fantasy magic system generator

On the other hand, there could be a group of people allergic to the plant. But magical things do have specific usesHarry writes essays on the uses of different plants in potion-making, for example. How to Write Mind-Blowing Fantasy Fiction - Reedsy Actually, the elite technique for Airbending is straight-up flight a la Superman. A lot of magical effects can only affect creatures that are magic, or affect them much more strongly. A substance can be traded on the market, gods can be prayed to, and individuals might be sensitive to magical energy or maybe everyone has machines that do it all for them. However, I think vital your point about how a magic feels. Tolkiens magic confuses people who are looking for rules because no one sits down and says what the rules areto really understand whats going on that one has to delve into all his works (including letters and unfinished stories). It is dual-natured-representing the life-giving light of the sun that all life relies on, but also the destructive and fiery nature of its power. Four Ways to Limit Magic & Technology Those limits are important! Kristen now works as a creative wellness coach and offers new resources through her personal website at kristenkieffer.co. 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. Im on my first crack of trying to writing and my magic system feels too simple to me and not sure if its good enough and would like a little insight. Oh wow that turned out to be a lot of text. If I knew that I could kill every jerk i know unapologetically and without remorse, and be assured that someone would be returned to life as a result of that action then whats stopping me from just killing indiscriminately all the time? The key traits of a soft magic system are outlined in the graphic below. Im working on a story that has 3 magic systems. Balance being an essential figure in most fantasy pieces, this works on many levels! Who will use magic: the protagonist (hard magic), or the antagonist / side characters (soft magic)? Give me your thoughts! E.g., player can only use some energy from the environment, depending on available amount and the players skills. Humans have it too, but they are a small piece. You need to think it through and you need to make it understandable for the reader, because otherwise they cant imagine your world and they cant dive into it which is why people read stories. 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. Reading this made me realize a plot hole before I even put it on paper, I cant thank you enough for the editing time youve saved me! They each have powers, but only relative to what they are. Offensive like elemental magic and short time manipulation magic etc. Brings back memories of the magic system I was working on for a really trippy book not really super Lovecrafty per se, but set in modern day Maine among a world of dark magicks and secret cults, so in that sense an echo I lost track of back in my 30s and am just now remembering. In The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, magic comes from magical spirits like djinn. Earth and earthy minerals/materials (Since earth is firm, solid and tangible, and since man walks and sleeps on the ground, eats what the ground produces, and has a beneficial relationship with the earth, earth is easy to hold on to for longer periods of time, assuming you dont try to control too much of it at a time). If a mage forms a contract with a water faerie, they can use water magic, even if their Primal isnt the Ocean. There's a reason why I write about fantasy magic - magic is my most favourite thing! To avoid adding a sense of arbitrariness, your choice of categories must feel natural. Group B dont have magic at all. Re: hollow mages this is the fate of the previous mage who had the protagonists familiar she traded away bits of her life in order to extend it, until she ends up functionally immortal but with very little of her original self left, (she breaks the bond with her familiar in the process in order to make deals with more powerful spirits). For telepathy and telekinesis, you mention sources of energy. Basically the spirits want more knowledge of the human world, to experience it through human eyes. The only downside is that these systems require thought thought that will make your setting stronger. Harry Potters magic is not irrational. Use this guide as best fits your approach to magic. 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. Follow her work on hannahyang.com or on Twitter at @hannahxyang. There are plenty of sources you can use, like bodily energies, energies in the air, power bestowed by the gods, powers within blood, pools of magic in the world, a worldwide life force, magical artifacts and so on. I have two things to talk about. With the exception of the Avatar, people who cast magic are only attuned to one of the four main elements. Just watch out for the unaffected 1%. 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. Thank you for commenting! 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. mental enhancements, the nanites acting as auxiliary brains. This isnt a formula for magic systems, but a guide for those not sure where to start or what exactly is a magic system. I also had the idea that there would be some very powerful, old spirits who have long-standing contracts with humanity as a whole. I think that should cover it, and I hope to get more advice to help me become a better creator. What effect does the use of magic have on the user? How to Create an Amazing Magic System - ProWritingAid In the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix, necromancers can control the dead using bells and music. Teleportation is hardest to work out, because it includes the idea that you can pull a body apart and put it back together without any consequences. (In this case, dispelling the Spiritual (Emotional) aspects associated with Fire in this case Anger/Passion. All spells require a minimum level of power to run, though many can be empowered further. I see some interesting potential with that. If magic is based on emotion, those Apaths could, perhaps, nullify it? They are not related in any way. If Rowling had, for instance, done more with the four houses, things might have been different. thanks for the feedback! I dont write often in English or at all. Paint is a very volatile substance that if held can burn off skin Sorry about the comment length and the long worldbuilding paragraph. PEELED him? All three should work together to create the magic system. But we know some things. Hannah is a speculative fiction writer who loves all things strange and surreal. If an elemental mage can only use elements which are not opposite, they have to choose between the four elements when they start training. In this case, rational, soft, and hard come from Brandon Sanderson. Here, you would have to add something else, perhaps a boost a telepath receives (again, remember the unused potential of muscles, if you want to), which allows for them to reach out and tap into another brain. For example, a character could bind own mind blob to a fire blob and basically then he will control those fire, while his body will unconscious. *I noticed a notification in a tab I hadnt refreshed in a while about a new comment, but when I checked, there wasnt one. Brandon Sanderson has a knack for creating alluring, original magic systems that immerse the reader into the fictional universe. External energy could work; however, instantaneously moving energy from one place to another causes problems. 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. Its said more than once that really powerful wizards and witches can do wandless magic or even do magic without saying the spells. 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. 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. 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. I gave the most basic rundown I could. Ill respond to that one later. There are hundreds or even thousands of magical techniques and spells that a magician can learn. When the nanites detect the presence of something within a host, the nanites become active, forcibly altering & rebuilding the subjects body from the inside out. A hard magic system is magic with a clear set of rules. Those rules shouldnt be arbitrary, like fire magic doesnt work on Tuesdays or you cant cast an illusion spell in months without an R in their name. The rules need to make sense within the system. 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. Slytherin still could breed dark wizards and witches perhaps they have a tendency towards dark magic. The more powerful the magic used the bigger the chance of them dyeing in battle cause either they became tired and was killed or the spell was more than the magic\ life force they had left. You will see through their eyes, feel what they feel (emotionally and physically), hear their thoughts, and even have their memories. [The post scarcity podcast was also very helpful.]. And i aint going to be touching it ever again, so if you or anyone else finds some sort of use from it, have fun. The thread is being used up at such a rate that the next generation may have none at all. How does a user summon magic, and how does that magic manifest (i.e. For your points about my magic system: yes, I know magic isnt real, so I will have to break some physical laws in my fictional world. Then they could connect to the energy of the other brain. 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. In time cities arise around these safe harbors, and ever so slowly life begins again. If they are limited, its usually not by some universal magical law, but rather a handicap in their source of power. Is there a cap on the users' magical abilities? If youre at a loss, take a page from Brandon Sandersons Mistborn series. That means that divine intervention is a possibility (a deus ex machina in the true sense of the world), but theres no way your regular human MC can rely on it. I think rule based magic is important for worldbuilding, not novel writing. was really misleading. Before you build your magic system, youll need to decide what kind of system you need to create for your story, because different magic serves different purposes. Im sure theres a deeper meaning in this. There are many assumptions in this article, it only focused on a small, known part of magic. There is a bit more magic involved in the storyline, but just for that part, do you think that all makes sense? This would mean that they are naturally mostly hidden from beings of normal matter, but perhaps they could find ways to interact. But that doesn't mean all magic systems work equally well for stories. I disagree. Do users of demonic magic face persecution? Otherwise you have near-god mages with no limits, who will hurt your story more than they will serve it. Magic system generator : r/d100 - reddit 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). Professor of Political Theory in Star Trek. Ill consider what you said and make some changes. A wizard casts a powerful spell. This is the first step in learning magic, for depending on what Primal theyre affiliated with, their magic may not be useful at all times (a Sun mages magic is severely weakened at night, and an Earth mage is practically useless out at sea) and they need to rely on their mana for defense and offense. Hermione explains this to Ron in the seventh book when he mentions bringing food out of nowhere. Players cast spells by arranging corresponding runes in different configurations to express the Spells intention, With the Runes inter-playing off each other in a Rock/Paper/Scissor manner. In case if something enters inside such bonded blob it will exit on the other side of the bond. (Obviously, if character will try to use this energy, he probably will die). One way to get stronger is to give your paint a will creating a contractor. You can use our ProWritingAid Sensory Report to make sure youre including sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell in your magic system. Can they absorb a gust the then use that to start a fire, or can they only use it to create a stronger gust? Divine gifts are enchanted items (like swords, hats, necklaces, etc.) Pick just one source; Ill discuss how to add variety to your magic system in the next section. If you follow this rule, readers will appreciate the awe and mystery of the magic without feeling like it cheapens the story. that were made by the gods. If one person grows wings and another teleports, your system will feel arbitrary. Maybe they are all for structural integrity, without them the world explodes outward into the vacuum of nothingness. You can get away with a strange assortment if you have mechanics that explain it. 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. Specific effects include causing earthquakes, preventing earthquakes, and turning people to stone. I want to encourage writers and worldbuilders to stray from this formula. Youll need to set guidelines for how these beings operate so that you can explain why they do or dont answer prayers whenever theyre asked. Its mysterious. The only ones that blur this line are possessed ie theyre two organisms in a symbiotic or parasitic relationship with each other.