Any system with freeform hermetic/druidic magic that isnt Mage...

If you're just looking for a freeformy magic system, check out Witch Girls Adventures

If you're incapable of playing an RPG that doesn't have anime girls on the cover, Ryuutama

There's a gorillian and a half magic systems for GURPS. I strongly recommend taking a look at GURPS: Thaumatology; even if you don't end up using the system for one reason or another, the magic systems introduced in that book (Symbol, Syntactic, Realm, Threshold, etc., plus Ritual-Path in a standalone splat) can potentially be converted to a system of your choice.

I think Symbol will be your best fit. In that system, magic is cast by scribing symbols (hence the name) with each symbol acting as one word, either a Verb -- Create, Strengthen, Control, Transform, etc. -- or a Noun -- Fire, Air, Body, Food, Magic, etc. Everything beyond that is covered by parameters; Create Fire will both light a campfire and burn a city to cinders, and the difference between those two spells is the amount of energy you pump in to Area of Effect and Damage parameters (or the penalty you take to the relevant skill roll; GM determines which method is used). While not fully freeform, it is a very flexible system.

It's also a very comfy system is used right. Drawing the symbols takes a good long while by default, so preparation and the making of rune-charms are much more important; it's less "I cast Protection from Evil" and more "The village witch hands you a length of holly covered with odd markings, saying that it will keep you safe." Also, the system leans towards less flashy effects; damage is incredibly inefficient and spells that modify rolls or grant/remove traits are much more effective uses of your magic. Out of an adventuring context, a mage would be useful to many villages for their ability to all-but-ensure bountiful harvests by giving farmers bonuses to their rolls and directly improving the crops.

Ritual-Path Magic may also be good. It's similarly prep-heavy, non-flashy, and very very flexible, arguably moreso than Symbol. Give both a once-over and see if any are worth using.

Mm - adding the Decanic system from Cabal (and ignoring the decidedly uncomfy setting) would add to that as well.

The decans add a huge amount of flavour, and there's a few pages about using salt and holly and iron.

Not OP.

It sounds like most of the spells that would be used would be worked out ahead of time and anything new and time consuming to put together would basically call for a scene where the magic user has to sit in a library and research how he's going to work the new spell.

Probably all a player would be able to do without prep would be the few utility and attack/defense spells he keeps on cards in front of him.

Sounds bulky and unweildly but also interesting in that it would necessitate lots of roleplaying to actually construct new spells.

Second. Ars Magica IS complex, but it allows for freeform spellcasting in the sense that, like in Mage, you can invent any spell to do just what you need on the fly (though a few months in the lab working on the perfect enchantment will produce stronger results).

Whimsy isn't intrinsic to the game but it is imo the best way to play it, because the setting is a kind of ridiculous mashup of Actual, Literal, 13th Century Europe with a completely ahistorical society of wizards living in parallel (whose canon history combines hermetic and druidic traditions, funnily enough), thrown in a mixing bowl with all the devils, angels, and creatures of myth that folklore and fiction deem appropriate to the period. A typical game could have the players trying to strike a deal with the local village to give their wizard enclave basic supplies in return for driving off some supernatural nuisance that keeps spoiling their milk, which they could solve by investing in a magical ward over the village, or facing the creature head on, or tracking it to its home in a hidden magical pocket universes and bargaining with it in turn... though once they've solved that scenario they're probably going to run into trouble with the church or the local lord who's wondering by what right these wizards put his lands under their protection.

Anyway, it'd be very well suited to the kind of pastoral magic story displayed in Flying Witch. Games I've been a part of in the past have featured characters like a witch specialising in the magic of domesticated animals, a theologian who made it his life's work to determine whether fairies have immortal souls, a natural philosopher who would do nothing all year except make astrological divinations... they were all as effective and interesting to play as the guy who focused all his effort into being the best magical flamethrower available.

Ubiquity

elaborate pls

Take a look at the games Desilation and All for One: Regime Diabolique, they have a freeform magic system that can suit your needs pretty easily as long as you are into description. All Ubiquity games also have several listed out magic traditions that can help frame the spells you'd like to use.

Sorry meant to say Desolation.

Not OP but what if I want something more in tone with Mushishi?

...

There's a game called Witchcraft, I can;t remember the company that made it. The magic system was pretty loose. (It's the same system they used for Armageddon and All Flesh Must Be Eaten)

Does golden sky stories have magic?

Sorta, in the sense that every type of character has a suite of supernatural powers. The game itself is pretty open-ended, but each character type is fairly specific in what it does and the powers aren't freeform.

If you don't mind rules-lite character building, OVA could suit your needs pretty well.

Maybe Ryutama?

>I never played GURPS in my life, thus I will shitpost how bad it is
This meme is getting stale.

Also
>It requires any level of effort
>Thus it shouldn't be used at all

I guess you should rather familiarise yourself with the book and its content rather than making pretty wild assumptions

And you should calm down.

Ars Magica or assembled elements from GURPS: Thaumatology line. Sorcery and Ritual path predominately

Thanks for animu to watch, OP

I've also never played GURPS in my life and only read GURPS lite, so I understand the bare basics of the system. That meme is not just stale, it's downright stupid and does nothing but shit up threads. At least the gurpsers have interesting decent answers to questions, that I've seen, and very rarely shitpost. And no, recommending GURPS is not shitposting.

Is it any good?

It's pretty comfy.

You could also add some pact limited magical advantages (given as contracts with spirits) and enchanted objects for when combat is needed.

P.S. What anime show is OP's picture from?

If you like slice of life stories, it's fun. Plus anime witches, but without running amok with it, so it's enjoyable rather than obnoxious.
Was definitely relaxing to watch after hard day at work.

It's in the filename - Flying Witch.

Pacts are rather inefficient when it comes to buying advantages. I mean... they are pretty good when you go big with the powers gained, but if you want little power, pacts aren't exactly what you want to do.
Unless of course that's some roleplaying point, that is.

seconding the recommendation for Thaumatology. I've never run GURPS, but that book is a great source of ideas for magic systems. It's not even that closesly-integrated with the system, so you could use it with another system. Just figure out how to convert the damage numbers, and you'll be fine.

Along the same lines, it might be worth checking out the original Palladium Fantasy RPG if you can find it. It's less complex than Ars or Mage, and a little more rigid. But there's a lot of interesting ideas in there.

The Diabolist class is all about creating "wards" using a set of magic symbols that can be combined together in various ways. You have a big list of symbols that all have different effects, triggers, etc. You can draw wards during combat (each takes a certain number of turns). But the better way to use wards is to draw or carve them into objects (carving boosts the effect), which you can then activate during combat. All of these symbols actually have pictures in the book, so you can actually draw all your wards on pieces of paper if you want.

There's also the Summoner class which is kinda similar but focused around magic circles. Primarily, you get protection circles (stand inside the circle to be protected from things), and summoning circles (summon various things and command them to fight for you), as well as a few power circles (more standard spells). You have a bit of freeform ability to link circles together in certain ways. They also give pictures of every circle as well as a big page listing every symbol used in the circles and their various meanings, so you could very feasibly come up with your own circles.

>anime show
oh boy

>Kon kon

Something wrong?

MAID

Entire Thaumatology line from GURPS. TONS of ideas. And most importantly, useful even if you are not going to use GURPS.

Depends on the setting, depends on magic type, depends on local culture (assuming one supports druids/mages at all)

donjon

Ryutama is anime...

Check fucking again

Thought I was on /a/ for a sec, was about to recommend konosuba.

>b-but you just did!

I like to live dangerously.

Better post some Veeky Forums related anime which is not shit.

How can I possibly do that? You don't seem to enjoy fun things that are fun.

And your assumption is based on... what exactly?

If you're implying Konosuba is shit, you need to seriously reinvent your entire character and outlook on life.

this:

This is some high level of implying. I've asked for Veeky Forums related anime that doesn't suck.
Instead I've got two overly sensitive idiots, who instantly assume I'm badmouthing their show.

Take a chill pill

>who instantly assume I'm badmouthing their show.
You replied to a post recommending something with 'post something that's not shit.'
Whether or not you *meant* to say it, you said they're show is shit.

I fucking love GURPS magic. There are enough systems they made that there will be a system for you.

>My reading comprehension is non-existing
>Thereby I will project wild assumptions
Shouldn't you be like lurking or something?

I have no horse in this one, I don't even watch anime. But, if you're so bad at communication you can't comprehend someone inferring something based on a miscommunication, that's all on you. Reread the thread, wrack your brain, get better at words, profit.

It's almost literally Spice and Wolf the RPG, with magic.
What smoke are you cracking?

I think the issue is that people are using "anime" as "anime-inspired" or "anime-like in aesthetics" instead of strictly "Japanese animation." I think would be more accurate to say "Ryuutama is anime as fuck..."

I'm not familiar with S&W beyond entry-level memes, but Ryuutama has a very strong early-FF/JRPG vibe to me.

Well, once of the 'classes' for Ryuutama is a/the merchant. So, it can easily, and often does, turn into "Merchant and friends traveling town to town while being stalked by a dragon writing fan fiction about the group. Shenanigans ensue."

Spice and Wolf is essentially: Merchant travels around doing merchanty things and pagan wolf goddess tags along for the fun of it. Shenanigans ensue."

So let me get this straight - it's MY fault that a stupid motherfucker can't fucking read?

I'm not sure i said it wasn't worth using at all if it involved effort.

wild assumptions? what?

If you all reread my post, I actually expressed excitement for being able to mechanically represent the studious wizard that hangs out in libraries and experiments with new spells before he/she can actually use them freely in the field.

At our table we prefer not to bog down scene's with rules referencing and on-the-fly custom magic seems like it could potentially lead to that.

If you have experience with it otherwise i'm willing to listen. I'm not hear to shit-talk your pet system so there's no need to be defensive.

in b4 "you're projecting"

Accidental name, sorry Veeky Forums

...

>have a group of wizards having tense scenes in their dank ass library or laboratory studying magic and coming up with cool new spells is bait

Really? Nobody else here is into this idea?

Yeah, i gotta admit that coming up with spells as-you-go sounds like it would be a ot of pausing the action, but the idea of having it be part of the roleplay during dedicated craft scenes is kind of intriguing at the very least

What you guys have to remember is that the older generations of systems kind of just accepted what today's more streamlined hyper modern systems consider an unacceptable amount of downtown for rules referencing to consult charts, tables, etc.

The potential for the scene's you're describing isn't seen because its assumed all of this is just done as you go with no mind for pacing.

Yes, because people want to roll for that shit and not role-play it. Get fucking lost already. You are worst than faggots who want to make substantial rolls for Information Search in Call of Cthulhu.

Sounds pretty awesome to me. I'm a big fan of magic that's deeper than just "you automatically learn better spells without studying magic or thinking about it". The whole concept of wizards for me is that they're wise and learned, they're all about DEM BOOKS.

>I like superflous rolls
>I think this adds depth to gameplay
It was streamlined for a reason, you stupid morons.

>stop_liking_what_I_don't_like.jpg

>Stop reinserting shitty mechanics that were dropped for a reason
Here, ftfy

Also: Kindly fuck off to thread designed for your sperging.

You know this works the other way around, right? For example
>Stop forcefully pushing shit that nobody asked for
or even literal reversal
>Stop liking what I don't like

I don't like shitty rolls for everything, including scratching PC's balls. That's just pointless clutter and a remnant from times when the hobby was still hell-bend on simulationist approach AND role-playing in modern sense was barely a thing. And I sure as hell don't miss those shitty mechanics which turned the simpliest tasks into five minutes of flipping charts for correct numbers.

If you're interested in cribbing some ideas to port, I'd suggest checking out Ars Magica, since it has a fairly large section on long-term downtime activities. It's also fairly roll-free so you can just say
>alright, there's 3 seasons between this session and the next, come back with what you did during those seasons and I'll sign off on it
if you don't want to take time at the table for it.

>ITT: Bunch of spergs arguing about shitty game design.
Wasn't this by chance a thread about unusual magic systems?

Um...
and
are both advocating a role playing approach wherein spell construction has a dedicated scene where they roleplay the gurps mechanics of experimenting with and inventing spells with the gurps system instead of using the rules to construct spells on-the-fly in mid-combat.

that sounds really neat but alas my group can't be bothered with off-session up-keep. we're a board game group that only recently started dabbling in roleplaying with stuff like Dread and One Last Job.

>I recommend this show
>recommend something that isn't shit; man, why do people think I said that first recommendation was shit?
It's your fault for not copping to it, and then being a jackass about it. If you just said, "No, I meant recommend *other* things" like a sensible person you'd have actually had a conversation instead of a spat with strangers.

he's clearly talking about the exact opposite of that.

Completely different user, but as far as I'm concerned, GURPS does not have mechanics for such situation other than literally single roll, thus making it all a moot point

>user A posts show X
>user B asks about show Y instead, noting it should be both Veeky Forums related and not shit
Reading comprehension is a dying skill I guess.

It was all in the original post. If only you could FUCKING READ, there would be no problem. Instead we have a pointless rant, because bunch of stupid fucks can't fucking read.

see
>I think Symbol will be your best fit. In that system, magic is cast by scribing symbols (hence the name) with each symbol acting as one word, either a Verb -- Create, Strengthen, Control, Transform, etc. -- or a Noun -- Fire, Air, Body, Food, Magic, etc. Everything beyond that is covered by parameters; Create Fire will both light a campfire and burn a city to cinders, and the difference between those two spells is the amount of energy you pump in to Area of Effect and Damage parameters (or the penalty you take to the relevant skill roll; GM determines which method is used). While not fully freeform, it is a very flexible system.

sounds a lot like unless you know the symbols off the dome, you're gonna be consulting that book a lot. then after you get the symbols you need you get to consult a chart for damage and area of effect, etc.

AAAANNNNNDD there goes any pacing the DM was trying to set up.

... have you ever played GURPS in your life?

All elements described in that post in practice boil down to designing a spell, giving it to GM for acceptance and POTENTIALLY making a roll.
But how could you know, if you never in your life saw GURPS, not to mention the Thaumatology line from it. Because if you did, you wouldn't sprout such bullshit.

Everything can fit on a single cheat sheet; each symbol has two traits -- how much energy they cost to cast and how long they take to scrawl -- and the parameters are easily codified into a single table. The system prides itself on flexibility and it shouldn't take more than a glance at said cheat sheet and five seconds of mental math to get a totally new spell.

Anyway, I think I'm confused as to what the argument here is. Is it that GURPS is too slow/clunky to be enjoyable? Or is is that the GM wants new magic spells to be something that *in-character* is a long and arduous process? Because I think we've got people arguing for and against both sides simultaneously.

The whole discussion lost any sense or track few hours ago.

And before anyone starts getting ideas - spell design in GURPS is so simple you can do so even with the Basic Set if you are imaginative enough. Just reading Sorcery or Ritual Path Magic you have everything you will ever need or use figured out.
This is a fucking toolkit. You design shit yourself. And knowing basic rules for that is pretty much all you need, unless the spell is supposed to have some extremely exotic properties and/or combining different triggers and circumstances of casting. In short - shit so exquisite you wouldn't be wasting time during GAME TIME on working with it.

The only profit of this thread so far was getting new animu to watch. Which was done with OP's post, so...