If theyre distracted, panicking, drunk, or otherwise unable to focus the spell wont work. Why you should create a rational magic system as a writer? Wizards arent included in this; as far as we know, you cant just simmer a wizard in a pot for a few days and end up with a magic potion. First of all, you need to figure out what both types of magic can do. Generally that means their strengths and weaknesses will be roughly equivalent. Untold masses dead, fear, uncertainty you get the idea. Nanite clustering effects::kind of dangerous though, theyre a lot like tumors, and have a tendency to grow. 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. a conspiracy to hide everyone selected (difficult to justify how they manage this). Oreads are nymphs of Mountains. Even without understanding the details, it feels like it all fits together. If every spell casts creates a knot that must result in the opposite effect happening then the incentive to kill becomes too great. This is only my second serious piece of writing, so its really encouraging to hear stuff like that from someone like you. Motion/kinetic energy: you stop an object in its tracks. 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). Powers are similar to Borne, but are not very draining. One example is that because the laws of physics are invariant with respect to time translation (they dont change over time), energy is conserved. Cool system, sounds like it has great story possibilities. While characters can invent some potions, it appears they only do it by trial and error, not through a formula that guides what goes into a potion to create specific effects. So I would greatly appreciate some constructive feedback back. My main question is whether you think the weaving should be specialized; i. e., should I break it up into different types of thread/weaving style/knots? However, in most cases a rational magic system works better. Those affected will suffer from chronic pain, skin lesions, and become prone to violence; but they will also gain super human strength. However, set guidelines for how people react to exposure. But in the real world, moving out of the way would be easier; since spells have straight paths when cast, why use magic when theres an easier non-magic method of avoiding harm? Magic should be limited when its used by humans or other mortal beings as opposed to being used by divine or other immortal beings. 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. Below, Ive outlined six general steps you can follow to forge an effective magic system for your story. Broken cities, old equipment, enchanted odds and ends from modern society. Wraith, lich, or revenant for example. Because people tend to be put off when your story changes rules in the middle. One or all could be part of the system and manipulation of the paper in . So if stuff suddenly falls up, we know something is wrong. 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. You make good points about the gap between different kinds of magic. Some plants and animals have magic inherently inside them, creating a variety of results. Once you've figured out who can wield it it's time to figure out how they can wield it. : Thats cool. Learning about one doesnt give a better understanding of another. Alternatively, soft magic systems remain nebulous. For example, a tree nymph can make a leaf tornado appear, but cant work with other materials. 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. Would the odds be equal or would the magic wielder always have the upper hand? Hes also known as the God of Mischief. BORNE: obtain magic through genetics. That more than one type of magic exists in a generally complex way not thoroughly understood by anyone feels very real, very much in fact like science. Avatar works with four definite sources of power, which happen to be fire, water, air, and earth. The farther an individual cause the needle to drift towards imbalance, the more force shall be exerted on that individual until the balance is restored through redistribution. That is, I guess why telepathy which requires touching is easiest to explain, since you can direct your energy into the other body through your skin. 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. They will be, Time and Space, Light and Darkness, and Mind and Body. Shapechangers all use either the strong or weak nuclear forces, and telekinetics and poltergeists use gravity. If the mage could deal great damage, at the same time protect themselves, and had no limit in the form of mana, either, why have any other party members at all? Why can only some people do time magic or elemental magic? You neednt appropriate any that have extant adherents, of course, but looking at what people believe can be a touchstone for how an invented system of magic could work. 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. Elements are a system which people understand easily, other systems would have demanded more explanation. As the Wizard unravels the Great Mysteries, and gains understanding of the Universe, they unlock additional rune slots, allowing for more complex, refined spells. :-), Thanks! All benders in Avatar, safe for the Avatar themselves, can only control one element, one source of power. Reversing entropy would be a matter of gestures as well as speeding it up. Last, heres a fun chart showing the details of magic systems in the most popular works. 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)? I have recently, but have wrote before, in my world created a new magic systems. I also specifically mentioned that I was not including conservation of energy in my system, but you assumed it in your comment. Each spell shortens their lifespan by an unknown number of years. Soft magic systems are the opposite of hard magic systems: they dont need to have a clearly defined set of rules. In the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, magic (called bending) is embodied by the four elements of air, water, fire, and earth, plus spiritual energy. Nevertheless, you will always introduce something which, as far as we know, does not exist in reality. It takes many years to master. 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. You just feel the spell, you dont need to recite anything. I guess its similar in its outward effects to the Avatar magic system, but youll see that its actually quite different. Old Magic might easily just be a reference to magic used on a more instinctive or subconscious level hence Lilys sacrifice can create a protection for her son, because she wanted with all her heart to keep him protected. In my mind, rituals are the middle ground between divine magic and holy magic. A mage activates the contract by speaking the spirits name, with the price being the spirit experiencing everything the mage does while using the spirits power. Your success depends on your knowledge of the gods, your relationship with the god, and your ability to make an appeal. Actually, one of the principles of old-time portions-making was that a plant which looks like a certain body part is good for curing that body part (actual results may vary). One world I thought of involves magic based around Life, Metal (mostly magical machinery), Water, Mind, Soil, and Dragons (the rarest), and many in-universe cultures consider these natural divisions, but I suspect Chris Winkle would consider this system non-rational. This helped me separate my thoughts and put them into their own categories. Divine magic is often more powerful/useful, but isnt always reliable. While its more difficult to tell whether a soft magic system is rational, I suspect Game of Thrones is using a rational magic system. If they are limited, its usually not by some universal magical law, but rather a handicap in their source of power. Its easy to extrapolate all the basic uses of this magic system. 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. 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. There are many assumptions in this article, it only focused on a small, known part of magic. The latter, sorcerers, actually do not have magic ability. Ask yourself what kind of problems magic will cause your protagonists, and whether your antagonist will use magic to achieve their goals. 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. 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. They can only work through people that do their will voluntarily. . Forms of magic include fire magic, light magic, healing magic, and transformation magic. 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). If spellcasters can run out of magic, itll be easy to put them in a tight spot when you need to. Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality This fun fan fiction explores rational explanations for how the Potterverse might work. Astral Armor-- "Though spun from strands of glamor and mana, the protection it offers is no illusion." Magic Formula-- Yep. I would skip chemical energy though opens up too many things. The mandrake has been considered magical, because its roots do look vaguely like a human being. If you want to create a soft magic system, I have some good news: you dont need to come up with a set of systematic rules, or even an underlying logic. I transfer energy into the boulder or to the air around it to move that boulder. Theyre usually gifted to devout followers, but anyone can use them once they figure out how it works. What do you think? I would also like to point out that alchemy is not a religion, but an admittedly partially superstitious precursor to chemistry. Everything is made up of atoms and molecules, so someone with the power to influence those could, theoretically, create new stuff in a heartbeat. Stuff falls down, not up, for instance. Over time more Blacks appeared and White got lonely so they split their body into seven colours. Thank you for commenting! 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. If most people are one or the other, and Conduits are rare, then most Conduits will also be the children of Interferers. In addition, the spells available for use arent completely based on nonsense, or taught completely irrationally. You need to lay down rules and follow them (which is where both Rowlings use of magic in Harry Potter and Lucas use of the Force in the original trilogy fail). Knowing what spell-casting is capable of is pretty important, if you havent decided that, I would think on it. In a rational system, there would be an explanation for how magic works where it comes from, what limits there are, how it is used. The purpose of soft magic is simply to create a feeling of adventure, and wonder. Harmony: how multiple different vibrations intermingle and interact, depending on the previous too, some Vibrations can overpower another one [end worldbuilding] And that should be all, if anyone can help me with the names of the entire concept, please do. The Way of King s is one of the most renowned fantasy novels to date. A waterbender cant control air or earth or fire. Life is movement and if part of nature isnt moving (even the earth) then it resembles death and not life. Im only using that as a place holder name because mostly priests use it but priest carries its own connotation thats probably also misleading. Do you have any feedback or glaring flaws that you noticed? My point was that this would essentially entail creating a new set of physical laws, and I wanted to find out whether this could be done in a consistent way while still keeping most things in that universe somewhat similar to our universe if the magic did not affect them (for example, having stars, planets, space, Earthlike life, etc) It turns out that there are some things that are mathematically impossible, so I have to be careful. Another aspect of it are the Akashic Records where all the information of Creation is stored. However, a few benders can bend their element when its in a different form or less pure. With very little people learning magic outside of their respective faction but its not a common practice. Dont expect to put out a perfect draft, having to do revisions or rewrites is disappointing, but its a normal part of the process that helps us strengthen our skills. How would a non-magic wielder fight a magic wielder? Now, if magic in Tolkien just went by power levels like a Pokemon duel, Sauron would have won this handily, being pure blood of an order of beings who if we looked at these things just on the power level dimension clearly outranked the mortal clay that was mixed into Luthiens veins. The readers should, after reading a bit of the story, develop an understanding for how people do magic. When youre brainstorming magical costs, try to be creative. Hard magic systems feature a strict set of parameters explained within the story to ensure that readers understand what characters fantastical powers can and cannot do.
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