I like the fact youve got a cool new way people gain magical abilities- FAR FAR FAR to many high fantasy novels just have it be the usual theyre born with it (theres nothing wrong with that way- heck Ive even used that, its simple and the easiest way to have it)- but I love seeing unique ways besides just being born with it. Even without understanding the details, it feels like it all fits together. In some magic systems, gods or other powerful beings are the source of all magic. If they are limited, its usually not by some universal magical law, but rather a handicap in their source of power. And if they can add energy to it, it sounds like they have to absorb that energy like a conduit. These systems usually adopt limitations from physics, even though physics is no longer a limiting factor. Magical properties are randomly given to some creatures and elements (eg: Fire breathing dragons, Gem stones that arent affected by gravity)- this type of magic is Irational but still has rules (depending on each specific example), But the most common form of magic is the one humans can control- this is a rational hard magic that is all about Energy, our ability to create & manipulate it. For example, if your characters can telekinetically control objects, your story will be more interesting if each character can only control a specific type of object, rather than being able to control anything they want. In case if something enters inside such bonded blob it will exit on the other side of the bond. I made myself wait until morning to reply I also thought about adding elementals (People that impersonate a specific emotion and can change when overloaded with emotion) and some lore. I wouldnt use categories of magic to add structure thats just adding more complexity. Those that dont meet the selection criteria die screaming, but in a chosen few, the nanites alter and enhance their hosts, granting abilities that are perceived as mystical by the ignorant population which includes the majority of the Order of Mages themselves as generations of information suppression have led to them buying into their own lies, the truth being known only to the mysterious Council of Nine. As this energy is formless and intangible, it is naturally attracted to your body and stored there. Does that all make sense? Now paint may sound op but it has very risky limitations. Thats because we know dragon glass can kill them and both weapons were forged by dragon flame. If an elemental mage can only use elements which are not opposite, they have to choose between the four elements when they start training. One more thing to keep in mind what if there is an underlying principle, but the characters dont know about it? Occasionally you may want an arbitrary system it adds humor and entertainment to Harry Potter. Havent figured out the second point quite yet. I went through this process recently with an RPG Ive been working on. So eventually, after a little Silly Putty work with words and concepts, I wound up with a magic system where believing something was considered a form of observing it with your mind in the state that you want to be so; that all that I read in the quantum physics book was true and intermeshed perfectly with the various descriptions of magic as being any system where a strong mind or majority of minds is able to influence reality through the strength of its being perfectly itself (e.g. As mentioned, Im still working on the plot details, but I was thinking the decrease in magic availability from protagonist 1s time to protagonist 2s time had to do with spirits withdrawing from the human world and not dealing with mages. Which is why you need to attach a heavy price. Spirits that become familiars dont affect ambient energy levels, making casters bound to them potential weapons, but also wild cards (whether theyll help you depends on both their own desires and their familiars). Learn the most recent fiction marketing tactics, Amazon algorithm deep-dive, with case studies, & more. also just a thought, you also could have mentioned the Eragon series which uses language as the limitation for casting, and physical energy for fueling spells. The duration for using paint is limited and if your paint bottle runs out life will slowly start to sap out of you. Creating a Magic System for Superpowers If the magic youre creating varies from person to person, this article is for you. ), Fire/heat (fire is a more fickle form of energy and as it is intangible, it is harder to hold on to, though not as hard as air. Witches and wizards need to learn each spell individually and practice speaking their enchantments in exactly the right way in order to achieve the intended results. I remember a HP fan-fiction where Harry developed two spells into some kind of magical arms he could call up at will to help with magic or protect himself by picking up half a dozen objects he could throw into the path of a spell or weapon. In real life, cold is not a thing but just the absence of heat, and ice and fire dont seem to be fundamental opposites. That was confusing enough that I have difficulty figuring out what the posts premise is, but I THINK Disney Magic would be a better example. Figured out the important themes and used them to craft something that fits more within the setting. As you can see there's a lot to explore, but if you're looking for names you're at the right place. This also gives some spirits incentive to become a mages familiar they get much more experience of the human world by being there than collecting random memories. This is super helpful, thanks so much for taking the time to write it and to provide examples. It has been decided that the human body is too impure of a vessel, being asynchronous with the rhythms of nature, to successfully accomplish this with sunlight. powerful mages who control transportation but do not rule (again, difficult). I have recently, but have wrote before, in my world created a new magic systems. Substances like these make it easy to put limits on the amount of magic used just limit the substance. One final aspect to think about is whether or not those who cannot wield power can somehow gain the ability to do so and if those who can wield magic can lose the ability do so and if those changes can be reverted. Youll have to figure out exactly what characteristic weft threads are adding, but thats completely doable. Others say that this is blasphemy; for a gift of water, if not taken from somewhere, would disrupt the balance, however little, and Mother would never stand for it. Most magic systems used in medievalish fantasy have groups of people with access to the same spells and abilities, though their talent with magic will vary. Everyone has their own power level amount of energy they can produce in one go. It could make for some interesting stories devout priests who get power from their deities versus irreligious wizards who use their own will as magic, bio-mages who draw upon the weak but flexible power of living organisms versus geo-mages who draw upon the mighty yet unsubtle power of the land itself, Incidentally, all examples you have given, Cay Reet, are about how (most) magic-users cannot use all types of magic; do you think that a system in which magic-users could learn all possible magic (at least theoretically) but what is possible for magic in total is strictly limited could work? Be hugely important In politics. I want to encourage writers and worldbuilders to stray from this formula. I love it. I generally call the opposite of rational arbitrary, and that one I just chose arbitrarily, you might say. There are plenty of sources you can use, like bodily energies, energies in the air, power bestowed by the gods, powers within blood, pools of magic in the world, a worldwide life force, magical artifacts and so on. Common People (Theyre so common that they dont really have a name.) External energy could work; however, instantaneously moving energy from one place to another causes problems. Thats all I can think of at this very moment and I dont want to make this comment any longer. Been developing a magic system for a story of mine thats in its early development stages. Wizards arent included in this; as far as we know, you cant just simmer a wizard in a pot for a few days and end up with a magic potion. As we dont seem to be focusing on that aspect much, however, I wont try to continue arguments about that part. Everything is what she deems fair. There is a bit more magic involved in the storyline, but just for that part, do you think that all makes sense? This adds a bit of strategy to the game, because you need to figure out how to use the different skill sets best together. I think Tolkiens magic also confuses people because, as you say, its not until you read in the unpublished material and the material that WAS unpublished at the time of Tolkiens death but has since been released as the Silmarillion, etc. The term magical effects refers to the ways in which magic influences and alters the world around it. They arent all knowing like gods so you have to talk to them directly. Hey, dont know if anyones still commenting on this but here goes. Depending on where the clusters are and how they are structured different effects emerge: Forms of Sky magic include air magic, lightning magic, and weather magic. I checked it out, and indeed it seems to just be another name for obsidian. Dragon breeds or races (this is with Borne magic): 3. The pulp could be made of something special that allows for different effects when treated differently. The Given is normally in for 3-7 year. Can they simply stretch their arm, make a gesture with their hands and shoot out a ball of fire or do they need a wand do direct the magic? Building Your Own Hard Magic System. Its way too easy for me to make everything very logical with a specific and predictable reaction to every action, which is why Im trying to challenge myself with a more whimsical(?) Other than that your spells can be pretty much anything, from destructive to healing spells, elemental to demonic spells and from conjurations to enchantments. Maybe something with an eclipse? Iroh or Azulah are already pushing it when they control lightning (which could qualify both as air or fire). Pick just one source; Ill discuss how to add variety to your magic system in the next section. In the Harry Potter universe, magic works in several different ways: These three sets of rules dont appear related to each other. Do note that sharing elements with other works of fiction is near impossible to avoid, magic has been used in so many stories so the chances of whichever power you think of not being used already are very slim and those which haven't been used might not even be worth using in the first place. Here are four common categories you can consider. You have the tank, often a warrior, who has great armour and a lot of health and will draw attacks and take the damage. The reader needs to be able to understand the basics and rely on that understanding throughout the story. I would take a step back from good and bad, first of all. Now the magic is tied directly to ones own life force, the more magic they use the weaker their magic becomes and the weaker they become, with rest their strength will come back but their magic will not and if they run out means they used up their entire life force so they die and the only known way to regain all their magic and life force is to take the life of another completely consuming their victims life force\magic. Magic types: A being of a higher Plane has the opposite effect, their presence and consciousness being far too much for the Universe to handle, and so it would just collapse on itself wherever the being would go. Last limitation is that the caster has to concentrate on what theyre doing. Paint can hold curses that are also genetic (curses can make a person stronger but the price is extremely high) Fortunately it's not that hard to create a magic system, so this guide will be relatively short, but the amount of work you'll have to put into the creation of your magic will depend entirely on how detailed you want to get. Magic is a dominant trait, but rare in some races. How much of it might people attribute to the magic, and how much might they attribute to simply becoming blas in the face of so much death? Is it dark and scary? Its a very complex mathematical theorem, but the really basic idea I understand is that conservation laws and symmetries are connected. 405 Favourites 13 Comments 43.8K Views Revised and translated version of this. Using this site means trees will be planted. Waving around a wand isnt as simple as you bang it out to be. You cant have conservation of energy violated by magic that also keeps the laws of physics the same over time, any more than you could have magic that makes 2+2=5 (unless, perhaps, the laws of physics in a universe dont involve Lagrangians, but then that would likely be a universe totally different from our own). You could explain telekinesis (telepathy, too, I guess) with having invisible energy arms which are connected to your body and grab the object in question (or create a connection to another being for telepathy). Another option is that there is a background magic field (see the TVTropes article) present everywhere that psychics draw on. In some cases, the answer might already be obvious given the world your story is set in. For some systems it could be obvious: for example, as I understand, in the Avatar those guys can control existing non-magical things (water, air, fire, earth). Those rules are established within the story (unlike underlying rules with Rowling might have for her magic or Lucas might have had for the Force), so at least one character must know them or learn about them as the plot develops. 7 Considerations for Writing Fantasy Magic and Magic Systems. Real transformation would be something like lead to gold, influencing the molecules to give up their bonds and settle into a new configuration (gods, it has been ages since my last chemistry lesson). Perhaps Mages can use all the magical abilities, but CHOOSE to specialize? First, think through what magic is capable of doing in a theoretical best case scenario. Some people are good at magic, others are not. In my plant-based system, there could be a lineage with the biological adaptation to absorb the magical substance directly, without using the plant as an intermediary. With that said, I wonder why no one has replied to my previous comment on this article. But the Mother eventually grows tired of such a long and drawn-out abuse of the balance, with the plants greedily hoarding the sunlight for themselves each day; in autumn she begins to draw water out of the plants, more than just the droplets that form on leaves in the morning. the frequent earthquakes that break up the surface of the earth and reshape it releasing gasses from below. Second thought was the good ol blood sacrifice, but a) kinda dark for what Im going for and b) why would spirits want blood anyway? Anywhere there is festivity or drinking he might try to have some fun, which could make for an epic night or a lot of destruction; hes the bane of every tavern and bar. They grow larger and in summer they enjoy the fullness of a mature plant life. Humans have no idea. Visit her new website . What kinds of magical concepts and images would contribute to that atmosphere? Also I think the name Grey Death is cool, especially if theres some in world reason? She might exchange one persons hand for anothers, but she might not deem two lives equal. I also like the conspiracy, theres not many like that in high fantasy which makes it cool. All of Creation is born from a single point in time, that exists both Space, Time, Existence, or Consciousness, what we call The Sephirot, or The Spark, or the Egg of Creation, it goes by many names. It takes decades to master a Type of magic, and some mages (any magic user, human, dragon person, whatever) spend their whole lives perfecting one spell. If Luke needs to suddenly call out for help while hes hanging below a floating city, he can make contact with Leia (without their relationship already being an item). I see where you are coming from on a few of these points but perhaps since Ive read the series so many times I think they miss the mark. You can either post it here or use the contact page. Or just think up what you want to have be things that good and evil magic can do, put them in categories, and decide which good magic categories are opposites to evil magic categories, and create new areas to fill holes. The first to discover this art was a man who observed that water disappears on its own and returns later as rain. Sounds right to me). moving more slowly, using other abilities less effectively, taking more hits), and the hero tries and fails to use the ability when theyre already at their limit, then we come to understand exhaustion as a real limitation that doesnt just go away as needed. Magic is the practice of harnessing energy to manipulate aspects of reality. Though a mages mana reserve grows as their body gets used to their energy loss, certain acts of magic that require large amounts of mana can leave a mage drained of energy and will require them to rest and recharge their energy. Because magic is a form of power, it often explores related themes such as greed, privilege, and oppression. But usually a person can only ever do one of those three (create, increase or decrease), and only do it for a certain energy type. Now we go back to the Beginning. This is one of the most exciting things about writing fantasy: getting to design your own magic system. If every spell casts creates a knot that must result in the opposite effect happening then the incentive to kill becomes too great. One of my characters is able to beg the Storm God for help without making a proper appeal because they danced nearly every day for 5 years. In the Norse pantheon, Loki is sometimes also referred to as the god of fire despite the fact that hes a frost giant. Like something to do with the changing of the victims skin? Though there is an international standard for magic spells, certain cultures practice magic in different ways pertaining to either their culture, beliefs or lifestyles. Telekinesis: You mention psychics using their own energy for telekinesis. I also want the systems to be distinct, but relatively balanced. The issues with this idea are a) adding more complexity to my magic system and b) giving more power to the side of the war that directly contracts spirits. You should take a look at Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.Google search it; itll come right up. Where does it source its power? And I had trouble writing with what nature aspects nymphs, dryads, and naiads would relate to, so I went with that. and not to be messed with lightly, as they can have devastating effects. The jammers are slowly getting weaker, and the nanites, while the have mostly settled in these past centuries, slowly encroach upon the population. That goes for magic as well as for everything else. You can negotiate with them about services and prices, that is, if they listen to you at all.
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