A+ RPG Questions

Hi Jeff,
I recently downloaded your A+ RPG and overall I think it's a pretty cool system with tons of room for expansion and customization. I do have a few questions and comments I'd like to throw at you, though. Your input and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
1.) Can Spell Weapons be used to inflict damage without a Spell Weapon Technique so long as you have the Apprentice skill? For example, could a character with a Cognition of C and the Apprentice skill use a Wand of Fire to inflict 5-A damage? Or, must he also possess a damage-inflicting Spell Weapon Technique like Fireball? I assume the former is the case, but I could be wrong. If the latter is true, then I assume the rules imply that nobody starts out as a spell-casting character?
2.) What about non-human races? Would it be reasonable to assume that you could give demi-humans half-grade bonuses and penalties in certain areas? For example, Elves could have a "-" in Brawn and a "+" in Agility. Dwarves might have the reverse. Does this seem reasonable or unbalancing?
3.) The Holy Weapons are based on Determination. Would it be reasonable to allow a character to use Brawn as the basis for a Holy-class weapon so long as it didn't do extra damage against unholy creatures and couldn't be used for Holy Weapon Techniques? This is mostly a style issue. Some players would like to play warriors who use a War Hammer but don't want anything to do with Determination or the Holy effects.
Your comments would be greatly appreciated!
I recently downloaded your A+ RPG and overall I think it's a pretty cool system with tons of room for expansion and customization. I do have a few questions and comments I'd like to throw at you, though. Your input and thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
1.) Can Spell Weapons be used to inflict damage without a Spell Weapon Technique so long as you have the Apprentice skill? For example, could a character with a Cognition of C and the Apprentice skill use a Wand of Fire to inflict 5-A damage? Or, must he also possess a damage-inflicting Spell Weapon Technique like Fireball? I assume the former is the case, but I could be wrong. If the latter is true, then I assume the rules imply that nobody starts out as a spell-casting character?
2.) What about non-human races? Would it be reasonable to assume that you could give demi-humans half-grade bonuses and penalties in certain areas? For example, Elves could have a "-" in Brawn and a "+" in Agility. Dwarves might have the reverse. Does this seem reasonable or unbalancing?
3.) The Holy Weapons are based on Determination. Would it be reasonable to allow a character to use Brawn as the basis for a Holy-class weapon so long as it didn't do extra damage against unholy creatures and couldn't be used for Holy Weapon Techniques? This is mostly a style issue. Some players would like to play warriors who use a War Hammer but don't want anything to do with Determination or the Holy effects.
Your comments would be greatly appreciated!