A couple folks on FB were discussing magic in FAL and while I haven’t spent a good deal of time delving into revising the current, level-based system, I do love freeform magic systems, or at least more open magic systems that rely on the imagination of the caster.
As a side project, I have been working on a game called Easy20, which was itself distilled into a game called By Dark of Torch. By Dark of Torch uses a freeform magic system that essentially leaves the spell binge cast up to the caster to describe and bases the difficulty of the spell on the caster’s level and the difficulty of what is being attempted. For example, a first level caster healing a light wound may have a much lower difficulty than that same caster attempting to heal a severed arm or raising the dead. In fact, the GM may just say sorry, you don’t even have the skill level to attempt this.
A Modified Version of the By Dark of Torch magic system for FAL
Magic is freeform. Wits + Arcane. Casters roll against the TN of what they are attempting to accomplish. For example, shooting a fireball is treated as a ranged attack and the GM sets a TN based on the distance, size of the target, etc. Destroying a door is based on the strength of the door. So, the caster attempting to destroy a flimsy wooden door may have a low TN while a stone door my have a much higher TN (or simply be impossible to destroy). Healing wounds is based on the severity of the wounds. So, light wounds means a low TN while severe wounds means higher TN. Essentially, the player describes what the spell is attempting to do. The GM decides if the spell action is possible and if so sets the TN. No need for a spell list.