My semi-annual ritual of getting really hung up on the tsr SAGA system is coming up on me again.
Was thinking about how it organizes play in a format of acts and scenes and also about how the magic system they created is so utterly fucking busted that it made me realize ALL magic systems in elfgames are fucking busted.
I gotta organize my thoughts
Edit
Okay to elaborate - SAGA didn't use spell slots or premade spells, instead allowing players to make custom ones. Through the most entertaining tabletop activity of all - a whole lot of MATH!! And since it was a card based system with a VERY big emphasis on having the right suits for the right action, your cool amazing spell might be fucked because you don't have the right suit for casting magic in your hand. Making spells that were somewhat effective but also economical for your fucking mana pool was CRITICAL. And your mana pool was based on your relevant stat, squared, so if you didn't have a very high relevant stat for casting you might be shit out of luck for more than one or two spells between sleeps. It's so much more work to figure our magic than any other system in the game - every other action is a relative snap! Beat the difficulty's target number (1 - 20) with relevant stat plus cards in hand plus any other bonuses or penalties, you kno, ttrpg shit. Simple enough.
So every now and then I try to figure out how to fix it or make it work without cards. I haven't managed yet.