They will be, Time and Space, Light and Darkness, and Mind and Body. 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. When shes not busy writing, you can find her painting watercolors, playing her ukulele, or hiking in the Rockies. SWd6 System Generator. Now the magic is tied directly to ones own life force, the more magic they use the weaker their magic becomes and the weaker they become, with rest their strength will come back but their magic will not and if they run out means they used up their entire life force so they die and the only known way to regain all their magic and life force is to take the life of another completely consuming their victims life force\magic. 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. On How Do I Portray Stupid Characters Respectfully? Another option is that there is a background magic field (see the TVTropes article) present everywhere that psychics draw on. Now, to those who contain their power. I think youre overthinking things a little in your example. Ive found this post while looking any information about making own magic system for an cRPG. 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. I really hope you go through with it! It violates local conservation laws and relativity (whats simultaneous in one reference frame is not in other frames). Do users of demonic magic face persecution? How to Create a Magic System in Six Simple Steps Many possibilities). Because when you move, there is an accompanying sound? I think rule based magic is important for worldbuilding, not novel writing. SO, strangely inspired by a Looney Tunes skit, staring Daffy Duck (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_hcwB8i64 ), I came up with a system of Runes that could be strung together to create different spell effects that way, through their understanding of the Runes (and the underlying mechanics, which was NOT immediately revealed to the Player), Players could effectively reverse engineer opponent spells, Counter-spell and undertake other such wizardly endeavors. There's a wide range of elements you can change to make your magic system unique, whether it's how it is wielded, what its source is or even what types of spells are used. will you include other living beings that conduct photosynthesis like phytoplankton or algae? This is what making sense means when it comes to magic. It does, although thats what I want to do. If you teleport, you have to control that energy while your whole body is nothing more than energy, too. Professor of Political Theory in Star Trek, contradicting something shes already invented, distill and concentrate the plant down to an elixir, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, heres a fun chart showing the details of magic systems in the most popular works, Building the Raksura: How Martha Wells Fell Into Toxic Tropes, Five Tips for Using an Arbitrary Magic System, Building Wings of Fire: How Sutherland Propped Up Her Plot, Building Hyperion: How Simmons Scattered His World, Building Roshar: How Sanderson Bungled Culture, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi_hcwB8i64, https://mythcreants.com/blog/how-to-create-an-eclectic-magic-system/. And if so, is it because their culture is different and they learn to wield it in different ways, is it because they simply cannot wield it the same way due to biological differences or is it because they use different sources, like blood magic and magic pools? You can make it as cool as you like; think Discworld, Middle Earth, Zamonia, etc. The pulp could be made of something special that allows for different effects when treated differently. Too Trope-ish?? No, the water is surely a curse and warning from the mother, who draws the water from the plants themselves as a punishment for stealing the most precious of energy, sunlight itself. *I noticed a notification in a tab I hadnt refreshed in a while about a new comment, but when I checked, there wasnt one. If every spell casts creates a knot that must result in the opposite effect happening then the incentive to kill becomes too great. The descriptions follow the same pattern overall, but the details will vary to create different magic systems. If youre having trouble, you can say there are many more categories but knowledge of them has been lost. For example my magic is about energy- but you cant control energy like Motion in the traditional telokinies way (you think & point and it moves anywhere)- instead you can only increase the speed of a moving object or decrease its speed (to a full stop if your skilled enough) or create movement in a static object (only in one direction as if you hit it- and only that single inital pow of motion), So if youd like your magic to be one of the driving forces in the conflict of your story then itll be great to know what you can and cant do with it and understand if there are any limitation to the magic which may make it more rememberable, interesting and unique- plus create a challange for your protagonist who has to use their wits to work around the limitation and solve a problem. Ask yourself if your antagonist will be a magic-wielder, and if there will be magical creatures in your story. It would also bring a limit, because the ley lines dont exist everywhere. Hey Ryan R Im still plugging away at it (when Life lets me anyway! This then leads to the problems with conservation of energy and relativity I mentioned earlier of course, were working with magic, so these may not be insurmountable issues, but they need to be considered, as I want this universe to be mostly like ours in situations in which magic is not involved. What kinds of magical concepts and images would contribute to that atmosphere? Its mysterious. Theres no way to please them or ask them for help, they just do stuff because they want to (very much like the Greek/Roman or Norse pantheons we have). The villain in S3 of A:LoK achieves it. If you're using this generator, you might also find the Magical Artifact Generator useful. A being of a higher Plane has the opposite effect, their presence and consciousness being far too much for the Universe to handle, and so it would just collapse on itself wherever the being would go. If you eat after dark, shell take away the blessing. The more unique you make it, the more memorable your book will be for readers. Pick just one source; Ill discuss how to add variety to your magic system in the next section. Also I thought about it and further developed it. 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. I thought, What if energy isnt conserved after all? Theres things like creating food out of thin air, which means magic can add something to the world which wasnt there before (alternately, some people have all the rotten luck and their fridges are constantly empty and they dont know why). Ill consider what you said and make some changes. Magicians train to control different aspects of reality, but a magician is also constrained to the limits of reality. Forms of Star magic include telepathy, telekinesis, mind control, astral projection, and precognition. Naturally, youll want a few people in your setting with powers that are unusual among magic workers. A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. (Storm God = sky domain = bird ? 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). Earth magic: Earth magic draws power from the energy of the land itself. Accio and depulso, for example, are taught one-after-another: pretty straightforward. 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. 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. The steps of rituals are based on hearsay, so its hard to know whats actually necessary. We'll also throw some brainstorming questions your way to help get those magical creative juices flowing! But it feels as if it all fits together, not least because Tolkien himself had a clear notion of what was going on. 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. Now you have all the tools you need to create your own magic system. An explanation for the seasons has its roots here as well. If your characters will use magic to resolve that conflict, then establishing a clear set of rules for your magic system is necessary to avoid cheapening tension via contrived magical solutions. It takes decades to master a Type of magic, and some mages (any magic user, human, dragon person, whatever) spend their whole lives perfecting one spell. Or it could indeed be a matter of merely thinking things into existence specific ability necessary. Telekinesis: You mention psychics using their own energy for telekinesis. Anyone who uses the magic of these Towers will have a name that corresponds to the pair, not just the Tower they draw from. Occasionally you may want an arbitrary system it adds humor and entertainment to Harry Potter. Nullify and boost it? Bodily energies wouldn't make for a great choice as the body runs out of all types of energy, at least in real life and most works of fiction. Should I make what Interferers can do more specific (not just adding-energy-to-system)? Remember the problem with any kind of existing lore: someone out there whos reading your stories is an expert in it and will be pretty annoyed if you just wing it and your version has next to nothing in common with reality. 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. If George R.R. This description generator will generate a short random description of a spell, including its effect, appearance and inventor. 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). Here are four common categories you can consider. Magic systems can even serve as a vehicle for theme, exploring topics such as power, privilege, oppression, and greed. 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. Spells that affect another persons soul are the strongest and are pretty much all purple level. It would foreshadow his powers at the end of the story, when he faces off against Voldemort controlling all types of magic. donjon; Fantasy Random Generator In other words, readers need to understand how your magic system works to ensure its use feels natural and believable within the context of the story. Following is a list of all the abilities that can be generated by the Abilities Generator. Fantasy worldbuilding Magic systems Scifi worldbuilding Make Full-Time Passive Income From Book Sales FREE Creative Writer Class: How to Write & Publish a Fiction Book Taught by a Bestselling Author with YEARS of experience doing JUST THIS! Most magic systems fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Some consider it Her gift, a compensation for taking back the light they harnessed. As far as using body energy outside of the body is concerned, this is something you will have to wing. Possession can only occur between a creature that has magic and one that is 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. The job is dangerous. Is it dark and scary? By the time of my story, the nanites have taken up residence pretty much EVERYWHERE. I really like all the terms you use on this site, theyre so helpful and clarifying. It's an important aspect to think about as it'll heavily affect your story universe. Magic Type Generator - Generate a Random Magic Type On Star Treks Mediocre Antagonistic Species. If I can find a way to make it work, it would be cool if sound can be harnessed and redistributed as well. 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. Could perhaps some or all of them be elements alongside the classic four? Others say that this is blasphemy; for a gift of water, if not taken from somewhere, would disrupt the balance, however little, and Mother would never stand for it. Source Materials Who and what wields it How to wield it What are the powers? Spells are also incredibly varied, which makes adding randomized details a . Its the same with a story. Thats cool. And the thing that makes up all of the energy is spiritual Vibrations. Novice mages are taught how to bring out their mana to create energy bolts, shields, weapons, and constructs. *squeals* Chris you are my hero and your articles inspired me to try writing and you are very, very, very awesome *squeals* Shapechangers all use either the strong or weak nuclear forces, and telekinetics and poltergeists use gravity. Each of these works with each other and the level of each step determine how much oomph the next step has to produce an effect in our world. what could they have that the Mages need/want? 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. The Harry Potter series is a splendid examplewe know what spells Harry can do, while we never find out the exact bounds of Voldemorts magical abilities. If travelling to the tower of the Dark Mage takes three weeks on horseback, there should be a good reason if you tell the reader the way back only took a couple of hours. Im not sure if this will help ScWall any, but I experimented with something very similar a number of years ago. How could a magic user be defeated? So if you think multiple types would be cool, go for it, if you want to keep it simple, dont. Worldbuilding in a Novel: A Guide to Creating A Believable World Last, heres a fun chart showing the details of magic systems in the most popular works. When picking the powers and spells for your magic system you'll have to keep in mind a few things. If you have multiple races, or even species, who can wield magic, are there any differences between the different races and species? Sorry, Im not quite understand this Could you please describe some spell example with such system? Ill be checking this site for updates everyday, so thank you in advance of letting me share my crazy idea with you all. You will see through their eyes, feel what they feel (emotionally and physically), hear their thoughts, and even have their memories. Abilities Generator - Silvered Magic They have averge control over their ability. Hey there and welcome to my site. However, not understanding Gandalfs magic doesnt detract from the story, because the protagonists have to undergo most of their journey without Gandalfs help. But those who have returned have never been inside the Tower. Imagine if Harry Potter could vanquish Voldemort in the first chapter just by making up a spell called antagonist defeatium. I definitely have more work to do. ;). And theres nothing less exciting than a story where the protagonists can escape from any danger just by wishing it away. 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)? She might exchange one persons hand for anothers, but she might not deem two lives equal. . Ask yourself how you can prevent the magic-wielders in your story from becoming too powerful, and what costs would post interesting challenges for your characters. Elements are a system which people understand easily, other systems would have demanded more explanation. With that said, lava could still count as fire, so the point about magic being based on fire vs. ice might still stand. Magitech To create strange fusions of science and sorcery for your more unusual settings. Hope I dont sound like a rabid Potterhead but I dont think its irrational! Perhaps people born with an innate power to do so or maybe they're chosen ones hand picked by a god. 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. powers, and the theres a Chosen One, who has all the powers? The system makes no sense so I cant possibly reason that theres a reversal of this! Hope I did well! You can make it mysterious just by hiding how it operates. This could also link in nicely culture and tradition (festivals on summer or winter solace to celebrate the Mother). However, we can only identify that its missing because the system is logically consistent as a whole, even if it isnt perfect in every depiction. For instance, if speaking is an essential part of spellcasting, then characters cant cast spells if they cant speak. Mystical Paths A slightly humorous generator that produces new mystical practices for characters. Magic is one of the essential elements of any fantasy story. 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. o_o. Spectres might do for those who are consumed and become ghosts connected to that energy. If you only specify one source of magic, you cant suddenly drop someone into the story who uses something different. 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. Your body can hold a fixed amount of paint (This is the same for everyone but full capacity is rarely reached).