Disclaimer: the inspiration for this idea was taken from
this post by IronyOwl.
Each action has Levels of Magnitude. Most mundane actions start with Level 1. The levels of magnitude change depending on your rolls.
Rolls:1: Epic Fail. Bad consequences* on the current Level.
2: Fail. No consequences.
3: Incomplete Success. Good consequences one Level lower than your current Level.
4: Success. Good consequences on your current Level.
5: Perfect Success. Good consequences one Level higher than your current Level.
6+: Unforeseen Consequences. Current Level raises by (Roll-5); the dice are rolled once more on that Level of Magnitude. For example, a Level 1 action rolling a 7 will be rolled for again on a Level 3.
Bonuses to rolls are available through various means, but will only apply to the
known levels of the skill. For example, if you are a Competent Fire Mage and get a Rod of Fire Control with a +1 to casting, you will only have that bonus on Levels 3 and lower.
Levels of Magnitude:Level 0: Substandard Mundane. Examples of a personal attack and an AoE knockdown Air spell: prodding a dog's side with your boot, summoning a light breeze.
Level 1: Standard Mundane. Examples: knocking a dog off its feet, summoning a gust of wind that throws things into people's faces.
Level 2: Substandard Supernatural. Examples: kicking a dog into a wall, summoning a strong gust of wind that throws everyone off balance.
Level 3: Standard Supernatural. Examples: kicking a dog through a wall, summoning a strong gust of wind that knocks everyone down.
Level 4: Substandard Miraculous. Examples: kicking a human through a wall, summoning a windstorm that throws people into walls.
Level 5: Standard Miraculous. Examples: kicking an ogre through a wall, summoning a windstorm that throws people through walls.
Level 6: Divine. Examples: kicking a dragon through a wall, summoning a tornado that demolishes nearby buildings.
* In this game, I will try and make sure the [1]'s consequences don't influence the caster directly, so as to not scare people away from higher-level spells and because a world in which people's messing-up results in said people getting punished gives the players no potential for drama.
For example, take a hypothetical wizard inside a warehouse casting a Level 3 Fire spell on a strong monster and rolling a [1]. Does he set his ass on fire? In my game, he doesn't: the monster is powerful enough to kill him already, and him setting his ass on fire will have no impact on the story. Instead, he sets the
warehouse on fire, Harry Dresden-style, which opens a whole new set of opportunities to kill the monster, but attracts unwanted attention.