Here's the bones of a magic system - graft it on to your favorite. Like most keyword-based magic systems, there are transitive verbs and object nouns - or, rather, collections of them.
You'll be rolling on them with a certain degree of power and control - for each word, when you cast the spell, roll XdY, where X is the control (default 1) and Y is the power (default 4), choosing whichever result you like best if the control is there. If the roll reveals a null result (for instance, "someone whose lock of hair you are holding" when you aren't holding a lock of hair) either the spell fizzles or the GM can interpret how they please.
- DURGUREL
- create dizziness in
- deal 1 damage to
- deal 2 damage to
- deal 3 damage to
- send into permanent sleep (can only be woken by true love)
- cause heart attack in
- instantly kill, causing soul to rise as revenant
- instantly kill, disintegrating the soul of
- HEGMODA
- cause drowsiness in
- heal 1 damage from (after their next rest)
- heal 2 damage from (after their next rest)
- heal 3 damage from (after their next rest)
- heal all damage instantly from
- heal disease of
- restore to total health
- resurrect (may come out wrong)
- MISHVOYAD
- become charmed by
- know something: (GM rolls secretly, 1d4: 1-2, true and not obviously useful, 3 obviously useful, 4 false)
- observe (as if directly present with)
- know name of
- observe and communicate (as if directly present with)
- compel truthful speech from (even if it cannot normally speak)
- know everything anyone knows about
- switch souls with
- ILOGLON
- pull with force
- push with force
- careen in random direction
- reduce mass of
- grant power of flying for five minutes to
- grant power of flying for five hours to
- teleport somewhere (GM rolls 1d6 secretly: 1-5, auspicious for you, 6, inauspicious for you) on this plane
- teleport somewhere (GM rolls 1d6 secretly: 1-5, auspicious for you, 6, inauspicious for you) on this plane
- NAGMODASH
- nobody
- self
- person nearest to you
- person whose lock of hair you are holding
- everyone present
- concrete person you are thinking of
- person who best matches a particular description
- everyone you've met who matches a particular description
- LASHAM
- self
- person you are pointing at
- person you are pointing at (GM rolls 1d6 secretly: 1-5 if they are hostile, 6 whether or not they are hostile)
- all hostile persons present
- someone hostile whom you're not aware of
- your worst enemy
- your worst enemy, and all of their kinsfolk
- your worst enemy and everyone they've ever met
- GEELABENEH
- object you are holding and looking at
- random object you are in contact with
- random object in near vicinity
- nearest object that sort of matches what you are thinking of
- everything in near vicinity
- object you are thinking of
- object under some description
- everything you have touched in the last year and a day
For power, start with d4. Bring power up to d6 if you meet any three conditions:
- this is the first time you've cast a spell today
- you're in a place of power, and the first person to cast a spell in this place of power this day
- it's the full moon or new moon
- you've spent over an hour casting the spell
- you do something (else) dangerous
- this is the first time you've cast a spell this year
- you’re in a place of power, and it’s the first time anyone has cast a spell here this year
- it's an eclipse
- you're destroying a unique object of immense value (congratulations, humans! the universe in its lovingkindness considers each of you unique and of immense value)
- you've spent over 72 hours casting the spell
Subtract one point of control for each spell you've cast today, or if it's a new moon. (If it goes zero or worse, treat it like disadvantage.) Add a second point of control if any two of:
- it's the full moon
- you've spent over an hour casting the spell
- you have two assistants helping you
- you've kept an inconvenient taboo for the last year
Add a third point of control if you’ve kept an inconvenient taboo for the past year, and any two of:
- you’ve spent over 72 hours casting the spell
- you have over a hundred assistants helping you
- you’ve completed a quest to research the exact conditions of casting this particular spell at this particular time
Jenny the hedgewitch points her finger at Goodwife Alice and curses: “a pox upon you, Goody Lyss!,” invoking DURGUREL LASHAM. It’s the full moon, and the first time she’s cast a spell today, so she’s up to d6, and in addition to the full moon she’s kept her taboo of not bathing for the past year, So she rolls 2d6 for each word. For DURGUREL she gets 2 and 3 (1 damage or two), and for LASHAM she gets 2 and 5 (Goody Alice or some unknown enemy.) She opts to deal 3 damage to some unknown enemy, if there is one, and Alice breathes a sigh of relief - that smelly weirdo is just faking it after all.
Andradaros the Archmage wishes to achieve apotheosis with an 8/8 result on MISHVOYAD NAGMODASH, exchanging his soul for all the gods. He spends 72 hours prior to an eclipse, and the height of which he shatters a crystal idol of all the gods to glass; he’s spent a big quest on this; and he’s performed the Theophanic Rite of Hieronsmus every day for the last year, so he rolls 3d8 for each: MISHVOYAD is 5, 3, 8; NAGMODASH is 1,7, 1. He doesn’t switch souls with all the gods, but does switch souls with Nargarbet, the King of Heaven, who is pissed off to be encased in mortal flesh and will be plotting his revenge. Andrados now lacks a physical body but does oversee the universe from a sort of metaphorical throneroom, a position he is singularly unprepared for.
You probably want to (1) make some setting-specific keywords and power/control conditions, probably reflecting more thought than I’ve put into these proofs of concept and (2) excise any complications that aren’t helpful to your purpose.
If you want to add more bells and whistles, places and times of power could add power by filling up odd pips with the word’s native results and even pips with their own results, and their own unique ways of charging and controlling spells cast then/there. (A zine-length work might give a hexcrawl with several such locations? I’ll add that to my folder of projects to procrastinate.)