This is a skeleton of a magic system (leaving much to be filled in by the GM), based on the following premises:

• Who can cast: Magicians only (supernormal power needed)
• Levels of Power: yes, Terrible to Superb. The greater the level, the more potent spell possible. The GM may reserve Superb and even Great power for NPCs.
• Source of Power: manipulation of mana, which is created by the mage.
• Reliability: Good to Great.
• Time to cast spells: depends on potency of spell: 1 minute to days. This can be speeded up by taking a penalty to the roll.
• Spells: improvised. Exact wording isn't important, so magic books tend to be collections of effects, not formulas.
• Material Components: none needed, but good use can give a +1 bonus to skill.
• Drawbacks: casting non-trivial spells is fatiguing; failure can cause unexpected results.

A magician is a character with a supernormal power, simply called Power. Each level of Power costs one supernormal power. Thus, for the cost of two supernormal powers a magician can have Poor Power, of for four supernatural powers he can have Fair Power, and so on. (For high-level magic games: each level of Power costs only one Gift.)

Power determines the potency level of spells a magician can cast. The exact details are set by the GM, but as an example, a Poor Power magician could levitate items up to a pound in weight, while a Superb Power magician could move a whole castle, perhaps. Fatigue for a given spell depends on Power: the greater the magician's Power, the less fatiguing a spell. In the example above, it would be fatiguing for a Poor Power mage to move a one-pound object, but a Superb Power mage could move such objects all day without tiring.

A magician also needs two skills to cast spells: Warp and Weft. (Weft is also known as Woof.) These skills start as non-existent, meaning it costs 1 skill level to get one of them at Terrible level, and so on.

To cast a spell, the magician announces the effect he has in mind. The GM determines the power level needed for such a spell. If the magician has the necessary Power, he does not need to roll against Power. If, however, he has less Power than needed, and still wants to try the spell, he must make a degree task equal to the Power level set by the GM. Example: Harry wants to create a monkey that will do his bidding for ten minutes. The GM decides that creating a living being is fairly high-powered magic in her world: Good Power required. Harry's Power is only Fair, however, so he must roll against Power and get a Good result for the spell to succeed. If his Power had been Good, no roll against Power would be needed. A failed Power roll means the magician takes double fatigue, as set by the GM, and the spell is a failure.

Next, the magician must weave the spell. This involves, as all weavers know, laying out a Warp (a framework to hold the pattern) and weaving a Weft into it, creating the precise pattern needed. In this case, two rolls will always be needed: one against Warp skill, and one against Weft skill.

The GM sets the degree task for the Warp based on how detailed the desired spell result is. A spell to create a simple flame might be a Mediocre task, a sphere of fire a Fair task, and a flaming aura to outline something without harming it a Great task. (Note that the *size* of the flame, regardless of shape, is based on Power, not Warp.) Failure of the Warp creates a different spell result than desired: perhaps a ball of earth instead of fire, for example.

The GM then sets the degree task for the Weft based on how much manipulation the desired spell requires. Creating a fireball may be a Fair task, but guiding it through a crowded battlefield to hit an opposing mage is an intricate manipulation: a Great Weft. Requiring a ball of fire simply to float in the air is easy, however: even a Mediocre Weft result will succeed at such a task. Failure of a Weft roll means the manipulation is off: either the spell will hit the wrong target, or is too weak, or too strong, or just generally a bit off kilter in some other way.

Modifiers, such as shown in section F5.4, FUDGE Magic Skill, can affect either the Power, Warp, or Weft as determined by the GM. (Editor's Note: Being from an older Fudge draft, this cite is no longer accurate).