Magic System - Blog Posts

the feminine urge to create a magic system for something you’ll never write

Feel like in any magic world where any form of counterspell exists it should be comically overpowered, but it isn’t

Like I wanna see a manga or show or something that’s “evil villain rules, the world because he exclusively use his counter magic”

Gwen’s !!!

okay so in this au/continuation Gwen is a sorceress not an alien. The way magic works is that every magic user has a magical aura and each aura is a different colour. Auras are passed down from one person to another regardless of whether they’re related or not. Gwen ben and sunny were all supposed to get magic from grandma Verodona but the omnitrix prevented bens magic from manifesting leaving the aura stunted. Every magic user also has a speciality in the magical field for Gwen its energy/mana manipulation which is why lux thought she was an anodite while charmcasters specialty is reanimation and while someone like sunny can also learn reanimation because her aura is a deep purple it will never be as powerful as when charmcaster does it because your specialty is your most powerful magic. the auras also determine the types of magic you can learn and use depending on hue for example purpler hues can learn things more associated with witchcraft and bluer and greener hues are capable of weather magic etc. the reason Gwen is more powerful than the average magic user is actually because she has 2 auras( also why her magic has two different colours) the reason for this is because in change of face a part of charmcasters aura was left inside of Gwen but nothing from Gwen was left in charmcaster because Gwen’s aura was still manifesting at the time unlike charmcaster who’s manifestion stage is complete.

The fundamentals of Magic

I finally got around to writing a guideline for my magic system. As this was for my own use, i didn't put much effort into formatting or story-writing, but i thought i would share regardless.

General Concept:

Magic exists as an energy found in the "Third Realm," a shadow-like domain composed entirely of magical energy.

The First Realm is the physical world, and the Second Realm is the immaterial realm of the gods. The Third Realm is a non-physical shadow of the physical world composed entirely of magical energy.

All living creatures in the First Realm have a faint connection to the Third Realm, naturally drawing a small amount of magic into the physical world.

The "gods" of the second realm exist by the energy of the third realm, but exist as a sort of undefined halfway point between the first and third realms. Their domains are composed of magic with the illusion of physicality. The existence of the dead in this realm pose major questions on the nature of the soul that I honestly don't feel like trying to explain.

more on this later i think.

See [[Realms]]

Mechanics:

Larger creatures can channel more magic due to their greater connection to the Third Realm.

This is tied to a creature's volume, but has a small effect. Humans and Dragons have far more magic than one might expect from their size.

Dragons are something of a special case that will be expanded on later.

A large and small human will have a negligible difference in access to magic.

A ant will have less access to magic than a deer. etc.

Animals generally have far less accessible magic than sentient races, but special cases have been known to surface.

plants have almost no perceivable magic, this is thought to be a result of not having a soul or blood.

Magic in living beings is more stable and "pure" compared to the chaotic energy found directly in the Third Realm. Magic is "filtered" when it is pulled between realms by a living force, although the mechanism behind this is not understood.

Using magic depends greatly on what medium is used to control it.

Ember magic must be used by channeling magic from the Third Realm into the physical world without drawing it into one's own body, otherwise you risk mana sickness.

Dragon Magic uses dragon bone as either an amplifier or a battery for magic, allowing one to slowly accumulate large stores of magic which can be unleashed without loss.

"natural" magic is magic drawn directly from the user's body. This method must be used as a sort of signal current to activate and use other types of magic. It is the most widespread form, and also the weakest on its own, as humans have a very limited amount of natural magic at any given time. Think of it like blood, when you run low, you make more. You can't lose very much without feeling some serious effects.

When using Ember magic, natural magic is channeled from the user to maintain the connection to the third realm, and to direct the flow of the raw or chaotic third realm magic. This imposes a hard limit on how long an Embermancer can operate.

In draconic casting, raw magic is used to "break the seal" an unleash what is stored, but is otherwise preserved, making this an extremely efficient way to use large amounts of magic.

When casting without a medium, magic may flow from any part of the body, but most commonly the hands. Running low on internal magic will cause exhaustion and may bring similar symptoms to complete bodily exhaustion such as hallucinations, unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. If you run completely out of internal magic, you will die, although most will fall unconscious before this point, similar to how you will pass out and begin to breathe again if you hold your breath too long. If magic is being continually drawn from you, by a formulated spell or Ember channeling, for example, your body will rapidly breakdown to generate the deficit energy drawn from you. This is known as "Burnout".

Special Materials:

Dragon bone is prized for its ability to hold and amplify magic, allowing spellcasters to channel larger spells.

Ember acts as a conduit for magic. It allows magicians to draw vast amounts of energy from the Third Realm with minimal personal expenditure, but with significant risks. When in use, Ember generates a significant amount of heat. Ember takes the form of a black, basalt-like material interspersed with brilliant orange luminous crystals. The crystal formations are the actual Ember, with the black material being similar to a dross.

Ember prisms, cut from higher-grade Ember, are coveted for their increased effectiveness and reduced heat buildup. However, overheated Ember prisms can be extremely dangerous to the user. Despite their name, Prisms are not a specific shape. Ember is often found in pentagonal prism form in small samples, but very large masses can have a wide range of crystal forms. Ember can be cut to any shape. It is traditionally cut to 2-6" rods and used in a similar fashion to a wand. They are often shaped to maximize skin contact to reduce the effects of Ember-burn.

Overheated Prisms can cause serious burns, and have a chance to explode when overheated. Larger masses have the potential to run away while under heavy use, creating a huge spike in heat as the Ember begins drawing magic by it's own power. This almost always leads to the violent destruction of of the prism and the surrounding area. The only way to stop a runaway reaction is to quickly cool the mass below the critical threshold.

Runaway spells are not true spells. The original spell usually falls apart near instantly as the stone switches from a controlled stream of magic into an overflow of raw energy. This uncontrolled flood of energy usually ignites anything nearby within seconds. See [[The Helebrost Incident]].

Risks and Side Effects:

Drawing raw magic from the Third Realm into one's body, rather than expelling it directly into the world can cause "mana sickness," which manifests as nausea, muscle cramps, seizures, coma, spontaneous bleeding, and even death if overexposed. the condition generally lasts about 24 hours, while your body quickly attempts to prevent breakdown from the influx of chaotic magic.

"Burnout" occurs when a magician's body is destroyed by excess "dirty" magic drawn directly from the Third Realm, or is reduced directly into energy while overcasting, leading to violent immolation or explosion.

Ember-Specific Risks:

Prolonged use of Ember can cause mundane heat burns, and "Ember-burn"; a mostly harmless condition where the stone seeps into the user's skin, causing dark scars, patterns, itching, occasional numbness, and other irritating effects. In very extreme cases, Ember will begin to crystalize directly on, in, or even under the user's skin, sometimes causing frostbite-like damage and intense pain.

Magicians using Ember typically channel magic directly through it into the world, avoiding the chaotic energy's harmful effects on their bodies. See "Burnout"

Historical Context -- to be expanded

Horus Tobb discovered Ember magic but died from burnout while demonstrating its use to the Magician's guild in Tarbrind. This tragedy led to a global increase in interest for magical research.

The rediscovery of Magnus Helderon's Divine Theory provided a deeper understanding of the nature and mechanics of magic. See [[Magic and the Second Realm - Ember and Bone]]

The Helebrost Incident - the first recoded runaway of an Ember Prism. A 33" diameter Ember Sphere used for conducting research at the Helebrost University entered a meltdown state after a research team attempted to transmute a mass of pig iron directly into gold. The resulting inferno burned down nearly 3.5 square miles (9 square km) of the the surrounding city in a blaze which lasted nearly a week.

New Species for my World-Building Project Species Name: Aleysians

Classification: Sub-Magic Wielder Ranking: B- (case to case basis tho) Powers: Aura reading, slight increased healing Explanation: Their abilities are passed down from the Elisier in their blood line so potency of their magic (and in retrospect strength of their powers) depends on how far down the bloodline they are. If the magic is still potent enough or awakened somehow, they are tend to manifest weak clairvoyancy. In truth, their abilities tend to be aura reading that with training can be used to determine potential futures through reading emotions and energies of people and locations.

Background Info: A sub-species of Elisiers and humans technically as the small amount of Elisiers mean that Elisier couples are basically impossible. Direct Aleysians are born from the reproduction of Elisiers with a mortal counterpart (making them a less common sub-species), however, generational Aleysians are more often found around (some even unaware of the fact they are one.

New Species for my World-Building Project Species Name: Elisiers

Classification: Sub-Magic Wielder Ranking: S+ Powers: Rapid healing, Clairvoyance Power Explanation: The power they are most well known for is clairvoyance, essentially being able to predict the future. However, what makes this species especially unique is the fact that there is no set way in how they predict it. Some known methods are through dreams, visions, emotions, however, not a lot of information is known about them or the specifics...

Background Info: They are born from stardust, which is what grants them their abilities, due to star dust being magical residue. With it thriving within their very beings, they tend to be incredibly powerful beings. As a result, they are an extremely rare species, very few exist at the same time.

Characters having assumptions about the world that are fundamentally incorrect, but correct enough. Too often I see people create extremely elaborate magic systems, and then make all the characters automatically have a clear grasp on how the system works.

There is nothing wrong with intricate magic systems, I love them too! However, the secrecy and mystery of unknown magic shouldn't be limited to only the very rare and powerful, because here's the thing: We have no idea what gravity is. Gravity, the most common and observed *thing* in all of science. Is it a particle? A curve of space-time? A force?

Guess what? Curves and particles and forces are all made up by people. They are concepts that we use to try to understand how the world works. They are never fully accurate, but they are accurate enough for what we need them for. The universe is chaos, and we apply rules to it to simplify reality. Reality exists beyond these rules, though. It is a sphere of undefinable complexity.

Here's an example: Magic Missile, the most common and used spell of all evocations. Is it caused by a sudden rise in local portent? Or maybe it is an extension of the caster's arcane properties? A sigil?

Guess what? Sigils and poetent and incantation are all made up by wizards. They are concepts that magic wielders use to try to understand how magic works. They are never fully accurate, but they are accurate enough for what they need them for. Magic is chaos, and we apply rules to it to simplify spellcasting. Magic exists beyond these rules, though. It is a sphere of undefinable weird.

Tldr; Magic=Physics, Wizards=Scientists. Nothing is certain, and we exist only in the amorphous bubble of theory

What are some world-building ideas or tropes that you want to see more of? I enjoy world-building but want something new or exciting or out of the ordinary to help get the juices flowing again

I was designing a little magic system for a game project I'm planning once I finish Brawlmentum and I had some trouble with telekinesis: how do I make it not overpowered? It's one of those powers where even as a kid watching superhero movies or reading comics I always had in the back of my mind things like "why don't they just telekinetically grab the guy's heart and rip it out of his chest" and whatnot. So to that my solution is "it's just not that precise and you kind of have to intuit a general area of what you want to grab; but then the other problem: how to limit the weight of what can be picked up in a way that doesn't seem entirely arbitrary? So I deliberated on that for a bit and came up with what I think is an easy solution and even kind of doesn't break physics as hard as usual telekinesis does: whatever force you apply to the object gets applied in reverse to you, spread over your whole body or parts of it so you can lift up a small rock no problem, it's just gonna feel a bit heavy on your arm - but if you try to lift up a boulder, it's either not gonna work at all or you'll collapse into a puddle. Which in turn also means that I have a good excuse to have incredibly jacked up wizards - the stronger you are physically, the more you can lift with magic, too