[PvK]

The purpose of the Price of Power mod is not to suggest that the unmodded game should be different. Like most mods, it's purpose is to offer the option of a different kind of play. Players who don't want what a mod offers just don't use it.

I don't think there is any way to increase the cost of a spell above 320 gems, nor to change the way the Nexus works, in a mod. That being so, the reason for S9B9 for Arcane Nexus is to nearly remove it from play, because it is so unbalancing once reached. I may just remove it from the next version though, to make the point clearer and to avoid making S9B9 look like a goal.

The bidding thing would be pretty easy to mod, but I wasn't thinking it would be for ALL spells - just a few picks per player. You could have either all unpicked spells available, or unavailable, depending on what the players wanted.