Magic as Powers

Powers Based Magic

These systems are well balanced and creating new spells is pretty easy as you take an existing advantage and apply modifiers.  It can be math heavy but its simple multiplication and division. Different books approach the idea from different angles, often relying on a core power that gets tweaked for various effects. There are a lot of worked examples in each sub line and everything in this section provides numerous prebuilt powers.

• GURPS Powers: Divine Favor is a powers based approach for clerics and priests, where your god is an actual Patron!
• GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits shows a way to channel a spirit to gain some of its power and characteristics. The concept was introduced in GURPS Voodoo and appeared in several other places as well.
• GURPS Powers Ups 1: Imbuements shows a way to use powers to enhance weapons or other more mundane gear and abilities. These are expanded in several issues of Pyramid.
• GURPS Power Ups 5: Impulse Buys supports  more negativist or story based system of magic.
• GURPS Thaumatology: Chinese Elemental Powers showcases the five elements of Taoism in a Powers format.  Especially good for martial artists it works as a standalone system as well.
• GURPS Psionic Powers (not magic but a good worked example that is easily used).
• GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery Based on Modular abilities this is a versatile system that supports fireball slinging wizards and scales well at any level. Eggplant has written up a lot of Sorcery spells on his blog. MiIchael Thayne started a forum thread with his own contributions.