Could be, but I seem to remember some really devastating cult spells.
Wierd thing about spell power in general and power levels in particular was that almost everybody I knew said they enjoyed AD&D more at low level than when levels got to 10+, but I couldn't get most of them to try a BRP game. They would moon over those really nasty high level spells above spell level 5 but rarely were any of that power used in play; meanwhile my RQ2, later SB1 group was using the BRP equivalent sometimes right out of the gate...especially in the Stormbringer game. Talk about powerful spells. RQ2 was no slouch when it came to power levels and being a member of the correct cult for that sort of thing, though, for sure.
What you said about the perception of power because of some area effect spells was one of the reasons I so desparately wanted to play a Magic World based game in those days. It is one of the key differences between it and RQ...Magic World could easily 'copy' the D&D feel, using BRP.
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