The biggest limitation is the training. The audience must know the rules, because the heroes use magic during the story. These effects all involve either draining, manipulating or sensing magical forces, including the stuff that runs the internal workings of magical creatures. If you only specify one source of magic, you cant suddenly drop someone into the story who uses something different. Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via : Subscribe for writing hacks, special offers and free stuff, 2023 - Orpheus Technology, prowritingaid.com, How to Build an Amazing Magic System for Your Fantasy Novel, Hard Magic Systems vs. Soft Magic Systems, How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro, How to Craft an Engaging Arc for Your Story, How to Use Deus Ex Machina like Stephen King, ProWritingAid or Grammarly? Light? It sounds like youre going the scientific route with energy. Another limit would be limited ability of the user, like Gummy Bear who uses magic, but half of the time cant remember the spell, doesnt find the right one, or just does it wrong. 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? ), the rarest of the three. Following is a list of all the abilities that can be generated by the Abilities Generator. Worldbuilding: Create Brave New Worlds [+Template] - Reedsy The primary purpose of a soft magic system is to contribute to the atmosphere of your story. 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? In actual fact, some of the infected survive the Grey Death. Those who are consumed are called Specters (im going with an evil theme for this one). Writing is given magical properties in many books, movies, and shows but the paper itself is rarely imbued with power. Directing magic can involve a range of activities, but it commonly includes these aspects: The more elaborate your direction method is, the harder youll need to work to make it feel rational. It doesn't have to be something natural either, it could be a machine or body enhancement, like a tattoo. Though there is an international standard for magic spells, certain cultures practice magic in different ways pertaining to either their culture, beliefs or lifestyles. This ancient Wise One observed the natures tendency towards self-balancing and saw it as an Eternal Law. 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. This is true even if weve never seen anyone craft a tunnel before. They dont lead sermons or pray for people. Avatar works with four definite sources of power, which happen to be fire, water, air, and earth. All other alien races find our violent behavior disgusting and, honestly? Creating a Magic System for Superpowers If the magic youre creating varies from person to person, this article is for you. (Yellow is weakest, purple is strongest.) I definitely have more work to do. Im going for rational semi-soft I hope I pull it off. So what do you think? The purpose of soft magic is simply to create a feeling of adventure, and wonder. But because of Saurons _spiritual_ and _moral_ corruption, ADDED to the fact that dis werent no ordinary Elfk, Luthien was able not only to win handily but to pretty seriously humiliate Sauron before his boss (no other than Morgoth, the Satan figure in Tolkiens universe, Old Scratch himself) by the pathetic ease by which she shelled him? That would then explain why accidential magic can happen when someone is enraged or otherwise under emotional pressure its triggered subconsciously. Water constantly replenished in its cycle, rising up as vapor and plummeting down as rain. In this case, rational, soft, and hard come from Brandon Sanderson. The houses are merely there to spark rivalry, they have no deeper meaning for the magic or the story. Are humans the only species capable of doing so or are elves, trolls or even some or all animals able to do so as well? But here is the problem since those energies are not strictly relates to the non-magical substances, Im not quite clear how exactly my energies will affect characters. For example, if you need a magic source which is unlimited a good choice would be a magical power given by the gods or magical energies within the air. It does, although thats what I want to do. It may sound similar to Avatar but it is growing. And thanks to Oren for asking the obvious question and fueling my train of thought. We've covered limitations in several parts already, whether it's how powerful spells are or how much power you can gain, but it's important to emphasize limitations again. Lastly, I think the magical structure and logic might not be as fully fleshed out because the focus of of the story is not on that. In that, I will agree with what Chris Winkle said that putting thought into your magic system is a good idea. This is the name list Tolkien draws from at least for a couple of the Dwarven characters in The Hobbit. Incantations are used, and using the magic is mentally draining. Thank you! They are responsible for all the phenomena that occurs in our world, from the spark of a fire to weather changes, to the Four fundemantal forces of the universe, atoms, and even concepts such as Time and Causality. 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. Reversing entropy would be a matter of gestures as well as speeding it up. This is one of the most exciting things about writing fantasy: getting to design your own magic system. Worldbuilding, Avatar, Magic, Magic Systems. Its a very complex mathematical theorem, but the really basic idea I understand is that conservation laws and symmetries are connected. For example, you can create a magic system that has very clear rules for your protagonist but only vague rules for your antagonist. If youd like additional guidance as you build your storys magic system and other facets of your fictional world, then be sure to check out World-Building Warrior, a workbook that will walk you through the world-building process step by step. Another rare one is magic transference, my idea of that one is gaining an ability that an extinct race once used, examp. So, early on in our history, humanity was deemed too dangerous to stay in the greater multiverse. As bestselling author Brandon Sanderson explains, most magic systems can be classified as hard or soft in nature. There are roughly two types of fantasy. The only other limiting factor to the magic is that in order to produce the energy in the first place, is that you need Inspiration to help channel your thoughts & familiarity. Telekinesis, telepathy, and teleportation are not something people can really use in everyday life, so you will find it hard to justify their existence through science alone. People connected to the Moon and Star Primals are the only two that are common in a single place and can be found in any nation or culture. I disagree. 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. These terms, originally coined by Brandon Sanderson, are widely used by fantasy fiction writers today. Some kind of energy tentacles, if you want a picture. Thanks a million! 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 has a knack for creating alluring, original magic systems that immerse the reader into the fictional universe. People will accept that magic exists in a universe like ours, even though magic doesnt exist (as far as we know) in our universe. 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. Further into the future two young men of solitude manage to unlock the greatest fighting potential by breaking mental barriers making them the strongest people to exist since Black and White but they have a fight on morality causing a great war. Let the dragon ride again on the winds of time. So you already know that unraveling a knot has the opposite effect as weaving one. Korra did it but that was more so of Avatar state then an Airbending technique. 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. Would it be possible to gain power in your universe or is everybody limited to what talent they're born with? 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 not to be messed with lightly, as they can have devastating effects. On How Do I Portray Stupid Characters Respectfully? How big or small a role it plays in that story is completely up to you - but no matter what kind of magic system you're devising, you need to know it inside and out. Silver drains magic and therefore hurts all creatures that are magic. 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. 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). Everyone has their own power level amount of energy they can produce in one go. The most well known curse is the Demons Mark. Ive been working on a magic system in my head, but would like help on a few things. Magic Type Generator - Generate a Random Magic Type They instead study the laws of nature and learn to manipulate them. Are there multiple types of magic users? There are hundreds or even thousands of magical techniques and spells that a magician can learn. Im using the elements as chemical states and even nature transforms between them (ice to water, water to steam, or the other way around for water). ), 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. In the TV show Im writing, there are dryads, nymphs, and naiads, which are all parts of nature. 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. powerful mages who control transportation but do not rule (again, difficult). Its easy to mix up rational magic with whats often referred to as hard magic. (For the record, though, strong emotion results in power use isnt actually a element I like in a system.). Its a life for a life type meaning it will kill the caster to save the person their healing, thats why nobody even bothers to learn it. For every energy type, there are only 3 things you can do with the energy. Sun magic: Sun magic draws power from the heat and energy of the sun. Can a magic user be identified by their clothing, appearance, or some other distinguishing physical factor? 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. However, they are actually Ancient Greek classifications and not modern science-based, so they arent really natural. Magicians have no power of their own except through the spirits they command. Im working on a story that has 3 magic systems. They have to learn magic to use it. However, understanding how magic can operate in fiction is key to ensuring that your magic system serves your story rather than undermines it. Because that makes it much more obvious and harder to forgive if you do need to break a rule for plot. Iroh or Azulah are already pushing it when they control lightning (which could qualify both as air or fire). 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. In the Harry Potter universe, magic works in several different ways: These three sets of rules dont appear related to each other. 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. Decay would be speeding up entropy, life would be slowing it down or trying to instill some kind of anti-entropy into the world. Learn everything you need to know about grammar. You can certainly use that, even though information might sometimes not be easy to find. 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. Its origin is with the creation of all life itself and the first humans: Black and White. Its important to note, that the Elements dont just represent their Physical Aspects, but also their Symbolic and Conceptual inferences as well (Through their Mental/Spiritual Aspects), for instance: Water is often associated with the concepts of Healing & Nourishment. Ask yourself if your antagonist will be a magic-wielder, and if there will be magical creatures in your story. Harrys mother inadvertently casts a protective spell on him by dying for him. Other magic that is extremely rare is healing lethal injuries or bring someone back that was just killed (only have a certain amount of time to do it). 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. Ones that havent made many contracts and dont know much about human emotion yet will be much more objective. Though this is all tentative, Id probably categorize it into two types: warp threads (like the structural threads you mentioned) for physical spells and weft threads for nonphysical spells. Nullify and boost it? Divine magic is often more powerful/useful, but isnt always reliable. Ill respond to that one later. They worship and revere the Living Mother (what we might call Mother Earth) in her role as custodian and bringer of balance. :-D. So the idea was born out of the fact that in a lot of computer games, playing a Mage just doesnt feel very Magey. Fast forward a couple thousand years and some genius manges to find a way to control paint by collecting it into a special bottle. As a quick example, just think about how many movies and books reuse the theme of elemental magicfire, water, earth, and air. Spells are also incredibly varied, which makes adding randomized details a . However, I am suspecting my response to it will be pretty long, and I have other things I need to work on. If spellcasters can run out of magic, itll be easy to put them in a tight spot when you need to. The mandrake has been considered magical, because its roots do look vaguely like a human being. Generally that means their strengths and weaknesses will be roughly equivalent. This may or may not be an insuperable obstacle. Using magic is physically draining. There are, of course, drawbacks. Oh, and thanks for the compliments! Thats cool. Either way, the recipients of the power lose whatever memories gained before or during their stay at the Towers. With very little people learning magic outside of their respective faction but its not a common practice. In fact, they are drawing on residual energy left behind when a spirit interacts with the human world. Like gods, you can ask spirits for help. Although, to be fair, I do see the magic in everything - nature, science, writing. 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. Thats why we have a character (in the Silmarillion, and referenced in passing in the songs and stories Aragorn tells the hobbits on Weathertop and they later hear much more about in Rivendell: a character like Luthien Tinuviel, who inherited her power from her connection to both the mortal (in the sense of not being a divinely descended spirit who chose to take bodily form; Tolkiens equivalent of greater and lesser angels whom he sees as having a role in the world; her father was a powerful Elf king but still in that sense mortal) and angelic (her mother, who was a lesser angel who fell in love with her father and chose to take on bodily form enough to bear his child but still remained of divine race) lines in her ahcestry. 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). Forms of magic include earth magic, metal magic, plant magic, and animal communication/manipulation. Its no surprise the avatar state causes plot holes during Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Viewpoint characters dont use magic and the audience doesnt understand how it operates. 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. However, it sounds like theres a gap between the rational aspect and the large assortment of different things your magic casters are doing. Its at its strongest during a thunderstorm and is the most dynamic of the Primals, as the mage is always connected to the Primal at a given time. This was, oh, maybe sixth on the list of fourteen or fifteen legendary impossibilities he demanded, all in the essentially same format. In some cases, the answer might already be obvious given the world your story is set in. 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. The God of Parties, on the other hand, would be very chaotic. I will admit my system does need more development to round it out some. I also want the systems to be distinct, but relatively balanced. some sort of selection criteria the nanites have Hey! 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). Some of them, such as the Breath Weapons have been condenced a little bit for shortnesses sake. The more unique you make it, the more memorable your book will be for readers. I also like the conspiracy, theres not many like that in high fantasy which makes it cool. 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. The same is true, if I use telekinesis to move that boulder. Creating a Magic System for Superpowers - Mythcreants Perhaps Mages can use all the magical abilities, but CHOOSE to specialize? For Interferers to use magic energy, they have to maintain physical contact with a Condit, and if they lose contact they have to use up their remaining energy quickly, as it will burst out of them randomly otherwise (in a few minutes). He focused his will and the energy that boiled in his mind, letting it out like smoothly flowing water into the air. 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. Stars: Star magic draws power from the vast expanse of the cosmos, and is primarily psychic in nature. The story looks like a fantasy story at first, with characters manipulating threads or ley lines. Just remember that great ideas are only the start, solid implementation has to follow, and learning that takes a lot of time and practice. Both Harry Potter and Avatar: The Last Airbender are hard magic systems, because they explain magic and its rules to the audience. When shes not busy writing, you can find her painting watercolors, playing her ukulele, or hiking in the Rockies. Also I think the name Grey Death is cool, especially if theres some in world reason? Good luck with your universe. 4 Types of Magic Systems In Fantasy | Make It Easy Divine magic comes from appeals to the gods. Earth magic is strongest during Spring. Ask yourself what kind of problems magic will cause your protagonists, and whether your antagonist will use magic to achieve their goals. Its the same with a story. Ocean: Ocean magic draws power from the ocean, and by extension the rivers and lakes that are born from and eventually lead back to it. I love it. For example, your magic is powered by emotions, which also means that your emotions, if they dont get a new power source (more emotion), will disappear over time. Would the odds be equal or would the magic wielder always have the upper hand? Almost all of the magic in Avatar: The Last Airbender is clearly linked to the same rules. (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. The readers should, after reading a bit of the story, develop an understanding for how people do magic. Your answer could have huge ramifications for your world. I think that is arguable, but fine I personally want to read hard magic systems anyway. Alrighty, its late and Im tired. sheer warp threads create plain physical structures such as a ball and weft webs can add fire and velocity to that ball. A magical source is where the magic comes from. They will seek their own openings and create them for the other, distract the enemy when needed and surround him at all times. Forms of magic include water magic, healing magic, potion making, and purification. Then the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore (both of which also have that trait) would be a glance into the future of Harry himself. Oreads are nymphs of Mountains. How to Write Mind-Blowing Fantasy Fiction - Reedsy Magic should be limited when its used by humans or other mortal beings as opposed to being used by divine or other immortal beings. Sorry, Im not quite understand this Could you please describe some spell example with such system? Limits then usually come from the strength of the effects (a limit to the area spells can target or the number of spells a mage can use before resting). It is pretty lose, yea, but it is still there and we have seen magic systems like this a thousand times. Why is it important for a hard magic system to have rules?