There's no 'utility magic' or spells that can negate engaging with big sections of gameplay, but there's a bunch of cool stuff you can do that makes you feel powerful and clever. Outside of combat abilities, even magic takes time and effort to get things done, usually through Downtime Projects.

My take is that is that d20 fantasy systems are always going to be iterations on D&D, no matter what way you slice it.

I've been playing Draw Steel, which takes a lot of inspiration from 4e and Lancer for its combat mechanics. Powers with a point cost, and you gain more points as combat goes on. 1/

I can only like once so I'm commenting to agree with you more.