it actually has made the game much more fun for everyone involved once they got used to it.


I don't think I made the change mid campaign, and over half of all player's take spell casting characters.


Sorry if I was unclear, it doesn't necessarily have to be his sanctum. Any will do, the key is it takes a long period of undisturbed meditation, longer than the 8 hours of sleep and 15 minutes of studying.

The change actually hurts hybrid characters less as they have a lot more to fall back on.

An equal CR encounter typically lasts under 5 rounds. It is simply impossible for that to consume 25% of a parties spells unless they were going crazy using quickened spells and time stops or are very low level.

I rarely have adventures that last long enough to drain a character's magic completely, usually only the higher level spell slots have to be limited. Typically an adventure lasts a single 4-8 hour session and contains no more than half a dozen combat encounters.
If I play a longer adventure I have several methods that allow the players someway to regain spells mid adventure, including potions that restore spell slots, friendly NPCs who let players rest in their haven, or magical creature whose energy can be absorbed and turned into spells by defeating them.

And yes, if you make a character who is a pure caster with no useful skills or class abilities you might have to "sit out" occasionally, assisting other characters or, god forbid, attacking with their crossbow / staff like low level mages were doing for years. If it comes up they usually they just use scrolls or wands though.
A mage in such a situation is still able to contribute in a more useful and active manner than a martial character in a group of mid-high level casters however.

[Greenish]

You do realize that not all spellcasters are overpowered in any way?

Poor, poor duskblades, healers and warmages…

[Cruiser1]

The problem is this limits low level spellcasters (which are better balanced), while not limiting high level spellcasters (which are overly powerful) where the high level casters avoid the problem by teleporting back to their sanctum when needed (or even their time adjusted demiplane) or just have enough spell slots by then to last the adventure.

In this campaign world, the Warlock would become very popular, as they can cast as will forever, as would Reserve Feats for other caster classes.

[Talakeal]

The problem is this limits low level spellcasters (which are better balanced), while not limiting high level spellcasters (which are overly powerful) where the high level casters avoid the problem by teleporting back to their sanctum when needed (or even their time adjusted demiplane) or just have enough spell slots by then to last the adventure.

In this campaign world, the Warlock would become very popular, as they can cast as will forever, as would Reserve Feats for other caster classes.


That's a simple fix. Don't allow time to be adjusted in a demi plane. I can't imagine any campaign where the DM allows that particular could function.

Also, if they teleport back then the adventure continues on without them. If they take the rest of the party with them, then the bad guys will surely reinforce thier positions and prepare for the PCs inevitable return, and in 90% of adventures this will mean doing encounters over again or facing worse odds.

[Glimbur]

The problem is this limits low level spellcasters (which are better balanced), while not limiting high level spellcasters (which are overly powerful) where the high level casters avoid the problem by teleporting back to their sanctum when needed (or even their time adjusted demiplane) or just have enough spell slots by then to last the adventure.

Beyond low levels wands and scrolls are also quite viable. It means that CL dependent spells will be more rare, but there are a number of spells which are plenty useful at minimum caster level.

[erikun]

Typically an adventure lasts a single 4-8 hour session and contains no more than half a dozen combat encounters.

If I play a longer adventure I have several methods that allow the players someway to regain spells mid adventure, including potions that restore spell slots, friendly NPCs who let players rest in their haven, or magical creature whose energy can be absorbed and turned into spells by defeating them.
This is the key. The typical adventure you run is no more challanging than the encounters most parties run into during one day, and you make allowances when the adventure runs longer than that. Most adventures I've ran with are generally several days long with a dozen encounters or more. When you say "cannot regain spells during an adventure", then I'd think most people would be assuming through 12+ encounters, not just 5.

With the way you have things set up, I'm sure it works fine. It seems like it's an attempt to remove the '15-minute workday' problem of resting/recoving spells rather than an attempt to nerf spellcasters, and it probably works well at limiting what spells your casters throw around. I'm not so convinced it is changing the players' playstyle that much, though.


Also note that there are plenty of ways around your limitations if the party wants to do so. Teleport, Mordenkainen's Mansion, and even Rope Trick would give you enough privacy to regain spells. Conversely, resurrecting, poison/disease, and level drain become unusually large problems, given that the characters won't have access to those spells unless they prepare them beforehand or end the adventure to spend a day preparing them.

[Talakeal]

I think the flavor text is muddling my meaning.

What I am proposing is a system where check points, rather than sleep, determine when you recover spells.

For example, you get back spells when you clear a floor of a dungeon, or accomplish a plot goal, kill a boss monster, reach the next town, etc.

Spell slots are in the game for a reason, and I am pretty sure the game's balance (or lack thereoff) is a dependant on them being enforced somehow, something that RAW doesn't do.

[ILM]

Beyond low levels wands and scrolls are also quite viable. It means that CL dependent spells will be more rare, but there are a number of spells which are plenty useful at minimum caster level.
No, it means casters have to burn gold and XP to craft something in order to use what should be a free class feature. You try docking 10 XP every time a melee rogue swings his daggers more than 10 times a day, because his damage output is "overpowered".


An equal CR encounter typically lasts under 5 rounds. It is simply impossible for that to consume 25% of a parties spells unless they were going crazy using quickened spells and time stops or are very low level.
In that case, maybe you're not challenging them enough (and I don't mean this in an insulting way). It's in the DMG, page 49: an equal EL encounter should consume 20% (not 25, my bad) of a party's resources. HP, spells, magic items, etc. It goes on to say that on average, a party should rest and heal up after 4 encounters, and a 5th will TPK them. If your PCs are burning thrhough fights with no meaningful resource usage, then the fights are too easy for them compared to how the game was designed originally. Which is fine, really, if everybody's having fun (personally, I don't much enjoy dying 3 times per campaign, so I could understand the attraction in toning down threat level a bit), but you should take it into account.


If I play a longer adventure I have several methods that allow the players someway to regain spells mid adventure, including potions that restore spell slots, friendly NPCs who let players rest in their haven, or magical creature whose energy can be absorbed and turned into spells by defeating them.
I probably don't need to say it but watch out with that, it seems eminently abusable.


And yes, if you make a character who is a pure caster with no useful skills or class abilities you might have to "sit out" occasionally, assisting other characters or, god forbid, attacking with their crossbow / staff like low level mages were doing for years.
Wizards and sorcs have next to no class abilities aside from spellcasting (which, incidentally, is how they assist other characters), and have you seen their class skills lists? Sure, they can pew pew from afar with their abysmal AC and miserable BAB, and hope they manage to hit a barn door at 20', but I'm not sure that's what they signed up for.


Anyway, bottom line is, I don't know your campaign and if you say everyone's having more fun, then I guess we're all arguing for nothing cause obviously your fix works. But I think that's really dependent on your DMing style and your players' gaming styles, and not necessarily applicable to other campaigns out there.

[The Cat Goddess]

I think the flavor text is muddling my meaning.

What I am proposing is a system where check points, rather than sleep, determine when you recover spells.

For example, you get back spells when you clear a floor of a dungeon, or accomplish a plot goal, kill a boss monster, reach the next town, etc.

Spell slots are in the game for a reason, and I am pretty sure the game's balance (or lack thereoff) is a dependant on them being enforced somehow, something that RAW doesn't do.

The way I would limit things would be to simply increase the pace of the situation... The characters rarely get time to rest for more than a couple of hours, simply because so much is going on.

Of course, this does make Clerics (and, I think Druids?) much more powerful than Wizards, etc... because, by RAW, a Cleric (& possibly Druid & Favored Soul) gains spells at a specific time of day (set at character creation) no matter what, unless completely cut off from divine contact.

[Greenish]

I think the flavor text is muddling my meaning.

What I am proposing is a system where check points, rather than sleep, determine when you recover spells.

For example, you get back spells when you clear a floor of a dungeon, or accomplish a plot goal, kill a boss monster, reach the next town, etc.

Spell slots are in the game for a reason, and I am pretty sure the game's balance (or lack thereoff) is a dependant on them being enforced somehow, something that RAW doesn't do.It still doesn't bypass the problem that it doesn't only weaken high tier casters (who are the problem) but also low tier casters (some of whom need help, not nerfs). It serves to increase the gap between a (non-rainbow) warmage and a god-style wizard, if anything, for the latter is far more spell-efficient.

[Talakeal]

Yeah, the potions are pretty hard to balance properly.

It's not a matter of encounter difficulty per se, it's a matter of length. PCs just don't have enough time to fire off that many spells as most monsters don't have the HP to survive more than 4-5 rounds of pounding, and it is my understanding that is intentional, as players get bored in longer combats.

I personally don't think I have ever seen a non tier 1 caster in my games who wasn't some sort of a gish class. Not sure how a healer or war mage would perform, but I am not sure it would be that different as they only have 1 shtick to fulfill, rather than spending all their spell slots on 10 types of utility.

[erikun]

What I am proposing is a system where check points, rather than sleep, determine when you recover spells.

For example, you get back spells when you clear a floor of a dungeon, or accomplish a plot goal, kill a boss monster, reach the next town, etc.
There are two problems I see here.

First, what is to stop them from recovering their spells outside of a checkpoint? While you could say "camping does not allow you to recover spells", there is no logical reason why heading back to town and taking a few days' rest should not allow recovery also.

Second, what is to stop players from bypassing floors and skipping right to the next checkpoint? If I was a moderately powerful wizard and got halfway through a floor before teleporting home, the most sensible thing would be to scry the point where we left and teleport back when the party is recovered. That only uses two of my spell slots, which is apparently far less resources than what the party went through to get to that point.

[Gamer Girl]

and the spell casters actually had to think carefully about what was the best spell for a given situation instead of just going nova and blasting their way through any obstacle.

I've heard this myth many times. Can you give an example of the spellcasters going nova and blasting an obstacle? Can anyone give an similar example?

Even a 20th level spellcaster can only have so many novas, and if your running a balanced campaign, they will have even less effect.

If your 20th level spellcaster is blasting through 50 1st level warrior orcs, that is normal. But when they try to nova on 50 7th level warlock phase spiders, they suddenly find their nova wasted as all the phase spiders jaunted away.

[Squiggles]

You could have always run a low-magic campaign and left spell recovery alone, just capping caster levels at a certain point.

[Talakeal]

Even at low levels unlimited spell slots still negate most other class rolls. It's not solely about caster power in combat.

Unlimited knock, invisibility, silence, summon spells negate rogues.
Unlimited divination spells negate the need for puzzle solving or investigation.
Unlimited fabricate spells negate the need to manage money.
Unlimited healing spells negate the need to conserve HP.

As for saying going nova is a myth, I have seen it many times in game, and I am sure you can find numerous examples on these boards. I am not very experienced running a high level caster, so I am probably not the best person to ask about specific cases, but I don't think there is any obstacle a DM can put in your way that a 20th level mage cannot bypass by throwing enough spells at it save a more powerful magic user or some strange anti magic fiat.

[erikun]

How often do you run into someone with "unlimited" knock, healing, stone shape, invisibility, or silence? The first three are preferably handled by wands or magical items (Belt of Vigor), which under this system are just as effective as normal. The latter two are generally only prepared once or twice, as a buff for sneaking or a way to get out of a bad situation. (Note that Silence is bard-only.)

Fabricate spells are used during downtime, and thus unaffected by your system. It takes just as long to Fabricate one thousand longswords from a Wall of Iron in both situations.

Divination spells are generally used during social situations, which also have plenty of downtime to talk to ghosts or scry around. You could prevent this by keeping things on a limited time scale - the murderer will get away if you delay a day - but doing so already prevents the use of divination unless the characters prepared it. There is no change here.

It is rather ironic that you mention summoning when earlier you mentioned that reserve feats would become more useful. Summon Elemental is one of the more broken feats in casual use, and can flood a battlefield for free.


As for saying going nova is a myth, I have seen it many times in game, and I am sure you can find numerous examples on these boards. I am not very experienced running a high level caster, so I am probably not the best person to ask about specific cases, but I don't think there is any obstacle a DM can put in your way that a 20th level mage cannot bypass by throwing enough spells at it save a more powerful magic user or some strange anti magic fiat.
Sure you can: a 21st level mage. Or an incredibly nasty monster with spellcasting abilities, such as an Ethergaunt.

I'm also not sure what you mean by going nova on a mage. Do you mean Chained Twinned Maximized Meteor Storm? Using Time Stop/Shapechange/Wish/Gate to get a sudden army at their command? Save-or-Die rocket tag? The first option is horribly inefficient, and the second horribly wasteful (and generally only used when things are incredibly bad). Rocket tag only happens when both sides participate, as if the enemies are not immediately lethal then throwing that many spells at them is a waste.

I suppose that Time Stop insanity would give you trouble, but your solution - go back to town and sleep for a day - doesn't really solve it. You'll either need to make the situation time sensitive, or launch a follow-up assault after they waste all their magic, or make more than one encounter important. It is pretty much the standard solutions that normal DMs need to use for someone blowing all their resources at once.

[ILM]

As for saying going nova is a myth, I have seen it many times in game, and I am sure you can find numerous examples on these boards.
So what? A mage burning all his higher-level slots on one encounter (that didn't really need it) is already handled by the standard 3-4 encounters before resting. Casters are powerful and may need some effort on your part to keep them challenged while not wtfpwing the non-casters, but I'm not sure making up arbitrary limitations that depend solely on how many encounters you decide to have them face today is the best way to go about it.


It's not a matter of encounter difficulty per se, it's a matter of length. PCs just don't have enough time to fire off that many spells as most monsters don't have the HP to survive more than 4-5 rounds of pounding, and it is my understanding that is intentional, as players get bored in longer combats.
Length is a factor of difficulty. If the PCs blow up everything in 5 rounds, then your enemies aren't buffed enough, don't use terrain enough, don't debuff enough, don't move around enough, or any combination of the above. It's not just about trading HP shots.

One thing I notice though: you didn't mention what level the campaign was. There's a huge difference between 5 and 15 in terms of what tactical set-ups you can design for villains. A single decent illusionist with Mirage Arcana vs. PCs with unoptimized will saves can create the battlefield he wants and prevent the PCs from reaching him for a few rounds.

[Tyndmyr]

I think it's the worst spellcaster fix and nerf ever. All it does is stop the spellcasters from playing the game and having fun.

This. It makes spellcasters play "guess how long this adventure will last".

That's it. Like all games that are essentially about guessing what the DM is thinking, they are terrible design, and need to cease to exist.

And yes, teleport makes the whole thing a waste of time. It only nerfs casters when they are at their weakest. This makes balance worse, not better.

[The Boz]

Yeah, an arbitrary "you shall not regain" limit is not fun...
How about you just introduce some kind of scaling spell regain mechanic, so that the most powerful spells take like a week of rest, but simple spells are ready soon?
For example:
Highest spell level: 5 days of rest, meditation and preparation
One and two levels lower: 1 full day of rest
Three and four levels lower: 8 hours of rest
Five levels lower and more: An hour of meditation
Cantrips for a wizard of level 3 and up: Five minutes of deep thought

[Tyndmyr]

You mean like Recharge Magic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/rechargeMagic.htm)?

That system is still problematic...but it's a great deal less horrible than the arbitrarily long denial of recharge issue.

[Analytica]

Yeah, an arbitrary "you shall not regain" limit is not fun...
How about you just introduce some kind of scaling spell regain mechanic, so that the most powerful spells take like a week of rest, but simple spells are ready soon?
For example:
Highest spell level: 5 days of rest, meditation and preparation
One and two levels lower: 1 full day of rest
Three and four levels lower: 8 hours of rest
Five levels lower and more: An hour of meditation
Cantrips for a wizard of level 3 and up: Five minutes of deep thought

This. I wouldn't mind a campaign like this. Perhaps shift even more so that low-level attack spells end up being per-encounter.

People prefer different games, I guess.

[Talakeal]

Once again, I did not say rest over night in town, or that teleport solves everything. The character needs to take an extended and uninterrupted rest, a sort of "vacation" from adventuring, usually lasting a week or two, not just teleporting out for a night.

Also, while the recharge spells are an ok idea, not all spells are created equal. While I wouldn't mind a wizard casting magic missile every round, as while it might spoil the mood it doesn't make the other players useless or give the mage an unfair advantage. Unlimited color spray on the other hand...

Also, yes, wands do become a problem if you gives the players unlimited access to them. I wasn't aware DMs actually did that, I thought the "wand of lesser vigor" was just a thought experiment, and in my campaign they long ago went the way of the crossbow of true striking.

I understand that a lot of people don't consider resource management fun, and like to give everyone full power before each encounter, but in my mind it makes most encounters pointless. An equal CR opponent has almost no chance of killing anyone at mid levels, let alone a TPK, and if it doesn't drain the ~20% of parties resources like it is supposed to (one casting of rope trick to recharge spells and a couple charges off a wand of lesser vigor to regain HP is not 20%) why even have the encounter in the game?*

*Obviously there is the fun factor. But when there is no challenge in the encounter and it only serves to delay the players from their goal, it is hard to have a fun encounter.

Let me ask another question, is it only D&D that you think this system is horrible in or RPGs? I remember in werewolf, for example, you only regain "spells" once a month, while in Riddle of Steel and Mage there is no limit on spells, but each time you cast you gain a strike against you which does not go away over time, and too many result in deadly or permanent effects. Clearly both of these systems are even more restrictive, and in my experiance they are fun and popular systems.

[ILM]

An equal CR opponent has almost no chance of killing anyone at mid levels, let alone a TPK, and if it doesn't drain the ~20% of parties resources like it is supposed to (one casting of rope trick to recharge spells and a couple charges off a wand of lesser vigor to regain HP is not 20%) why even have the encounter in the game?*
CR is all over the place. There are ways to make monsters of any CR that will drop-kick your PCs into the afterlife before they even know it's there. If you feel that equal-CR is inadequate for your players, you're not using the rules enough. Plus, if they're all incredibly smart and optimized, then just notch it up. Start lobbing CR+2 encounters, see how they fare.


Let me ask another question, is it only D&D that you think this system is horrible in or RPGs? I remember in werewolf, for example, you only regain "spells" once a month, while in Riddle of Steel and Mage there is no limit on spells, but each time you cast you gain a strike against you which does not go away over time, and too many result in deadly or permanent effects. Clearly both of these systems are even more restrictive, and in my experiance they are fun and popular systems.
Chocolate is good, pizza is good, so why isn't everyone putting chocolate in their pizzas?

[Talakeal]

That's it. Like all games that are essentially about guessing what the DM is thinking, they are terrible design, and need to cease to exist.

While I agree with the sentiment in principle, saying that all games which require the players to anticipate the adventure are terrible and shouldn't exist is a bit harsh. I don't think I have ever seen an edition of any game which didn't require the players to judge that to some degree. Any spell, power, or magic item with limited uses falls under this category, and I can't think of anyway you could do away with it aside from making everything unlimited use and completely equal in power, which is imo pretty boring.

As I said, I do agree that is bad game design when taken too far. For example one of my beefs with 4E is that most powers are limited to once per encounter or day, and the DM won't tell me if the monster I am using it on is a minion, normal, elite, or solo until it is too late.



CR is all over the place. There are ways to make monsters of any CR that will drop-kick your PCs into the afterlife before they even know it's there. If you feel that equal-CR is inadequate for your players, you're not using the rules enough. Plus, if they're all incredibly smart and optimized, then just notch it up. Start lobbing CR+2 encounters, see how they fare.

Maybe I just have whiny players, but if I have a monster play smart they demand extra XP and treasure to compensate, and if I thought a higher CR opponent at them and they lose they pitch a fit and call me a killer DM.

I remember one time when I had a green dragon follow the PCs from cover, buff itself with spells, and then use hit and run tactics in the deep forest. The players told me that other DMs just don't pull crap like that, and that is why I am a bad DM.



Chocolate is good, pizza is good, so why isn't everyone putting chocolate in their pizzas?

So you are saying that yes, it is just D&D which this doesn't work for? Because that is not what I am getting from the other posters.

[ILM]

Maybe I just have whiny players, but if I have a monster play smart they demand extra XP and treasure to compensate, and if I thought a higher CR opponent at them and they lose they pitch a fit and call me a killer DM.

I remember one time when I had a green dragon follow the PCs from cover, buff itself with spells, and then use hit and run tactics in the deep forest. The players told me that other DMs just don't pull crap like that, and that is why I am a bad DM.
I think I would've been thrilled by an encounter with a dragon played smart.
Like I already said, maybe that's just how you and your players match up, and maybe in that configuration yours is the perfect houserule. It's just completely dependent on your respective playstyles, and thus not automatically applicable to any other group.


So you are saying that yes, it is just D&D which this doesn't work for? Because that is not what I am getting from the other posters.
How would I know? I'm not playing those other systems. Those other systems I've played had different rules, and therefore different balances, and therefore I wouldn't compare them to D&D because it's apples to oranges. Also, those other systems I've played are either more freeform all across the board, or have clear, fixed rules as to magic recovery - unlike your arbitrary "you get your spells back when I say so" houserule.

[Talakeal]

Its not arbitrary at all. I give them an objective before the adventure starts, and they get their spells back when they accomplish it.
I suppose you could say that it is arbitrary in that I use my judgement when I design the mission, but then again you could say the same thing about the standard D&D rules if the DM simply wont stop throwing encounters at them long enough to make camp.

[Kylarra]

I think, to an extent, it'll depend on the level of the players. At low levels you have barely any spells at all. At higher levels, resource management becomes marginally more bearable since you can cast more than 2 spells per "adventure", but again, still probably not my personal cup of tea. Although I guess focused specialist with some sort of blasty reserve feat might work.

[Epsilon Rose]

Once again, I did not say rest over night in town, or that teleport solves everything. The character needs to take an extended and uninterrupted rest, a sort of "vacation" from adventuring, usually lasting a week or two, not just teleporting out for a night.


I'm sorry, what?
This basically means you need DM fiat in order to go on longer adventures, and since you seem to be willing to let them borrow another mage's sanctum or absorb energy from enemies that's exactly what you're doing. Which means that saying they need to rest for an extended period isn't even remotely true. What is happening is you're only letting them regain spells when you feel like it. I'm fairly certain I couldn't play a mage under those conditions because I don't want to be guessing at meta-game things like "when's the next time the DM's going to let me recharge". In a logical game (you don't seem to be running one of these) I don't think that would result in resource management so much as resource hoarding.

[Talakeal]

I'm sorry, what?
This basically means you need DM fiat in order to go on longer adventures, and since you seem to be willing to let them borrow another mage's sanctum or absorb energy from enemies that's exactly what you're doing. Which means that saying they need to rest for an extended period isn't even remotely true. What is happening is you're only letting them regain spells when you feel like it. I'm fairly certain I couldn't play a mage under those conditions because I don't want to be guessing at meta-game things like "when's the next time the DM's going to let me recharge". In a logical game (you don't seem to be running one of these) I don't think that would result in resource management so much as resource hoarding.

I guess you play different sort of games than I do. If the players are going to go on an epic journey I hope they are doing so working with the DM. They aren't just going to wander off into the forest and expect to adventure for weeks straight, they will either go on short adventures (for example raid the orc stronghold then return to base) or go on an epic journey with stops along the way.

For example, the games workshop Lord of the Rings strategy game uses a similar system from which I drew inspiration. You play as the fellowship, and after each encounter a character can recover a single characteristic (wounds, will (used to cast spells), might, or fate, on a die roll of 4+. Many of the encounters are not actually a challenge on their own, they merely serve to wear down the parties resources.
Periodically throughout the game, at logical times, they are allowed to recover all their resources. Typically this occurs when they arrive at a friendly city such as Rivendell, Lothlorien, Edoras, and then Minas Tirith.
I don't see any DM fiat or arbitrary decisions here, and I would imagine an epic quest would have a similar structure in any game I ran, and even if the players don't know where each recovery spot is (they usually will), I would make sure to space them appropriately.

Also, you can say that the system is terrible and needs to be destroyed, but I swear to you that it works. Most new players grumble and say its the end of the world, but when they give it a try it works out much better than standard 15 minute work day scenarios for everyone involved. The only problem is when a player, almost always the same one, tries to abuse the system, like one time when he arrived late, 5 minutes before the end of the session, and then wanted to spend all of his spell slots (which he didn't have time to use) to craft scrolls, contingent spells, create money, etc.