fantasy magic system generator fantasy magic system generator

The most common form of magic is to make a contract with a specific spirit for a specific outcome, and then the spirit uses its power to reach that outcome (level of cooperation varies). Decay would be speeding up entropy, life would be slowing it down or trying to instill some kind of anti-entropy into the world. However, those impulses are weak, and air is not a good conductor, so I dont think such a detection would work (Im not even sure in water). I would point to Ancient Magus Bride as an example where you have both soft magic such as that used by both creatures of myth and the various magi, as well as the more grounded hard sort practiced by sorcerers. Overusing their magic can cause them physical harm. In Game of Thrones, the red woman throws leaches into a fire, and later several lords die far away. They are responsible for all the phenomena that occurs in our world, from the spark of a fire to weather changes, to the Four fundemantal forces of the universe, atoms, and even concepts such as Time and Causality. Unlimited power allows for enormous epic battles, but you'll have to create tension by adding other forms of limitations, perhaps skill based or type based. You need to place incense in a semi-circle in front of you, drink fresh blood, paint your face with the blood, and focus on the person youre looking for. Eg- In order to make the static ball move with your mind you need something around you that you can either see or feel is moving to help focus you. 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. Do magic users have their own language, religion, festivals, and/or other cultural hallmarks? The most well known curse is the Demons Mark. In this world, soon to be named, certain people have access to an energy that is the personification of nature. Hard magic is one where the audience knows about the rules of magic, so it seems to me that your mention of convey[ing] the rules of your system might actually be referring to hard magic. I wouldnt use categories of magic to add structure thats just adding more complexity. One way to get stronger is to give your paint a will creating a contractor. For Light and Darkness, Shade will be their name. I want to make it rational, just didnt thought about it from this point. In fact, they are drawing on residual energy left behind when a spirit interacts with the human world. This could also link in nicely culture and tradition (festivals on summer or winter solace to celebrate the Mother). It could range from absolutely anything to a single effect such as moving objects or pausing time. 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. Shocker (electric) I made myself wait until morning to reply Late to the party, but I wonder what is your take on the magic system in Type-Moon franchises such as the Fate series and Tsukihime? More like youre a easily broken, magical gun (Aim, shoot fireball, repeat.) All other alien races find our violent behavior disgusting and, honestly? Hm, I had not planned on it, but it might be interesting. Im glad youre feeling encouraged! It isnt a common thing among people of this world, but it is an esoteric art comprised of ancient secrets passed down through generations within a tribe of acolytes. * When Jon Snow kills a white walker with Valyrian steel, it makes sense even though we havent been told that could happen. I just made it up, I had no idea there was a magic system out there that was so similar. That way, it would mean using that energy to influence an element. We were ripped out of the (literal) fabric of reality, shaped into a forbidden-to-visit pocket dimension. 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. Why should I only have one source of magic? But here is the problem since those energies are not strictly relates to the non-magical substances, Im not quite clear how exactly my energies will affect characters. Another way of looking at sources is from a material point of view. LEARNED: obtain magic through studying. What obvious flaws are there? So a Mage might give as payment a concrete memory, like their first day of school or attending a particular play, or something more abstract like the taste of chocolate cake or the pain of stubbing ones toe (spirits are interested in all experiences, even if humans see them as negative). The size of those continental plates and their placement on the planet would be an arbitrary effect of nature, and so the magic they generate might reflect those arbitrary characteristics. How would a non-magic wielder fight a magic wielder? Thats not a rational system, because theres no understandable rules to it. Like the Force in the first Star Wars Trilogy, which I used as an example, magic in HP is pretty malleable. This is harder to work with, because the divine are technically spellcasters themselves, and incredibly powerful ones. Extreme focus is needed for complicated attacks Eminently true and a tension-building moment to remind your readers that your heros magic depends on this very emotional energy that is at this point of crisis so much more likely to be BURNED OUT or at the very least, already at their maximum ability to deal with well, EMOTIONALLY even without the added stress of having to consciously Tap Into Them EVEN MORE to get them to the point of directed personal connection to the whole of your entire current being which is necessary to actually use them magically. The lich controls the power and consumes it, the specre is consumed by it. Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, on the other hand, use soft magic. Id especially suggest that, because your holy magic is used by priests, so it, too, is tied to the gods. When a mage makes a contract with a spirit, what are they paying with? The way the magic of my world works so far goes as follows: Magic is based in blood, the eight types of magical blood found in fantastical creatures and humans (Light, Dark, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Mind, Body), and the way people gain magic is either by taking that blood from the creature or being born with it, so either a Linear or a Pureblood. You can have that, too, while still retaining rationality. Like if in Harry Potter, wizards murdered all the muggles. Fire born and living in constant motion, generating heat that is eventually extinguished, restoring the balance. Basically the spirits want more knowledge of the human world, to experience it through human eyes. These effects all involve either draining, manipulating or sensing magical forces, including the stuff that runs the internal workings of magical creatures. Im working on a story that has 3 magic systems. Isnt that glove from the Aladdin TV series? There are two types of magic systems: hard magic systems and soft magic systems. Because magic is a form of power, it often explores related themes such as greed, privilege, and oppression. Do you prefer planning things out logically (hard magic), or going with your gut (soft magic)? Limiting what magic can theoretically do will dramatically cut down the number of plot-breaking scenarios you might have to deal with. 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 youre at a loss, take a page from Brandon Sandersons Mistborn series. Eg- How fast you can make the ball move (The heavier the object the slower it moves) The audience will be looking for the pieces that might come together in the climax to enable the hero to win, rather than waiting for the hero to have an emotional moment when there is no other viable turning point. I just finished the entire creation story because of these questions as well as creating a more refined system of magic in my book! The magic system in my current work-in-progress, Lady Legacy, serves as an allegory for ambition and the dangerous pursuit of glory, with magic exacting a heavy emotional toll on the user. Using the Harry Potter example, the rules of what magic can and cannot do are defined throughout the books new things are added throughout the series, but there is some structure in the form of spells, potions, etc., and a few laws that are hard limits (such as the no true resurrection one), yet the author of this post states it is not rational (although hard). If you could, they probably wouldnt tell the students at Hogwarts. What I was thinking but forgot to put it in my original comment was that it could be because of their bloodline, their ancestors used that kind of magic so it comes easier to them. However, not understanding Gandalfs magic doesnt detract from the story, because the protagonists have to undergo most of their journey without Gandalfs help. As I said, I was also inspired by depictions of psychic powers in fiction, so I used this idea to explain telepathy (immaterial minds were the same substance, so they could have a way to directly communicate with each other) and telekinesis (if thoughts could generate energy, then maybe they could create enough energy to affect outside objects as well). If you follow this rule, readers will appreciate the awe and mystery of the magic without feeling like it cheapens the story. Thanks again for the advice! Moon magic: Moon magic draws power from the spirit and energy of the moon. Hello to anybody that sees this. Martin or the show writers lean hard by revealing how it works, I think theyll reveal something thats logically consistent. You need to lay enough groundwork and hard rules and be consistent enough that it doesnt feel like a character getting angrier will suddenly allow them to start winning a climactic battle, at least not without significant buildup to such a thing happening. So there you have a source of energy for your telekinesis. It isnt strictly necessary, as I could probably write something interesting without it, but it is extremely convenient). Being a priest (a magic user in service to their village/town) is a full time job; but sometimes you need a hunter, not a demon slayer. However, it sounds like theres a gap between the rational aspect and the large assortment of different things your magic casters are doing. Were he an adult already, thered be hardly a limit for him, apart from morals. It will allow to make some zones where one or other magic will not work, or otherwise where will be much easier to cast specific spells. Just knowing how everything works can go a long way. The issues with this idea are a) adding more complexity to my magic system and b) giving more power to the side of the war that directly contracts spirits. What did you think alchemy was? So the way the world works is that this physical world we see and interact with is one of an infinite number, which exists on one of the 12 Planes of Existence. Hey everyone! To do this, I would need to work out whether adding the sorts of new particles and forces needed for this scenario to what exists in real life can be done in some mathematically consistent way. Anyone who uses the magic of these Towers will have a name that corresponds to the pair, not just the Tower they draw from. Caster is Eco, Given controls animals, which is basically mind control. I know this is an old article, but it inspired me to create my magic system. Of course, like any contract, value is relative and subject to change based on circumstances. In Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, magic comes from specific metals, like copper, tin, or aluminum. Usually you can figure out if theyre alive, where they are, and how theyre doing; but its hard on your brain to process information for two people at once. Theyre usually gifted to devout followers, but anyone can use them once they figure out how it works. Weak to medium Hydro, very rare chance of getting weak Eco as well, Learns magic more easily than other races. There are over 1400 name generators, as well as many description generators, guides and various tools you might find helpful. 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. This is where your magic system will become unique, even if it shares elements with existing works of fiction. 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. Moon magic is cyclic in its strength, strongest during a full moon and weakest during the new moon, and is also weak during the day. By adopting a specific mentality and pairing that with martial art forms, they can move and manipulate their element. Wizards cast spells by waving wands and saying incantations. What is the development of science, your description of kinetic or thermal energy makes me think the inhabitants have some scientific knowledge, but if thats the case why is it that they havent studied transpiration? Some people make a long-term contract with a particular spirit to channel its energy themselves, with the spirit becoming the casters familiar. The audience must know the rules, because the heroes use magic during the story. What about Time? Perhaps magic-users know what magic can be used for but are not concerned about why it works that way; for all we know, that could be the way most wizards and witches feel in Harry Potter. Perhaps Mages can use all the magical abilities, but CHOOSE to specialize? For example, your magic is powered by emotions, which also means that your emotions, if they dont get a new power source (more emotion), will disappear over time. If you are the child of a Given and you are born with magic, you are called a Twisted mage, and have the same powers as your Given parent. When you suddenly decide to change the way magic works or it looks like it, because youre winging it with the system readers get unhappy. Demonic magic is based on bad and Angelic magic is based on good. Mages connected to certain Primals are sometimes more common in parts of the world than others. If you fail to understand the role that . Sun magic: Sun magic draws power from the heat and energy of the sun. Thats what I mean when I say Dumbledore and Voldemort should have paid for their enormous use of power at the ministry of magic in Harry Potter. The Force can do precisely what is needed. SO, questions: where is the magic energy coming from in the environment? Nevertheless, you will always introduce something which, as far as we know, does not exist in reality. He learned that as long as a person eventually restored the balance towards which nature is always striving, he or she could be enabled to have control over the elements. If Luke needs to suddenly call out for help while hes hanging below a floating city, he can make contact with Leia (without their relationship already being an item). Does that all make sense? That source has to be available to a spellcaster, and that spellcaster needs to direct it to accomplish specific goals. Sanderson recognized that the hard magic system is a fashion, just like soft magic was before and this article doesnt acknowledge this. Since the MYTH adventures are all about dimension travelling, that is an important thing to know. Its unclear whether there are any other self-casting old magic spells besides this one. The source should give you an idea for how it might become available. However, I am suspecting my response to it will be pretty long, and I have other things I need to work on. Everything is what she deems fair. Mother takes away the gift of sunlight and its heat and sends all of the water down upon the plants to punish them in their death. Taking this further would logical lead to even more powerful techniques, using vacuums to burst eardrums, rupture lungs, and using air pressure to launch objects in ways similar to the people that build vacuum cannons that launch ping pong balls at supersonic speeds. Relocating energy (in telekinesis or telepathy) is, however, less of a problem than dissolving a body and recreating it at another place, to its not the same as full teleportation. (In this case, dispelling the Spiritual (Emotional) aspects associated with Fire in this case Anger/Passion. In the HP books, the only reason why Harry cant do everything is that hes still learning. There are clear limits of what they can do, and things like resurrection and time manipulation are some of these limitations. If by the end of your story the hero has reached twice or more times the power of the strongest person at the beginning of the story, how come nobody ever reached that same level? Life is movement and if part of nature isnt moving (even the earth) then it resembles death and not life. I have seen several people on StackExchange Worldbuilding, for instance, and commenters on the HPMOR fanfic, talk about how changing natural laws can cause problems and criticize many writers lack of thought about this. Its no surprise the avatar state causes plot holes during Avatar: The Legend of Korra. With very little people learning magic outside of their respective faction but its not a common practice. The random Magic Type Generator is a free online tool that lets you generate random Magic Type content for your fantasy or writing project with the click of a button. Magic would be cheaply acquired from soil the plant cant grow in, and they wouldnt have to worry about getting sick from overeating it. Magic System Generator Perchance Magic System Generator This magic system focuses on manipulating luck. Yes, its arbitrary which items have magical powers (though many plants have historically been said to have magical powers and Rowling obviously researched these). What do I do now? Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via : Subscribe for writing hacks, special offers and free stuff, 2023 - Orpheus Technology, prowritingaid.com, How to Build an Amazing Magic System for Your Fantasy Novel, Hard Magic Systems vs. Soft Magic Systems, How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro, How to Craft an Engaging Arc for Your Story, How to Use Deus Ex Machina like Stephen King, ProWritingAid or Grammarly? And the way they fight has to do in part what magic they use. But it also refers to the effects of the nanite plague. Limitations mean there will be tension in your story, without limitations anything and everything can happen, but generally not in a good way. In real history governments & monarchies & over influential groups typically only become so due to Power, which they get from either, Food, Armies, Technology or Money (and usually one of those can help get you any of the others)- but in a fantasy world Magic would be on that list (the extent of which would depend on its abilities but regardless a group of Mages would without a doubt. Might a healer whos seen one too many field hospitals after a brutal siege just stop caring enough to heal effectively? 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 do you want evil spellcasters to raise undead? But, with the power of enough minds, things and beings could be transported to nearly any location instantly, as long as that location was also in the proximity of many minds (Minds were always at least somewhat tied to the physical world during life, so there would still be a range limit, but a vastly larger one for this teleportation, spanning many light-years). While both of these magic systems have mysterious aspects, in general they dont invoke wonder because they are understood. I gave the most basic rundown I could. As mentioned, Im still working on the plot details, but I was thinking the decrease in magic availability from protagonist 1s time to protagonist 2s time had to do with spirits withdrawing from the human world and not dealing with mages. 405 Favourites 13 Comments 43.8K Views Revised and translated version of this. and much if not all this her non original content that she is taking from is founded in actual fairy tales with absolutely no magical or rational system. 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. For example, your universe might not have demons or gods which can grant more magical powers, but there could be plenty of other magical beings who can. Or maybe have subtypes based on the seven deadly sins and heavenly virtues? Someone else is needed. External energy could work; however, instantaneously moving energy from one place to another causes problems. They can only work through people that do their will voluntarily. But in the real world, moving out of the way would be easier; since spells have straight paths when cast, why use magic when theres an easier non-magic method of avoiding harm? And thanks to Oren for asking the obvious question and fueling my train of thought. One more thing to keep in mind what if there is an underlying principle, but the characters dont know about it? He focused his will and the energy that boiled in his mind, letting it out like smoothly flowing water into the air. Korra did it but that was more so of Avatar state then an Airbending technique. ), Given how late it is, I hope this makes SOME sort of sense :-S. Thanks alot for your thoughts, it looks interesting! If you do, how will you split the elements between the two sides? The latter, sorcerers, actually do not have magic ability. Does the wielder have to be careful not to tip to one side to much? The younger generation tend to favour unconventional weapons. Why do I need spellcasters? Kristen Kieffer is a fantasy fiction writer and the author of Build Your Best Writing Life and Self-Publishing Simplified. Different fighters prefer different methods, so combining the ideas could lead to a larger variety and possibly a richer world. Because the powers are not very hard to control, Givens are feared and supposedly taken care of by the government. Gaining power Combining powers Limitations You can have several sources of magic, but you need to bring them together in a way that makes sense at least in the novel. So what do you think? And I had trouble writing with what nature aspects nymphs, dryads, and naiads would relate to, so I went with that. 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. Usually, magic comes from magic users, the gods, magical creatures, or a specific substance. Its the same way you need to build your world logical for a novel. A common mistake when building magic systems is to forget to include costs. I love your blog a lot, but Im annoyed with your bashing of the Harry Potter series in almost every article. The Chinese traditional elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, a different classification scheme that is equally arbitrary. However, most societies dont have the resources to crank out wizards. There is a set science about how magical techniques are performed, and knowing about the what and the how behind these techniques is important. He has three great articles on building them, named after what he calls his three laws. Magitech To create strange fusions of science and sorcery for your more unusual settings. The audience isnt sure if burning the leaches actually caused these deaths, making it mysterious despite having witnessed the magic ritual first-hand. This system was mostly me being annoyed that magic usually violates the Law of Conservation of Energy, so I made a system built around that principal (until it spiraled out of control) The magic of Avatar feels like the natural result of a different set of physics, whereas the magic of Harry Potter feels like the arbitrary inventions of an author. I checked it out, and indeed it seems to just be another name for obsidian. Thats why we have a character (in the Silmarillion, and referenced in passing in the songs and stories Aragorn tells the hobbits on Weathertop and they later hear much more about in Rivendell: a character like Luthien Tinuviel, who inherited her power from her connection to both the mortal (in the sense of not being a divinely descended spirit who chose to take bodily form; Tolkiens equivalent of greater and lesser angels whom he sees as having a role in the world; her father was a powerful Elf king but still in that sense mortal) and angelic (her mother, who was a lesser angel who fell in love with her father and chose to take on bodily form enough to bear his child but still remained of divine race) lines in her ahcestry. :-), Thanks! I forgot Theosophy! The Interferer group split apart eventually and the two factions warred and almost killed all of the Conduits, but reached a treaty saying that they wouldnt kill anymore Conduits (Interferers need Conduits to do anything), but Conduits are still rare and fought over. Alrighty, its late and Im tired. Paint can be placed on any object and 1 in 15 people can use paint on something they arent touching. The mandrake has been considered magical, because its roots do look vaguely like a human being. (oops, forget this one!). Your patronage keeps this site running. Other limits include magic types (fire versus water for example), power restricting energies (magical or other), bodily energies (lack of food/sleep/etc), skill level, curses and much more, most of which will again depend on your story universe.