I'm still a bit confused on spontaneous magic. Does the spell still 'change' if it's well within your abilities? Like, if no shifts take place? And how are only a few shifts different from many? If I cast a spontaneous spell that only shifts twice, can it really get more messed up with 5 or 6 shifts? I understand that at some point the spell will just not work at all, or worse, kill you, but if other players are the one's who are supposed to decide that, then aren't you just dying because that's someone's arbitrary interpretation of what happened?
I'm not sure of how I feel about the initial spell package. Right after character creation, you really don't possess the skills to cast anything. In fact, when I made my character and tried to get my initial package, I got a message telling me that nothing fit my skill level so far. How are new players going to be able to jump in the game, even using low level magic, without using rituals taking hours to light a campfire or blow themselves up hunting rabbits with spontaneous magic?
