The following is a basis for discussion of a standard magic system 
for Genesis. The main emphasis is on the skills which are needed to cast
spells, and on how these interact.  Any ideas and input are welcome, and
nothing is set in stone. 

THE SKILLS

	Obviously, the ability to cast magical spells is aquired only
after long training.  It is assumed that a player recieves this training
as he adventures.  There are four skills considered necessary for any
spell to be cast.  These are: spellcraft, a form skill, an element
skill, and a guild skill.  Each is described in turn.

The most basic magic skill is SPELLCRAFT.  This skill applies to all
spells cast.  It is also the skill to use when a player observes some
form of magic and attempts to identify it.

There will be twelve magic skills, divided into two types of six each.
The first type is known as the FORM of the magic.  The form is one of:

Abjuration -- magic involved in warding the caster or others from the
effects of magic, or involved in dispelling existing magic.

Conjuration -- magic which directly summons matter or energy from
another plane.

Divination -- magic which involves knowledge.  

Enchantment -- magic which causes a change in an existing item, of a
magical nature.  Thus the change lasts only as long as the magic.

Illusion -- magic which causes an object without reality to come into
existence.

Transmutation -- magic which effects a permanent change in the affected
item.  Items changed become ordinary items of the new sort.


The second set of skills involve the fundamental ELEMENTS of nature.
Each of these elements also has a plane, which consists of solely this
material, possibly shaped in many ways, and inhabited by intelligent
creatures.  These are the Elemental Planes.

Fire  -- magic involving flames.

Air   -- magic involving gases.  

Earth -- magic involving metals, stone or earth.

Water -- magic involving any liquids.

Life  -- magic involving any living thing.  This is an amalgam of all
four types listed above.

Death -- magic opposed to life.  Also un-life, for undead creatures.


The GUILD SKILL is a special skill unique to a guild which basically
defines the method of magic use of that guild.  Examples of this might
be rune magic skill, wand magic skill, sorceror skill, priests of
algenon skill, or whatever the guild wants to call it.  the only 
requirement is that it be unique.

Magical Stats.

All the stats might possibly apply to magic, but the following apply to
most types of magic.  These are: Intelligence, Wisdom, and the Guild
Stat.  (again, the guild should name this last one.)  Intelligence
applies toward "mage" style guilds, while wisdom applies towards "priest"
style guilds.  The guild stat should be used in any case.

Each guild should designate one other stat which is useful in casting
spells of that guild.  A guild that required complex gestures to cast
their spells might take DEX as a stat.  A demon-summoning guild might
require high DIS, to protect the casters sanity.  And so on.

Secondary Stats and Magic.

The Secondary stats, derived from the primary stats are:  Fatigue, Hit
Points, and Mana.  Mana has the most obvious role in spellcasting.
These are the "spell points" with which spells are cast.  Mana is
considered to be the mental energy which can be used to open taps to
other planes and harness the energy there.  It is rarely (if ever) used
directly by the mage to perform magic, as this is very inefficient.
Note that more powerful spells require wider taps and more careful
control, and so take more mana.

In all cases, fatigue should reduce the effectiveness of spellcasting,
both success and degree of success.  It is still to be decided whether
hit points are considered in spell-casting or not.

Success of Spells.

This is still vague, but a basic formula might be:

success = (a * spellcraft + b * min(formskill,elementskill) +
          c * guildskill)*f(int, wis, otherstat, guildstat, fatigue, hp)

Where constants a, b and c are to be determined, as is function f().

Objects and Magic.

All objects should have a property defined describing what basic form of
magic affects it.  Thus there are six new object properties:

OBJ_I_FIRE
OBJ_I_WATER
OBJ_I_EARTH
OBJ_I_AIR
OBJ_I_LIFE
OBJ_I_DEATH

The "amount" of the magic of that type present is presented with the
number.  A fire elemental would be quite strong ("pure") fire magic, so
would have OBJ_I_FIRE set to 100.  A burning torch might only have 10.

This needs to be factored into the success formulae at some time.
Work continues....