Thanks, I probably knew that when I played Dom4 (I never played a ton) but seemed to have forgotten that when returning for Dom5.
I found this in the manual:
In order for a mage to cast a spell (a) you must have researched the school up to the level required by the spell, and (b) the mage must have proficiency in the magical path(s) required by a spell, and (c) the mage must have any magical gems or blood slaves required for the spell…
So b) is my problem. I’ve been researching schools but don’t have commanders with the appropriate magic paths. My Pretender does, but not my race’s commanders. Which leads to my next question – is it usually only Pretenders who can use high level spells? Or is there a way to boost the magic paths of a race’s commanders, to add paths to a commander.
I’m playing C’Tis in my MP game, and as far as I can tell only the Shaman even has any magic paths among the commanders. Are other races more likely to have multiple mage-worthy commanders?