I really don't think there are any cross-references left in RMSS/RMFRP. Only for spells on the same list. They did a good job updating them.
RMSS pretty much identified crosslist references. References within the same list were retained, including in places where said references were not helpful. "Same as spell Blah, except completely different effects." In some cases, where a fairly lengthy bit of mechanics is included in a spell description, it is a useful thing to refer back to an early spell in the same list (esp. cases where it is a series of increasingly powerful version of the same effect).
For clarification. What I meant was spell descriptions that forced you to either refer to a completely different book, or you have to flip a hundred pages backward through the same book.
I never minded the descriptions for say, Fire Ball I, and Fire Ball II, on the same list, where the description for Fire Ball II is "As Fire Ball I, except radius is 20 feet."
I meant like the Mana Fires spell Woodfires as in the initial post.
I can understand the need to reduce file size, or number of pages, but as I said, I would rather pay more for the product just to have the description of each and every spell with each and every spell.
Also, as I said, nothing is more frustrating than the need to print two, three, sometimes four different spell lists just to have the descriptions for only one spell list.
Sorry for ranting, but it seemed some missed the point.
Thanks again for the understanding.
Another nice thing would be a more unified attack tables for weapons. Say, use the same table for all sword like weapons, just give bonuses and penalties for differing weapons. Say, a long sword has a +0 modifier where a Broad sword would have a +20 due to being a larger blade, and a short sword would have a -20 for being a smaller blade. Just a thought that popped into this mind of mine.
The idea of spell scaling, ala HARP, rather than a strict list is interesting. It captures some of the sense of what Spell Mastery does. I always felt there was too much overlap between spell mastery and higher level spells. Unification could be good there. It's a pretty substantial change though and I don't expect to see it here. Seems like good material for the Guild Companion though....
I also like this idea. Been working on such. But doubt I'll ever get around to doing it for the complete product line.
rmfr