We’re tossing around half-burned characters for Grunweld II, and the matter of Art Magic vs. Stock Sorcery came up. I gather the standard advice is to not have both going at once, and I can see why - a magnate can easily spend his inheritance on spells, just achieving what an Art Magician can do out of the gate.
Restricting spell effects based on School of Magic (and even only allowing spells within a purchased school) is a start, but it seems this is a vast and spongy area. It’s totally arbitrary whether earth magic is appropriate for Advantage, Arcane Knowledge. Buying a school is like buying color.
Seems to me a good way to go would be to have Art Magicians buy the effects.
No, no - this came about because one player is going to be spending 50 rps on stock sorcery spells at the same time that another player is spending 10rps on a school of magic that nevertheless grants a vast swath of abilities.
Your answer there is to pick one style of Sorcery, and not use both. There’s also lots of weird interactions between them (e.g. how does Eldritch Shield work vs. Art Magic?).
Another difference: I was just reading about learning new spells in BWG and it’s dauntingly difficult with First Reading, several disadvantaged tests for Practicals, then Second Reading. All to learn one spell. With Art Magic you make one Will test and you get a new school.