Thats because we know dragon glass can kill them and both weapons were forged by dragon flame. In one of my worlds (an urban fantasy kitchen sink setting where many mythological creatures from many different cultures exist), the rules are: Creatures can either have magic or be magic. Decay would be speeding up entropy, life would be slowing it down or trying to instill some kind of anti-entropy into the world. Yes, first drafts are for your eyes only. Its easy to extrapolate all the basic uses of this magic system. This may or may not be an insuperable obstacle. Why should I only have one source of magic? but humanity is creative and designs massive jammers that are able to disable the nanites that enter within X radius of them. Meanwhile, most people selected for magic by the nanites didnt know what was happening they might have been able to make better guesses than people now, but next to surviving the end of their world didnt devote a lot of thought to it. Therefore, its probably a power you should consider not using unless its absolutely plot relevant for you to have a character who can do that. A common mistake when building magic systems is to forget to include costs. Energy-based magic is easy to use because it comes with limitations. I would suggest that you make it so your gods just randomly interact with the world. They will be, Time and Space, Light and Darkness, and Mind and Body. Angels are not incapable of doing bad things and demons can be nice every now and then. Where does it source its power? I would use something else than Gluttons. 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, in most cases a rational magic system works better. 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. If they need to gather energy beforehand, they cant just build a wall of ice without any preparation (which limits their powers). Obviously this is another aspect which heavily depends on your story universe, but most methods can be twisted to fit. (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). Well, there is the Restricted Section, which includes books on the Dark Arts, I made a magical system right after I read this article and this is what I came up with: Magic is powered by emotion and certain emotions affect your environment in different ways. Figured out the important themes and used them to craft something that fits more within the setting. If youre at a loss, take a page from Brandon Sandersons Mistborn series. These properties can give limitations but also make some stronger. A very interesting and well laid out post, though I dont quote agree with all the recommended reading. The list includes a thug who burns pewter and becomes stronger; a tineye who burns tin and enhances their senses; a soother who burns brass and can calm others emotions; a seeker that burns bronze and can identify other magic works; and a smoker that blocks a seeker within a certain radius. All of nature is in motion and all of natures motion serves to restore its own balance. I think that should cover it, and I hope to get more advice to help me become a better creator. 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. To build this logic, start by thinking about three things: the effects, sources, and costs of magic. But at extremely high levels (Demi god level) the breeze might be enough. Thats not a rational system, because theres no understandable rules to it. As the Wizard unravels the Great Mysteries, and gains understanding of the Universe, they unlock additional rune slots, allowing for more complex, refined spells. As we dont seem to be focusing on that aspect much, however, I wont try to continue arguments about that part. Silver drains magic and therefore hurts all creatures that are magic. To give them an exceptional ability that stands out from the masses, change or break one rule youve established for your magic system. Calm Creature. His thoughts compiled into a fortified plan to use his skills to accomplish it, without leaving his comfortable chair. Superpower name generator. Making sense in case of magic means being constant. Jinora does it at some point. When a mage makes a contract with a spirit, what are they paying with? You have the tank, often a warrior, who has great armour and a lot of health and will draw attacks and take the damage. They could solve all problems with a snap of their fingers. Real transformation would be something like lead to gold, influencing the molecules to give up their bonds and settle into a new configuration (gods, it has been ages since my last chemistry lesson). In some cases, the answer might already be obvious given the world your story is set in. The problem would lie in too many types for an already-complex magic system. The protagonists wording must be airtight, because the djinni will look for loopholes. I also like the conspiracy, theres not many like that in high fantasy which makes it cool. This description generator will generate a short random description of a spell, including its effect, appearance and inventor. If only a portion of the population can wield magic it could also mean the magic wielders are either the elite or the lower class. Perhaps broken fingers mean you won't be able to wield magic or maybe magic itself can block another form of magic or the magical energies within a person. There are others who feel this way as well. Want an offline version of this generator with editing, printing and saving? Can ones magical abilities be stolen or suppressed through fantastical or physical means? Whether with words, gestures, complicated rituals, or just pure thinking, the idea that someone can control reality with their mind is at the base of every magical system. This generator gives you names for their various alliances, covens, and clubs. While both of these magic systems have mysterious aspects, in general they dont invoke wonder because they are understood. For example, in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien uses the near omnipotence of the One Ring to explore the dangers of authoritarianism, which he fought as a British soldier during WWI. This allows for more ready, flexible use of magic, but one has to be careful how much they use at once or risk damaging both the spirit and themselves. Magic types:
How to Create a Rational Magic System - Mythcreants 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? Many horror movies use soft magic systems to create a sense of fear and dread, while childrens books might use soft magic systems to create a sense of excitement and adventure. Many receive horrible mutations, the nanites only know that they are to better humanity but they have no notion of what being a human means, some are physically melded into grotesque shapes, some lose their minds becoming like feral beasts. It may sound similar to Avatar but it is growing. Also, I read that chemical changes play an important role, and those probably cant be detected externally at all. Ask yourself what kind of problems magic will cause your protagonists, and whether your antagonist will use magic to achieve their goals. Givens get the Twisted magic Type, parallel to the caster The first step is building a metaphysical framework for how and why magic works. That guy was supposed to be a REAL nasty bugger in terms of, you know, nobody whos ever gone to hunt this creature has ever come back alive, and all that jazz? I thought, What if energy isnt conserved after all? The knots must be undone, causing the reverse effect as the original magic, and rewoven into the fabric of reality. But once characters learn about the spell to disarm and the spell to block, they cant extrapolate that theres also a spell to dodge. I forgot to mention the Towers :(. Viewpoint characters dont use magic and the audience doesnt understand how it operates. In the fourth book, Harry doesnt know any flying spells, so he uses the Summoning Spell to call his broomstick. 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. This is really good! This is the name list Tolkien draws from at least for a couple of the Dwarven characters in The Hobbit. Basically, the magic in my world all comes from spirits, which exist in a dimension parallel to our own. Astral Armor-- "Though spun from strands of glamor and mana, the protection it offers is no illusion." Magic Formula-- Yep. In the HP books, the only reason why Harry cant do everything is that hes still learning. Obviously you can also combine both ideas, just because you can combine spells doesn't mean you have to. Follow her work on hannahyang.com or on Twitter at @hannahxyang. Not sure what I mean? World-Building, Prepare to Write, Revising for Publishing, As bestselling author Brandon Sanderson explains. Originally I was going to go with energy, but thats way too vague. Creating a Magic System for Superpowers If the magic youre creating varies from person to person, this article is for you. Of course, its possible. Hard vs. soft magic is a spectrum, not a binary. Terrifying. For example do you want evil spellcasters to raise undead? By the time of my story, the nanites have taken up residence pretty much EVERYWHERE. If anyone interested, here is description of my magic system: So if you think multiple types would be cool, go for it, if you want to keep it simple, dont. While the Harry Potter system certainly isnt perfectwill be checking out the linked article!I dont think the points raised in this article have much weight. What I really dont like about this article is the formula on how to create a magic system. Another rare one is magic transference, my idea of that one is gaining an ability that an extinct race once used, examp. Its been a tremendous influence on pop culture, especially conceptions of ghosts. This has been extremely helpful! After giving it some thought, I think the spirits will take memories as payment. (For example, no effects that cover too large an area or are too far from the caster or use too much energy). Varren slumped into his chair, a curse leaving his lips as he had forgotten to blow out the torch in the hallway. That is, unless you have a good relationship with him. If you eat after dark, shell take away the blessing. Interesting perspective on the Harry Potter magical system. Something as seemingly insignificant as a casting time thats five seconds longer has a huge impact on whether mages can handle unexpected problems. Stuff falls down, not up, for instance. There are clear limits of what they can do, and things like resurrection and time manipulation are some of these limitations. Can they simply stretch their arm, make a gesture with their hands and shoot out a ball of fire or do they need a wand do direct the magic? Some are carefully planned; others contradict themselves and lead to plot holes. The key traits of a soft magic system are outlined in the graphic below. That source has to be available to a spellcaster, and that spellcaster needs to direct it to accomplish specific goals. Lets take a closer look at what these terms mean. It doesnt have to make sense in our world, but in the world of the story, it does. Do you have any feedback or glaring flaws that you noticed? Because magic is a form of power, it often explores related themes such as greed, privilege, and oppression. Following is a list of all the abilities that can be generated by the Abilities Generator. If they need to rely on chanted rituals, they cant do something in a few seconds and they cant start a ritual while the enemy is looking for them, because the voice would lead the enemy to the hiding spot. You need to make your sub-types of magic logical parts of the main type of magic. I like the fact youve got a cool new way people gain magical abilities- FAR FAR FAR to many high fantasy novels just have it be the usual theyre born with it (theres nothing wrong with that way- heck Ive even used that, its simple and the easiest way to have it)- but I love seeing unique ways besides just being born with it. Magitech To create strange fusions of science and sorcery for your more unusual settings. It could also be from astral radiation or human emotion. Why is it important for a hard magic system to have rules? What dangers does magic pose to the user, whether directly or because the use of magic is scorned or envied by society? A water line would provide energy for a water mage, an earth line for an earth mage, and so on. If a mage forms a contract with a water faerie, they can use water magic, even if their Primal isnt the Ocean. Reading this made me realize that while Ive got the source pretty nailed down, I dont actually have much else figured out yet! I know its been a whole since you made this post, so I was just curious to how things have developed since then? In time cities arise around these safe harbors, and ever so slowly life begins again. Caster is Shocker, Given is Air and Weather You could use something like that (being able to project and harness energy) to give your psychics telekinesis by them having those invisible arms. Which, of course, means someone could develop a force field to protect themselves from those arms.. The Given is normally in for 3-7 year. I see the basis of a rational magic system there, and you have good limits. There are pros and cons. The way it goes is that the universe of our perception is just a projection, an illusion if you will, of the real World, the Sea of Energy. Nanite clustering effects::kind of dangerous though, theyre a lot like tumors, and have a tendency to grow. Some extra stuff: There could be plots in which some would try to exploit/affect this source of energy but there could be a mental cost, such as suffering and being unable to think straight, for those who had to provide it. If you go with that, I really hope youll have a scene where your mage character (or one of them) sees the empty shells that older mages have become, their very last memory bargained away in exchange for a little power. Perhaps, a ritual needs chants which will take most of the night. However, you can mix pieces of magic plants and animals in a pot and get powerful effects. My magic system is tied in with a lot of the religions and science of my fantasy world. First, the magical system is based off European history and mythology. Because I have 3 systems and they all lean soft-irrational, Im concerned that I have glaring problems that I overlooked. Some well-known examples of soft magic systems: In The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Become a patron. 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.