Alright, this is going to be messy. I'm about to vomit some ASCII all over this post...
Going to start off with combining Threshold Limited Magic from GURPS Thaumatology, with Ritual Path Magic. Spells will be faster than normal RPM, but still slower than standard magic. Energy gathering will work through the mana tattoos and will require a tattoo of the path's color in order to cast. There are seven paths, one from each of the gods.
God --> Color (translation to Aitauaholdian):
Transform is not part of any path, except for the path of Silver (Otreik). Change is the only power granted by the Silver path, and it will typically be used in concert with another path. There are not paths that control minds (meaning no mind control), either for sentient creatures or for animals (meaning no control animal spells either). There may be some spells that can influence or make suggestions, but they should be subtle.
Access to each of the paths is opened by having the tattoo (or by having the natural connection that creatures like elves and dwarves have), no additional points must be spent for the sake of granting access to magic. All permanent enchanting must use at least Brown magic, though temporary effects do not require its presence. However, each of the effects within a path are a separate skill:
I'll need to sit down and define each of the paths, though RPM is very free-form. Looking at the lists of colors, I'll need to think about balance. A Couple of possibilities that immediately come to mind are to make each color have its own associated point cost and to add a time multiplier or additive value for spells in each color (a color with a wider range may inherently be harder to control and require more power and/or time).
RPM makes use of charms and elixirs. I don't plan to make much use of charms (potions, yes). Healing may be limited to alchemy, or I may make it somewhat accessible with magic, but at a severe cost. Resurrections should be limited, but I'm not outright ruling out resurrection magic yet.
Revisiting brainstorm #3, I still plan to have damage from channeling through a tattoo. Re-channeling magic into a leyline is also still very much on the table. And I also still plan to work on updated calamity tables. I feel like I'm very close to where I want this, but still have a lot of work left. So, my next to-do list:
I should probably add something here.