Is there a reasoning for this? I more costly ranged version would be wonderful.
Short answer:To keep things easy on my sanity, I only edited the existing pre-made spells in the game - no spells were added or removed. Only one soultrap spell existed in the code originally, so only one exists in my mod.
Long answer:Because it's an incredibly useful utility effect that even players who aren't proficient in Mysticism will want to use frequently, the cost of the spell needed to remain low. Thus, the spell needed to be more of a pain in the ass to use than enchanted items/scrolls with the soultrap effect, or else there would be no reason to keep them around. I suppose I *could* have added a long-range soultrap spell with a higher cost, but I kind of like the ranged effect being exclusive to magic items and scrolls.
I've got a suggestion I've been thinking about for a little while - Invisibility is broken.
Invisibility is one of the harder things I had the task of balancing, particularly because it ties in rather strongly to the game's incredibly broken stealth system. More importantly, it's also the point of compromise for the incredible (albeit well-deserved) nerfing I gave to the chameleon effect. Nerfing invisibility too much in addition would put a rather nasty dent in one of the more appealing aspects of the Illusion skill, which is that it serves as an alternative to the Sneak skill (just as Alteration is an alternative to Security). Bearing in mind that invisibility is barred from custom enchantments, the only access to it is through the pre-made spells, enchantments, and potions. Nobody seems to contend that it requires at least a decent Illusion skill to use the spells effectively, and the potions are effectively balanced by being a royal [censored] to find good ingredients for. Thus, the argument here seems to be that the pre-made enchanted items with the invisibility effect are still too overpowered. Am I correct?