Random magic system idea based on Four by Five magic for M20 and FUDGE.

I promise it's the last gematria based idea for a while.

Four by Five magic is similar to Ars Magica. There are four actions (verbs) and five realms (noun) to describe the effect of the spell.

The four actions:
Enhance (inganta): Strengthen, Heal, Enlarge, Repair, Sharpen, etc.
Diminish (ra-ghe): Weaken, Damage, Injure, Reduce, Break, Dull, Deteriorate, etc.
Communicate with (sadarwa): Sense, Read, Seek, Inform, Determine, Understand, etc.
Control (iko): Shape, Hold, Command, Form, Direct, Dictate, etc.

The five realms
Body (jiki): Living body of sentient beings, animals, plants.
Mind (hankali): That which normally inhabits and animates a body
Spirit (ruhu): The essence or soul.
Energy (makamashi): Fire, water, air, magic, [electricity, etc.] Matter (al'amarin): Solid material with no mind - stone, metal, wood, leather, paper, [plastic, etc.]

So a spell to damage a living creature would be Diminish Body.

I want something like a Fireball, but using a blast of cold, instead. I want the final spell to be a 3rd level spell, just like Fireball.

Each action and realms is worth a number of points. In this case, Diminish is 4 points and Body is 1 point. 4+1 is 5, so I have a fifth level spell by default.

Here's the MacGuffin to modify it to a third level spell. I call them blood runes because using them costs the spell caster hit points.

Blood runes also number from 1 to 9. I can use the 2 rune to lower it to third or use the 7 rune to do the same thing. (5+7=12, 1+2=3).

Not wanted to take 7 points of damage, I choose the 2 blood rune. Now I have a 3rd level spell that I have described as a ice variation of a fireball.

The kicker is that the spellcaster masters blood runes as they advance. On even levels, the spellcaster rolls a d10 to determine which blood rune is mastered. If the result is a rune already mastered, re-roll. If the result is 10, re-roll. If the result is 1-9, use the result. if it is 10 again, the spell caster chooses which rune they master.

That's the idea. Refinement required, but wanted to get it out there.

    More about the Blue spells.

The initial criteria were:
Spells that involve water or air
Protection type spells
Change spells like flesh to stone, polymorph, etc.
Spells that enabled movement, like Cure Paralysis, Passwall, etc.

Looking at the 44 potential finalists,
Almost all of them are some kind of transformation spell.
Time-based spells (movement of time theme)
Telekinesis (following the movement theme)
Mind-affecting spells (movement of thoughts and ideas)
and visual illusions (movement of light and shadow)

I believe when I finish the selection and filling in some holes, I'll call these Movement spells.

    I also mentioned a sidequest into some sort of numerology. For those interested, it is a simply stated idea, though the execution involves a bit of work.

1. Broadly determine the effect you want the spell to have.
2. Give the spell a name.
3. Use my own form of gematria, computer a number for the spell based solely on the name. Every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Spaces count as 1 point. If the number is has two or more digits, add the digits until there is a one digit number.
4. The number determines the spell's level.
   5a. Alter the spell effect the match the computed spell level
   or
   5b. Alter the name to match the desired spell level.

Example
1. I want a spell that has the same effect as fireball, but uses ice instead.
2. I name the spell Icy Blast.
3. Using gematria, I=1 c=4 y=8 [space]=1 B=3 l=4 a=2 s=2 t=3
1+4+8+1+3+4+2+2+3=28, 2+8=10, 1+0=1.
4. The Icy Blast spell is an 1st level spell.
5a. Make it an 1st level spell by lowering the effect:
Icy Blast does 1d4 damage per 2 caster levels to those caught in the tiny blast area. Save negates damage.
or
5b. Change the name until it is a 3rd level spell to maintain the 1d6 per caster level of damage. Save halves damage.
Working with the name, Chill the Bones will compute to a 3rd level spell. Osnar's Cold Wind also computes to a 3rd level spell as well as Letza's Wind Trap and Numbing Blast

The complication came when computing numbers for The Black Hack, which has 7 spell levels instead of 9. I figured it out, but that made it more difficult to explain and required a complex spreadsheet or homebrew program to computer.

Base 8 numbers. Bah!

Anyway, feel free to use if you like. Recommended for games with 9 spell levels. 🙂