Some well-known examples of soft magic systems: In The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. The problem would lie in too many types for an already-complex magic system. However, this doesn't have to be the case, the hero might not be strong enough on his own, but with other fighters the combined power might be enough to defeat the villain as well. I think that is arguable, but fine I personally want to read hard magic systems anyway. To build this logic, start by thinking about three things: the effects, sources, and costs of magic. Now, I think I was misleading about the Storm God. Hermione explains this to Ron in the seventh book when he mentions bringing food out of nowhere. Magic types: The protagonist doesnt understand Naming well either, so we never expect him to solve major plot problems using soft magic. This isnt a formula for magic systems, but a guide for those not sure where to start or what exactly is a magic system. They have to learn magic to use it. In this guide I will cover the major aspects part of most magic systems, hopefully it'll help you create your own magic system and provide you with a checklist of sorts to make sure you're not forgetting an important part. Hey everyone! Tolkien, we never find out exactly what Gandalf can and cant do with magic. Forms of Star magic include telepathy, telekinesis, mind control, astral projection, and precognition. Hey! And I did read the other piece about magic but my system sounded alot simpler in head head so I didnt think it applied as much. This is where Im stuck for, to the moment. This article helped me go back to the basics and think about what the rules would have to be to make the magic make sense. But it also refers to the effects of the nanite plague. the interactions between spells of opposing Wizards. Magic source description generator - Fantasy name generators If thats the case, youll want to make animal spirits more common and less powerful like plant spirits, and air spirits rarer and more powerful like water spirits. If thats not true and given the types of energies most classical magic systems are throwing around I consider it IMHO to be HIGHLY unlikely then its just splitting hairs whether we call it dodging, blocking or something else, youre REALLY gonna need something magical of your own to make sure that when that nasty spell gets to wherever its target may presently be, that YOU AINT THERE when it arrives! Remember that specific effects are better than broad effects. The only limit is your imagination. Robert Asprins MYTH novels actually do a good job limiting magic in a similar way. Really Smart that would make a great power for the Apaths. So you've figured out what the source of your magic is, but who and what can tap into that source? I know this comment was published a long time ago But oh my God, this idea Id fantastic. Limiting what magic can theoretically do will dramatically cut down the number of plot-breaking scenarios you might have to deal with. Moon magic: Moon magic draws power from the spirit and energy of the moon. Alrighty, its late and Im tired. I would say on a molecular level. They weave certain spells out of the fabric of reality. If there are no downsides to using magic, your protagonists might soon become overpowered, able to solve any problem with the wave of a wand. a disease caused by the nanites Specific effects include waking the dead, sending dead spirits back into the afterlife, and binding the dead to follow their commands. Earth magic: Earth magic draws power from the energy of the land itself. Ive been thinking about a system of magic that was born of 6 Tower, stationed at the poles and in each of the cardinal directions. You just need a set of guidelines that all of your spirits/nymphs follow. Its origin is with the creation of all life itself and the first humans: Black and White. I dont like giving writers a formula for magic systems. Our physical universe is merely the extent that we can see with our mortal Perceptions limits. .and It would probably look a lot less like the X-Men than a lot of fictional magic systems do. Each spell shortens their lifespan by an unknown number of years. Technically, the limitation is actually the minds belief that lifting huge objects is difficult. Otherwise, how can the effect of the knot be decided? Forms of magic include water magic, healing magic, potion making, and purification. It doesnt have to make sense in our world, but in the world of the story, it does. A wizard casts a powerful spell. If you think of the Sea of Energy as like the actual ocean, than the Planes of Existence can be compared to the different depths, and the deeper you go, the more pressure that exists. Shapechangers all use either the strong or weak nuclear forces, and telekinetics and poltergeists use gravity. The magical effects that affect the physical world all manipulate one of the four fundamental forces of physics. The cycle of plants harnessing sunlight and Mother taking it back everyday is no longer considered a mystery, but an accepted fact of life. Worldbuilding sheet: Magic systems - v2 - DeviantArt If one person grows wings and another teleports, your system will feel arbitrary. Hard magic systems provide interesting limitations that allow your protagonist to solve problems using their own wits, not raw magical power. That also means that magic is an entity of its own, hence experimenting with it can be highly dangerous. Bestselling Author Joanna Penn Compares, How to Write a Book: The Best Creative Writing Courses Online, Self-Publishing 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Sharing Your Idea With the World, ProWritingAid Presents: Crime Writer's Week, Free Giveaway: The Ultimate Crime Writer's Toolkit, The 25 Best Fantasy Books & Novels of All Time: Our Top Picks, Omnipotent Characters: Why Marvel Sidelined Thor, Vision, and Captain Marvel, Six Tried and Tested Methods for Writing a Novel, How to Outline Your Novel With Scrivener's Outliner and Corkboard, Fantasy Writers' Week Premium Hub: Presented by ProWritingAid, Hear from bestselling authors and educators like, Learn from bestselling authors and educators in live sessions, Master outlining, writing, editing, publishing and more, Meet like-minded fantasy writers in networking events. In a rational system, there would be an explanation for how magic works where it comes from, what limits there are, how it is used. Oh, I see what I missed last time. will you include other living beings that conduct photosynthesis like phytoplankton or algae? Bit of background on the names, also random worldbuilding you can skip: Conduits were though to be channeling the energy of the gods, as when they are full they glow slightly but Conduits cant do anything with their energy by themselves. Brandon Sanderson is fantastic at crafting magic systems. These are the 7 forms of energy this magic affects. Theyre bodies cant store energy, thats a Condit thing. I guess its similar in its outward effects to the Avatar magic system, but youll see that its actually quite different. Cool system, sounds like it has great story possibilities. Rowling has cherry picked her source material from myths that cross many cultures, Irish, Celtic, Greek, Welsh, Slavic, etc. Once eaten, the magical substance builds up in their systems until they focus their will to cast magic. It is believed in this world, at least by this group of acolytes, that the nighttime is caused by plants absorbing the sunlight, and the dawn only comes because the Living Mother has taken it into her hands to manually restore the balance and takes back the light. And finally, I was thinking about a story involving space travel, so FTL would be convenient to explain how the aliens managed to meet each other in a relatively short amount of time. Some people make a long-term contract with a particular spirit to channel its energy themselves, with the spirit becoming the casters familiar. For instance, in Lois McMaster Bujolds Chalion Series, the divine cannot directly influence the world with their magic. If youre curious about setting/technological era, itll take place in two time periods; one in what would be Victorian times in our world, one in WWII time period. I know its been a whole since you made this post, so I was just curious to how things have developed since then? Im working on setting up a writing blog on WordPress, mirroring it to tumblr. You can get away with a strange assortment if you have mechanics that explain it. If I knew that I could kill every jerk i know unapologetically and without remorse, and be assured that someone would be returned to life as a result of that action then whats stopping me from just killing indiscriminately all the time? All spells require a minimum level of power to run, though many can be empowered further. Interferers cant store energy like Conduits, so they have to use all of what they have in a few minutes or it explodes out of them randomly. His thoughts compiled into a fortified plan to use his skills to accomplish it, without leaving his comfortable chair. Mages draw energy from these Primals to cast spells, but are limited by the amount of Primal energy drawn, mainly from environmental factors. Other than that, most answers are really just what do you want? However, I will say that if magic uses up energy in the environment putting out fires and stopping movement for instance that would probably create some interesting scenes. If your loved one is dying from a gunshot wound, youve a lot less time to bargain. In both these cases, its their clever problem-solving that saves them, not the power of the magic itself. If you teleport, you have to control that energy while your whole body is nothing more than energy, too. Motion I shall now splurge it out here If you like it, and you think you can bend it to fit your idea, then go for it!! In Game of Thrones, the red woman throws leaches into a fire, and later several lords die far away. Are there any natural elements which are home to magical powers or are there any which could house magical powers? If anyone wants more detail and is interested to see the actual magic just comment and feel free to critique. I also want the systems to be distinct, but relatively balanced. There are many assumptions in this article, it only focused on a small, known part of magic. Lets say powers are granted by a changing lineup of gods, and the ocean goddess has three children that control the wind, waves, and depths. Varren slumped into his chair, a curse leaving his lips as he had forgotten to blow out the torch in the hallway. In Avatar, there is one person every generation who violates the rule that people can bend only one element. You will see through their eyes, feel what they feel (emotionally and physically), hear their thoughts, and even have their memories. Oh wow that turned out to be a lot of text. It wasnt meant to be a rational system (although the EU developed it into one and, no, Im not going into the midichlorian desaster), it was simple old-fashioned fairy-tale magic, the kind which does exactly what the heroes need it to do. Its not enough to have a source of magic. What do you think? Nevertheless, you will always introduce something which, as far as we know, does not exist in reality. All three should work together to create the magic system. But to elaborate a bit further The name Grey Death was inspired by the Bubonic Plague pandemic of the 1300s, known as the Black Death because, lets face it, thats a kickass name! For this reason, it is particularly dangerous to withhold kinetic energy and should be redistributed as soon as possible else you risk dismemberment from energy escaping randomly). How do I come up with subtypes that would suit the main types of magic? When the nanites detect the presence of something within a host, the nanites become active, forcibly altering & rebuilding the subjects body from the inside out. Many horror movies use soft magic systems to create a sense of fear and dread, while childrens books might use soft magic systems to create a sense of excitement and adventure. If you want conservation of energy, you could show those who use specific powers, magical or psychic, having to replenish that energy in some way (through food, meditation, or something similar). a conspiracy to hide everyone selected (difficult to justify how they manage this) A person can use their mental conviction to create any of these energy forms by channeling the Ether (Breaking the law of Conservation- Something from Nothing). Some kind of mana system (where mana is the energy the mage uses to cast spells) will make the system rational in that case, because it will give natural limits a mage can only cast as long as they have mana left and they need to regain it afterwards (through rest, rituals, or whatever pleases you). How could a magic user be defeated? The Chinese traditional elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, a different classification scheme that is equally arbitrary. If a character casts spells with a combination of substances, dance moves, and symbols drawn in charcoal, assign a role to each component. These terms, originally coined by Brandon Sanderson, are widely used by fantasy fiction writers today. About the Avatar thing, what you are saying makes more sense to me now. Its important to define what the magic user can manipulate and how/why. So, basically it will be a portal (or teleportation, in case if anyone makes the bond from surrounding air blob, for example). Casting also generates colors based on how much power you drew upon to cast it. Crafting a hard magic system can be a complex endeavor, though soft magic systems also require a bit of care and attention to develop. 6 Key Questions To Ask When Creating A Magic System Reversing entropy would be a matter of gestures as well as speeding it up. Now, there is a scene in the Silmarillion where Luthien goes to rescue Beren, the mortal man she loves, from the dungeons of Sauron (who is a corrupted angelic spirit somewhere around the same level in the angelic hierarchy that her mother occupies on the good side); and in the process she engages in a duel of song with Sauron himself, since song/music is the primary metaphor Tolkien chose to express the use of this spiritual/magical energy in the writings which were collected into the Silmarillion. Oreads are nymphs of Mountains. There are hints throughout the story that its actually sci-fi. Here are four common categories you can consider. However, they are actually Ancient Greek classifications and not modern science-based, so they arent really natural. Remember the problem with any kind of existing lore: someone out there whos reading your stories is an expert in it and will be pretty annoyed if you just wing it and your version has next to nothing in common with reality. But you can use pretty much anything you wish, whether it's a magic absorbing rock, special water or perhaps a type of wood. Demonic magic is based on bad and Angelic magic is based on good. Examples of rationality in spell design include: 1) Theres a spell for emitting light from ones wand (lumos, which is connected to the Latin word for light) and theres a spell for extinguishing your wand light (nox, which is literally the Latin word for night). And sorry about the length of this comment. Thats because we know dragon glass can kill them and both weapons were forged by dragon flame. Combustial (fire) You should take a look at Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.Google search it; itll come right up. Magic can be taught and learned, but like the Arts or sciences, whether someone is good at magic or not depends on their inherent skill, talent, and dedication to their training. Another way to look at it is evolution. On Way of Kings Shows Us the Damage Meta Mysteries Can Do. In fact, they are drawing on residual energy left behind when a spirit interacts with the human world. Weak to medium Hydro, very rare chance of getting weak Eco as well, Learns magic more easily than other races. Note that this does NOT prove energy is conserved (at least I dont think so), it means that if energy is not conserved, the laws of physics must change over time this applies even if magic is involved. You will always need to wing it there, because you introduce something which has no base in our worlds reality. The latter, sorcerers, actually do not have magic ability. The mandrake has been considered magical, because its roots do look vaguely like a human being. Magic certain individuals acquire the ability to issue new instructions to existing nanites, whether in the environment or within others bodies. It might be argued that the wand and the spell serve to put the mind of the caster in the right mood so they can command the magic. That would then explain why accidential magic can happen when someone is enraged or otherwise under emotional pressure its triggered subconsciously. If you want you can also make a difference between Nyads and Nereids the usual river and spring nymphs and large powerful Sea nymphs. but humanity is creative and designs massive jammers that are able to disable the nanites that enter within X radius of them. An elemental mage could probably use several elements, if they trained for it. And if so, is it because their culture is different and they learn to wield it in different ways, is it because they simply cannot wield it the same way due to biological differences or is it because they use different sources, like blood magic and magic pools?
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