What game has the best magic system?

What game has the best magic system?

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what did they mean by this?

Depends on the setting.

OP is a catamite

D&D 4E

I'm partial to Ars Magica's system, since I like messing with details and heavy customization, but I wouldn't call it the best. I also like Unknown Armies' system since it has a few good bases and amazing fluff, but it's also not perfect for everyone.

What sort of thing are you looking for?

If you mean most ballanced with "best", it's Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

I can see the argument for it, but I doubt that "Kill all casters" constitutes true magical balance.

Best as in most satisfying, most balanced, most versatile, most powerful, most flashy, or most realistic?

to be fair, most games have decent magic system, except D&D/Pathfinder.

What's a realistic magic system?

Card tricks. Lots of it.

One that is internally consistent.
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...

Something bad happens to someone else and you're killed for witchcraft

AD&D

Call of Cthulhu

It would be interesting to see how someone would make a case for AD&D having the best magic system.

GURPS Thaumatology

This is a good answer.

Cosmic Bumfights 3e's Supernatural Identities, school building and reality bruising rules are nice and simple for improvisational magic. Mage the Awakening 2e is a much more complex, but more flexible improv system. GURPS Thaumatology has a great series of structured systems, as well as mechanical takes on anthropological magic traditions. See also: GURPS Cabal.

Finally, if you want magic to be a series of superpowers, take your pick of BASH UE, Daring Comics, Mutants and Masterminds 3e and HERO if you have full on autism.

HERO can do pretty much anything superheroic or supernatural, if you can make it through the doorstoppers.

I personally like Reigns, if only for the fact that the Counterspelling skill/action has nothing to do with knowing magic at all. You can have someone with absolutely no magic or understanding of magic, but has enough ranks in counterspell to know know at what part in the wizard's incantation to throw a rock in their face.

Plus the magic schools in the default setting are cool. Turning your skeleton into metal as part of earth magic mastery is a fun touch, especially when it points out that most metals are complete dogshit for doing anything. Hope you like that gold skeleton, you now weigh like 400 pounds.

Underrated

A good magic system should be empowering (it's magic, after all) shouldn't be arbitrarily limiting (cough * Vancian Magic * cough), but excesses uses, or uses of magic in dangerous situations should have consequences.

For this reason, I like Shadowrun's magic. You can cast all day long, until you start getting damaged, then you really can't handle it, but you can still try.

d&d3.5 or 5e
Honestly, it's epic powerful.
Just FTW, best system, best magic, like DUH!!!!!