MAGIC: the RPG is a supplement for the RISUS RPG by S. John Ross. The world is based on the once-great CCG MAGIC: The Gathering by Wizards of the Coast.
The only clichés that need to be mentioned explicitly are the magical ones. There are only a few, so:
White Mage (healing, protection, all things holy, channeling white mana)
Blue Mage (metamagic, mind magic, air and water, channeling blue mana)
Black Mage (death, decay, all things unholy, channeling black mana)
Red Mage (destruction, warfare, fire and earth, channeling red mana)
Green Mage (flora, fauna, life, channeling green mana)A supplementary magical Cliché:
Artificer (building and using magical machines, channeling colorless or generic mana)
For more information on these clichés, including the Opposition rules, see the section on Magic below.
Hooks and Tales are optional, but recommended, just so you can get more punch out of your character. Normal 4-dice limit at start recommended, as is a 3-dice limit to the above magical clichés.
Representing your connection to the land (the source of mana or magical energy), your Mana Pool is the power you use to cast spells. To determine your starting Pool, roll each of your Mage Clichés. Each roll will give you the number of Mana points in your Pool for each type of Mana. For more information on the use of Mana, see the Magic section below.
The basic magic system is improvisational. It takes two forms: combat, and non-combat.
Magic outside of combat is simple. The player devises a spell, including such information as damage (either dealing it or healing it), duration (instantaneous? permanent?), distance/area of effect, and number of targets. Based on this information, the GM sets his Target Number. Also, the spell will always fall into the province of one or more Colors of Magic. If the character has all the required Clichés, he rolls at no penalty. For each Color he lacks, he rolls at -1 one to his total dice. No matter what Colors he needs, the player always rolls the total of all of the Colors required for which he posses a Cliché.
Example: Kevin is a mage with Red Mage (3), Green Mage (3). He wants to cast a spell to summon a Cat Warrior endowed with fire breath and the ability to rise from the dead as a zombie if killed. The GM rules that this is a rather difficult task, assigning a Target Number of 22. He also declares it's a Red, Green and Black spell. (While there is precedent for the regeneration in Red and especially Green, Black is the normal Color of death abilities, plus the GM thinks Kevin is going a little overboard.) Luckily, the GM is ignoring the optional Opposition rules. Kevin lacks Black Mage, so his roll is at -1, or 5 dice (3+3-1=5). Kevin's got a 15.2% chance of making the roll.
For every 4 points in the Target Number, the spell costs 1 point of Mana,
divided evenly among the colors used in the spell. Always round up. If a character
doesn't have mana of a required color, he may pay twice the mana from a color
he does have.
In the above example of Kevin's Cat Warrior, the spell would cost 6 mana - 2
each from Red, Green and Black. Since he has no Black mana, he can pay 4 points
from colors he does have. For example, Kevin could pay 3 Red mana and 5 Green
mana, if he so chooses.
Magical combat only occurs when spells will directly affect your opponent. Examples of such spells are fireballs, psychic bolts, vines growing to trip his feet, etc. Any summoning, enchantment of an object, or other such spell does not count as a combat action. Otherwise, combat is conducted normally.
Each Color of Magic has two colors to which it is opposed (its Foils) and two to which it is allied (its Allies). Combining different Colors can make a spell harder, depending on their natures. The oppositions are as follows:
| COLOR | FOILS | ALLIES | ||
| Black | Green | White | Blue | Red |
| Blue | Green | Red | Black | White |
| Green | Black | Blue | Red | White |
| Red | Blue | White | Black | Green |
| White | Black | Red | Blue | Green |
| Colorless | None | None | ||
For each pair of Foils in a spell, roll a die and add the total to the spell's Target Number. Thus in the example of Kevin's Cat Warrior above, if the GM had been using this rule, Kevin would have added one die to his Target Number.
As an alternative to improvisational magic as defined above, you can base your spells on cards from the Magic card game.
For any spell derived from a card, use the rules for Colors of Magic above; each color in the spell's casting cost is required as a Cliché. Any colorless mana may be drawn from a Color Cliché or from the Artificer Cliché.
For every point of mana in the spell's casting cost, add 4 to the spell's Target Number. The exception to this rule is X spells, i.e. spells with variable casting costs. For every point invested in a variable cost, add 2 to the Target Number.
Mana costs for card-based spells are taken from the card's casting cost. Pay as if you were casting the card in the card game.
The GM should set a deck size for every player. A player may only bring that many cards to the table. Each player shuffles his deck and puts it in front of him. The player will always have a hand of seven cards. He may only cast a spell which is in his hand. At any time the GM can make any player shuffle his hand into his deck and redraw.
Spell interpretation should be fast and loose. GMs: if the player can argue for an effect that fits the card and helps out, let him use it.
Summoned creatures are a specific case. A creature will have dice for Clichés; usually the number of dice it gets is the total of Power and Toughness. Any special effects should be determined as the GM sees fit.
Remember - you shouldn't be thinking too hard.