Do you have a magic system in your story?

[cookieroach]

I love thinking about magic & power systems that can be used in stories, and when I stop procrastinating I'm going to make a comic about some of my ideas.

But that made me thinking, do you have any magic system in your story and what was your inspiration for it? Do you have any tips for organizing your ideas and making sure things are coherent? Or do you have any favorite system from another author/comic creator?

(I recently found this subreddit about magic systems if anyone else is interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/magicbuilding/ )

[HippieGhost]

My magic system is based on actual occult practices and beliefs, just highly exaggerated. I get a lot of my ideas from Henry Agrippa's Three Books of Occult philosphy, as well as my own personal learnings of the Occult. While there is a touch of new-age spirtituality thrown in, most of the methods are based heavily on concepts that trace back hundreds of years. Most witches and wizards can cast spells using a focus such as a wand or a staff, but the energy needs to come from somewhere. Some invoke their gods for that energy, others use their own blood. One of my characters is bonded heavily to the Spirit God of Flame, with minor associations to the Gods of Air and Water. Divination works just as it's supposed to in our world, as does sigilcraft. The only exaggerated part is that with all of my occult knowledge I'm not likely to suddenly start casting "Fireball" anytime soon.

[HaltArrtay_RangerGod]

My magic/energy system is my own creation. It is called "The Connection". There is three different types of magic/energy. Red: Drayparin. Blue: Ciroono. Yellow: Tinrith. Drayparin gives you a physical ability like strength and/or speed. Ciroono gives you a mental ability like telepathy and/or strategy. Tinrith gives you either an environmental changing ability like growth or the ability to generate luxin, a solid form of energy. there is a classification of these types of magic/energy, the Skilled class is the connected that have only one type of magic/energy(Red or Blue or Yellow), the Master class is the connected that have two types of magic/energy(Red/Blue or Red/Yellow or Blue/Yellow) they give the connected a more complicated ability, the Enlightened class is the connected that have all three types of magic/energy(Red and Blue and Yellow) they are granted with an ability of the gods.

Within this classification system there are tiers. The Skilled class has two tiers(1st and 2nd), the first tier is granted when they are tested and start using their ability and the second tier is granted when they have mastered their ability and start using it in more creative ways. The Master class also has two tiers(1st and 2nd), it works just like with the Skilled class. The Enlightened class has four tiers(1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) the first and second tiers work just like the Skilled and Master class, but the third and fourth work differently. The 3rd tier Enlightened class connected are a very rare race, normally a connected is granted with one ability but a 3rd tier Enlightened class connected is granted with two abilitys(Primary and Secondary), the Primary ability is just that; Primary, it is the main ability that the connected uses, but the Secondary ability is there to boost the Primary ability, it helps gather matter to feed the ability and it protect it from external harm. Two examples are(Spoiler Warning!!!!! go read "The Connections" before you read this):

Zach Carter: his primary ability is R. I. F. F. T.(More on that later in the story) and his Secondary ability is God Blood. in the story Zach gets stabbed and dies, but his Secondary ability kicks in and draws the fabled God Blood from the depths of Torroth and uses the purest matter to heal Zach. Another example is Bones: his Primary ability allows him to turn himself into a skeleton that has indestructible bones, his Secondary ability is Penance, Penance is his magic/energy that merged with a split personality of Bones. Penance emits an aura that compels others to repent their sins, this repentance feeds Bones's Primary ability and keeps him young.

The 4th tier in the Enlightened class is granted when the connected masters their abilitys and starts using them more creatively. A 4th tier Enlightened class connected's ability is matched to no one but the gods. they can bend the laws of physics and warp reality to how they see fit.

First Episode: https://tapas.io/episode/1770379

The Connections | Tapas

[cookieroach]

This sounds really cool! I love that you based it on something "real" and made your own take on it.

And I feel relieved that you can't shoot fireballs in real life actually

[DiegoPalacios]

My comic is a shonen parody, so i had to make a parody of a magic system.

Secret powers:
Everyone is born with a random secret power, which has arbitrary conditions to activate. As their name says, these powers are secret, so there is no way to get a hint outside of trial and error. There is no genetic variable either, so powers from parents will not give any insight either.

Because of that, most people don't discover it. There are other sources of powers like studying magic or supernatural martial arts like the one used by bodybuilder goblins, but havent elaborated too much on how they work.

[HippieGhost]

And I feel relieved that you can't shoot fireballs in real life actually

Not yet at least. But I'm more interested in Divination and Sigilwork anyway. Most of my work falls under the umbrella of "chaos magic".

[Chita]

I'm actually developping a new magic system for my new comic, basically there are two ways to use magic.

The first one is making a contract with a magical entity known as the Gatherer and tapping into an specific type of magic through the conection to it. It's channeled through sphynx blood tattoos and it's the only "known" magic, also it's easy to regulate since every enchantment leaves a sigil on the surface of the object that has been modified. Each mage has their own sigil, one on each hand, and depending if you use your left/right hand or both at the same time to cast it the symbol will vary slightly.

The other one is the wild magic. Very little is known about it but it seems that humans can actually use it without the need of a contract with the Gatherer. The user can consume any material, as long as it's not from something alive, and then transfer one of their properties to something else. For example, you can consume a rock and then make a piece of fabric as hard as the rock was in first place. The casters act as a bridge between both elements and so they can't enchant themselves directly. However, the extended consumption of a certain property can lead to residual modifications in the user (back to the previous example, the extended use of stone to harden things could lead to the caster to slowly turn into stone). When using this kind of magic the insides of the user will light up as the magic courses through them.

Here are some visual studies on both types:

[cookieroach]

@HaltArrtay_RangerGod Wow this feels very detailed and well thought out. I also have an idea for a three energy/element system, but it's not the same as yours, so that feels really interesting. I like seeing new ways of classifying elements (or energy)!

@DiegoPalacios Lol this is a great idea! Sounds really fun, especially for a parody. I'm always a sucker for random mechanics, but it's hard to do well. I think it works great if the story is more of a comedy though, so maybe I should check out your comic

[domisotto]

I usually use nature based and spiritual magic. I prefer magic to have uncertain outcome and remain mysterious with a price tag for the magic user.

In the Lone Werewolf, I am using a bit of scientific mumbo-jumbo to shape-shifting and offensive use of form changing. I go for rune/pictograph/movement based magic rather than a spoken spell. I use a sacred island from Russian folklore to provide a natural back up for it.

I am always fascinated by magic that requires components, amulets and inscriptions.Pretty much every magic system I have uses the gift of true sight or clairvoyance of some sort, because it is so convenient.

[RosesnWater]

I think my process was a lot easier than most where you had to build from the ground up, I had some short cuts. The main story Is based on a fairytale and takes place in a world like ours but with faeries and other fae set in about the 1700’s. I wanted to include common folk lore stuff like iron repelling fae and contracts between fae and people, but I also wanted to add stuff that would work in a fairytale such as love and other intense emotions being able to break or make magic. Basically magic is something all creatures are born with in their blood and heart, but only certain creatures (the fae) can control it. With mortals it’s more like an inert essence in the body that doesn’t do anything (except for extreme circumstances where the mortal is experience severe emotion of some kind). But fae can use magic because they have no iron in their blood and then it gets a little more complicated with half fae children or changelings. So because magic is tied to the blood and body of the individual, I figured it would be really cool to mix biochemistry with a magic system. If a mortal really loves their SO, maybe it can break a spell? If someone whose part fae gets some heavy depression maybe they fall asleep for a hundred years? If a Faerie Experiences something like self hatred and anxiety over a long time, Like the way a person in today’s world, it can change their chemical balances which will affect their physical appearance but in an extreme body-morphing-into-a-grotesque-monster sort of way.

Stuff about psychology and how it affects the body was really helpful so I started there and mixed in the lore I really wanted to keep ^^

[cookieroach]

I love the drawings! By the way, did you come up with those symbols (sigils) yourself or is it based on something?

@domisotto I also enjoy magic that is kept a bit mysterious and not explained completely (actually I enjoy both kinds, but in different ways I guess). Especially if it sometimes backfires on the user

@RosesnWater I have to confess I've never understood the difference between fairies and fae, so even if you say it's easier I still think a lot of work goes into research to understand it all It's nice with the biochemistry mix as well, makes it a bit grounded and opens up for some interesting possibilites

[domisotto]

Especially if it sometimes backfires on the user

Oh, yes. I always wanted to write a story with wild magic. I loved it how in the old videogames there was a small random chance of a spell backfiring and like dropping a cow out of the sky on the user...

[HGohwell]

In The 1st Rule most magic is solar powered. One of the original gods that created the world became the sun to bring life to their creations through magic and as such anywhere the light touches, there is magic. The stronger the light, the stronger the magical energy naturally is, if there's no sunlight there's no magic, and the magic gene is generally passed down on the female side. There are a couple of different types of magic. Powerful magic users, demi gods descended from the original gods, Goddess have a specific power, a bit like super powers, that manifests in sometimes odd ways based on perception. For instance Princess Rosalie is the goddess of weapons so not only can she control things like guns and swords but a specific character has the mindset of being nothing more than a weapon also falls under her influence. And then there's a magic that just generally exists in the world. Wild magic that mostly just does what it likes and can be very unpredictable but people have learnt to channel it. It's less like control and more like reasoning with the magic and asking it nicely to please do what you'd like it to.

Where The Sky Lies uses an alchemy based system (I do use a similar one in the 1st Rule but the Alchemists are a pretty much dead race in that universe) and the forbidden knowledge of eldritch creatures. It works a lot like chemistry and similar changing things on an atomic level. They can't similar create something from nothing. And since the Hazey City where it's set is heavy based on Venice, a lot of alchemist's use what looks a lot like water magic. Anyone who's watched FMA is going to be very familiar with the equivalent exchange rules, everything has to be balanced like an equation, but there is some leeway where energy is required they can use their own life force or memories. It's essentially magic but it's treated as a science and is developed like a science with a lot of studying and books and then experimenting. There's also what is essentially time magic. It's got a techno babble explanation but essentially it works on the idea that perception of time can see it slow down or speed up and then applying it to the world at large or even specific items. By perceiving the world as moving slowly, everything will slow down. The eldritch beings mostly just do what they like without rules or restrictions, which is kind the prerogative an an eldritch creature, but they're mostly too spoilery to explain in detail other than there are people who pass of eldritch knowledge and magic as their own cutting edge science and alchemy without actually understanding it.

[RosesnWater]

In all fairness I don’t know if they’re really is one?? Like maybe they’re a subspecies ^^’ for something that doesn’t exist they’re are many different ways to explore it ^^

[Rhonder]

I've utilized a few magic systems in the past. A quick summary of each:

Konguki

My first comic that never really got off the ground was called Konguki, and utilized a magic system based around these objects called charms. Charms were based on charm bracelet charms and so each one would have a particular image shown on one side (for example, a sword, a shield, a lightning bolt, a fish, etc.) and on the other side would be a stud-shaped metal indent. How they worked is that you would click the charm onto the metal studs in a piece of clothing that you were wearing and then the charm would generate an appropriate object depending on what the picture showed.

The caveat is that how the object manifested varied person to person (vaguely based on their ideals and/or what they wanted I guess?) and so, for example, the main character using a "sword" charm would generate this bulky metal glove thing that shot daggers, but his best friend using the same sword charm instead generated a big 2-handed buster sword. Within the general charm system there were a few different types. Object-type charms which would summon an object (sword, shield, hat, whatever). "Magic" type charms which would generate a spell book from which the user could cast spells corresponding to the element depicted, and Transformation charms which would grant the user a full or partial form change into the type of thing the charm showed. Again, with each of these, the way that the charm would work varied person to person, so not every fire element user would have the same spells in their spell book, and some people using a fish charm might become more mermaid-like, while others might turn into a goldfish or something.

Lastly some charms could be combined and layered together. For example, many object-type charms would have another metal stud present somewhere on the object so you could theoretically slap another charm on top. The most common type that I worked out was like, combining weapons and elemental magic to make something like a fire sword, but looking back I suppose you could do something like a hat-sword, or use a transformation charm on a weapon to either transform into a weird object form, or maybe transform the object into a partner? idk. This was all written by middle school me lol.

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TreasureHUNT!!

TreasureHUNT!! was much more straightforward. I just created a simple elemental mana system, basically. Everyone who can use magic has a limited inner pool of element-free mana that they can shape into spells, or you can draw on mana from natural sources that have a matching element to fuel spells. How this worked with the narrative is that if you're a novice magic user, then it's much easier to cast spells with the assistance of natural mana as using your pool of inner mana was difficult to convert to the correct element (and also, just like, limited). Thus the main character being a water aligned mage living in a parched, dry environment led to him having issues casting spells quickly or powerfully.

These never showed up in the story, but I had side ideas about characters potentially being able to either learn other elements or at least augment their own (i.e. a water mage being able to use ice magic or infuse their water with something like poison). Also before I decided to discontinue the series, I was also considering how non-magic users might be able to learn how to use magic. But alas.

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Dungeons&Dinosaurs: Royal Road Trip

My upcoming project has the least complicated system because it's based on D&D so... the rules are straightforward and not something I came up with lol. The short of it is that characters have spell slots that they can cast from and how much magic they can use per day is limited by the level and number of spell slots they have, as well as which spells they know. The story is told in a broken up slice of life fashion, though, so I don't believe this will ever actually be highlighted or come into play in the actual comic. I guess there is so far 1 dialogue exchange where this limitation is mentioned in passing to push a comedic interaction, though.

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For those unfamiliar, only 'TreasureHUNT!!' is on tapas so far. Konguki is an older project from when I was younger (but has a magic system I like to talk about >u>) and D&D:RRT is my upcoming project that will be launching soon... but is just a D&D comic so the magic system isn't unique or interesting lol

[surenlicious]

In my novel Jade Kingdoms, the Intrepid Soul scattered itself to begin the universe anew from the Needlepoint origin.The creator forces of the Sentient Mind (Vritra, the serpent), Living Flesh (Garuda, the Inorganic) and World's Bones (The Distance force) worked together to form the living creatures from this.

The Vritra species move and ward the mind, using pathokinesis to uphold it. Emotion, thought and memory form the string of time.

The Garuda species are the Living Flesh. Their right to die was taken from them per accident, and their bodies constantly morph and shapeshift into monstrosities.

The World's Bones is actually the spirit of the planet. It gave a specific group of heroes its blessing to move stone and earth (its bones really).

It's not really magic in my world. It's their birthright and ability as given to them by the Genesis Trinity.

Jade Kingdoms | Tapas

[Chita]

Thank you!! And yep, I came up with their designs on my own, just trying to make them blend well with the aesthetic of the tattoos XD

[thecrystalrook]

Sure do! It's a hard magic system based on 4 elements with some influence of ki. Though I haven't explained a lot of it yet, so much of it is still up to the reader's interpretation

Space Pirate | Tapas

[cookieroach]

It's less like control and more like reasoning with the magic and asking it nicely to please do what you'd like it to.

I like this concept, kinda like the magic has a personality of its own! And your whole systems sounds like an interesting mix!

@Rhonder I think all of your systems sound interesting! And there's nothing wrong with straighforward rules, sometimes it can be easier to come up with scenarios with a simple system! (Instead of getting lost in all the details )

@surenlicious Do these forces exist inside people( if humans exist), or in the world around them (or both)? It feels different from anything I've read before

@Chita It looks like it could be a real writing system, very well made!

[hannahlaine]

My magic system is based off of Fae Lore. However it is not strictly traditional to all of Fae Lore's rules. I changed it up a bit to make it perfect for the story I am writing.

I find the best way to keep it all straight is to write out your magic system first, then, once you know the rules you don't have to worry about coming up with anything on the spot and potentially contradicting yourself.