I dug into what's going on with Backlash more. Suffice it to say the currently model we're using is broken. Not "Hey, uh, I need to tweak this." but "It turns out math does not work that way." sort of broken in a way that is extremely favorable to the caster.
I will be fixing it, possibly tonight, possibly not, but at that point backlash is almost certainly going to get a lot less pleasant.
I mention this now as a courtesy before I pull the trigger.
-Raesh
"Ever notice that B.A.'s flavor text swells in direct proportion to how much one of our characters is getting screwed?" - Brian Van Hoose