My character doesnt get him to throw lightning at foes, but he does send a giant bird to carry off my character to relative safety, but they end up getting separated from the rest of their group. My major problem is that the subtypes dont connect with the main types of magic (demonic and angelic). Know How Your Magic Works Here we discuss considerations outside the scope of this article, such as the effect magic has on society. 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. Some kind of energy tentacles, if you want a picture. As this energy is formless and intangible, it is naturally attracted to your body and stored there. Or some other options?.. Its easy to get excited and bite off more than you can chew, but youll do better if you focus on fewer things. Thisbook extrapolated the authors theory that this means that by our observation of the universe we are in fact playing some role in creating it and that that bolsters the philosophical school again, dont remember its name or nearly as much as I should if I hadnt been such a bloody stoner all through college ;) that each individual lives in their own separate universe which they create or have a part in shaping. 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. Isnt that glove from the Aladdin TV series? Spell lists ala D&D can be fun, but spell creation in a limited system can be very flavorful. Specific effects include communicating with others, working together as a group, and riding inside the minds of others. Brandon Sanderson is fantastic at crafting magic systems. And good guys to heal people? This allows for the reader to know what is or isnt possible. *I noticed a notification in a tab I hadnt refreshed in a while about a new comment, but when I checked, there wasnt one. So, if we want to maintain conservation of energy, we need to assume another power source. The mandrake has been considered magical, because its roots do look vaguely like a human being. Worldbuilding in a Novel: A Guide to Creating A Believable World The World we perceive and interact with all stems from the Energy, called Aether, and the Vibrations that come from it, all make up our world. These individualized magic systems can be a great way to make characters stand out, but they also come with their own challenges. Theres nothing wrong with using classic tropes, but if you want to stand out in the crowded world of fantasy, youll need to learn how to use them in an innovative and unique way. Sorry for the late reply I had went out for the past few days. People who practice this form of magic are called lucalurgists. One of my characters is able to beg the Storm God for help without making a proper appeal because they danced nearly every day for 5 years. PEELED him? weft threads could determine the properties of the warp threads, i.e. Harrys mother inadvertently casts a protective spell on him by dying for him. and much if not all this her non original content that she is taking from is founded in actual fairy tales with absolutely no magical or rational system. Now, its VERY early days for me with this thing, but Im wondering: You could also INCREASE existing energy in an object (Eg- Can make a Moving ball move faster) Or you could DECREASE existing energy in an object (Eg- Can make a Moving ball slow down and even stop & become completely static). Remember that energy doesnt dispense when its used it only takes on a different shape. If you make all of your spells fit together, you'll need less foreshadowing. Pushing themselves past their limit can lead to exhaustion and have them pass out, or in extreme cases, using up too much mana can kill a person through over-exertion. Harmony: how multiple different vibrations intermingle and interact, depending on the previous too, some Vibrations can overpower another one Mistakes as huge as that one turn people off reading your stories. If you can convey the rules of your system in a way the reader can understand, you have a rational system. Caster is Eco, Given controls animals, which is basically mind control. 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. WESTERN VOLCANO, based off of western dragons in design, very likely chance of getting weak to strong Combustial magic, very rare chance of getting another type of magic as well. I just thought of something related to teleportation, however. If you follow this rule, readers will appreciate the awe and mystery of the magic without feeling like it cheapens the story. What do the spirits get out of it? 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. 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. If your mage has no limits to their powers, where would the conflict be? The fantasy genre is one of the fastest-growing genres in fiction, and this also applies to science fiction/fantasy novels. If you want spells, you shouldnt work with elements, but work on the premise that magic is real and a power like light or sound which can be guided with the voice. So thats where the other two paragraphs of my previous comment come in. Another elite bending technique is Astral Projection since their are the most spiritual of benders. Do you guys have questions? If spellcasters can run out of magic, itll be easy to put them in a tight spot when you need to. For more inspiration and guidance in creating your magic system, I recommend these articles and resources. The key traits of a hard magic system are outlined in the graphic below. Its really creative and for the most part completely logical (and since the people in the story are acolytes, there is no scientific explanation needed since it all seems to fit within your model). You can make it mysterious just by hiding how it operates. But it feels as if it all fits together, not least because Tolkien himself had a clear notion of what was going on. There is a cap that only the two young men of solitude have managed to break Is it light and full of wonder? * When Jon Snow kills a white walker with Valyrian steel, it makes sense even though we havent been told that could happen. Knowing what spell-casting is capable of is pretty important, if you havent decided that, I would think on it. With that said, lava could still count as fire, so the point about magic being based on fire vs. ice might still stand. 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. Hey, dont know if anyones still commenting on this but here goes. Human variation in magical ability is determined by how much excess soul they have, after running all of their brain activity. 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. Who can use magic? It has been decided that the human body is too impure of a vessel, being asynchronous with the rhythms of nature, to successfully accomplish this with sunlight. Could a small group of magic wielders defeat an army of non-magic wielders? Since the universe as a whole tends towards entropy, where this world uniquely tends towards balance, fire doesnt always behave as expected), Water in its various forms (liquid, gaseous, solid; in redistribution it will always revert to its most common form in nature, that of liquid. Thats not exactly what I mean Im talking about low-level How. Hes also known as the God of Mischief. When the spell is done, the deactivated knots simply float around, unattended. Im not a novel writer, but I am a worldbuilder. 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. Ask yourself if your antagonist will be a magic-wielder, and if there will be magical creatures in your story. 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. Your body can hold a fixed amount of paint (This is the same for everyone but full capacity is rarely reached). Magic is the practice of harnessing energy to manipulate aspects of reality. Students learn all of the spells by memorization, because theres no logic underpinning how they operate. 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. Just a drop in, but your explanation of the plant use in relation to magic should be credited to Robin McKinleys use of it in the Hero and the Crown when the MC eats the Surka plant.. it almost seems like this is your reference base. In the Norse pantheon, Loki is sometimes also referred to as the god of fire despite the fact that hes a frost giant. Since the MYTH adventures are all about dimension travelling, that is an important thing to know. Strength no longer depends on physical brute force but many new factors make it so much more complex. Do you really have to hop 3 times on your left foot? There might be countless possibilities, but it will take countless years to figure it out. There are 391 different powers and variations in this generator, so you're bound to find one you like. If they can do whatever they want with it, it sounds like conduits being a battery is the only real difference between them. Might a healer whos seen one too many field hospitals after a brutal siege just stop caring enough to heal effectively? Martin Magic System Rating: 1 (Because Magic) Martin is writing a purposeful deconstruction of epic fantasy tropesincluding magic systemsand has actually put some work into making his magic frustrating and inconsistent beyond a few broad-stroke rules (there's definitely some like-for-like business, with equivalent sacrifices needed to produce an . A staple magical element in The Way of Kings is the personification of human emotions and ideas into living creatures called spren. If you only specify one source of magic, you cant suddenly drop someone into the story who uses something different. Conduits gather energy but dont cast spells with it, Interferers cant gather but they can cast, so the two types of magic users have to work together to cast spells. Most of the time, magic hurts the protagonist rather than helping her, so the fact that we never understand the rules makes it even easier to empathize with her. Most priests wouldnt be any more concerned with gods than the average person. My magic system is based on the Netflix show, The Dragon Prince, because I really like how dynamic and diverse its magic system is. Substances like these make it easy to put limits on the amount of magic used just limit the substance. In real life, cold is not a thing but just the absence of heat, and ice and fire dont seem to be fundamental opposites. 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. 2) Paper. Earth magic: Earth magic draws power from the energy of the land itself. 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. Muggles are not going to have much luck oppressing wizards. I think Ill go for having multiple types of thread that rule certain areas of magic. Life is responsible for, well, life and health. Demonic magic is based on bad and Angelic magic is based on good. Basically at the begining of the universe the two forces (or gods) Chaos & Order struggled over which would have dominion over the world- Order appeared to win with the natural world as it is ordered and follows laws of physics ect. So if you think multiple types would be cool, go for it, if you want to keep it simple, dont. The plants begin to die, and in dying change color and surrender the rest of their water to Mother. That way, it would mean using that energy to influence an element. All magic is fueled by mana, a form of energy found in all living organisms. 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. Magic creation guide - Roll for Fantasy Divine magic comes from appeals to the gods. Hope I did well! 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. Superpower name generator Paint can hold curses that are also genetic (curses can make a person stronger but the price is extremely high) Like species in our world evolved so did the magic in their world, with their ancestors using a specific type of magic and pased it down it just became a part of them. I want to make it rational, just didnt thought about it from this point. That would make Harrys choice important in two ways: hed be the odd one out who can control all powers (like the Avatar controlling all elements) and he would be limited in what he learns to control by the house he chooses. For which Ive added some more rules: Theres three kinds of people: Apaths (Apath, sing. Kathy Ferguson Most often, the source of magic itself comes in different types that create different effects. Imagine if Harry Potter could vanquish Voldemort in the first chapter just by making up a spell called antagonist defeatium. Maybe each thought produces a tiny amount of energy that allows for sending a nerve signal to, say, cause a body part to move. I dont think that interactionist dualism (or psychic powers existing) is likely to be true in real life, but if I were creating fictionI could include that. Occult Network-- The magic Internet. Mother wont take kindly to that. 7 Considerations for Writing Fantasy Magic and Magic Systems - JD Stanley If a mage forms a contract with a water faerie, they can use water magic, even if their Primal isnt the Ocean. Despite that, it can still be used to many different and wonderful effects, think like some of the stuff Aang does. Telekinesis was also handy (pun intended) for explaining nonhumanoid creatures without hands or similar developing and using technology, because I am interested in the possibility of aliens very different from humans. Technically, you could link influencing the elements (moving earth to create a wall for instance) to the way Avatar handles it. In the TV show Im writing, there are dryads, nymphs, and naiads, which are all parts of nature. You might need more development in the how magic is accessed and directed area. I understand your point. Im probably a little late, but I saw this post and couldnt help but respond. Casting also generates colors based on how much power you drew upon to cast it. 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). Jinora does it at some point. 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 power can be anything reasonable, but behind its use is an action that they used to love. In this world i was playing with humanity had long ago developed nanotechnology as a means of improving quality of life; whether that meant cleaning up the environment, being used for medical purposes, or for body augmentation didnt really matter. Sandersons First Law Its been a tremendous influence on pop culture, especially conceptions of ghosts. I havent even gotten to the actual magic yet. The Goddess of Exchanges would be less random, but you wouldnt be able to reliably make exchanges with her. Character Power Generator Your character has the Illusions (Can create and destory illusions) ability! In a superpower system, spells are unique to each individual. Olwens father told Kilhwch he wanted that comb, razor and scissors to dress his beard with on the day of the wedding, before he would allow him to marry his daughter. It is the rarest of the Primals to be connected to. In my mind, rituals are the middle ground between divine magic and holy magic. There are multiple types of energies floating around everywhere in the world (some of those energies similar to Elements of nature Air, Water, Fire, Earth; plus Mana, Life, Mind and, probably, more) Though, Im thinking about giving them a secret ability that hasnt been discovered yet because theyre so rare. A glove that gradually eats away at their flesh, or every spell they cast they have to pay a price to a demon, or something. Its true that fire produces light; but any attempt to harness this light merely results in harnessing and redistributing heat, for the source of that light is not the sun, but the fire, and it is temporary and dies, restoring balance. Having the users of this power (some of whom actually are human) be its creators wouldnt really work, as I was going with a technology level around modern times for my main setting and this would require extremely advanced technology. It takes many years to master. I really hope you go through with it! Would the odds be equal or would the magic wielder always have the upper hand? All magic can be learned by anyone, its just that the magic they didnt inherit will be harder to learn. 2023 Mythcreants LLC, all articles, art, recordings, and stories are the copyright of their respective authors. I feel that doing so, would provide some much needed structure as I go through the worldbuilding process but Im worried that it could make my Mages feel less wizardy, and more like X-men? ( ): Hard vs. soft magic is a spectrum, not a binary. In the fourth book, Harry doesnt know any flying spells, so he uses the Summoning Spell to call his broomstick. Both are checked on periodically by officials after. (In this case, dispelling the Spiritual (Emotional) aspects associated with Fire in this case Anger/Passion. The term magical effects refers to the ways in which magic influences and alters the world around it. These Tower appeared out of thin air, bringing with them a curse. Once you examine all the implications of this change, youll discover their powers are different indeed. Where does it source its power? If you read up on no other system of supernatural beliefs, check out that one. Thank you Cay, for making me think more about what i want my theme to be. This is really good! 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). However, if were shown the hero struggling more in fights as a result of exhaustion after using said ability (e.g. With the exception of the Avatar, people who cast magic are only attuned to one of the four main elements. Mind is represents consciousness Magic Type Generator - Generate a Random Magic Type Those who do contain their power are called Gluttons, based off of glutton for punishment (could someone help me with the names, im horrible at naming things). 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). Spell description generator. Its not just about the energy needed to transform a body into energy and then back into mass, its also about controlling where the second transformation takes place (splicing would be a problem or manifesting through matter its what cost Heimlich from the Brian Helsing series his right lower arm). Creating a system from scratch can feel incredibly overwhelming. 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. All those rules are allow to create literally any classic spell, except teleportation/portals. Thats what its all about. Maybe they are all for structural integrity, without them the world explodes outward into the vacuum of nothingness. This was implemented to further refine (/complicate?) As I said, I was also inspired by depictions of psychic powers in fiction, so I used this idea to explain telepathy (immaterial minds were the same substance, so they could have a way to directly communicate with each other) and telekinesis (if thoughts could generate energy, then maybe they could create enough energy to affect outside objects as well). Fireball that damages a characters weapons/armor, while leaving the character unharmed. I think that Ill change the names to be about the Towers, instead of what I have now. No matter what magic they practice, it all centers on the manipulation of their mana to connect to the natural forces they want to control. This is super helpful, thanks so much for taking the time to write it and to provide examples. Wavelength: Determines how strong the affect it has I forgot Theosophy! They dont pay with utter exhaustion or even by losing several years of their life, because of the power they wield. In your case, how exactly the will affects something: Now we go back to the Beginning. Ive also seen your above comment. Its mysterious. All three should work together to create the magic system. and not to be messed with lightly, as they can have devastating effects. Maybe if their contact to spirits is limited, or the spirits themselves have goals that dont line up with the protagonists goals. As far as the potions issue, again, these are based off historical ideas about magic and potions. Accio and depulso, for example, are taught one-after-another: pretty straightforward. also just a thought, you also could have mentioned the Eragon series which uses language as the limitation for casting, and physical energy for fueling spells. 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. 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. If everybody is capable of wielding magic they will likely use it for everything, from war to daily life, but if only a portion of the population can wield it it means magic will be handled differently by those who can and those who can't wield it. You need to place incense in a semi-circle in front of you, drink fresh blood, paint your face with the blood, and focus on the person youre looking for. The first to discover this art was a man who observed that water disappears on its own and returns later as rain. Ask yourself what kind of problems magic will cause your protagonists, and whether your antagonist will use magic to achieve their goals. Maybe something with an eclipse? I also had the idea that there would be some very powerful, old spirits who have long-standing contracts with humanity as a whole. 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. The first step is building a metaphysical framework for how and why magic works. Below, Ive outlined six general steps you can follow to forge an effective magic system for your story. 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? There are medieval books detailing how to pluck a mandrake from the ground because it was thought that they screamed when unearthed and could kill everyone who heard the scream. I love the way this discussion has blossomed! Avatar works with four definite sources of power, which happen to be fire, water, air, and earth. You should take a look at Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.Google search it; itll come right up. So eventually, after a little Silly Putty work with words and concepts, I wound up with a magic system where believing something was considered a form of observing it with your mind in the state that you want to be so; that all that I read in the quantum physics book was true and intermeshed perfectly with the various descriptions of magic as being any system where a strong mind or majority of minds is able to influence reality through the strength of its being perfectly itself (e.g. I also like the conspiracy, theres not many like that in high fantasy which makes it cool. From the other side, putting lot of fire energy into single point will produce real fire, moving air energies will make air blows. 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.