Reworking Incantation Magic

[Anders]

I want to rework incantation magic so that it fits a more Conan-esque game, where fireballs are not in style. So...

1. Remove indirect damage. This is a big one - it means that spells will work more like curses. The only exception to this would be something like Create Fire, which makes flames spring up in an area. Those spells would still take the normal range penalties + the cost for area. They are not cast like fireballs - they still work like normal spells.
2. Introduce paths for Animals and Plants. Since there are no druids to be niche-protected, there is a need for these paths.
3. Likewise with Healing. Priests will use another system entirely for magic - Divine Favor - which hopefully is somewhat balanced against this.
4. Remove the 15 points Unusual Background required, but in exchange for this spells also add to Threshold. They add 1 per -1 modification on casting, so small spells are not dangerous to cast. But I want magic to feel dangerous to use.
5. Demonology and Necromancy is even worse to use. They do not add threshold - instead they use the Spirit Assisted Magic from Thaumatology. Such spells - even if cast for good purposes - rely on evil spirits to work and carries a commensurate price. You need a contract with an evil spirit to work this kind of magic. On the other hand, they are IQ/Easy to learn...

I think that should do the trick. What does the hive mind think? What kind of threshold and energy recovery do you recommend?