I think a lot of those things will be done pretty much like that in the accelerated version, though that will be a while.
Two things:
5. Magic. Um...to say the Magic system can get complicated, is well, um yeah. So feel free to add what you want to see in magic here.
I would simply make it a power to allow you to attack, defend and maneuver with magic. I had done a crude version of this already during a discussion in another thread, where I tried to divide evocation into 1 refresh powers. Ah, found it.
The Basics:
Each of the basic Spellcasting powers grants 1 Element to do your spells with. Once you have an element, you can use it on every magical action you know, so you will not have to buy all 3 powers for each element. None of the basic spellcasting powers use casting stress.
Magic Attack [-1]:
You are able to do magical attacks. Roll your discipline as a ranged attack with a weapon rating of 2.
Magical defense [-1]:
You are able to use your magic to block attacks. Roll your discipline to put up a block. The strength of the block is equal to your roll.
Magic Maneuver [-1]:
You are able to do maneuvers with magic. Roll your discipline to put up an aspect.
Upgrades:
These Powers require their basic counterparts to work.
Powerful Attack [-1]:
Your magical attacks are more powerful. Add +2 to your roll, when doing a magical attack. To use Powerful Attack, you need to take 1 shift of mental stress. (I know, usually it's +1 to add to an attack roll, but with the stress cost and the fact that it is a power, I think it is ok.)
Potent Attacks [-1]:
You can do magical attacks for an additional 2 shifts of damage. To use Potent Attacks, you need to take 1 shift of mental stress.
Massive Attacks [-1]:
You can use your spells to attack an entire zone. To use Massive Attacks, you need to take 1 shift of mental stress.
Potent Maneuver [-1]:
Your magical maneuvers are more powerful. Add +2 to your roll, when putting up a magical maneuver.
Potent Defense [-1]:
Your magical blocks are more powerful. Add +2 to your roll, when putting up a magical block.
Lasting Defense [-1]:
Your magical blocks last 2 exchanges (for a total of 3 exchanges) longer, without freshing them up. To use Lasting Defense, you need to take 1 shift of mental stress.
Additional Element [-1]:
You can cast spells in one additional element.
Focus Item [+1]:
You can attach part of your magical powers to a focus item. If you lose that item, every roll you do for those powers will be reduced by 2, until you recover or rebuild the item. You need to attach at least 2 points of refresh to benefit from the refresh bonus.
Enchanted item [-1]:
You have 2 free uses per session for any evocation power that would normally take mental stress to use. This power may be taken multiple times.
You could even take other skills for the 3 action types. Maybe weapons for attacks (throwing fireballs) or conviction for maneuvers. Would probably be best, so wizards don't rely on only one skill. Maybe even different skills for different wizards, depending on their style, as long as it's three different ones.
If you want more powerful wizards, you can let them take multiple Upgrade powers of one kind and let their uses stack. But if you only take one each, a wizards power should be manageable and on par with other templates. Maybe even a bit weaker compared with speed, strength, etc.
7. Skill problems.
-Oh you took Performance at a +5, because you are a great actor. Now you're going to tell this guy a lie, roll me deceit. Why couldn't I roll Performance instead? Anyone? Maybe make some sort of buy in when it comes to skills? As I see it now, not all skills are not created equal.
That's looking at it the wrong way, I think. I would certainly allow someone to use performance here, if he was trying to convince someone of a carefully prepared lie. But if he was trying to come up with something on the spot, I would have him roll deceit. Or maybe performance limited by deceit. However, I think delivery of a lie can definitely be covered by performance. This could even be one of those times, where the character falls back on the scene from that audition he had a while back, which had a similar scene. It's all about how you go about it.