What’s the magic system like in your world?
Here are some questions I have for you. If you answer them, I’ll return with additional questions if I have them
What is the magic called? If you have many types, pick one or two you want to talk about.
Who has the magic?
Is it legal or illegal? Give reasons.
What are the dos and don’ts of the magic? (especially wanna know if they can raise the dead, cure any illnesses, and prolong life)
How did the magic come into existence? (or was it always there?)
How is the magic perceived by others who don’t have the magic or who have very little of it?
Also, AMA about my magick system (yes, I write magick like that) in my world of Elgana.
Elgana is a planet made of magick and depending on ancient times or modern times, the type of magick existing has changed especially when some races died out.
The magick system I came up with is a soft magick system, but it’s not like there aren’t origin stories, rules (depending on race though), and magick made illegal (which weren’t previously). But because it is a soft magick system, I might not be able to answer everything. I’ll try my best.
I never saw the point in giving it so special a name that to confused people as to what it is. So, it’s always close to magic.
Now designation for types defines what kind of magic it is called. For example, In the Game of the Gods, elven magic is often called something surrounding starlight because they both twinkle and have powers influenced by their home star, not where they live currently.
In Magic 101, dark magic isn’t evil, it’s basically corroded/has negative affects from being somewhat unstable/possibly radioactivelike.
Other than specific subsets that require a species element (like starlight), I don’t bother with limitations.
In 101, raising the dead isn’t an issue. Where people get upset is when you splice together a whole bunch of living and dead things that are unrelated, and force them to be one being (abominations), or you make a new creature so badly that they fall apart once the magic runs out. Basically the 1st is ridiculously problematic (imagine a cat’s intestines with a donkey’s head: neither fit to be vegetarian or carnivore), and the second one is frustrating because if you make something that is only glued together by magic and they have children, the problem is that each egg isn’t building connections between tissues and the next generation is also glued together by magic instead of natural processes. Make a people 10K strong and the magic runs out? Oops, there goes all the parts at once.
I rarely make dos and don’ts. Most all taboos are based on consequences.
In the Game of the Gods there’s a whole species to wipe out because they literally shred chunks of your soul off you to cobble together offspring that mimic the people they live with, also forcibly manipulating memories. It’s not just that the y do this, it’s that the have a malevolence for other life so it’s either kill them or they devour you.
I usually go with “always there”.
Depends on their own strengths. Sssyraine doesn’t have much of anything magic about her in the beginning, but since she’s a natural predator (lizard/elf hybrid) and is trained as the central military’s spy into the mercenaries, she’s got her own set of skills and priorities that doesn’t particularly draw well towards what does develop later. It’s the mentality of, “I have no reason to be jealous of a mage when I can lop off his head.”
It varies by race. But overall the magic system is due to the creation of air on the planet. The denser the air the stronger the magic while less denser the air is the magic is a bit weak. Yet in the Gaians are somewhat like the Alves, but they have some mana within their bodies unlike the Alves. Yet they can’t use fancy magical powers with their hands and what not. They have to use magic stones and other jewels, books, wands, and etc.
Far as what name to give the magic on Alagossia, it’s hard to choose a good one. It was Misting/First Mist. I am struggling with a decent name. I am reluctant to use misting because it is something found in one of Brandon Sanderson’s books.
Firstlings: Divine Magic.
Sovereigns and their court: Semi-divine magic.
Rhaks: Divine Magic.
Zirkens: Elemental magic.
Vroks: Arcane Magic/Dark Magic.
Machina: Super Magic?
Gaians: Borrowed Magic/Learned Magic.
Abnormals (Alves): Complete Immortality and Invincibility, but no magical powers.
Alagossian Magic is legally and just something that exist due to the air the people breathe.
That is something I want to know too. I have to really figure that part out. Sorry about that!
It was always there, even when the Rhaks dominated the world before the Firstlings came and pulled Christopher Columbus.
The Alves/Abnormals don’t really care because they have immortality and invincibility on their side. Besides the Alves, there are no beings that lack little to no magical powers. EVERYONE has a different type of magic.
I’ll talk about the TriRealm Universe since it’s the most fleshed out.
Runecasting is the major magic system in this world. Those who can cast are called runecasters. They draw runes to command magic properties. Those can also be left on an object to be reused.
The art of Elixiring uses runecasting.
There is also the deal system on the Nether that isn’t a regular magic system but it’s somewhat magical in how it works.
There are also some innate abilities.
All demons and cambions (mixed race or part demons) are runecasters.
Humans can’t cast but they can use objects enchanted by a runecaster.
Embers are also runecasters. They’re a humanoid species coming from The First Realm.
Angels can’t cast runes but they have innate abilities.
On the Nether, the demon realm, anything goes. The only rule is in the deal system which is magically self-enforced.
On Earth, some items are made illegal if they’re deemed too harmful. For example, the Blackout elixir which can erase someone’s memory, it’s an illegal contraband.
On Aether, the angel realm, all elixirs are banned as they’re a demon invention. Runecasting isn’t though as it’s a gift of the Creators and angels worship them.
Demon runecasting is pretty limited. It’s basically convenience magic. It can control the elements or kinetic energy but in a very limited way. So you can’t create a cyclone on demand, but you can fill a bucket with water.
Elixirs are an extension of runes. Still limited use.
On Earth, runes were also used to power machines, creating magitech. So like elixirs, it’s an extension of the same magic.
But Embers know some really cool runes that demons don’t. An Ember can call a soul of a departed for example. That’s related to Mysticism which they practice.
So magic exists but it’s limited.
Unless you’re a Creator. It’s unknown what their limits are but they created the universe so…
Cure illnesses? There are healing elixirs. They don’t really magically heal but they can speed it up by making a wound close faster for example.
Prolonged life? If you made your life more comfortable with magic and improved health with magic, you’d live longer but you’re still limited to whatever is possible for your species.
Hehe. I’ve gone down that rabbit hole.
Magic came from the Creators. They designed the runes to channel their own incredible powers. So runes are like the language of the gods, in a way. They did not give the full rune knowledge to their subjects to prevent misuse.
Rune knowledge is an innate ability. Demons are born with it just like angels are born with their special abilities.
I answered these for my story Glance and the Blue Prophecy, just because I love talking about it haha. It got kind of long though!
In this world, magic is just called magic, and the users called mages. But there’s different types of magic, which each have their own name. Ie) Medical magic, Cosmetic magic.
Everyone is born with magic, but it has to be trained and processed through specific stones to be used, which can take years of study. These stones are called Vyre stones. They’re smooth, black like obsidian, and they have a hollowed out inside - and they’re not actually rock, but I’ll get into that later. How they work: A mage carves a rune on top that holds the instructions, and then imbues the hollow with magic (it has to be the perfect amount - too much, and the Vyre can explode, and too little, they simply will fizzle out - and it’s a process that requires the mage to be touching the stone). That magic can be stored pretty much forever, however if it cracks, it can also explode, so most mages don’t pre-carve runes. When they’re ready to use their spell, they have to activate it through ‘spoken’ words. The words don’t make sound because they’re immediately absorbed into the stone. It’d probably look really really weird to watch someone cast magic from afar haha. It’ll just look like they’re muttering under their breath at a rock
Most magic is legal, but it’s segregated based on where you live more or less (it’s not strict, it just kind of happens based on the uppity culture in the city). And some magic is banned, such as magic used to control sound, storms, etc., since it can be dangerous and people have used it maliciously in the past.
Magic can do a lot. Tbh, I haven’t really developed what it can’t do beyond two things. There’s one illness it can’t cure: it can only push it from one person to another. It also can’t produce certain sensual effects, so like magic can’t be colored, scented, or move on its own. The only exception are people with that incurable illness - they can for some reason produce sensual effects with their magic, and people call it Entertainment magic. But other than that, it can really do anything as long as that thing can be envisioned and instructed, and as long as it wasn’t banned. I’m going to assume raising the dead is banned in my world, but tbh, I haven’t really developed that.
In the world, people aren’t really sure how magic came into existence. It’s actually a really interesting scenario. So, this world is comprised of only 2 cities. There’s one on top and one on the bottom. The top city uses magic to push all of the incurable illness onto the people in the below city. In an effort to contain the illness, several people, later called Guardians, stepped up and offered to absorb the disease all into themselves. This became so unbearable to them, that they created monster-like creatures to help hold some of their diseased blood so the Guardians could attempt to live a normal life. A trait of these monsters (they kind of look like black, blob-ish seals without eyes) causes them to absorb everything that goes into its body, which then gets diseased, excreted back out, and eventually hardens into scales. Eventually, the scales chip off of their bodies, and these are what people call Vyre stones, which is what people need to cast magic. So it’s a huge chicken before the egg situation with magic in this world - how did those first Guardians use magic to create the monsters if Vyre stones hadn’t been created yet? No one knows the answer.
My question for you: How did your magic world come into existence? Does it have a big-bang-like story behind it? Or did someone create it?
This is kinda cool. Can you mine magic? Can you harvest it from plants? Or is it like mana, energy that flows through the planet? Does it affect the planet inhabitants like moon phases? Does it fluctuate?
Actually, the one that is a school book isn’t finished because you’re being meticulous. I’ve got tons of creatures to catalogue, it’s like making all your own Pokemon.
Despite them hating the people, they still create offspring that mimic the people they live with?
In terms of donts, can they share magic with each other? Enhance each other?
Assuming said mage can’t regenerate his head. On that note, is regeneration of body parts possible with any of your magic?
What does it mean to have dense air? Higher oxygen levels?
So, they channel energy into these objects? Do they say spells?
Like @J.L.O has done, you don’t have to name your magic system unless you want to, of course. I kind of have names for mine, but no one in Elgana uses those same names
Borrowed from where?
What are the elements?
That’s quite a bit, actually More than I was expecting from someone who doesn’t want world building questions lol
What kind of objects? And how many times can it be reused? Does it depend on the type or strength of magic cast?
Might not be the best example but kind of like a good luck charm that actually works?
Hehe, me, too
If this is the case, how do Humans learn if at all? Are there schools to learn runecasting?
The whole part about your dos and don’ts was soooo interesting! I don’t have questions right now, but it seems like you’ve got it all figured out. I like all the variety and complexity
The magick was an element that existed when the Rings were formed. So, there are six torus planets (donut planets) and each Ring had a different magick density. The heavier ones sucked in the lighter ones, so the smallest Ring has the less magick density…which is strange because supposedly the black-hole like substance in the middle is the core of Elgana and the birthplace of all magick that followed.
So, each Ring with different magick density would be the start of magick in Elgana, plus, whatever came out of the hole after the Rings settled in place.
Uhm…
Can’t think of anything
I had more trouble coming up with a name for the planet than figuring out the magick system.
Nope Might be influenced without me realizing it but as far as I know, it all came from my raw ideas.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
I’ve actually done a bunch outside Elgana.
I dabbled in demonic stuff, elemental magick, shapeshifting, magick with gems…might be fun to do one with more ability-type magick like x-ray vision or invisibility. Maybe.
So, okay, magick is in the air together with our beloved oxygen, but you can’t breathe it. It doesn’t go in that way. Sorcerers would describe it as feeling it tingling across their skin. It’s almost like static electricity constantly around you and only those with magick can feel it.
Some plants give off luminescence and this is said to be because of the magick particles that have sunk into the ground and thus get absorbed. This only happens on the Fourth and Third Rings where magick is most active (Rings: Elgana is a planet made up of six torus planets a.k.a donut planets).
What if you ate a glowing plant? Well, if you go to the bathroom, you might find something else is glowing
As I said, magick can’t be taken in by breathing. It also can’t be taken in by eating or drinking. Potions are different. That’s magick with something done to it, so it becomes accessible for non-magical species.
The only way to take in magick is if you are already magical with magic in your veins and you sort of, absorb it like a sponge. But it won’t do anything much to you. You might have a hop in your step, and feel a little energized and good. It’s not enough to make you powerful.
So, the moons, is a whole other thing because there are two and they’re not like our moons. The magick doesn’t affect the moons. In fact, some say some of the magick comes from one of the moons.
Very, VERY slightly because when a magical being dies, the magick returns to the air. It’s so small though. You won’t feel a thing. To feel something, thousands of magical beings would have to all die at the exact same time.
I said it “returns to the air”, but it’s not like there will be more magick in the air now.
The object doesn’t matter but what it’s made of does only to the extent of what you’re trying to do.
So for example, you can enchant fire stones. Two stones, put different runes on each so when they’re brought together, they create a little fire. Now, you don’t have to use stone but if you use wood, then it becomes one time use, you know?
As to the reusability, it depends. It could depend on the rune or on the skill of the caster. They do wear out eventually and need to be redrawn.
Yes, but charms aren’t a thing on this world. It’s very much a practical magic.
Humans can’t learn it. You’re either born a runecaster or you’re not. Genetic magic.
There are no schools but one may learn in an apprenticeship.
Elixiring, for example, is usually taught in families. A family may have specialty elixirs they brew. Since trade is the major payment form on the Nether, having a specialty item is profitable.
I’m sure it has, by the point the point it was written, but I was focusing more on dimensional transplants that are like super-octopuses being crossed with spiders, so that when one half phases, the other half doesn’t, so many of them die the first time they try to shift.
There’s also a habit of making predators sentient, in that Earth, so a donkey would be less used. Chimeras are brought up, though.
It’s kind of a Cuckoo bird psychology, so not a human thought process.
That would be an interesting way to give them a secondary reason for making another. But in the case of making more of themselves, it’s a weaker vessel that they intend to transfer themselves down through, since older selves can be compromised. If a child is created without being reared to be like them, then they are genetically half the species they are infiltrating, and so more count as a fragmented/broken same-spexies. There’s a vague line that has to be crossed, where they “give up their humanity”.
I’d consider the head being lopped off an extinction event, mostly. Besides, the regeneration is more a natural biological thing that would be the lizard’s in the first place. For those that can overcome death, they need to have something that counteracts death, and that’s really high grade stuff.
On Alagossia, the air is a bit unique in a way where depending on the nation and it’s species/race, some places have denser air that is like high oxygen levels on earth. Like if you were to climb to the very top of Mount Everest, you couldn’t breathe well or just barely. So, if a “mortal” on Alagossia went to a nation with high levels of First Misting/Air, they couldn’t handle it and would most likely get severely sick and worse case die. The mana pressure is so intense that being a “mortal” with little to no magic could do serious harm. In order to remedy that, they will have to take special medication to withstand those immense levels. Yet they will be able to produce strong magically powers by using certain objects to help channel their weaken mana.
Places with less dense First Misting Air causes the magic to be a bit weak, but living in a nation with that less density is good…depending.
People who use magical objects to give them powers do channel their weak mana into the object which helps the mana grow bit by bit in strength yet power from the objects will become very strong just not as strong as the people who don’t need magical items.
They do not say spells. It’s one of those “if you think it, it can/will happen.”
True. I just would like a name, personally. LOL!
Magical items in a sense. Gaians have low mana, they just need to channel it into a magical item to help them better wield magic and make their mana a bit higher.
The basics along with a few others like time, darkness, light, metal, and some others that I need to figure out at some point.
I don’t have a name for the magic, but almost every kingdom has it’s own magic, but it’s always hidden.
(all the kingdoms are in the same world)
In Ecrotis the witches and royals have magic,
In Vecotopia the royal king has magic usually
In Tabiris there is elven magic
Other kingdoms I do not know as I have not had the chance to work on them…
It depends on the kingdom again. All kingdoms have different systems in my story. For Vecotopia it has been a big secret hidden within history. So there is no ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’ in this world… for now.
In Ecrotis the witches did raise the dead, it is one of their most powerful abilities as they brought back someone who they should not have. However in Vecotopia a don’t is using the ability to help others. The royal king can only use the magic to help themselves or the kingdom. In Tabiris the big do is to help any non elves with magic with any illnesses if needed, the big don’t is they do not have the ability to do dark magic and it is strictly forbidden.
In my eyes it has just always been there.
Well most people do not know about the magic so they just think of it as a fairytale . However for my MC Nasrin she does not have magic but has to fight against it. She sees using magic as a way to cheat in life if it’s in the war she is fighting. But she does not know everything about magic as by end of book one she actually found out about magic actually being a thing.
I’m still trying to understand mine. Like right now, it’s very soft magic.
I don’t have a name for either species with magic. It’s a mixture of “everything” magic and elemental magic. The witches in the story have magic that can basically create or manipulate anything. The queen can change a person’s DNA and create an actual person with her own magic as she is more powerful than her own people (whom all derive from her, actually). But another species can’t do that, but they do have a particular abilities with which they can share if they have royal blood, though having said ability is a genetic thing so not everyone possess such power, and if they do, they only have one ability. Though they are a lot more powerful than a human with greater strength and agility. Royals, on the other hand, can have more than one ability. The princess has the ability to see into the partial future and can speak any language. She also transferred her magic over to my characters to help them have a greater chance at defeating the queen, and my main character has a couple abilities himself: telepathy, telekinesis, the power to transport himself anywhere, and to create and manipulate fire.
The main magical creatures would be the Victorians and Koelegians, both not from Earth. The Victorians are essentially witches in human-like form (they do share similarities to some Elvin creatures from other fictional works) while Koelegians aren’t humanoids.
Another magical creature would be the sirens, who also are called mermaids interchangeably. They mostly just have greater strength, but their queen has the ability to conjure any sea creature and control them. She can also do the same with the water and the plant life below the surface.
As I’ve said, Victorian magic has no limits. At least, not to their queen. They can raise the dead if they wish, they can kill, they can cure anything, etc. In fact, they can’t die… naturally. They can live for centuries if the queen lives. Since the queen controls them, as long as she lives, they will live. So, they’re technically immortal. This is also through experimentation—the queen was once powerless and mortal, but when she was experimented on and given power, the power allowed her immortality.
Koelegian magic has its limits, on the other hand. Like, you can only do something if you can either imagine it or see it physically. Like, with telekinesis, you can only create or construct/deconstruct something if it’s in front of you or it’s something you can personally see. With teleporting, you can imagine your destination but it has to be something real, something you’ve seen before. While my MC can teleport multiple people, you can’t do a lot of them, and it can get shaky where they can end up in different places if not done properly.
There is no law that states it’s either or. You just live in a society where it exists and nothing more. But that’s the majority of the place. There are smaller communities that have “outlawed” it but it’s a natural force so it can’t really be taken away unless someone with that power can.
With the Koelegians, the magic was always there. It was embedded into their very DNA from birth as their planet, though now destroyed, was a magical place.
The Victorian and siren magic is through experimentation.
It’s not something many think about because you don’t often see it unless your town is burned down by the Victorians themselves. No one even knew about the Koelegians, either. But it’s more of a “I wish I had it” thing, or something along those lines. Many desire it. But not everyone. One of my characters think it’s not natural as it can be a very destructive thing, so she was the only one in the group who didn’t get abilities from the Koelegian princess.
In the world of Elvarth, which is another fictional planet of mine that I need to plan out and create a story for, the magic system is wee bit different than Alagossia.
This is what I have in mind.
The magic system is different based on the worldwide caste system.
Rares: These are the rich and powerful. They are called rares because the type of magical power they wield is unique depending on which type of upper/high class citizen they are.
Zeros: These are the commoners and other non-wealthy people who aren’t born with magical abilities per se. They have some decently strong mana, but the ability to wield magical powers like the Rares is not an easy thing. They, like the Gaians from Alagossia, have to wield magical items/objects. But the Zeros don’t use scepters, wands, books, magical stones, rune, or something else.
Zeros use magical technology that can also work as a type of technology.
Like say if an iPhone helps the channel mana and converts it into magical energy and power.
It isn’t strong like the Rares. The Rares are a bit monstrous in that regard.
More than I was expecting from someone who doesn’t want world building questions lol
The Vyre stones! That’s a cool, interesting world building connection! 
Like right now, it’s very soft magic.