Obviously this is another aspect which heavily depends on your story universe, but most methods can be twisted to fit. So a Mage might give as payment a concrete memory, like their first day of school or attending a particular play, or something more abstract like the taste of chocolate cake or the pain of stubbing ones toe (spirits are interested in all experiences, even if humans see them as negative). A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. It does, although thats what I want to do. It isnt strictly necessary, as I could probably write something interesting without it, but it is extremely convenient). In spring, the plants are young and green, and they begin to steal sunlight. Once you examine all the implications of this change, youll discover their powers are different indeed. If you want you can also make a difference between Nyads and Nereids the usual river and spring nymphs and large powerful Sea nymphs. If Luke needs guidance to hit that exhaust port, the Force can guide him. That works for just Neo, but if you have many spellcasters over long periods of time, someone will be able to smash two planets together. What are your favorite magic systems? And if youre a goddamn god with a controller, it can pull a star destroyer into a planet while at the same time swatting aside oodles of TIE-Fighters (still the only sore point in The Force Unleashed 1 for me). I have recently, but have wrote before, in my world created a new magic systems. I think I mostly understand, but Im not exactly sure what Interferers cant an cant do. [end worldbuilding] Just knowing how everything works can go a long way. Im not sure if this will help ScWall any, but I experimented with something very similar a number of years ago. Magic certain individuals acquire the ability to issue new instructions to existing nanites, whether in the environment or within others bodies. The costs of magic can be physical, societal, or even financial. 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. Someone else is needed. Post time-skip, with my second protagonist, magic is rarer due to shifts in the spirit world and how humans access it. I really like all the terms you use on this site, theyre so helpful and clarifying. 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 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. The expeditions that have come back tell of fantastical landscapes, filled with mystic flora and fauna. Thats a larger imbalance. Silver drains magic and therefore hurts all creatures that are magic. Possession can only occur between a creature that has magic and one that is magic. In any scenario, the reader should have some sense of what magic can and cant do in the fictional world. What do the spirits get out of it? For instance, in Lois McMaster Bujolds Chalion Series, the divine cannot directly influence the world with their magic. In The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, practitioners of the Skill can communicate to each other telepathically. 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). Alternatively, soft magic systems remain nebulous. 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. (As a side note, I mentioned teleportation because it would help get the various alien species in my universe together quickly so there could be stories based on interaction between them. We were ripped out of the (literal) fabric of reality, shaped into a forbidden-to-visit pocket dimension. Lets take a closer look at what these terms mean. To the audience it will feel like every part fits together, even if theyre not precisely sure how. In Avatar, there is one person every generation who violates the rule that people can bend only one element. Look at the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore in the fifth book/movie the one in the Ministry of Magic. Once youve figured out what kind of system you need, its time to start building! Muggles are not going to have much luck oppressing wizards. Like actually dodge the spell physically? Caster is Hydro, Given is Ice You can CREATE new energy into an object that wasnt already producing that same energy (Eg- Can make a static ball move in any direction). this is all super helpful! I would say on a molecular level. Ive also seen your above comment. Soft magic systems are the opposite of hard magic systems: they dont need to have a clearly defined set of rules. Ask yourself what kind of problems magic will cause your protagonists, and whether your antagonist will use magic to achieve their goals. In many worlds such as Star Wars, this force is generated by living things. (A quiet lunch with my friend is much more repeated/repeatable than when I first met my best friend). Some well-known examples of soft magic systems: In The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. In a superpower system, spells are unique to each individual. So this sentence: For example do you want evil spellcasters to raise undead? Reading this made me realize that while Ive got the source pretty nailed down, I dont actually have much else figured out yet! Feats of telekinesis should leave your characters a little exhausted the more energy needed, the higher the exhaustion. The mingling of the two forces became one and allowed him to harness the energy of the wind, one face of the energy of nature. Its unclear whether there are any other self-casting old magic spells besides this one. 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). For which Ive added some more rules: All magic is fueled by mana, a form of energy found in all living organisms. As fun as fantastical powers can be to write, crafting your magic system with care is key. And this is why I post my ideas on places like this someone will ask the really obvious questions I forgot to ask myself. Im probably a little late, but I saw this post and couldnt help but respond. 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. In both these cases, its their clever problem-solving that saves them, not the power of the magic itself. It happens as the tale sees fit. Other limits include magic types (fire versus water for example), power restricting energies (magical or other), bodily energies (lack of food/sleep/etc), skill level, curses and much more, most of which will again depend on your story universe. dragon glass can kill them and both weapons were forged by dragon flame. Anyway, just to throw MY 2 cents in A while back, I was trying to design a magic system for a Skyrim Mod some friends of mine were attempting That ultimately went nowhere. Coins, gems, art objects, and magic items from the d20 SRD . I do hope that this comment will help you understand the angle Im coming from. 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 that doesnt mean all magic systems work equally well for stories. But think about trying to hold water cupped in your hand; its still difficult. Honestly, I cant think of a reasonable or cohesive cap on what it can do so I hope the limitations will balance it out. Nullify and boost it? Is there a cap on the users' magical abilities? To make an arbitrary assortment of abilities feel like they fit together, he gave them a strong theme. Sandersons First Law Magic in Tolkien is a reflection of _spiritual_ power. As a general rule, antagonists can use soft magic to solve problems, even though protagonists should only use hard magic. What do you think? But those who have returned have never been inside the Tower. Oreads are nymphs of Mountains. It does what it needs to do in the books. But we know some things. External energy could work; however, instantaneously moving energy from one place to another causes problems. Fire, transformation and order are strongly associated with this system of magic. What is the development of science, your description of kinetic or thermal energy makes me think the inhabitants have some scientific knowledge, but if thats the case why is it that they havent studied transpiration? If you use this source, decide why reality is so malleable is everyone in a dream or a virtual reality game? What effect does the use of magic have on the user? For just one example, Magoroh Maruyama describes several different possible paradigms of science, which Robert A. Freitas Jr. mentions in the book Xenology in relation to extraterrestrial minds. In the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, the entire spirit world operates under a soft magic system, from the magical bathhouse customers to the killer paper airplanes. 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. All magic is governed strictly by the Law of Equivalent Exchange, which says that in order to obtain something, something else of equal value must be lost. When the protagonists need to create something, the readers understand exactly what materials they need to sacrifice. Kristen now works as a creative wellness coach and offers new resources through her personal website at kristenkieffer.co. However, most people wont deviate from what they know to work to avoid wasting their time on a failed ritual or potentially hazardous consequences. This is where Im stuck for, to the moment. Notes on the world: humans are at a hunter-gatherer to city-state level of development, gods are real but you can never talk with them, spirits are everywhere and run on fae logic, and demons are corrupted spirits that will ravage towns/cities and curse people. Incantations are used, and using the magic is mentally draining. SWd6 System Generator. 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Rowling has cherry picked her source material from myths that cross many cultures, Irish, Celtic, Greek, Welsh, Slavic, etc. For every energy type, there are only 3 things you can do with the energy. A damned if you do, damned if you dont scenario. If so, what differentiates them? Theres a lot to figure out about the basics, before you can think about sub-types. If you eat after dark, shell take away the blessing. My magic system is based off of good and bad. On Way of Kings Shows Us the Damage Meta Mysteries Can Do. Its the same with a story. The younger generation tend to favour unconventional weapons. An entire category of limitations would no longer apply to them. You can have that, too, while still retaining rationality. Elements are a system which people understand easily, other systems would have demanded more explanation. Dragon breeds or races (this is with Borne magic): Skill in this magic system is all about how little inspiration you need to produce your own energy; How many methods of create, increase or decrease you can do & How many energy types you can work with; and how much energy you can actually produce at once. 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. 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. Humans cant curse (or maybe they just didnt figure it out yet!) Why are some people spell book readers but not others? Wavelength: Determines how strong the affect it has For your world, I take it the reason most people are magic users is that the common people were all killed. 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). New ideas in how my magic works have given me plot ideas, but I think Ill need to develop the plot more to refine how my magic system works within it.