And sorry about the length of this comment. First of all, you need to figure out what both types of magic can do. A cunning ex-adventurer named Wlfrilda seeks a company of adventurers to explore the Pikawas Jungle. Telepathy: You mention detecting the electrical impulses of the nervous system. Your success depends on your knowledge of the gods, your relationship with the god, and your ability to make an appeal. Anyone can use it, the power doesnt come from the gods, but you do have to follow a recipe. It doesnt take years of training. While it can be fun to have wacky spells, wouldnt it be even cooler if you could reveal how your wacky spells all click together? A water line would provide energy for a water mage, an earth line for an earth mage, and so on. By making sure magic has costs, you can force your protagonists to be clever and resourceful when they solve problems. 7 Considerations for Writing Fantasy Magic and Magic Systems. But, in general, all those energies are more-less equally distributed everywhere. Like gods, you can ask spirits for help. 2023 Mythcreants LLC, all articles, art, recordings, and stories are the copyright of their respective authors. Caster is Eco, Given controls animals, which is basically mind control. Earth and earthy minerals/materials (Since earth is firm, solid and tangible, and since man walks and sleeps on the ground, eats what the ground produces, and has a beneficial relationship with the earth, earth is easy to hold on to for longer periods of time, assuming you dont try to control too much of it at a time). Or, stepping away from the elements as a such, a mage needs to chant specific words to achieve a specific result (classic spell work). When it comes to telepathy have you considered that connecting to another mind might simply mean making changes in their neural system (which runs on small amounts of electricity created by the body)? If youre doing the system well, you dont need to break a rule for the plot or you can make it shine through beforehand that under specific circumstances rules can be broken (or at any rate bent very far). Unless obsidian in Westeros is formed by dragonfire instead of volcanoes (or volcanoes are tied to dragons somehow, which I dont think was ever even hinted at), it wasnt actually forged by dragons. 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. Oh, I see what I missed last time. In both these cases, its their clever problem-solving that saves them, not the power of the magic itself. Instead, I would work on getting the rational rules for how this nanite magic work nailed down really well, and make sure you have lots of limits, and ways in general for that magic to stop working. Or you blame all psychic powers on quantum and be done with it, but I doubt you want to take that way out, otherwise you wouldnt have been plotting that much already. A mages magic can be stronger or weaker depending on how much access to a Primal they have at a given time. Ill have to remember I can do that if necessary. This is because an all-powerful antagonist makes the story more exciting and perilous, while an all-powerful protagonist achieves the opposite effect. It will first appear has a reddish purple mark that will slowly spread across the whole body. Professor of Political Theory in Star Trek, contradicting something shes already invented, distill and concentrate the plant down to an elixir, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, heres a fun chart showing the details of magic systems in the most popular works, Building the Raksura: How Martha Wells Fell Into Toxic Tropes, Five Tips for Using an Arbitrary Magic System, Building Wings of Fire: How Sutherland Propped Up Her Plot, Building Hyperion: How Simmons Scattered His World, Building Roshar: How Sanderson Bungled Culture, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_hcwB8i64, https://mythcreants.com/blog/how-to-create-an-eclectic-magic-system/. To do this, I would need to work out whether adding the sorts of new particles and forces needed for this scenario to what exists in real life can be done in some mathematically consistent way. A lot of magical effects can only affect creatures that are magic, or affect them much more strongly. What kinds of magical concepts and images would contribute to that atmosphere? The spellbook kind of magic is more of a preference, like if they dont want to be apart if any of the fighting and just rather hang back. Some theorize, that the Sephirot is an aspect of God, but our understanding of God is just one aspect of it, you could say the projection of its Will, in simpler terms. From this point onwards paint is incorporated into science and technology. Can magic be used incorrectly or immorally? You can use our ProWritingAid Sensory Report to make sure youre including sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell in your magic system. As fun as fantastical powers can be to write, crafting your magic system with care is key. Another way of looking at sources is from a material point of view. 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. . 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). Im currently working on subtypes to it but I am miserably failing. 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. Do you prefer planning things out logically (hard magic), or going with your gut (soft magic)? If by the end of your story the hero has reached twice or more times the power of the strongest person at the beginning of the story, how come nobody ever reached that same level? But Chaos is discovered to still exist and actually controls the inner workings of our universe (similar to a pusdeo quantum physics where laws arent followed and anything can happen at anytime) This (called the Ether) rarely affects our natural world but when it does the laws of physics are broken in the form of magic. This sounds intriguingly cool, although if youre designing it for use in a computer game, might I ask how are you handling the problem that (I would imagine) youd have to assign EVERY object/environ in your game world a energy attribute/variable, dictating how much player the Player can draw upon, and what happens when the Player hits that limit? It does, although thats what I want to do. You could use a rock-paper-scissors relationship where earth beats air, but air beats water, water beats fire, and fire beats earth. Conduits take magic energy from their surroundings, and Interferers take energy from Conduits to do magic by adding a bit of energy to the system (making a gust blow harder than it would, for example). 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. magic system. Magic would be cheaply acquired from soil the plant cant grow in, and they wouldnt have to worry about getting sick from overeating it. How was magic created? 7 Ways To Create A Spectacular Magic System For Your Novel The second Twist to my setting is that the magic in my world is in fact technological in origin, Yep, Im doing the whole forgotten tech trope :-), The Grey Death is in fact a invasive form of Nanotechnology, accidentally released into the public. I really like the distinction between on the one hand the rational-nonrational scale, on the other hand the hard-soft scale. Thats a neat trick you used for replying even when the thread space has run out. 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 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! It is divided into two domains: the stone, minerals, and metals of the land, and the flora and fauna of the natural world. Magic systems vary from colorful bears with tummy badges to ritual blood sacrifices. Korra did it but that was more so of Avatar state then an Airbending technique. Though after reading the Mythcreants article about the effects of high magic and how it might speed up industry, these two time periods might be much closer temporally. In time cities arise around these safe harbors, and ever so slowly life begins again. Otherwise, your categories will feel contrived. Since paint depends on your mental state and will, if while using paint you have a sudden elevation of toxic emotions (extreme anger, fear, wish for destruction, narcissism, grief, blood-lust) your paint will go against the body causing a complete collapse (your senses null forcing you into a coma), a clear breakthrough (all thoughts and feelings stop and you focus on one thing with a slightly heightened power), a poisoned mind (you attack friend and foe alike as the paint starts to corrode your mind) or a transformation (into a monster). Motion/kinetic energy: you stop an object in its tracks. 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. In Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, magic comes from specific metals, like copper, tin, or aluminum. Heres how this system might break down: A long list of constraints will make it much easier to craft conflicts in your story. Summon up a spirit to help you move a piano, and you can spend hours debating over price. but humanity is creative and designs massive jammers that are able to disable the nanites that enter within X radius of them. In addition, the spells available for use arent completely based on nonsense, or taught completely irrationally. In order to fully capitalise on paint one must find a weapon they work well with and a fight style that suits your body. However, then I realized a key problem: Could I make this a logically consistent system? Reversing entropy would be a matter of gestures as well as speeding it up. Thanks to this article I have been able to advance my magic system up from the basics and I just want to run this by someone who is not me: My magic system is called Paint. some sort of selection criteria the nanites have Technically, the limitation is actually the minds belief that lifting huge objects is difficult. 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. Hard vs. soft magic is a spectrum, not a binary. Should I divide my Mages into sub-classes (similar to Sandersons Mistborn)?? Combustial (fire) Mind energies are bit different: they could be bonded with any type of energy. When a mage makes a contract with a spirit, what are they paying with? 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. 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! The twist? My protagonist would be one of the paranoid who wants to conserve the thread. If one person grows wings and another teleports, your system will feel arbitrary. These expeditions have all been disaster, as the concentration of Ghoul (better then Specters at least) is much higher in those areas. Magic system generator : r/d100 - reddit Youre deluding yourself if you think that. What kind of defensive and offensive things can they do? SWd6 System Generator. Theres things like creating food out of thin air, which means magic can add something to the world which wasnt there before (alternately, some people have all the rotten luck and their fridges are constantly empty and they dont know why). Use attributes or abilities you would connect with angels or demons and make them sub-types of the magic in question. But we know some things. I do hope that this comment will help you understand the angle Im coming from. In that, I will agree with what Chris Winkle said that putting thought into your magic system is a good idea. Is it dark and scary? It is not genetic, and it depends on the persons natural ability to feel/ synchronise with the energy type and become familiar enough with it that they can produce their own from the Ether. To me, it seemed like I had everything figured out and I could write a story now. He learned that as long as a person eventually restored the balance towards which nature is always striving, he or she could be enabled to have control over the elements. How does a user summon magic, and how does that magic manifest (i.e. Occult Network-- The magic Internet. They arent all knowing like gods so you have to talk to them directly. Here we will get into seven different bases to help you create your unique magic system. Its easy to mix up rational magic with whats often referred to as hard magic. I wouldnt work with spells with such a system. All are well known for changing things theyre associated with into other things or even changing other women into one of them, so that can be fun. Some dimensions have a lot of energy and a lot of lines, others have few. 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? When a person deliberately causes an imbalance that person becomes the cork plugging up the hole, so to speak. Yes, its arbitrary which items have magical powers (though many plants have historically been said to have magical powers and Rowling obviously researched these). But its repeatedly said in the series that spells can be cast when the user feels strong emotion, so it could possibly be connected in that way to the old magic. What did you think alchemy was? Cant help but feel its lacking in creativity and complexity, but thats for another day. In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, wand magic is like language. Jinora does it at some point. Imagine if Harry Potter could vanquish Voldemort in the first chapter just by making up a spell called antagonist defeatium. Hello to anybody that sees this. It sends a positive message to the reader when the magic being performed is a positive being paid for by a regrettable negative but sends the wrong message when its a cheat or lethal act that is only being rewarded or reinforced with a positive. 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. Other examples include alohamora and colloportus, reparo and diffindo, accio and depulso (learned but not named in-series, as I recall), etc. You will always need to wing it there, because you introduce something which has no base in our worlds reality. (Find out more). Magic systems can even serve as a vehicle for theme, exploring topics such as power, privilege, oppression, and greed. Limits can come in all sorts of varieties, the ones we've covered are: how to wield it (being disarmed), how to gain power, power limit, limited power source, cost of powers, the ability to combine powers or not, racial differences and whether or not you're born with a specific amount of power and talent or not. The Interferer group split apart eventually and the two factions warred and almost killed all of the Conduits, but reached a treaty saying that they wouldnt kill anymore Conduits (Interferers need Conduits to do anything), but Conduits are still rare and fought over. Then use the answer to characterize all of your nature spirits. I went through this process recently with an RPG Ive been working on. For a similar reason, simple exhaustion, without any other defined limits, is generally a weak way to limit an ability in the story. The Goddess of Exchanges would be less random, but you wouldnt be able to reliably make exchanges with her. They each have powers, but only relative to what they are. One thing to keep in mind is how much power somebody can gain. In Brandon Sandersons Warbreaker, magic is powered by a life force known as breath. Sanderson could have made breath do anything, but instead its mostly limited to animating objects and improving the casters senses. The flavor might be of magic based on communication with spirits, although these spirits do have to obey at least some physical laws. However, it sounds like theres a gap between the rational aspect and the large assortment of different things your magic casters are doing. Anyone who uses the magic of these Towers will have a name that corresponds to the pair, not just the Tower they draw from. As this energy is formless and intangible, it is naturally attracted to your body and stored there. Whether with words, gestures, complicated rituals, or just pure thinking, the idea that someone can control reality with their mind is at the base of every magical system. This was long enough ago to be remembered as an advanced society falling, but its manner of advancement being conflated with the magic that exists now, and most specific knowledge of it lost. These are some questions you should ask when you brainstorm. One way to get stronger is to give your paint a will creating a contractor. It is an epic drama that, year by year, is played out before humanity. A puddle could be vaporized at will, only to have the water redistributed at a later time, again at the will of the one controlling the exchange. Being able to gain power is generally an often picked choice for story telling, first the hero is unable to defeat the villain, but after training or some other form of power gain the hero becomes stronger than the villain. The primary purpose of a soft magic system is to contribute to the atmosphere of your story. Mana could be used right from surrounding world or produced from other types of energies. I agree. Whether your source is limited or not is another important aspect you have to think about. These are the 7 forms of energy this magic affects. Old magics can occur without any intent. What I dont agree with is the idea that there is somehow an objective way to determine whether the rules of magic make sense or not, as magic isnt real and what is considered natural is culture-dependent. There might be countless possibilities, but it will take countless years to figure it out. Theres not much description sticking in my mind about the details of the contest, which tends to indicate to me how orders-of-magnitude outclassed of a mismatch Tolkien considered this one on the spiritual level he viewed as most important, since if theres one thing Tolkien excels at, its birlliant and poetic description of the details of those elements he viewed as important to convey in his work, which he approached with the carefully thought out professionalism he drew from his years in the academic world as professor and often chair of various university departments, most I believe relating to linguistics and literature, in particular of the Anglo-Saxon and Norse cultures (though the Welsh Mabinogion seems also to have influenced the development of Middle Earth and in fact some of the names, particularly of the Dwarves, were lifted directly from there check the Mabinogi of KILHWCH AND OLWEN; OR THE TWRCH TRWYTH, which basically explains the collection of the legendary royal treasures in terms of a pig hunt which in turn was demanded by the Bad-guy Ogre Father of the Heros Love Interest (basically because he was prophesied to, um, you know, DIE when his daughter was married, so he was REALLY interested in being as difficult a crusty old bastard as possible in terms of legendarily impossible tasks he was going to demand of his prospective son-in-law as the bride price. In the HP books, the only reason why Harry cant do everything is that hes still learning. Now you have all the tools you need to create your own magic system. They dont pay with utter exhaustion or even by losing several years of their life, because of the power they wield. Perhaps people born with an innate power to do so or maybe they're chosen ones hand picked by a god. Harmony: how multiple different vibrations intermingle and interact, depending on the previous too, some Vibrations can overpower another one Since the main character of the series starts as a member of a gang of thieves, the choice of theme is very appropriate. Ripple: The last step. Rational magic means magic with understandable rules which hold up to logic. In Dune, those who are exposed to spice develop powers over time. Luckily for the majority of the population of the Voden Imperium, the nanites are happy to sit mostly dormant, quietly replicating away. I see the basis of a rational magic system there, and you have good limits. Ask yourself how you can prevent the magic-wielders in your story from becoming too powerful, and what costs would post interesting challenges for your characters. The magic was based essentially off the interplay between my hereditary inclination towards poetry and a book on quantum physics Id just read entitled Space, Superspace and the Quantum Universe which explored the newly proposed theory of quantum mechanics that by some quantum physicists said by our observation of the physical universe we live in we are, in ways measurable to quantum physics, IN FACT INFLUENCING WHAT ITS STRUCTURE ACTUALLY IS. Not sure what I mean? For instance: a person who has long hair could pluck a strand and send paint through it causing it to straiten making a weapon hard to see or maybe if you can use paint on something you arent touching you could carry a bag of sand around and channel paint into it giving you the power to manipulate it a will. If one were to observe the Vibrations and the way they Flow(this is another process, different from the other Four Laws) it would seem whacky, but they are extremely intricate and complex. With very little people learning magic outside of their respective faction but its not a common practice. However, you still need to put in the work to create a unique and compelling system that will serve the needs of your story. Silver drains magic and therefore hurts all creatures that are magic. The system makes no sense so I cant possibly reason that theres a reversal of this! Many fantasy authors incorporate magic into their stories simply because fantastical abilities are a fun means of escapism. If you can convey the rules of your system in a way the reader can understand, you have a rational system. This is only my second serious piece of writing, so its really encouraging to hear stuff like that from someone like you. Are their any parts youre confused about? You might want to read them. Just remember that great ideas are only the start, solid implementation has to follow, and learning that takes a lot of time and practice. Interferers can make things happen because when they add energy to the system, it is concentrated in one place. 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. Lets delve further into this topic together. Visit her new website . If I get this right, magic workers are using pieces of the infrastructure built to support their world for magic instead, at which time it is no longer helping to sustain the world, and by putting these pieces back in place, the protagonist is strengthening that infrastructure. I transfer energy into the boulder or to the air around it to move that boulder. Each soul has its Sephirot, which are both original and separate from the fist Sephirot. The same is true, if I use telekinesis to move that boulder. Dragon breeds or races (this is with Borne magic): Or some other options?.. This isnt a formula for magic systems, but a guide for those not sure where to start or what exactly is a magic system. Different kinds of people use magic in different ways. Now its time to decide why magic cant do anything and everything the spellcaster wants, whenever they want. Generate random magic shops with items from the d20 SRD. Most everyone is either a Conduit or an Interferer, and it is genetic. (Arguably, before the development of modern science, many people had similar attitudes towards technology! Would a human wield magic differently from an elf? Without this action, the person is consumed by the power, turning into a brute beast, only wanting to destroy those with more power then themselves. Choose the right magic system for your fantasy novel without the headache. 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). With the exception of the Avatar, people who cast magic are only attuned to one of the four main elements. Oreads are nymphs of Mountains. Some extra stuff: There could be plots in which some would try to exploit/affect this source of energy but there could be a mental cost, such as suffering and being unable to think straight, for those who had to provide it. Is it light and full of wonder? The more powerful the magic used the bigger the chance of them dyeing in battle cause either they became tired and was killed or the spell was more than the magic\ life force they had left. Brandon Sanderson is fantastic at crafting magic systems. Mages connected to certain Primals are sometimes more common in parts of the world than others. Generate a random star system, including primary planet . Technically, anyone can use holy magic, but it takes years to become proficient. You can find that kind of magic partially in a system like Magic The Gathering (which has earth, fire, and air I think its been a while). Those are just considerations, however, when it comes to flaws I only really see one. I think that should cover it, and I hope to get more advice to help me become a better creator. There are a number of times during the series when Harry performs magic out of anger or fear. Sophie, if youre having trouble with elements heres a few ideas but no need to add them. Group C can use magic although they have to learn to use it and still have to have enough counsciousness to grab this feeling and utilize it. 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. some sort of selection criteria the nanites have You should ensure that the conflict and resolutions in your story arent as fickle as the magic. However, most people wont deviate from what they know to work to avoid wasting their time on a failed ritual or potentially hazardous consequences. Limiting what magic can theoretically do will dramatically cut down the number of plot-breaking scenarios you might have to deal with. When youre brainstorming magical costs, try to be creative. Im on my first crack of trying to writing and my magic system feels too simple to me and not sure if its good enough and would like a little insight. When you suddenly decide to change the way magic works or it looks like it, because youre winging it with the system readers get unhappy. What are the interconnections between the ideas Ive come up with? Paint is everything and everywhere. Its easy to extrapolate all the basic uses of this magic system. What fuels the use of magic? Hannah is a speculative fiction writer who loves all things strange and surreal. Or make your telepath one who can only read minds when touching someone else (Vulcans from Star Trek work telepathy that way). You will see through their eyes, feel what they feel (emotionally and physically), hear their thoughts, and even have their memories. Around this time Paint is able to be used freely until the children of White wage a war on the Blacks causing their power to be sealed away until further notice. Its a very complex mathematical theorem, but the really basic idea I understand is that conservation laws and symmetries are connected. Check out the Magic Generator Pack . Aurai are wind nymphs. Vibrations function is fundamentally the same as electric signals in the brain, in that there are millions upon millions of different signals being sent and working together to achieve something, even something as simple as moving your arm. And the way they fight has to do in part what magic they use. Each time Harry, Ron, and Hermione find themselves in danger, they can only escape that danger using magic that weve already seen them learn. For your world, I take it the reason most people are magic users is that the common people were all killed.

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