- Location
- Ontario, Canada, Earth
So I had an idea for a magic system that is conceptual magic in both form and effect.
I've been hashing out some of the details with some of the folks over on my discord, and I'm pretty happy with it as a system of magic, but it's not ready for an actual story yet.
I was hoping some of you fine creative people would be willing to help me flesh out the world a bit more. My main issue with creating settings is always creating enough conflict in them, and I'm still missing a driving conflict for any potential story, so ideas are welcome.
The magic system is as follows:
Magic is enabled by personal understanding of a concept. The more complex and encompassing the concept, the more difficult it is to cast, but the more varied the effects can be. Simpler, more constrained concepts are easier, but also less versatile. For example, understanding the concept of "raising the temperature of water" is very specific compared to the broader concept of "raising the temperature of an object", but it can still do anything from thawing ice to turning water into steam.
The concepts encompassed by magic are fractally complex, so it is always possible to further refine your understanding of a concept. The most basic concepts are:
It is possible to have a spell so broad that it can only fall under the concept of Magic itself, but such spells tend to be legendary or godly effects that few mortals can successfully comprehend the idea fully.
Understanding a concept also changes the mindset of the mage. Trying to wrap your head around an overly broad concept too quickly can lead to madness, but even experienced mages are changed by their understanding. Because of this, there is a natural tendency towards specialization in a concept that must be consciously avoided if a mage wants to learn magic from under more than one greater category.
Magic is not limited to humans. Anything capable of understanding a concept is theoretically capable of casting magic. Simpler mindsets tend towards greater understanding of a narrower concept.
I've been hashing out some of the details with some of the folks over on my discord, and I'm pretty happy with it as a system of magic, but it's not ready for an actual story yet.
I was hoping some of you fine creative people would be willing to help me flesh out the world a bit more. My main issue with creating settings is always creating enough conflict in them, and I'm still missing a driving conflict for any potential story, so ideas are welcome.
The magic system is as follows:
Magic is enabled by personal understanding of a concept. The more complex and encompassing the concept, the more difficult it is to cast, but the more varied the effects can be. Simpler, more constrained concepts are easier, but also less versatile. For example, understanding the concept of "raising the temperature of water" is very specific compared to the broader concept of "raising the temperature of an object", but it can still do anything from thawing ice to turning water into steam.
The concepts encompassed by magic are fractally complex, so it is always possible to further refine your understanding of a concept. The most basic concepts are:
The concept of Attack is concerned with doing harm to things. Sometimes called Destruction, it can include anything from making swords sharper than natural and uprooting trees with a word to causing the memories of a place to become tainted with negative perception.
Because it is intrinsically tied to doing harm, it is easier to enhance the capabilities of something that is already used for offence than to add such a property to something new. Making a sword cut deeper is easier than making a shield bash harder, which is in turn easier than making a castle inhospitable to attacking forces. It would be theoretically possible to make a hospital more likely to cause harm to those within it's walls, but such a thing would be extremely difficult due to the conflicting nature of the concepts being tied together.
Those that absorb a lot of Attack knowledge tend to become more aggressive and short tempered.
Because it is intrinsically tied to doing harm, it is easier to enhance the capabilities of something that is already used for offence than to add such a property to something new. Making a sword cut deeper is easier than making a shield bash harder, which is in turn easier than making a castle inhospitable to attacking forces. It would be theoretically possible to make a hospital more likely to cause harm to those within it's walls, but such a thing would be extremely difficult due to the conflicting nature of the concepts being tied together.
Those that absorb a lot of Attack knowledge tend to become more aggressive and short tempered.
The concept of Defend is concerned with preventing or lessening harm. Commonly used in day to day life to make tools tougher than they otherwise would be, the concept itself is capable of much more. While lowering the impact of a scandal on the public consciousness might seem an odd usage, experienced Defense mages could do so by Defending a reputation for honesty or integrity.
As with Attack, the use of Defense is often impacted by the mixing of conceptual natures. Making a shield tougher against damage would be considerable easier than doing so for a sword, for example. Similarly, it would be much easier to Defend the reputation of an upstanding community builder than an aggressive jingoist.
Those that focus too much on Defense may find themselves becoming paranoid and reactive.
As with Attack, the use of Defense is often impacted by the mixing of conceptual natures. Making a shield tougher against damage would be considerable easier than doing so for a sword, for example. Similarly, it would be much easier to Defend the reputation of an upstanding community builder than an aggressive jingoist.
Those that focus too much on Defense may find themselves becoming paranoid and reactive.
Move is the concept of position and speed. Everything from summoning things from other realms to running faster than normal falls under it's purview.
It is often used by archers who care more for the speed and accuracy of their arrows than the direct damage from enhancing them with Attack.
Those that lean heavily into Move tend to get wanderlust to some degree at the low end, and a deep-seated discomfort with standing still at the higher end.
It is often used by archers who care more for the speed and accuracy of their arrows than the direct damage from enhancing them with Attack.
Those that lean heavily into Move tend to get wanderlust to some degree at the low end, and a deep-seated discomfort with standing still at the higher end.
Scan, or Awareness as it is sometimes called, is the concept of gathering information of any kind. Both seeking to broaden awareness of the world and deducing information from what is already known fall under Scan.
The most mundane example is also the most common; many shopkeepers have a supernatural awareness of the value of the goods that people in their shop are carrying. This effect both helps them make accurate change, as well as spot would be thieves before they make off with their goods.
Practitioners of Scan may innocently find themselves more likely to gossip, but should beware the tendency to become control freaks.
The most mundane example is also the most common; many shopkeepers have a supernatural awareness of the value of the goods that people in their shop are carrying. This effect both helps them make accurate change, as well as spot would be thieves before they make off with their goods.
Practitioners of Scan may innocently find themselves more likely to gossip, but should beware the tendency to become control freaks.
Restore is the concept of bringing something back to a previous or correct state. Do not mistake it for a passive or friendly magic however. Just as household healing spells restore one to health, powerful necromancers likewise restore a corpse to the semblance of life.
A word of warning to those who only use healing magic that hails from the Restore tree, remember that restoring a previous state is not always an improvement. Many of those with prosthetic limbs have taken to reminding healers of their condition, lest an inexperienced healer restores a healthy prosthetic to it's "true" state of a stump.
Those with a lot of experience with Restore magics must remember to be conscious of it's effect on making one more passive and conservative, sometimes to the extreme.
A word of warning to those who only use healing magic that hails from the Restore tree, remember that restoring a previous state is not always an improvement. Many of those with prosthetic limbs have taken to reminding healers of their condition, lest an inexperienced healer restores a healthy prosthetic to it's "true" state of a stump.
Those with a lot of experience with Restore magics must remember to be conscious of it's effect on making one more passive and conservative, sometimes to the extreme.
Alter is the magic of changing a thing's state. Probably the broadest range of real world usage, Alter contains many further branches of magic such as transfiguration, but one must also be careful to be mindful of it's limitations.
The further Alter overlaps with another core concept, the more difficult it is to use effectively. For example, it is possible to alter an arrows speed mid flight with Alter magic, but it would be much easier to do so with Move magic. Similarly, it is possible to Alter something that has been changed with magic back to it's original state, but it would be much easier to do so with Restoration magic.
While Alter is a very widely used branch of magic, those that use it extensively may find themselves becoming flighty or mercurial.
The further Alter overlaps with another core concept, the more difficult it is to use effectively. For example, it is possible to alter an arrows speed mid flight with Alter magic, but it would be much easier to do so with Move magic. Similarly, it is possible to Alter something that has been changed with magic back to it's original state, but it would be much easier to do so with Restoration magic.
While Alter is a very widely used branch of magic, those that use it extensively may find themselves becoming flighty or mercurial.
Create, along with Alter is one of the broadest categories of magic, and it is one that has a very dichotomous nature. Create gets much mundane usage from craftsmen of every sort, since any profession involved with Creation can benefit from it's effects.
On the other side of the spectrum are the epic and Godly works of Create magic throughout history. Almost every legendary artifact has its beginnings in Creation magic, and many scholars believe that the world itself was Created with perhaps the most titanic example of magic ever preformed.
While many artists like the mental effects of Create magic, one must be careful that encouraging the muses does not descend into spiraling obsession.
On the other side of the spectrum are the epic and Godly works of Create magic throughout history. Almost every legendary artifact has its beginnings in Creation magic, and many scholars believe that the world itself was Created with perhaps the most titanic example of magic ever preformed.
While many artists like the mental effects of Create magic, one must be careful that encouraging the muses does not descend into spiraling obsession.
It is possible to have a spell so broad that it can only fall under the concept of Magic itself, but such spells tend to be legendary or godly effects that few mortals can successfully comprehend the idea fully.
Understanding a concept also changes the mindset of the mage. Trying to wrap your head around an overly broad concept too quickly can lead to madness, but even experienced mages are changed by their understanding. Because of this, there is a natural tendency towards specialization in a concept that must be consciously avoided if a mage wants to learn magic from under more than one greater category.
Magic is not limited to humans. Anything capable of understanding a concept is theoretically capable of casting magic. Simpler mindsets tend towards greater understanding of a narrower concept.
The Seven Pillars is a magic philosophy that espouses balance between all seven branches of magic in order to retain a balanced and centered sense of self, at the expense of a much slower and more methodical progression to learning magic.
It has been observed repeatedly throughout history that mages that focus on one or two branches to the exclusion of others tend towards mental instability faster, given a set number of complex spells that the practitioner uses. From this observation birthed the idea that learning all facets of magic equally ameliorates many of the negative mental effects that arise from focus on one area.
Over time, it has broadened into a philosophy favored by many of the scholarly mages of the world. Given this outlook of balance in learning and progression, it is unsurprising that many of the Seven Pillars mages disdain the more popular method of focusing on one or two areas of expertise and improving much more rapidly in those fields.
Seven Pillars mages are known to use the pejorative "little magics" to describe a focused approach to learning, since even many civilians with no magical training whatsoever will tend to pick up a few simple spells in their area of expertise from familiarity with the concepts. An example would be a carpenter picking up some Creation spells that make aligning boards easier, or a shopkeeper getting simple Scan spells for making accurate change.
It has been observed repeatedly throughout history that mages that focus on one or two branches to the exclusion of others tend towards mental instability faster, given a set number of complex spells that the practitioner uses. From this observation birthed the idea that learning all facets of magic equally ameliorates many of the negative mental effects that arise from focus on one area.
Over time, it has broadened into a philosophy favored by many of the scholarly mages of the world. Given this outlook of balance in learning and progression, it is unsurprising that many of the Seven Pillars mages disdain the more popular method of focusing on one or two areas of expertise and improving much more rapidly in those fields.
Seven Pillars mages are known to use the pejorative "little magics" to describe a focused approach to learning, since even many civilians with no magical training whatsoever will tend to pick up a few simple spells in their area of expertise from familiarity with the concepts. An example would be a carpenter picking up some Creation spells that make aligning boards easier, or a shopkeeper getting simple Scan spells for making accurate change.
