In another thread, someone mentioned levitating an object, and someone else said that the object resistance had to be overcome. This wasn't argued by anyone else, so it made me wonder if I'd been doing it wrong.

I wouldn't apply an object resistance threshold to anything that wouldn't normally be resisted. Levitating a comm link should be a nothing task, not a huge effort requiring a force 5 spell. Am I just wrong here?

Bearclaw--by RAW, yes, the Levitate spell has to overcome the Object Resistance. If you don't like it, change it at your table. Saying that OR is only used when changing the object (molding shape, frying it, etc) probably will not be a huge change on the game.

Alternately, Magic Hands at Force 1 could pick up the commlink and bring it to you, without any changes to RAW.

So why would levitate need to beat the OR and magic fingers not? Aren't they more or less the same spell, with one focused on control and one on power?

They shouldn't... Neither spell is resisted by OR. They are success tests.

The argument made in the other thread, I believe, was that the Levitate spell is targeting a highly processed item. The basic rules state that targeting the item requires a OR test. (I don't use it myself, but that was the argument made.)

Magic Fingers is creating a set of hands and is not targeting anything.

Honestly, I have no horse in this race.

Quoted for truth.

Never used OR for levitate. Seemed silly to use. Most things that are large and need levitation already need a number of hits (cars for example), people that don't want to be levitated get to resist and you are exactly right; Why should a commlink need a rating 5 spell to levitate? As mentioned above, when I read the rules I saw it could be used either with or without but without OR made the most sense. And encouraged the most fun. It is a game after all.

Much like BishopMcQ and Neraph, I have no horse in the race, but I use the table. If the test column indicates a Resistance test, then one is used. If it does not (in this case, both spells are simply success tests) then OR is ignored. Levitate has its own Parameters, though, at 200kg per Hit. Which, in my opinion, is enough of a barrier for heavy things.

One of my characters once levitated a 1,6t Van onto a roof. He had to try a lot ... the first time he beat the threshold his teammate said "I am your father, Luke" and the GM ruled that his concentration failed him

Fun aside: I agree with TJ and many others. I don't see why OR should be an issue, when weight gives a level of difficulty in itself. I also round normally, meaning up to 100kg it's without the raised threshold.