Someone posted this blog entry, where I think they do a very simple and interesting breakdown of how you can make a DCC-like magic system in any D&D game... I found it especially interesting because as I was reading DCC I was already speculating on the same notion.

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Heh. That's actually pretty neat.

I once suggested something similar to the spell variability in the first part of that post, although it would have required re-writing (short) descriptions of all the spells, and I really didn't want that kind of effect, anyways. But looking at the linked post, I could see modifying the d6 method I suggested a bit to avoid the rewrite:

Quote-1 or less = Backfire!
0 = Fizzle, forget spell
1-4 = Standard Effect, forget spell
5-6 = Standard Effect, remember spell
7+ = Overdrive!

Roll 1d6, or use the lowest d6 rolled for the spell's damage. Subtract -1 if casting an unknown spell from a scroll, add +1 for known spells if caster's  level is twice the spell's level, +2 if three times, +3 if four times. Subtract 1 to 3 if making impromptu modifications to spell effect.

I appreciate why something like this would be appealing. However I prefer the tables as I would be inconsistent as hell trying to remember that I set X modifier for Y type of fireball. And if I wrote it down to remember than quickly I would wind up back with something as dense as the DCC RPG original rules.

Which is why when I add stuff to my GURPS games, or when I writing the Majestic Wilderlands supplement, I always look for the simplistic mechanics to represent what I am trying to emulate in my game world. Along with that make it easy to resolve without having to remember stuff to be consistent.

I am writing another MW Supplement called the Lost Book of Magic. One feature of my setting are different type of raw magic along with areas with different levels of magic. In GURPS it was represented by a penalty or bonus on your spell skill roll. In the three years I been running S&W campaign, I found that modifiers to caster level did the same trick with D&D. So a magic poor area in GURPS that gave -5 to skill may be -2 caster level for a spell. Dropping a 5d6 fireball to a 3d6 fireball. And if you caster level goes below 1 then you can't cast the spell at all. And I use this same simple idea to implement other details of magic in my setting.

Again I think for some folks the rules linked to in the OP will work great. But there are other that find DCC style tables invaluable.

Talislanta did the variable affect thing years ago with the OMNI system. Maybe that's where Goodman got the idea. But yeah, spell missfires are awesome.

If this had existed when I started my Albion game, I'd have totally used it.

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