[YankeeGamer]

In any system I've played, I have adjusted the risks of spell failure. I've usually used the standard table for combat casting, or other high stress work. "Must get the spell off before we hit atmosphere, or we burn up!"

Then, for non-threatening, utility situations, I've minimized the consequences of something going wrong.

Even in combat, more energy/higher difficulty/higher level/higher damage spells go more severely wrong, because there's more energy flying around--both mana and physical energy.

To me, a simple detection spell doesn't have the power to summon a demon (unless you're trying "Detect demon" and something goes seriously, and beyond seriously, wrong.)

I would definitely, if I restarted running GURPS, have the critical failure table start with truly minor oopsies at 3, and go up from there, with adds.

A high skill mage can omit some of the rituals, such as speaking, but perhaps each ritual used subtracts from the table, so when you cast the spell "By the book," without shortcuts, less goes wrong.

Also, GURPS skills are based on using them in a stressful situation--many commercial uses don't count. (Granted, the fiends that ran the place at my last job did make it count as stressful!)