Magic System - Tumblr Posts

This is a brief introduction to my books magic system

Schools

Elementomancy : elemental magic

• Pyromancy : fire

Pyromancers robes often darkened with ash and soot ending with a grayish black coloration

• Cryomancy : ice

Robes are often crusted with thin layer of ice the shines plae blue in light

• Hydromancy : water

Strangely often dry but normaly decorated with ocean regalia

• Teramancy : earth

Often dusty and or muddy their robes can also be seen to have a decorative crystal hem

• Tempomancy : storm/lightning

Tend to have beautiful spiderweb-like burns from the electricity they weave

• Aeromancy : air

Normal too white robes with cloud decorations, hair somehow always perfect

• Luminomancy : light

Obnoxious bright and flashy, how do you make a robe shiny??

• Caligomancy : shadow

Every teenagers dream, shape of the wearer always seems slightly distorted by shadows drawing near

• Gravimancy : gravity magic

Their robes tend to be green with a hem of purple and all carry a diamond necklace often sown into the robe

Populomancy : body magic

• Sanguimancy : blood

'Wine' colored robes, a little grotesque at times but if blood is your tool who really has time for all that cleaning

• Mensomancy : mind/telepathic

Strange obsession with the colour pink

• Necromancy high and low : healing/animating the dead

Either bleached bone white from healing and purifying means or stained black and green from constant exposure to undead energies

Floramancy : plant magic

Moss covered vests and wreaths of flower crowns

Vocarmancy : Conjuration

• Vocar Sanctus : holy conjuration

• Vocar Infernum : unholy conjuration

• Vocar Spiritus : spirit conjuration

• Vocar Elementum : elemental primal conjuration

Vitamancy : animation magic

Enchant inanimate objects

Divinomancy : scry magics

Lots of eyes and or mirrors/shiny jewelry

Types of spells

Offensive

Defensive

Healing

Utility

Use of magic be it by sage or sorcerer or another classification of mage is the channeling of ether a mystical energy source as abundant as the air in our lungs.

To do so three steps must be taken, a channeling of the ether through one's self where the energy is absorbed through the body and processed via the appendix.

Focusing on what you wish done by said magics, best aided by chants or runes is how mages perform or "cast" spells. Note that each culture and language has developed their own unique ways with which it is used. The words and symbols are simply a tool too best assist the Caster in focusing willpower. Thirdly one will need a catalyst to channel or cast the ether back into the world to do their bidding safely. Note while it can be done without a catalyst it is far more dangerous and unpredictable this way.

Catalysts come in many shapes and sizes but the blueprints tend to be the same. A wooden wand or handle capped with a metal tip to conduct the energy safely and if needed a gem cut into specific ways to help increase or decrease the power of a spell as needed.

Some mages have been known too use a bone handle or ivory but the tips always consist of a conducting metal most often copper sometimes gold if can be afforded. Most powerful of these is mercury though it's liquid state causes it to be rather volatile towards the mage and subject of the mages spell and is best left untouched by novices in the craft.

The list of metals used in catalysts is as follows : silver, mercury and copper the better the conductor the more powerful magic will be unleashed how ever this does not mean that with a copper focus will fail against that of a silver or a gold one. Only 3 of the magical metals are conductors, that of mithril, adamantium, and electrum. Oricalcum and the rest do naught to aid spellcasting and often some may hinder it.

(Important note : iron and lead cancel out magic and often are harmful to magical creatures like the fey. The reason is unknown.)

(Secondary notes of banned metals.

Lithium, while almost unparalleled in its ability to increase a spells power is shunned due to its tendency to drive mages to unpredictable behavior, may be linked to bpd more study needed.

Uranium or Phylactorium is known as the liches metal. It corroded the user and all living things around them slowly killing everything in miles around.)

There are also some stones known too have some effect on the magic and in one specific case I will soon detail, be made of it entirely.

Aetherite is a crystalline structure formed when an area rich with the arcane is left untapped for centuries or more. The energy channeled by the peoples of this realm is done so in its gaseous state and when undisturbed eventually clings to itself and forms a rectangular body that appears to be greenish blue and glows faintly after being exposed too light.

This stone is the base ingredient for all enchantments and magical machinery becoming a battery of unequal parallel. It can be imbued with a spell and depending on intent will either continuously keep it running or activate it after a specific event triggers it making it an incredibly valuable resource.

I love your concept of the e-eua, the headless Uniima! I was wondering, bc they’re called “gods”, do other Uniima revere them? Maybe bc they survived such an injury? Do the e-eua eventually die?

-VERY OUTDATED-

Thank you!

Okay I will try to put it simple

Any livng organism can become a god with enough magic exposition. It's also dangerous to get close to a god since they emit it. They can only be killed with enough magic (basically impossible for big ones).

E-eua is only a single small god who's being visted by their family/partner simirarly to visiting a grave. However, if they were to be around for long enough peoples perception of E-eua would likely change with their size and magic influence. But this can take hundreds/thousands of years.

With size and power, gods start building up attention of the magic "industry", after that comes a "religion". The followers are those who will use the god's blood for their family member's magic transfer, sometimes being loyal to one god for generations to come.

The gods are usually not involved in the process by other means than blood sharing since they aren't conscious. But rarely their minds change and those will comunicate through feelings and often have a connection to their follower's magic use in some way.

Different gods can even have different magical focus. If it was veeeryy simplified lets say one is better at photon control and one at absorbing energy.

But again, being powerful to a point of creating full on illusions and fireballs is an extreme rarity even with the largest of gods.

closeups

Hello Excited Anon. I thank you for your ask message and many questions. They mean a lot and I will try to answer all your questions with time.

Question 1.: Are the designers aware of the Gods created from the sapient species? Do the Designers have, or could have, any control over Gods? Considering that Designers create magic, does that mean Gods are dependent on Designers to some degree? That Designers can affect Gods to some degree? Even though, from what I understand, every sapient species you've shown so far has had their Designer (and thus controlling creator) die.

Let's say, Designers have the awareness of a plant, a plant evolved to have very complex reactions to its surroundings through chemicals. Except for a designer is not chemicals but a whole world-scale events that it's "programed" to react to. It's relationship to other designer's is the closest thing to awareness.

Magic is considered an extension of the designer's "nervous system" and is shared by beings that have nervous structures similar to those. Other than that they produce "liquid magic".

God's are beings 'changed' by "liquid magic" that better take in the designer's signal (magic). And that, if anything, makes the designer's system grow wider.

If designers were to consciously control gods, it would definitely be easier than with a non-magical being, but it doesn't happen.

God's are dependent on magic to live so they are 100% dependent on Designers. The magic keeps them alive, replacing dead cells and creating new ones instead of the God's body, which is functionaly dead.

Lastly, of all the sentient species shown (3 designers), only 2 should be dead. However, there is no way to prove it as it seems magic is active even without them and getting close to them would be an instant death. But their deaths are big part of uniiman and elven culture.

-Outdated sloman design-

The true main character of "The story"

As usual, it's Prof. Neal Faulkner.

Since the setting is closer to medieval times than to 20th century it's not common to have a last name and to be a professor is like being a 'king of a field (science or other)'. Faulkner being the younger but more known professor of Sonomagics and Acoustics (out of two). All professors get their title from the current elven king after being nominated by their professor tutor. These tutors pick their disciples and they have the whole continent to pick.

Mr. Faulkner is not only very natural in his field but has had a giant impact on the science world thanks to his help discovering atoms or his own work 'medical use of sound' among others. Sadly it's been many years since his last breakthrough.

In his opinion non of these are really useful anyway without the technology to use all this knowledge /Steam engines are still in their experimental phase but this world will likely start with electricity much much sooner than us/.

Most of Faulkner's work consists of teaching noble heirs how to be annoyingly loud with sound manipulation, mostly unsuccessfuly.

Size comparison

I'm trying to make the magic much more about physic than other stuff so hopefully it wont get boring. Just need to research a lot more.

-Outdated words +designs-

I think this is something of a first part of the "magic system" series of guides.

I will be talking more about what it means to be "physically more aware" and manipulate physics and I might borrow Neal for it.

Now, imagine you are a device connected to a supercomputer that can alter reality. You need to be set up to receive its signal but when you are set, you can alter some of it too (while being under its control a little I guess but who cares). To be clear the 'computer' isn't sentient and just follows programming.

For the context of "gods" here's a link to another post

Also, I decided to name the designers with shapes because they are easily understood by any culture. Hope you like △, you will probably see it a bit.

Ignore bad English and skulls I drew for no reason with little thought in them. "Pigeons" are an invasive species of hexapods by the way.

magic system where “dark magic” and “light magic” are literal terms - dark magic consumes photons, making an area around the spell visibly darker, sometimes to an Extreme extent, and light magic releases photons.

because of this most dark mages tend to work in very brightly-lit areas (either artificial light or outside in the daytime) to fuel their spells and wear and use lightly coloured clothes and tools so that they’re easier to see in the dimness their spells create, whereas light mages wear heavy, sometimes leaden robes (depending on the work being done) and the magical equivalent of welding masks to protect themselves from what can be an extreme amount of light, and sometimes other kinds of electromagnet radiation!

needless to say this is incredibly confusing for anyone unfamiliar with the culture

I'm bored of elemental giants. Use environmental giants instead.

Environmental Giants all start out the same, but their bodies take up the features of the place they live in. They become a reflection of their domain.

Giant takes up residence in the cliffs of dover? Not a stone giant. No, that's specifically The Giant of Dover. Its body is made of chalk. It can create dust clouds of chalk with its breath, its shoulders are padded with tufts of short grasses and blackberry bushes.

Giant takes up residence in the ruins of a highway during an apocalypse? That's the I-95 Giant. It has rebar spines along its back, skin of pavement and concrete, and wears wrecked cars as armor.

And to make this idea more dynamic, the giant's form changes as the ecosystem changes. A river gets diverted away from a Giant's domain? Then the Giant dries up along with its land. Now the Giant has an incentive to protect its dominion, and a weakness that its enemies can exploit.

i love pitting classically trained magic users against self-taught magic users in sci-fi/fantasy but it shouldn’t be snobbish disdain for them it should be terror

Advice for Creating a Magic System

As a fantasy author, I thought I'd share my 5 tips for creating a captivating magic system.

1. Are you writing low fantasy or high fantasy?

Firstly, it's good to know from the get-go whether you're creating a magic system for a low fantasy or high fantasy story.

Low fantasy doesn't necessarily mean there are less fantastical elements or that the story has to take place in a version of the real world. Low fantasy simply indicates that the fantasy elements/magic is not commonplace in that world. Magic and other fantasy elements exist, but only a privy few know about it.

Examples of low fantasy stories include Harry Potter by She Who Shall Not be Named, the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and my book To Wear A Crown.

High fantasy, on the other hand, indicates that the fantastical elements and magic are known about and commonplace in that world. The people of the world know that magic exists, that there are fantastical beings, other races etc.

Examples of high fantasy stories include Eragon by Christopher Paolini, Crescent City by Sarah J Maas, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

2. Hard magic systems vs soft magic systems

The next thing that's vital to decide is whether you're creating a hard or soft magic system.

A hard magic system has built-in limitations. There are certain things that magic can do and that's it. Examples of stories with hard magic systems include Avatar: The Last Airbender and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

A soft magic system doesn't have inherent limitations in relation to what it can achieve. Examples of soft magic systems include Eragon, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

3. What can magic do?

Now that you know whether you're writing low or high fantasy, and whether you're working with a hard or soft magic system, it's time to create some magic!

This is the part where I can't give you too much guidance, because it's all about your creativity.

What do you want magic to look like in your story? What do you want magic to be able to achieve? How big of a role do you want magic to play in the story and your characters' lives?

Do you want different classes of magic wielders, each with mastery over their own element? Do you want magic to be a flexible tool that can be used to achieve almost anything? Do you want your magic to be limited to telepathic actions or creating portals? Do you want different people to have power over different aspects of nature or different magical disciplines?

Can wielders use magic without any tools, or do they need spells, runes or rituals?

The possibilities are endless, but it's important to establish exactly what magic is capable of in your world.

4. How does it work and where does it come from?

Now we know what the magic can do. Next up is why it can do those things. Where does the power of the magic come from and how do wielders command it?

Does the power/force of magic come from within the wielder? Does it draw from inner life force and energy? Does it draw on energy from another realm or dimension? Does it pull from the surrounding natural elements? Does the power come from a deity or from demonic forces?

Identify the source/origin of the magic.

From there, elaborate on how it works. How does a wielder access the source of the magic? Is it through strength of will, incantations, selling their soul etc.?

For example, let's say that the power of your world's magic comes from the cosmic energy of another dimension. In order for wielders to access that energy, they draw specific sigils on their skin and these sigils act as portals to that world. Once the sigil is complete, the cosmic power flows into the wielder and they can now command it.

5. The limitations

Very importantly, you have to be clear on the limitations of your magic system. Fantasy magic systems often fall flat because they don't have clear confines.

If you're writing a hard magic system, this step is a bit easier, since there are inherent restrictions on what magic can do. With soft magic systems, you have to decide just how much magic is capable of.

But whether you're writing a hard or soft magic system, you need to consider the cost of using magic.

Does the use of magic drain the wielder's energy? Does each instance of using magic darken the wielder's soul or deteriorate their body further? Does using magic damage the natural world around the wielder or drain others of their life force?

Magic without a cost, limitations or consequences just isn't as captivating.

Reblog if you liked these tips. Comment with your own advice. Follow me for similar content.

Things to Consider when Creating a Magic System

What are the drawbacks of using magic? Does it have mental, physical, and/or emotional consequences for the user?

What tools are needed to harness magic? Wands? Spells? Magical artifacts?

How do people learn magic? Instinct? In school? From family members?

Can everyone use magic or are only certain people capable of using it?

Is the capability to use magic hereditary? What about different ways of using magic (transformation powers, teleportation, etc.)?

What is impossible for magic to do?

How long does it take to master different magical skills?

Can creatures other than humans learn magic? Are different creatures better at using different kinds of magic?

Does it require spells to be spoken, written, or thought?

Is it possible for someone to lose their magical abilities?

How do characters’ emotions affect their ability to use magic? Do their emotions affect the magic’s intensity or controllability? 

How does the strength of a person’s magical abilities change as they age?

Can people normally perform any kind of magic or can they only perform things that fall under their specialty? Are their exceptions?

What rules restrict magic use in society?

How do people’s magical abilities impact their career prospects?

What kinds of magic are the most feared or seen as the most powerful? Which are seen as mere jokes?

How do people use magic to help with everyday tasks?

Can magical energy be stored for later use?

What objects or other factors can amplify someone’s magical powers?

When do magical abilities initially manifest? From birth? At a certain age? Under certain conditions?

What is the first spell a character is likely to learn?

What happens if a spell is performed incorrectly? Nothing at all? A weaker version of the intended results? Pain?

Can different spell casting methods be used to obtain the same result? What are their advantages and disadvantages?

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.

I'm currently in the process of writing a fantasy novel, and I'm like, how do people come up with magic systems? I wrote all these notes about mine, and I thought it made sense, but then when I wrote it into my first draft, I realised that there are gaping holes in my magic system, and now I gotta fix them. I gotta scrap everything but the basic ideas and start again AAAAAA

(The basic ideas are that the Greek Gods and titans have magical pieces of jewellery which they can give to humans to allow them to use their powers. They do this in cases where a human is needed to accomplish a task which the god and/or titan cannot do themselves)

ok so yall know that magic system thing thats like "what can magic do, what can it not do, what is the cost of using it, and what does it feel like" yeah i used that for the current thing im writing except it has 3 different major types of magic (potentially more to come) so uhh heres the first one

Symbolic Magic (name subject to change): Everyone is born with at least some potential to do this type of magic. When someone is born, they are (seemingly) randomly assigned a "symbol" that is present throughout all of their magic; the vast majority of people have different flowers as their symbol, because its much more closely related to nature, but nowadays as the population has increased drastically, we see more niche symbols like teapots, doorways, windows, feathers, hourglasses, etc.

What can it do? Magic comes from the symbol itself; for example, if someone has the symbol of a hydrangea, their magic comes out of nearby hydrangeas or even drawing made to represent it. They would also, to some degree, be able to manipulate hydrangeas. Basic magic would be things like summoning fire, water, light, etc. out of the symbol, or applying effects to a symbol for putting in potions/food (mostly used by edible plant witches, like the Cherry Witch, who does have a primary focus on creating magical food. the Teapot Witch also primarily uses food magic). Much more advanced witches, who are far more in tune with their symbols, may be able to do things like teleport through their symbol (for example, creating a tornado of dandelions that they would appear out of), certain symbols can create portals more easily than others (like a door witch could much more easily make a human sized portal than a plant witch yknow), see using their symbol as a conduit, or manipulate sound through their symbol. The most powerful witches in history have been known to effectively permanently alter how their symbol exists in nature (more on that later maybe if i ever get around to exploring the Lore of this world). Purely for aesthetic trends, advanced witches have a tendency to flaunt their symbol in their magic; for example, a hydrangea witch shooting a fireball is likely to show off their mastery by shaping the fireball as a hydrangea

2. What can't it do? Symbolic magic cannot create more of a symbol in nature (for example, if a plant tied to a witch goes extinct, they cant simply make more of that plant magically), but again, drawings and symbols that represent it work. It also cannot touch the soul of another witch; magic can kill, but it cannot destroy a soul. This also means it cannot bring back the dead.

3. What is the cost? Because everyone has a unique symbol that cannot exist in someone else who is currently alive, it is a bit difficult to teach magic universally. Plant witches, being the majority, typically take precedent in teaching, as basic magic is pretty universal across them, however other symbols would be harder to teach more advanced magic. From birth there is a link between one's soul and a symbol, and although it "cannot" be cut, it can become stronger the more it is used. People who do not use magic, after death, typically are able to enter the underworld within a day or a week, as the link breaks down much easier. Novice practitioners may remain in the material planes for a few months, while the most advanced and powerful may remain for years (or a decade if youre Ursa Elara or Altair Tahtinen lmao). After descending to the underworld, it also takes longer for the symbol to reconnect to a different soul depending on the power of the living user, as the EnergyTM directed into and out of the symbol in nature has to have time to Cool Down. Despite how seemingly constrained someone is to their symbol, symbolic magic is the most free-flowing and experimental category of magic.

4. What does magic feel like? To beginners, it feels like being a dog learning how to walk with lil boots on, or like you suddenly grew extra limbs without knowing how to move them. To advanced, its probably more like finally getting the grasp on a new language, except everyone who speaks it has a completely different dialect and theres only a few key similarities, but deep down you know youre speaking it correctly

some extra notes: symbols are actually sort of a pretty small aspect of this kind of magic, especially when every student at The School TM gets a free enamel pin of their symbol so they can use magic anywhere as long as they have it without relying on nature. also eye color and symbol color are directly correlated in most cases, and there is only one witch alive for each symbol. If someone is a purple snapdragon, no other snapdragon witches are alive at the same time. Only the most powerful witches have their color tied to their title (i.e. Ursa Elara the Golden Sun Witch and Ewa Gloska the Silver Moon Witch vs. Divya Deshmukh the Hourglass Witch and Pippa Jane Owen the Dandelion Witch). Symbols also cannot be animals, those for the gods or somethin idk

P.R.I.D.E Academy: How magic works

Magic Class: Every sorcerer is born with a magical class, which determines what their special ability will be. Each sorcerer can only have one magic class and there are cases where they are born classes (Making them restricted to symbol magic). There are nine known classes of magic...

Enchantment

Elemental

Divination

Psionic

Transmutation

Necromancy

Time

Illusion

Creation

Symbol Magic: Symbol magic is used by all sorcerers. It’s especially essential to classless sorcerers. There are five types of symbol magic.

Ritual

Energy

Blood

Curse 

Summoning 

Special Abilities: 95% of sorcerers are born with a special ability which determines which magic class you’re in. It is possible to be born with more than one special ability. The 5% who aren’t born with a special ability can create their own if they can figure out their magical class, most of the times they're just deemed as classless.

Magical Energy: Every sorcerer is born with magical energy usually between 50 and 100. Magical energy expands natural and stops at some point. The more you train the more magical energy expands.

Whats the magic system like in fallen magic? :0

OOH GOOD QUESTION!

Ok don't judge me but... This is actually something I'm still struggling to figure out for sure... PLEASE offer some suggestions! I want magic that can be used fast for fighting, etc. Here's what I have so far:

Runes are used a LOT as a form of magic. You carve a series of runes onto, say, a rock, and BOOM– Now it has mild protective properties. For example, my character, John, has a pair of knuckledusters that have runes carved along it. These runes make John's punches more powerful and allow him to preserve more of his energy so that he can fight longer without wearing himself out. Another example is Adler, who has runes tattooed along his arm which help increase his speed and agility slightly.

Runes can also be used as traps. We see Rune Traps laid out all around Josep and Adler's property. When John, Blake, and Nathan (the Main Trio in the book) accidentally step on these runes, they activate the spell and become trapped in bubbles that shrink the more you move.

I also thought about having Runes be a language– where there are whole books written in rune. Idk if I'll do that though. What do you think?

I do have a few spell ideas that I wanted certain characters to have. John, for instance, has a few fire spells, and Josep has a spell that allows him to manipulate and travel through shadows. However, I don't think I want my characters to be limited to only one type of element. For example, I don't want John to ONLY have fire magic, Josep to ONLY have shadow magic, Nathan to ONLY have wind magic, etc. I need to figure out exactly how spells are carried out and how they're practiced.

I know that I don't want my characters to use wands. Maybe they have to SAY a spell for it to work? Idk. I've thought about expanding using runes for magic, but I'm not sure how it would work. How do you use runes quickly in the heat of battle to cast spells in rapid succession? How do you remember what combination of runes do what? The runes work for small spells and such, but I'm not sure how they'd work beyond that. If you have ideas PLEASE SHARE because I've been struggling lol!

(Example of John's knuckle dusters, except instead of crosses, his has different runes on each knuckle)

Also, there is a lot of "mundane magic", like certain tea blends having certain magical effects, or types of houseplants with magical properties, etc. There are also things that aren't STRICTLY magical, but rather are more superstitions ("Oh, a moss stone, those are good luck!" / "We were going to travel to Rye, but a snake crossed our path. We know a warning when we see one! We'll go next week.")

I've always thought of magic as skating/blading

There are three main types: roller skating and blading are most similar, while ice skating is more different and needs more specific circumstances

They each represent a different thing (evil/good/neutral, offense/defense/healing)

There are different ways to use the skill (figure skating and racing)

Each one comes with its own expectations (ice skating seen as more graceful and poised, while rollerblading more rebellious and edgy)

It hurts when you start out, but once you become better it hurts more when you fall either physically (faster speed equals harder fall) or mentally (trying to perfect a trick but just never getting it right)

You can switch between the different skills better if your a master at one, but it doesn't really smoothly switch still (you may be good at skating but go onto an ice skating rink and its almost a new thing entirely)

It's easier to do in a controlled environment, but it's more useful when its not (but also more dangerous)

List of Elemental Abilities

Air/Wind

Aerokinesis -manipulate the air, wind, and gas.

Aeroportation - teleport using air/wind currents.

Air Mimicry - transform into a cloud of gas, fog, or mist.

Atmokinesis - manipulate the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Deoxygenation - suck up all the oxygen from a place.

Lung Adaptation - breath anywhere

Wind Generation - create blasts of air.

Divine Winds Manipulation - create and control heavenly winds.

Dark Wind Manipulation - create and control eerie winds.

Earth

Geokinesis - control, manipulate, and reshape the earth at will.

Atmokinesis - control and manipulate the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Crystallokinesis - manipulate minerals and crystals.

Ferrokinesis… manipulate metal at will.

Fraxikinesis - manipulate burnt matter.

Geo-Thermokinesis - manipulate, control, and create lava, magma and volcanoes.

Golem Creation - make golems out of inanimate materials like rocks, wood, plants, magma, etc.

Granulation… can turn things into sand.

Halokinesis - control and manipulate salt.

Hyalokinesis - control and manipulate glass.

Koniokinesis - manipulate and control dust particles.

Plassikinesis - manipulate and control all forms of plastic.

Psammokinesis - can control and manipulate sand.

Terrakinesis - control, manipulate and alter/reshape the surrounding terrain and landscape at will.

Terraportation - teleport via the earth and earth-based materials.

Sacred Earth Manipulation - Create, manipulate, control, reshape divine earth minerals.

Black Earth Manipulation - Create, manipulate and control tainted and evil earth minerals.

Fire

Pyrokinesis - create, control and manipulate fire, flame and heat.

Atmokinesis - control and manipulate the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Fire Breath - breathe out flames.

Geo-Thermokinesis - manipulate lava, magma and volcanoes.

Heliokinesis - manipulate and control the sun and sunlight.

Hell-Fire Manipulation - Generate and control flames of hell.

Holy Fire Manipulation - Generate and control flames of Heaven.

Inflammation - burn things.

Melting - heat molecules to melt things.

Plasmakinesis - can control plasma.

Pyrotechnics - create fireworks.

Self-Detonation - explode self and reform.

Thermokinesis - create, control and manipulate heat.

Water

Hydrokinesis - manipulate and control liquid water and mold it into any desired shape or form.

Aquatic Adaptation - adapted to underwater living.

Aquatic Respiration - breathe underwater.

Atmokinesis- control and manipulate the various aspects of the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Dehydration - absorb water.

Hydroportation - teleport across short or long distances through liquid water.

Water Mimicry - turn into liquid water.

Holy Water Manipulation - create, manipulate and control graceful waters.

Dark Water Manipulation - create, manipulate and control evil and dangerous waters.

Darkness

Umbrakinesis - can manipulate and control darkness or shadows.

Animated Shadow - Animate one’s shadow.

Light Absorption - block out light in an area.

Night Vision - see in the dark.

Sacred Darkness - create holy darkness.

Shadow Camouflage - be unseen in shadows.

Shadow Mimicry - become a shadow.

Umbrageous Teleportation - teleport via the shadows and darkness.

Electricity/Lightning

Quintessence Force -Can generate whitish-blue lightning that also contains pure life energy.

Electrokinesis - control, generate or absorb electric fields and shoot lightning bolts.

Activation & Deactivation - turn stuff on and off.

Positron Manipulation - control positrons, the antimatter counterpart to electrons.

Electrical Absorption - absorb electricity.

Electric Mimicry -transform entire body into a lightning-like being of pure electrical energy

Electrical Transportation - teleport with lightning.

Divine Lightning Manipulation - create and control the brightest lightning.

Black Lightning Manipulation - create and control the darkest lightning.

Energy

Dynamokinesis - manipulate existing energy.

Energy Blast - create blasts of energy.

Energy Emission - release energy.

Quintessence Force - create and manipulate unique form of electrical and life energy.

Mana Manipulation

Chi Manipulation

Electricity Manipulation

Energy Manipulation

Ice

Cryokinesis - control ice, snow and other forms of frozen water.

Freeze Breath - freeze things in solid ice.

Freezing - lower the temperature in kinetic atoms to freezing temperatures.

Frigokinesis - control snow either as precipitation or already on the ground.

Ice Beam - shoot beams of freezing energy.

Ice Generation

Light

Dark Light Manipulation - create the darkest light in existence.

White Light Manipulation- create sacred light from the divine.

Photokinesis - create and manipulate pure light.

Force-Field Generation - create protective shields of solid photons.

Invisibility - be unseen.

Laser Emission - bend light wavelengths to create lasers.

Light Absorption -absorb the light around you.

Light Generation - emit blinding light or glow in the dark.

Light Mimicry - take on the traits of light.

Photoportation - Teleport by using photons.

Projective Invisibility - turn other things invisible.

Evil Banish - Rid and banish all spirits of evil and black magic.

Light Manipulation

Weather

Atmokinesis - manipulate the various aspects of the weather by using water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Atmokinetic Resistance - immunity to all weather-based abilities and effects.

Atmokinetic Sensing - sense the future weather patterns.

Other

Aether Manipulation

Cosmic Manipulation

Gravity Manipulation

Nether Manipulation

Space-Time Manipulation

From Superpower Wikia. See their complete list of superpowers HERE.

5 Tips for Writing Magic & Superpowers

Magic/Superpowers are awesome and can be fun to write for, but there is a lot of room for problems if you don’t plan ahead of time. I provided some tips below to help you avoid them.

1. Superpowers/Magic: Yes or No?

When should I include magic or superpowers in my story?

Ask yourself this: Would the story and characters be the same without magic/superpowers?

If you answered yes, then magic/superpowers doesn’t serve a purpose in your story. It should be removed or adjusted to where it furthers the characters or plot. When magic/superpowers doesn’t cause any conflict or affect the characters, it’s like having a pointless fight scene. It’s meant to look cool and keep the reader interested, but guess what, it’s pointless and a waste of effort. Readers will notice that magic/superpowers doesn’t serve a purpose to the story and the author only included it…to include it. If you think you need magic in your story, you DON’T. It’s not always necessary. Don’t try to force it if it doesn’t work.

2. You MUST include how magic/superpowers affects the character(s)

That is if you want your magic/superpowers to be engaging. Show how the character feels when conjuring magic or shapeshifting. Do they feel a rush of energy, adrenaline, or maybe even pain? Though magic and superpowers aren’t real, including how it affects the characters adds realism. I know it sounds strange, but it’s like when you run or…pee. You feel something. It’s a part of you just like a character’s abilities are apart of them. It’s not exactly the same but you get my point. I don’t recommend doing this every time they use magic/superpowers because it can affect the pacing of the story. Too much description is not a good thing.

3. Give your characters weaknesses

What good is magic/superpowers if your character can just snap their fingers and defeat anything? They aren’t. They fucking suck. Characters shouldn’t be untouchable. It’s boring and makes the story predictable. In a video game this might be fun for a while, but it will inevitably get boring to beat anything without a challenge. And that’s what readers want. They want to see your characters be challenged and struggle. It’s relatable, interesting, and it creates tension.

4. Define your character’s limitations

I had discussed this a bit in my earlier post: 8 Ways to Write Better Fight Scenes. There are instances in media where I have seen characters not using their abilities when they could have to get out of a situation or stop the villain. Why? Because it creates suspense without having to put any effort into the character’s abilities. It’s easier but it makes the writer look lazy and it also causes plot holes. To prevent this figure out what your characters can or can’t do. Maybe they can only use an ability if they have a certain potion/object and they ran out. Or whatever you want it to be. Don’t make your characters not use something unless you have a valid reason as to why they can’t. Or just, you know…rethink the magic/superpowers in your book.

5. How are magic/superpowers perceived?

Imagine if magic/superpowers existed in our world. It would be awesome! I mean why wouldn’t you think so? But really think about it, how would people feel about them? Magic/superpowers could be helpful, but they could also be dangerous. Everyone would have different opinions on them, just like the characters should in your book. How are characters with magic/superpowers perceived? Are they hated, feared, or worshipped? If magic/superpowers is widely accepted I assume they would be regulated. What magic spells or powers are legal and which ones are banned? Magic/superpowers has to affect your story in some way. These are things you have to consider otherwise, it will be seen as an afterthought.

Bonus Tip:

Here is something to think about. We all have habits whether good or bad. People bite their nails, play with their hair, or um…pick their nose. Sometimes without even realizing it. It’s habitual. Since magic/superpowers is part of a person consider what kind of habits they might have with them or things they might do with them. A character with telekinesis might unintentionally move objects when they are in thought, or a person with fire powers might accidentally light something on fire when they’re angry. Or they might just play with their abilities when they’re bored. These little tidbits, though they don’t add anything to the plot, can add realism to your characters.

A few questions to ask yourself when developing magic/superpowers

When and how did your character(s) obtain their abilities?

Who can use them?

How often and how long can they use them?

Do your character(s) struggle with them and how?

If there are levels: How long does it take to advance or what do they have to do to advance?

The Solomonar Chronicles: The Magic System

I’ve been thinking a lot about how magic functions in the Mageborn’s universe, and I encountered one big question.

Why not use magic for everything? And the answer is simple, honestly.

Casting spells costs energy.

The exact cost of energy depends on the scale and complexity of the spell. Basic charms such as levitating a box of teleporting a cup across a room wouldn’t affect someone that much. Spells such as combat and healing spells drain more energy, leaving the caster feeling more tired. And spells such as teleporting long-distance and turning invisible leave the caster almost completely drained of their energy, and some will pass out afterwords. Several spells in rapid succession (usually during a fight) can also drain a lot of energy.

Casters can actually train to cast spells at a smaller cost. Think of it like exercising. The more that spell is cast and trained, the less energy it takes to do so. This is often the focus of job training and the magic part of mage schools, not just learning the spells themselves.

Something else to add is that since energy is converted into spells, objects and spells cannot be created from nothingness. The energy can be converted into things such as fire or water, but not solid objects. With objects, they must be transformed from something else. Such as transforming a pumpkin into a chair or something.

TL;DR

Casting spells comes at the cost of energy

The larger or more complex the spell, the more energy it drains from the caster

A caster can train with certain spells so that they cost lest energy

Spells cannot be conjured from nothing

Spells can only convert energy into elements such as water, fire, and air; it cannot be converted into solid objects

Magic can only transform one solid object into another or into an element and vice versa; the more alike the objects are the easier it is to transform

Affinity in [Valerie's Story]

something lore-ish this way comes

Something Lore-Ish This Way Comes

SOMETHING LORE-ISH THIS WAY COMES

Check out my snazzy little diagram:

You might remember from my post about witches that in order to do magic, one must have Affinity.

In this world, there's magic in everything and everyone, flowing and weaving into different forms. Affinity is specifically the magic in a person. Many people have weak Affinity and thus don't manifest any sort of magical abilities. Those with strong enough Affinity to be considered magical come in two types: M and W. These factors are partially genetic and partially random.

Type M Affinity is what mages have. Their Affinity is compatible with specific weaves/formations of magic and they use their own energy to channel that weave/formation from themselves or sometimes allow external compatible magic to temporarily become an extension of their own. Example: a fire mage can generate fire or they can manipulate existing fire by taking it on as a part of themself, like an extra arm. Doing so takes more energy because now there's more for the Affinity to power.

Type W Affinity is witchcraft. This type is compatible with more than one weave/formation of magic so witches can channel the magic from the world into spells or potions but they can't generate it themselves. Note that doing so "uses up" the catalyst. Example: a witch uses a firefly to cast a light spell, the firefly's essence becomes the spell.

Some people are born with stronger Affinity than others. Practice also makes it stronger and fosters control.

Emotions impact Affinity (like your classic I-got-angry-and-lost-control-of-my-powers type deal) and the state of one's Affinity impacts their physical body. Corruption and interupption are possible. Almost always, corruption is fatal (that's what happened to create the hoary which are basically magic zombies) while interupption is magical disability, both temporary and permanent. Even non-magical people can have their low/weak Affinity corrupted or interuppted. Blight Magic is uniquely suited to disrupt regular magic flow. Potions and healing magic help to keep the symptoms at bay if they can't cure the disruption.