Very variant spell magic

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

The standard spell magic system in GURPS assumes that spell casting is relatively common and magic items rare in the extreme.

Wait, how did you come to this conclusion? Spellcasting is as common or rare as Magery and the availability of learning magical skills. Magic items show up wherever the GM puts them — or if you're referring to player-created magic items, their frequency depends on the availability of enchantment spells, time, and money. I really don't see any assumptions of rarity here. Do you mean the relative ease of casting compared to crafting a magic item?

If you want magic items to dominate over casting one's own spells, one easy way is to require ceremonial casting for all magic use except when casting the spell stored in an item. Then litter your setting with magic items so the players don't have to make them.