the shadowcaster

you know, for as thematic and flavourful as these guys appeared to be, i never actually used one. i first saw them in the tome of magic and yes, their rather unique mechanism did make my head spin. give it a few reads - it's not bad, but it's trying to reinvent the wheel when frankly, i doubt such a thing needed to be done. shame too, because after a lot of the changes were made to them, by its original designer Mousferatu from enworld.com, it seemed like it'd be really viable. at any rate, please accept what minor tinkerings i've assembled below:

There is a fundamental difference between shadow magic and Shadow Weave magic. Shadow Weave magic users derive their power from a source of magic created by the goddess Shar that occupies the negative space between the Weave. Shadowcasters typically use the Weave to channel their magic directly from the plane of shadows. In this way, shadow magic has more in common with conjuration spells of the Weave than it does with spells cast via the Shadow Weave.

• Grant bonus mysteries per day based on Charisma. These would work just like bonus spells. For instance, if your Cha is 14, you can cast one extra mystery of 1st-level equivalent and one of 2nd-level equivalent per day. (Note that each mystery does give an equivalent level, even though you don’t learn them by level.)
• Eliminate the rule that says you have to take mysteries in a given Path in order. If you want to jump around, so as to broaden your versatility, you can.
  
• Eliminate the rule that says you get a bonus feat equal to half the number of paths you have access to. Instead, you get a bonus feat equal to the total number of Paths you complete. Thus, while you are no longer required to take the entirety of a given Path, there’s still encouragement to do so.
  
• You may “swap out” mysteries, just as a sorcerer does spells known. If you “un-complete” a Path in this way, however, you lose access to the bonus feat you gained from completing that Path. (You can regain access by re-completing the Path, completing a different Path and choosing that feat as your new bonus, or selecting that feat as a normal feat at your next opportunity.)
  
• Once your Apprentice Mysteries become supernatural abilities, change the save DC from 10 + equivalent spell level + Cha to 10 + 1/2 caster level + Cha. This makes them useful even against high-HD opponents, and follows the pattern for other supernatural abilities.