Use this guide as best fits your approach to magic. Just because there are rules doesnt mean theyre rational. I originally wanted a free form system where just about anything was possible. Second, look through all the essential pieces of spell creation and casting, and think how the casting process might fail at each step. Thats all I can think of at this very moment and I dont want to make this comment any longer. Im definitely not saying these problems are insurmountable, just that I do need to think a lot about them. A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Paint can hold curses that are also genetic (curses can make a person stronger but the price is extremely high) Oh wow, thats a steep price for magic. Magical creatures all have an innate connection to one of the forces, which they can use in ways dictated by the kind of creature that they are. Im sure theres a deeper meaning in this. All people that use magic are split up into different yet powerful factions. And of course, if magic is viewed as an alternate system of physics theres no reason why physics has to match the naive categories of intelligent beings; think of how weird quantum physics seems, for instance. Or you could think of the world like a house, a house has wood beams to hold the roof up, pipes to run water, electrical lines to power appliances, etc. There are two types of magic systems: hard magic systems and soft magic systems. Moreover, the party must complete the quest without killing anyone. Wavelength: Determines how strong the affect it has 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. The person who got the powers is called the Given. Is it connected to religion or religions of your world (since something based on the principle of good and bad [if you have to keep that, use evil instead of bad] should have a connection to religion)? Everyone is also born with it. Your storys magic system may fall somewhere between these two extremes, and thats perfectly fine so long as you understand the role that magic serves within your story. 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! I guess its similar in its outward effects to the Avatar magic system, but youll see that its actually quite different. So when it comes to babies, you probably want to pick just one.. 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. Good luck with your universe. What do I do now? But it feels as if it all fits together, not least because Tolkien himself had a clear notion of what was going on. (The amount of waste we produce is naturally less than the amount of food or liquid we consume, so again do they have a non-scientific explanation, or if they do have a scientific explanation, why do they not consider the same thing happening in plants? Motion/kinetic energy: you stop an object in its tracks. Ive currently got 11 tabs open that I need to look through. Or you could simply say that air is good for dodging, while earth is good for blocking. [end worldbuilding] However, a few benders can bend their element when its in a different form or less pure. Rewriting and revising is what turns the idea into something worth reading. Im working on a story that has 3 magic systems. 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? If you fail to understand the role that . Well, your protagonists will use magic to solve some of their problems. 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. That also means that magic is an entity of its own, hence experimenting with it can be highly dangerous. Do you prefer planning things out logically (hard magic), or going with your gut (soft magic)? Here, you would have to add something else, perhaps a boost a telepath receives (again, remember the unused potential of muscles, if you want to), which allows for them to reach out and tap into another brain. 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. For Light and Darkness, Shade will be their name. Now, its VERY early days for me with this thing, but Im wondering: Usually, magic comes from magic users, the gods, magical creatures, or a specific substance. For example: Your mum had speed enhancing paint you will have some form of it or Your mum had paint that could carry poison within it, your dad had paint that could take the physical appearance of slime and your grandma had paint that floats you now have floating poisonous slime paint. There are hundreds or even thousands of magical techniques and spells that a magician can learn. I want to make it rational, just didnt thought about it from this point. These terms, originally coined by Brandon Sanderson, are widely used by fantasy fiction writers today. The size of those continental plates and their placement on the planet would be an arbitrary effect of nature, and so the magic they generate might reflect those arbitrary characteristics. About the two types of fantasy magic systems Which POVs will best suit your story All about your publishing options There will also be practical tips that you can apply to your story straight away. But it also refers to the effects of the nanite plague. It violates local conservation laws and relativity (whats simultaneous in one reference frame is not in other frames). I will admit my system does need more development to round it out some. Are there magical societies or a hierarchy of magic users? What I really dont like about this article is the formula on how to create a magic system. It isnt a common thing among people of this world, but it is an esoteric art comprised of ancient secrets passed down through generations within a tribe of acolytes. In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, wand magic is like language. As just one example, she talks about choosing only one source of magic but I think its possible to have multiple sources and still have well-thought out and limited magic systems. Building Your Own Hard Magic System. Relocating energy (in telekinesis or telepathy) is, however, less of a problem than dissolving a body and recreating it at another place, to its not the same as full teleportation. Viewpoint characters dont use magic and the audience doesnt understand how it operates. Im going to have to find my Physical Science notes my goodness, that class was boring. Hard vs. soft magic is a spectrum, not a binary. Willpower is ultimately the deciding factor between to evenly matched opponents. Furthermore, it is meant to be mysterious in-story and something that not everyone has. 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. Do you need sage, or can you use oak leaves instead? Money? You could just as well do the Magic The Gathering approach and use stuff like decay or nature as base for the magic (which would give you white magic based on life/nature and black magic based on death/decay). A Guide to Writing Magic Systems | The Fantasy Hive The difference between the two is obvious as soon as you watch the show. That Interferer found others like them and went around killing the common people in revenge for shunning them and taking Conduits prisoner (to use them for power). The duration for using paint is limited and if your paint bottle runs out life will slowly start to sap out of you. Without a source of your magic it's difficult to create all the other elements, at least if you're planning on a somewhat realistic and exciting system. Its time to create a system of rules that will feel cohesive and logical. He was, um, originally a king that God transformed for his sins into a boar, and his seven sons as piglets, and he had, um, a comb, razor, and scissors between his ears and HE was prophesied to die when he lost them. In fact, I suspect it might make more sense than what Chris Winkle says in the original article. Would it be possible to gain power in your universe or is everybody limited to what talent they're born with? Most magic systems fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. 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. About the Avatar thing, what you are saying makes more sense to me now. Its said more than once that really powerful wizards and witches can do wandless magic or even do magic without saying the spells. Some of them, such as the Breath Weapons have been condenced a little bit for shortnesses sake. I would point to Ancient Magus Bride as an example where you have both soft magic such as that used by both creatures of myth and the various magi, as well as the more grounded hard sort practiced by sorcerers. What fuels the use of magic? 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. Are there any natural elements which are home to magical powers or are there any which could house magical powers? The steps of rituals are based on hearsay, so its hard to know whats actually necessary. Id classify it as being more rational than say Disneys Aladdin, but it is still in a category of high fantasy where the limits as to what is possible are still a bit fuzzy. Certainly using more types adds complexity that might be a burden in shorter stories, but I think you could start with the type of thread that is most prevalent, and explain more rare threads as the story progresses. I would suggest that you make it so your gods just randomly interact with the world. It is dual-natured-representing the life-giving light of the sun that all life relies on, but also the destructive and fiery nature of its power. Moreover, there are clearly references about people performing experimental magic that can have deadly consequences, for example Luna Lovegoods mother dies from experimenting with magic and there are parts of the Ministry of Magic that regulate magic and how it is performed. However, I think vital your point about how a magic feels. Tolkiens magic confuses people who are looking for rules because no one sits down and says what the rules areto really understand whats going on that one has to delve into all his works (including letters and unfinished stories). I checked it out, and indeed it seems to just be another name for obsidian. Feats of telekinesis should leave your characters a little exhausted the more energy needed, the higher the exhaustion. Honestly, I cant think of a reasonable or cohesive cap on what it can do so I hope the limitations will balance it out. I would take a step back from good and bad, first of all. If the story needs someone to tell Luke and the others on the Falcon something terrible happened at the other end of the galaxy, the Force can provide Obi-Wan with the necessary information through a vision of sorts. Brandon Sanderson has a knack for creating alluring, original magic systems that immerse the reader into the fictional universe. And you have the buffer, often a rogue or priest, who can either buff the own group (healing, boosting skills) or debuff the enemy (lowering attack or defence most often). It would also bring a limit, because the ley lines dont exist everywhere. Stuff falls down, not up, for instance. For instance, lets say magic is powered by a substance found within the soil. There are plenty of stories where power just keeps building and building, which eventually makes the characters at the beginning of the story weak in comparison even though they were seen as incredibly powerful at that time. All magic is fueled by mana, a form of energy found in all living organisms. The protagonists wording must be airtight, because the djinni will look for loopholes. Hope I did well! Some ideas are more fleshed out than other, if thats saying much. That will keep your characters from going deus ex machina at you (meaning suddenly doing something they shouldnt be able to, just because you need them to). Group A (yet to be named) uses magic as soon as they feel it, even if they dont want to and are by far the rarest. Lets say magic is generated by the vibration of continental plates, and each continental plate vibrates at its own frequency, creating different effects. A cunning ex-adventurer named Wlfrilda seeks a company of adventurers to explore the Pikawas Jungle. Untold masses dead, fear, uncertainty you get the idea. And I had trouble writing with what nature aspects nymphs, dryads, and naiads would relate to, so I went with that. There is a cap that only the two young men of solitude have managed to break to be a Mind, whose role is to Think; and the Magic comes when it is possible to use that Thinking to affect what Is and what is possible to Be. What about their views on the consumption of food and water? If you can't combine spells you'll have to work together perfectly, time spells one after the after and make sure you're not in each other's way. 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? Worldbuilding, Avatar, Magic Magic Systems Magic systems vary from colorful bears with tummy badges to ritual blood sacrifices. Im not a novel writer, but I am a worldbuilder. Why is it important for a hard magic system to have rules? In some cases, the answer might already be obvious given the world your story is set in. Practically everyone uses it in their daily life. But these machines are still not quite able to understand what it means to better humanity; many still die, while those that survive have varying effects placed upon them (perhaps theres some genetic basis, idk). Interesting perspective on the Harry Potter magical system. Novice mages are taught how to bring out their mana to create energy bolts, shields, weapons, and constructs. 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. With so many spec fic books, its not unusual to have such coincidences. some sort of selection criteria the nanites have All of nature is in motion and all of natures motion serves to restore its own balance. Those that survive the process emerge as a member of the Exalted (believed to have been chosen by a higher power) those that dont die screaming, bodies horribly twisted and in extreme cases, even dissolving into silvery, grey goop. The cosmic balance is set up to where the Aether and Souls rely on eachother, Aether creates and maintains the World and Aether flourished and continues to exist through our Actions. As for the God of Storms, he likes dances in his honor. Their powers go far beyond what has ever been shown before and theres no repercussions for them. Spellcasters cant blow up planets, because obviously that would take too much energy. If youre curious about the source Varren slumped into his chair, a curse leaving his lips as he had forgotten to blow out the torch in the hallway. But fighting style isn't the only thing that could change when you decide whether or not powers can be combined. If you fail to understand the role that magic will play in your story and develop your system accordingly, then you run the risk of undercutting the conflict and tension that keep readers turning pages. However, as we are all well aware humanity and its constructs are fragile things and some event happens that upsets the norm; war, a terrorist attack on these factories, solar flare, etc Regardless this event causes a change within these factories, the main computer systems get a little bit fried, perhaps even gain a modicum of self-awareness. Hes also known as the God of Mischief. Its origin is with the creation of all life itself and the first humans: Black and White. Perhaps theyd have to choose two which are not opposites (fire/water or earth/air would be opposites). Their technology and motivations could be very different from human ideas. We learn the limits of the hard magic systems in the series, such as Sympathy and Sygaldry, while we never learn the limits of Naming. We know it takes more kinetic energy to move a big rock than a small rock, so we can imagine it requires more magical energy too. If your mage has no limits to their powers, where would the conflict be? More like youre a easily broken, magical gun (Aim, shoot fireball, repeat.) Hope I dont sound like a rabid Potterhead but I dont think its irrational! In actual fact, some of the infected survive the Grey Death. There are a few online articles about this: the ones I remember off the top of my head are Universal Fire and Universal Law, found on LessWrong. What can your high fantasy magic do as in abilities and cant do like limitations? So I would greatly appreciate some constructive feedback back. So, basically it will be a portal (or teleportation, in case if anyone makes the bond from surrounding air blob, for example). What are those with magical powers called within your story world? The magic system in my current work-in-progress, Lady Legacy, serves as an allegory for ambition and the dangerous pursuit of glory, with magic exacting a heavy emotional toll on the user. A system where the only users of this magic are at first the cultists until the Heroes learn it out of necessity and self-defence, and accepting the price that it separates them farther from the group consensus of reality which is the measure by which society defines sanity, and that in fact belonging to a species of animal as social as humans are means that diverging too far from your species in the way you perceive and experience reality carries certain risks and costs to it, more or less well understood to tradition and to the majority of systems of magic because what most of these theories agree on is that the more minds believe that something is So, the more difficult it is for one individual Mind to impose a different understanding than what the Many agree on EVEN IN THE PERSONAL REALITY the putative magician themselves inhabits, and CERTAINLY if they have to use the force of their personality, belief and magic to convince other individuals that what THE MAGICIAN believes as fact is in actual good and honest coin Really So in the shared consense reality they all co-inhabit by reason of their shared belief that they do in fact have at least some things in common in their universes, enough to make a Reality of and enforce/defend it by the power of your shared beliefs. 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. There are many assumptions in this article, it only focused on a small, known part of magic. Examples of what an Interferer could do that Ive though of so far: make a gust blow faster (maybe carrying something along with it), making something fall/rise faster, increase the air pressure in a certain spot (very useful for strangling or pressure-point pushing!) But, in general, all those energies are more-less equally distributed everywhere. One might be cost, but only if your magic source is limited. Jinora does it at some point. Origami, cutting, painting, burning. Most priests wouldnt be any more concerned with gods than the average person. A basic form of mana manipulation is cloaking their bodies in mana to protect them from harm (sort of like Aura in RWBY). Not that hard to extrapolate. I dont want to write something that turns out to be nonsensical. The flavor might be of magic based on communication with spirits, although these spirits do have to obey at least some physical laws. I want the magic of the world to feel whimsical (or horrifying) and ever present, but not the cure all to every problem. Mistakes as huge as that one turn people off reading your stories.
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