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Hi y’all!
@godlyfantasy12 , @whalekeeper , @lightoverdarkness6 , @esther-c , @princesachronicle22 , @mineralizedwritings , @freedomwriter76 , @acancello , @gwyndalf-the-wise , @loopylin , @otherworldlyhistorian , @anyone-else-I missed(If I tagged you, and this doesn’t interest you, then don’t feel obligated to respond.)
I wanted to make a forum dedicated to all things magic system!
What are the most interesting and/or unique magic systems you’ve seen or made? What catches your eye about them? Do you prefer hard magic systems that have more concrete rules? Or Soft magic systems that have more open possibilities?
Please rant and/or critique any of your own magic systems or others you enjoy.
For me, I’m really like hard magic systems. I like concrete rules that can be used in clever ways to solve problems. I love to know fundamental mechanics of abstract structures, so I often like to get into that when dealing with magic systems. Turning it into a science of sorts.
My and my sister’s magic system for example, has many layers of complexity. My sister likes to be vague about this, so I won’t say too much, but it ends up being a magical chemistry of sorts. There are 7 main elements, used to create matter, life, and reality itself. They are split into 3 groups. The mundane elements, that are actually just the 3 basic states of matter, solid, liquid ,and gas, also called Se, Nu, and La. The 3 spiritual elements, sound, thought, and light, or Hiis, Mahn, and Lwen. And the element of law/ether, or Itherum. There are stones that can interact with these elements through pushing and pulling, storing and emitting. When it comes to the stones, the particles can influence one another in strange ways. There are many combinations that when explored, creates an independent magical artform. What I really like about this magic system is how hard and defined it is, but there are still many aspects of open possibilities. Many characters will likely only ever see one kind of artform, thinking that’s all there is, not knowing the full expanse of it. It can be seen as very cosmere-esque, which is very fair, but I’ve still really enjoyed making it.
Once again, what are some of your magic systems, or favorite parts of them, or even sci-fi concepts instead?
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Wow! What an amazing magic system you have! That is so creative and would be so much fun to read about! Unfortunately my WIP does not have any magic in it, but who knows maybe someday… 🙂 I think the only other magic books I’ve read, were all the Harry Potters which I loved. I think what drew me in was the great description. Between hard magic systems that have more concrete rules or soft magic systems that have more open possibilities I really think both would be interesting to read/write about.
What a cool magic system!! It sounds really unique!!
When I have the time, I’ll hop on here and share my thoughts about magic systems. 😀
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
HMMM
Outlaws of Time by N.D. Wilson – not only is it a good book (but I’m biased I really like it XD) I think it does a good job with the ‘magic’ system. Would recommend. =D
My fantasy/mystery story doesn’t necessarily have magic but I’d assume superpowers would fall under this so… yeah. I don’t normally focus on the magic system itself a lot cause while it does play a part in the story, ultimately it’s not really what’s important. So while I’ll develop it enough to make some semblence of sense, I definitely don’t go as detailed as you and your sister do. Not that being detailed about it is a bad thing (I actually think y’all’s worldbuilding and magic system the things that you’ve shared about it are really cool), I just don’t have a plot reason or theme reason or really any reason to develop it that much, cause it’s not what the story’s about.
That’s my thoughts, anyways. I may come back when I’m less overwhelmed by it and develop it some more, though. XD"...I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek Me in vain..."
(Part of) Isaiah 45:19Thanks! Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun to make! Yeah, both hard and soft magic systems have unique pros and cons. I personally enjoy thinking and writing about hard magic systems, but soft magic systems (if done well) are really fun to read. Harry Potter is a good example of soft magic systems, I’ve never got into it, but I know a little about the world.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Thanks! Can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll look into that!
Yeah, superpowers totally are a magic system, as well as sci fi concepts even. Though those things are not considered magical, they are defiantly fantastical elements that ultimately function the same ways a magic system would in a world. Yeah, you don’t need to be rigorous about your magic, or worldbuilding in general, it depends on your style and goals. Thanks for the comments!
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
@thearcaneaxiom OOH ok so honestly my magic systems??
I don’t really know…
why? Because the whole idea of creating a magic system is just a bit daunting to me…
Obviously there is magic but I’m not entirely sure like what exactly the rules of it all are yet and what counts as magic and what doesn’t…ya know?
Do yall count creatures as magic? Such as Shifters and such? Would like Yalls opinions on this.
Also want Yalls opinions on something else-
All of my magic, I know in my story, Comes from God. In my worldbuilding that’s how I’ve created it because He’s the creator of everything, and thus, any type/source of “magic” also comes from Him. Make sense?
However just as in our world, when Sin and death entered, His creations went and made more of His creations skewed. This is where I’m putting the view of “Dark Magic.”
My books aren’t going to have any real “Dark Magic” because that freaks me out beyond reason tbh, but in the form of Magic (or abilities, items, etc) used for evil purposes, that’s what I’m speaking of.
All “magic” was originally created by God, but we, as humans, or the Fae, or whatever it was (The one’s given over to Sin and Death) have skewered the beautiful thing God created, (just like in this real world) and that is how Magic ends up being used for purposes other then life and truth.
What do y’all think?
I rather like this, because it doesn’t veer IMO from what is real in our world, despite being fantasy, and it doesn’t veer really from biblical things either.
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebYep! Anything magical in some sense is part of your magic system. Shifters are obviously taking advantage of some magic in the world in some form. You don’t need to have a full fledged magic system, and that’s often what soft magic system becomes. It’s not rigorously defined, but it’s good to remember that it is consistent. Make sure that when you establish something in your world, you don’t contradict it later. For example, I don’t know your shifter worldbuilding much, but I’m just gonna make up a few things. A shifter transforms into a fox, but then you want some weird thing to happen when they see a rabbit, and suddenly truly become a fox for a moment, set on getting that rabbit. You do this, but suddenly you remember before that you had a scene, where that same fox shifter, was next to a rabbit, and was fine. We see this in way too much writing, where writers ignore the rules they established. Of course, you can rationalize, but make sure to rationalize it in your writing. This is a big key to writing any magic system, or any writing for that matter, unless your inconsistences are intentional.
Yes! Magic systems based off of bilabial good and evil is not a new concept. Yours sounds a lot like Tolkien’s actually. All evil things in middle earth, are only mockeries of good things, counterfeits, impurities. Orcs for example are just a tainted version of elves.
I didn’t mention it, but the nature of good and evil in a bible perspective is also imbedded into our magic system. I’ve been exploring the nature of good and evil, justice and mercy, zero and infinity, ect, and other dual symmetries, to get into fundamental themes. The universe rose from the Everything and Nothing, showing the need of contrast, the need for evil/suffering for contrast from good in order to ultimately become good/Christlike.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
@thearcaneaxiom
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”also I’m assuming since your a Sanderson fan you have read the Sanderson’s laws of magic
The quote is Clarke’s third Lea of magic (sorry I forgot that part and now I can’t edit the post)
Yep, the laws of Sanderson are a great guideline. I’ve watched all of his lectures, though I think I want to go through them all again.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
So I have no magic systems in my current WIP, but when I go back to Refined, (a fantasy retelling of the story of Queen Esther. [Not super close, but close enough so that it’s recognizable]) I may add in more of a magic system. All I have as of now are seven different tribes with unique abilities given to them by God. So I’m not entirely sure yet.
I liked the magic system in Harry Potter. It wasn’t super complex, but it had good limitations. Wizards had to learn the magic. But just like in any magic system, it could be for good or bad.
Not much of a rant, but I suppose I haven’t read enough magical fantasy to rant about magic systems. 😂
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Cool! So it sounds like you have the beginning of a elemental magic system (doesn’t have to be, but that’s always a fun route). Would there be a over arching theme for all the abilities? Would they emphasize some biblibical principles, perhaps ones learned specifically in the book of Esther?
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Cool! So it sounds like you have the beginning of a elemental magic system (doesn’t have to be, but that’s always a fun route). Would there be a over arching theme for all the abilities? Would they emphasize some biblibical principles, perhaps ones learned specifically in the book of Esther?
Good question… cuz… I don’t know. 😬😂
Originally, all the tribes had different physical abilities. Like one tribe was similar to Godly’s shifters, in which they can change into a certain animal. Another tribe had the ability to read minds. As I wrote, I figured out this wasn’t going to work… for multiple reasons. 1) Some of the tribes were just mythical creatures with no specific abilities. 2) Reading minds is waaaay too overpowered. XD 3) Some of the other abilities were really cliche.
When I change it, I want it to be more on the side of God-gifted magic, instead of unique abilities. (Plus, it will be easier to write when most of the characters are more human 😂) As for how the system will work, I’m not sure yet. Emphasizing biblical principles would be a really cool idea.
Either way, it’s still in the re-brainstorming stage. (I wrote the book, but it was very different and is in desperate need of a rewrite. XD) So we’ll see how it turns out. 😀
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
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