Help me pick a colorful name for this magic system

@highscribeofaetherium @hybridlore @theducktator @loopylin @grcr

Thanks for the feedback! So far, it looks like the popularity ranking is:

1. Chromancy
2. Spectrachromy
3. Prismathurgy
4. Spectrathurgy
5. Spectralurgy

With the other three having no votes. I’ll take this into consideration.

As some have guessed, this is a color-based magic system. Particularly, painting.

Some commentary on the name ideas:

‘Chroma-‘ is probably my favorite prefix. It’s straightforward since it literally just means ‘color’, and sounds pretty cool. Unfortunately for me, the name ‘Chromaturgy’ is already used by some book called Lightbringer (I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard about Chromaturgy.) The magic seems a lot different from mine (it’s more based on how color physically works in regard to light (Red/Green/Blue), whereas mine is based on artistry and color theory (Red/Yellow/Blue), but it still means I can’t really use ‘Chromaturgy’ or any variant.

Because of this, I came up with ‘Prisma-‘ and ‘Spectra-‘ instead. ‘Prisma-‘ is not directly related to color (I think) but evokes the idea of rainbows because of how a prism works. ‘Spectra-‘ comes from spectrum, and sounds pretty good, but it does have the unfortunate connection to “specter”, which is not what I intend to evoke, and could be confusing.

I like the suffix ‘-urgy’, (basically means ‘working’). It’s a super underused suffix for magic. (‘-mancy’ is overused and doesn’t even make a ton of sense since it is actually related to the idea of divination, rather than magic in general). I’m personally not a huge fan of Cromamancy or Chromancy because of this fairly generic suffix (the first also feels a bit awkward with the two ‘m’s, and the second feels a bit too condensed and short.)

Spectrachromy was a way to use a derivative of ‘chroma’ and create a more unique suffix. I’m still not entirely sold on ‘spectra-‘ working (because of the aforementioned ‘specter’ issue), but maybe I’ll find another prefix that goes with ‘-chromy.’

So, given that information, if anyone has any further thoughts, I’d be glad to hear them.

For those interested in hearing the details of this system, keep reading.

(NOTE: Prismathurgy has so far been the working name, so that is used below. It doesn’t mean it’s final.)

There are three distinct levels to Prismathurgy, each one exponentially more difficult than the previous. The first level is called Chromacasting (name subject to change depending on the final name for the overall system), the second, Conjuration, and the third [so far unnamed or developed].

All Prismathurgy uses Color. A Prismathurge can draw in color from their environment, draining objects of saturation. There are six Perfect Hues: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. These six specific shades are the most powerful for any effect. Some colors, like brown are not close enough to any of the Perfect Hues to be useable. A color like vermillion that is halfway between two Perfect Hues would be useable in place of either, but much less powerful.

Chromacasting is the most basic type of Prismathurgy. It works by simply applying Color to an object. Prismathurges can manifest Color they have absorbed as paint. Most Prismathurges use a long paintbrush to apply paint, but it can be done with basically anything, including hands. Each Colorhas a specific effect, with complementary colors (i.e. Red and Green, Blue and Orange, and Yellow and Purple) having opposite effects.

Red halts momentum. By marking a moving object with Red, it will be robbed of most of its momentum instantly. Alternatively, a Red line on a surface can stay active for several minutes, stopping any objects that pass over it.

Green does the opposite: it induces motion. A Green brushstroke on an object launches it in that direction. Green lines on the ground act as conveyers, pushing any object on top of them along them in a specific direction. Green lines can last a few days before losing power.

Blue destabilized objects. This can manifest in mutiple different ways. It can cause vibrations, turn something brittle, or soften a substance, making it malleable or (with enough power) liquid. Blue needs to be drawn in an outline around the area you want to affect. Blue only lasts a few minutes before deactivating.

Orange adds structural stability to objects. Draw an Orange line up a pillar and it becomes stronger, but only along that vector (e.g. breaking the pillar from the side is not any harder.) Marking an object with Orange and drawing an outline around it will hold it within that boundary. Orange lines can last days before deactivating.

Yellow speeds up time in an area. A Yellow outline creates a bubble of sped up time within it. The boundary of the bubble is not visible unless something passes through it, which causes it to ripple. Yellow only lasts a few seconds when viewed from the outside (from the inside, it seems to last longer, but generally only a few minutes.)

Purple slows down time. The mechanics are the same as Yellow’s. Purple’s time is the same as Yellow’s from the perspective of the inside but lasts much longer from the perspective of the outside.

Prismathurges can learn to synthesize Secondary Colors from the Primary Colors, though the purity of the starting Colors will affect the purity of the resulting one. Skilled users can mix in different ratios to make up for impurities. Synthesis makes it possible to obtain Black and Gray. Black and Gray are considered Values rather than Colors and cannot be taken in from the environment. However, by classical color theory, a perfect blend of all colors yields Black, and a mix of two complementary colors yields Gray.

Extremely advanced Chromacasters can purify Colors, separating mixes into Perfect Hues. This allows one to extract all the saturation from a Color and get White.

The three Values (White, Black, and Gray) each have an associated effect as well.

White has the unique property of being able to be drawn in the air [possibly all Colors can do this, but only Prismathurges with the power level required to produce White can do so]. A White outline becomes willed with a solid white substance that is fairly durable and lightweight but limited to a few inches thick. This vaporizes into white mist after a few minutes.

Black dissolves substances. A Black outline painted on a surface, causes the interior to dissolve into black Vapor. This can only cut a few feet deep at a time (so no cutting holes through the planet.)

Gray can be used to neutralize magic. Like Yellow and Purple, it can create a bubble effect. This causes everything inside to appear colorless, automatically dispels a Prismathurge’s Color supplies, and prevents any magical effects from activating. It can also be used somewhat like Red. Drawing a Gray line creates a barrier that will block any magic passing through. Gray lasts less than an hour.

Sentient beings are immune to having their colors absorbed and to the effects of being painted on. (They can still be effected by lines placed on other surfaces.)

While a placed Color is applied, it cannot generally be reabsorbed until it runs out of power, though Prismathurges can learn to retrieve their own Color, and sufficiently powerful Prismathurges can take in someone else’s Color with some difficulty.

The second level of Prismathurgy is called Conjuration. It is extremely difficult to use, and only highly advanced Prismathurges ever learn. Conjuration manifests physical items from pure Color. This is different from Chromacasting White, which is limited to simple shapes and one type of material, which vanishes after some time. Conjuration can, in theory, create any object (though size is a limiting factor). Additionally, it takes a great deal of familiarity with the desired item, and intense visualization. Most Prismathurges learning Conjuration start by learning to Conjure a paintbrush, because it is very familiar to them and a useful skill to have. Many Conjurators never advance beyond this. At the bare minimum, a Prismathurge needs to have access to Perfect Red, Yellow, Blue, and White in order to Conjurate, making purification and synthesis neccesary skills.

I haven’t yet worked out the third level, but I intend for it to be extraordinarily difficult, but very powerful. It might have something to do with manifesting artificial realities or something like that.

• This reply was modified 1 week, 2 days ago by Cloaked Mystery.

@hybridlore

Thanks!

No, this one spawned an entirely new setting. I just can’t help it! (It also inspired my new pfp, which I made by messing around with random setting in an art program.)

• This reply was modified 1 week, 2 days ago by Cloaked Mystery.

@highscribeofaetherium

lol. I guess that’s what happens when we both read the same book…

Which world was it?

@highscribeofaetherium

What’s Thaliu even like these days? (And, no, it doesn’t matter if this thread gets hijacked. I think we’re done here, for now at least.)

@highscribeofaetherium

(I think at this point I only have, like, two that I care much about?).

Me, with 12: 😐

What’s the second? Ciale?

The floating islands idea (which was the whole main ‘thing’ for Thaliu) I’m not as interested in anymore, so I’m not sure where I’ll go with that (I still like Thaliu, just not sure if I want to rework that idea or not)

Well, if you ever don’t want that feature anymore, I’ll gladly use it!