Sun magic is strongest at noon and weakest at night. 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). How do I come up with subtypes that would suit the main types of magic? This allows for the reader to know what is or isnt possible. Can spells and other forms of magic be combined and if so, how much does it increase per added person? 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. But you can use pretty much anything you wish, whether it's a magic absorbing rock, special water or perhaps a type of wood. 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. 2) Paper. would be for instance the power to congure spectral weapons like a sword or bow and arrow, though they are powerful magic and would be taxing on ones body and life. There are 391 different powers and variations in this generator, so you're bound to find one you like. If one were to observe the Vibrations and the way they Flow(this is another process, different from the other Four Laws) it would seem whacky, but they are extremely intricate and complex. Is it dark and scary? Nevertheless, I will go with your assumption for what follows for the moment, as it does involve fewer changes to known physical laws and is easier to discuss (plus, I already mentioned some of the consequences of lack of conservation in my previous post). Once you've figured out who can wield it it's time to figure out how they can wield it. Isnt that glove from the Aladdin TV series? This article will help you write a magic system for your fictional world that readers will remember long after theyve turned the last page. Is it light and full of wonder? Preview. Our Plane falls on the 3rd Dimension, being far away from perceiving the World. you have to touch the person youre putting to sleep or touch the demon youre pacifying. Blood is messy and sticky and gets in the carpets and really why would anyone who doesnt consume it like a vampire want it as payment? When the spell is done, the deactivated knots simply float around, unattended. 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. And the Aether is born from our Thoughts and Actions, more specifically, our Souls. Magical effects will make a bigger impact on your readers if you use all five senses. Ive been thinking about a system of magic that was born of 6 Tower, stationed at the poles and in each of the cardinal directions. Know How Your Magic Works Here we discuss considerations outside the scope of this article, such as the effect magic has on society. Though there is an international standard for magic spells, certain cultures practice magic in different ways pertaining to either their culture, beliefs or lifestyles. 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). Different for the TV series, of course. When youre brainstorming magical costs, try to be creative. Superpower name generator. You could explain telekinesis (telepathy, too, I guess) with having invisible energy arms which are connected to your body and grab the object in question (or create a connection to another being for telepathy). I think that is arguable, but fine I personally want to read hard magic systems anyway. magic system. As fun as fantastical powers can be to write, crafting your magic system with care is key. 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. Does that all make sense? A guarded merchant named Willip seeks a company of . Want an offline version of this generator with editing, printing and saving? Just because there are rules doesnt mean theyre rational. You can get away with a strange assortment if you have mechanics that explain it. Limits can come in all sorts of varieties, the ones we've covered are: how to wield it (being disarmed), how to gain power, power limit, limited power source, cost of powers, the ability to combine powers or not, racial differences and whether or not you're born with a specific amount of power and talent or not. Mages connected to certain Primals are sometimes more common in parts of the world than others. This is a pretty nice article, and it has inspired me to think more about the magic systems I create. And he will not give them of his own free will, and thou wilt not be able to compel him. And in the middle of this whole tale theres this wild, fantastic, wooly list about a page and a half long of all the Welsh heroes with their very Welsh names, and their daughters and retainers and wives and servants and shields and hounds and spears (their three spears were three gashing glitterers; their three shields were ) that Kilhwch invokes to King Arthur, his cousin, to beg of him the boon that he loan the services of the mythical heroes and knights who are Arthurs retainers, to achieve the quest of finding this maiden Olwen who hes hopelessly in love with simply because his jealous stepmother described her legendary beauty to him though no one in the world knew where she lived or how to find her and put upon him a geasa to have no bride but her. In a world where the entire population can wield magic you might not have this conflict, not unless some are worse at wielding magic than others. 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. This is the name list Tolkien draws from at least for a couple of the Dwarven characters in The Hobbit. Now paint may sound op but it has very risky limitations. And thanks to Oren for asking the obvious question and fueling my train of thought. 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. Angels are not incapable of doing bad things and demons can be nice every now and then. But that doesn't mean all magic systems work equally well for stories. Otherwise, your categories will feel contrived. Those who are consumed are called Specters (im going with an evil theme for this one). Shapechangers all use either the strong or weak nuclear forces, and telekinetics and poltergeists use gravity. Or maybe have subtypes based on the seven deadly sins and heavenly virtues? The God of Parties, on the other hand, would be very chaotic. Not very exciting, right? 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. Do you guys have questions? And they were given this power, making them enhanced. Im going for rational semi-soft I hope I pull it off. 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. In the Norse pantheon, Loki is sometimes also referred to as the god of fire despite the fact that hes a frost giant. Anywhere there is festivity or drinking he might try to have some fun, which could make for an epic night or a lot of destruction; hes the bane of every tavern and bar. Sorry about the comment length and the long worldbuilding paragraph. Weve seen them move and break rock, so it follows that they could make a hole through a mountain. Eg- How fast you can make the ball move (The heavier the object the slower it moves) Ripple: The last step. Some prices for their cooperation can even be steep, such as sacrificing something precious or offering up ones soul. Its no surprise the avatar state causes plot holes during Avatar: The Legend of Korra. You can have several sources of magic, but you need to bring them together in a way that makes sense at least in the novel. The magic was based essentially off the interplay between my hereditary inclination towards poetry and a book on quantum physics Id just read entitled Space, Superspace and the Quantum Universe which explored the newly proposed theory of quantum mechanics that by some quantum physicists said by our observation of the physical universe we live in we are, in ways measurable to quantum physics, IN FACT INFLUENCING WHAT ITS STRUCTURE ACTUALLY IS. I love it. 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. He focused his will and the energy that boiled in his mind, letting it out like smoothly flowing water into the air. There is no right way to build a magic system. Tension and payoff are reduced if the reader feels like a solution to something is as simple as a character just ratcheting up their feelings. As far as the potions issue, again, these are based off historical ideas about magic and potions. If there are powerful gods, it might make more sense for magic to come from the divine power of the pantheon. The audience has no idea what they can do other than what theyve been directly told, so if they do anything new in a crisis, it will look like a deus ex machina. A water line would provide energy for a water mage, an earth line for an earth mage, and so on. Paint can hold curses that are also genetic (curses can make a person stronger but the price is extremely high) Who can use magic? 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. There are Waterbenders that Bloodbend, Firebenders that shoot lightning, and the occasional Earthbender that Metalbends. They weave certain spells out of the fabric of reality. (Unless you take the elements as actually solid, liquid, gas, and plasma, but this isnt mentioned in the show itself, might make magic too powerful, and there are some states of matter that dont fit into these groups). If you could, they probably wouldnt tell the students at Hogwarts. Magic systems can even serve as a vehicle for theme, exploring topics such as power, privilege, oppression, and greed. Its a generic job title for people whose main concern is to maintain relationships with local spirits and practice holy magic so they can pacify demons. When you suddenly decide to change the way magic works or it looks like it, because youre winging it with the system readers get unhappy. If you teleport, you have to control that energy while your whole body is nothing more than energy, too. Magicians train to control different aspects of reality, but a magician is also constrained to the limits of reality. However, certainly Interferers might be rewriting history to make themselves look better. In the Harry Potter universe, magic works in several different ways: These three sets of rules dont appear related to each other. I love the way this discussion has blossomed! As the Wizard unravels the Great Mysteries, and gains understanding of the Universe, they unlock additional rune slots, allowing for more complex, refined spells. A lot of magical effects can only affect creatures that are magic, or affect them much more strongly. Why are naiads more rare and powerful than tree nymphs? Maybe there are a few things that the sorcerer cant do, but basically its just whatever they want to happen, happens. How could a magic user be defeated? Of course, I wholeheartedly believe that considering each element of your story is the surest way to craft an engaging novel. Are you looking to define what weaving one can and cant do? Rowling has cherry picked her source material from myths that cross many cultures, Irish, Celtic, Greek, Welsh, Slavic, etc. There are roughly two types of fantasy. (oops, forget this one!). 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. One of them is how I believe that the tips given may not be universal. If your mage has a limit on their powers (and having a human with unlimited powers is probably going to break a story, at least with that human being the hero), the limit must always be the same or you need to give a reason why it is different (the character is exhausted and thus cant muster as much magic or the character took a specific potion which boosted their powers, for instance). Both have always existed since the beginning of time and revolve around each other in order to exist. And along the way you provided a lot of good supporting material. 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? 3. She might exchange one persons hand for anothers, but she might not deem two lives equal. Generally that means their strengths and weaknesses will be roughly equivalent. Nevertheless, you will always introduce something which, as far as we know, does not exist in reality. Although they would have to learn it (Nullifying). Magic isnt real, so it can be anything we want. If you want to go with something necromantic (as spectre and ghoul suggest), you might be able to find something more fitting in that area. The Goddess of Exchanges would be less random, but you wouldnt be able to reliably make exchanges with her. that you realize that the magic system in Tolkien is actually much more a spiritual and religious system based on the two fudamental pillars of his sincere Catholicism and his strong distaste for the worlds of contemporaries like C,S, Lewis where the Christian allegory was blatant or at best obvious enough to leave the writer open to the charge of being preachy. Generate a random star system, including primary planet . Yes, that kind of priest would merely be concerned with problems with the locals, then their holy magic can be far more generic and not tied to a god. If you only specify one source of magic, you cant suddenly drop someone into the story who uses something different. 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. I havent even gotten to the actual magic yet. 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. And for Mind and Body, Distorter will be their name. I guess its similar in its outward effects to the Avatar magic system, but youll see that its actually quite different. Thats because Disney movies are based on fairy tales and fairy tales dont write up rules for magic. A grammar checker, style editor, and writing mentor in one package. And I did read the other piece about magic but my system sounded alot simpler in head head so I didnt think it applied as much. 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. Following is a list of all the abilities that can be generated by the Abilities Generator. The former is more mysterious, dangerous, and wild, able to do far more but without much control by those who have little experience. 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). Forms of magic include fire magic, light magic, healing magic, and transformation magic. Its origin is with the creation of all life itself and the first humans: Black and White. In general, creating a system that is more limited in effect and creates more problems with casting makes for better stories. There is a cap that only the two young men of solitude have managed to break Though after reading the Mythcreants article about the effects of high magic and how it might speed up industry, these two time periods might be much closer temporally. Im working on setting up a writing blog on WordPress, mirroring it to tumblr. Its unclear whether there are any other self-casting old magic spells besides this one. The Force can do precisely what is needed. will you include other living beings that conduct photosynthesis like phytoplankton or algae? If spellcasters can run out of magic, itll be easy to put them in a tight spot when you need to. All spells require a minimum level of power to run, though many can be empowered further. 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. This helped me separate my thoughts and put them into their own categories. If Luke needs guidance to hit that exhaust port, the Force can guide him. Precursor aliens might do the job if they had certain motivations (such as wanting to set up a certain situation to see how it develops), but this raises questions of how such a large group made of many different individuals could all stay hidden for such a long time. 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. (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? If a mage has no limit to what they can do, why not simply find one who solves all the problems for your hero with the snap of a finger (or a well-conducted ritual)? In the series Rowling shows that wands and spells channel the magic within an individual so witches and wizards are not without magic if they dont have a wand. What I dont agree with is the idea that there is somehow an objective way to determine whether the rules of magic make sense or not, as magic isnt real and what is considered natural is culture-dependent.