Describe Your Magic System in a Few Sentences

Aethereal- The type most commonly used by humans and derivatives. Souls are held in place by treads of aether. In human these treads are extremely thick and must be worn down in order to be usable. When unleashed it can manipulate matter. If overused it can cause the practitioners soul to be ejected into the void.

Anima- Used by demons. If a human uses it they will either lose their humanity or die. The souls of demons are very lose. They're capable of expanding their conscious in order to manipulate objects and living beings. Regular use requires the consumption of souls to halt the destruction their own.

Lumen- Accessible to minor deities, pseudo gods and ascended humans. Used by directly harnessing the generative power of a cosmic object. Unlike the previous two it's only restrained by the users mind and intellect.

edited 12th Apr '13 12:47:53 PM by Mora

Just to be sure, how many sentences would be too many? I wrote this whole thing, but it turned out to be several paragraphs, and it didn't even get into the most convoluted part of the magic system yet, so I don't know if I should try simplifying it or share it as is.

Too much is how much you think it is. I skipped out on some seriously complex bits myself, including the Archon particle, an exotic gauge boson that acts as the carrier for the arcane force. It gets complicated.

Aether comes in three states of matter: Aura (colorless gas), Mana (translucent liquid), and Thauma (crystalline solid). Casters can use aether as a medium to manipulate matter or energy.

Trace amounts of Aura can be found in the air in most places (or trace amounts of Mana in the water), which means simple spells can be performed freely; more complicated spells tend to require additional aether reagent.

edited 13th Apr '13 8:43:16 PM by Blueeyedrat

witches and wizards summon and bargain with the spirits. A wiccan (for lack of a better term with the same root as witch and wizard) might burn an herb and recite an incantation, but not all spirits are helpful, so he or she might require a protective circle of some kind.

Some people are born with preternatural abilities as a result of inhuman lineage; these people rarely have the full range of abilities.

Well then.

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Magic is the world's way of adapting to anything that might threaten it.

The first kind of magic to come into existence are the spells of affinity. Affinities are concepts that humans can base spells on, and the only form of magic (directly) available to pure humans. An affinity is usually worded to be between one to three words, but can be longer, depending on the person. A spell is a discrete, static supernatural expression of a given affinity. The spells are based on any interpretation of the affinity possible; for example, the affinity Tides of the Heart includes spells for both manipulating emotions and blood. Most people with affinities do not know what their exact affinity is, except through extrapolation. A person with an affinity cannot develop any spells other than those of their affinity, but they do so organically, continuously, and their grasp of both their spells and their methods of recovery are instinctual.

An offshoot of the affinity concept are the mages. Mages are incapable of ever developing their own spells, and they have to use artificial methods of recovering from the strain magic places on them, but they can learn any spell from any affinity, assuming they can find a willing teacher, can fuel it and are willing to pay any other price a single spell might cost them. Mages are both pitied and feared by most other members of the magical world, for while they can be quite dangerous and resourceful, they are unlikely to find the spiritual completeness people with affinities continually journey towards.

Spells of affinity, whether as adepts with affinities or mages, requires that one have a certain spiritual hollowness for the magic of the world to fill. This concept is known as the Scars. For magic to enter one's life, a person must fundamentally define himself as scarred, flawed and less than whole. This flaw does not necessarily need to be mental; many people who cannot look past their own physical disabilities have developed affinities. Anyone who is truly content with their life will never see beyond the veil as long as it remains intact, and thus will be blind to magic. Like a tooth filling, magic quickly fills the hole in the magic user's life, preventing the spiritual hollowness from expanding and consuming the person for the time being. However, lack of further care to avoid such problems might lead to the rot spreading once again, and magic can no longer protect that person.

The second kind of magic is the magic of blood. This is the magic used by spirits, angels and their descendants of flesh. Pure humans cannot use magic as innately as these spiritual beings do, but spirits and angels can rarely grow in their supernatural puissance, their powers dictated by their position and their personality. Humans with spirit or angelic ancestry have a diluted form of blood magic that is rarely as potent and encompassing as a spirit's powers, but benefit from the humans' ability to grow and learn from experience. One magic all spirits have in common is the ability to relocate themselves to their domain. The spirit of a forest can near-instantly move to that forest, for example, no matter how far he might be from that forest, while the protector of an organization can appear wherever the essential mark of that organization exists.

The third kind of magic is not truly a unified kind of magic, but supernatural powers that do not fit the fivefold classification of magical beings. Known as the uniquenesses, these powers cannot be learnt as spells by mages, are not common to the class of being the unique belongs to (whether it is revenants, faeries, angels, spirits or humans) and are not based on any affinity, and thus rarely have a chance to grow as an affinity does. While uniques are uncommon, they are not truly rare, with around one in every two hundred human magic users having a uniqueness.

One kind of magic is not a kind of magic at all, but a way of manipulating magical energy in imitation of gaining affinities. Known as contract magic, it allows even adepts to expand beyond their affinities in certain ways through bargains with spirits and angels. A contract requires at least two things: a willing intermediary for the contract, and a sacrifice by the one making it. Anything else is a formality. The intermediary acts to channel the world's energy into the void left by the sacrifice, but can only do so as resonates with its own nature. That means a wolf spirit might give a person a keen sense of smell, or the ability to speak to wolves, but it won't be able to let that person fly. Notably, contracts are the only way magic can grant the ability to truly shapeshift or to summon a sentient, animate creature. While most contracts are open ended, some of them are finite and conditional. A finite contract can be fulfilled, in which case the void filled by magic is opened and healed (though any physical sacrifice will have to be recovered normally); it can be violated, in which case the spiritual hollowness remains but no longer grants any benefits; and it can be broken, which is a willful act of defiance or an attack of last resort where the magical energy invested in the contract can be unleashed like a bomb, at which point the contract is considered violated. Since contracts require sacrifices to form in the first place, most people are unwilling to break or violate contracts. An important thing to keep in mind with contracts is that any spirit that requires a sacrifice or places a condition on the contract will never consider the spirit of the bargain as long as it can manipulate the wording to its advantage, and it expects the same of the other party. As such, a keen mind and a sharp tongue are important when forming contracts, with foolishly struck bargains leading to monstrosities such as werewolves.

At 998 words, we have a record.

The weird part is the magic system is an afterthought in the story. It is mostly a justification for creating a Dysfunction Junction as the main cast.

Magic, in its naturally-occurring state, is Wild Magic. The existence of different magic systems is due to humans artificially constructing them for practical usage of magic. Generally speaking, simpler, less versatile systems are quicker, easier, and less labor- and energy- intensive to use, while highly powerful, versatile, reality warping systems are either ridiculously complicated and time-consuming to use or else highly dangerous and unpredictable. Near one end of the scale is the ancient, nigh-omnipotent High Sorcery, an insanely intricate system of Hermetic Magic that can, given a good twenty years, an obscene assortment of magical components, and a knowledge of magical law and ritual that would make lesser wizards' brains short-circuit, do things such as teleport entire islands, completely erase a village from history, or create a small Eldritch Abomination. Near the other is the so-called Blastomancy, or "Thug Magic," which is dedicated simply to making things explode as quickly, simply, and efficiently as possible.

There also isn't any law that says that you can't create a system that's almost identical to a pre-existing one (though creating a magical system isn't an instantaneous thing - even a ridiculously simple one-spell one takes about a week to create, and it only gets much, much harder from there), so there is, for example, a vast assortment of different systems consisting of the same basic fire elemental magic with a couple of random "secret weapon" spells thrown in. Another interesting effect of this whole general system of system-crafting is that it allows the existence of religion-based magic while still allowing the existence of deities to remain ambiguous. (It is, for example, perfectly possible to create a system of magic that is powered by faith in an omnipotent, benevolent deity, consists solely of spells of healing and purification, and can only be used by the pure of heart for a good motive.)

Also noteworthy is the fact that some systems were created for political reasons. One example is the most common form of witchcraft, which allows its user to execute whatever magical acts are ascribed to the popular cultural notion of a witch (brewing magic potions from random "magical" ingredients, flying on a broomstick, etc.). Through careful social manipulation, the first witches created their own mythology around themselves, allowing them to use their own brand of powerful magic unacceptable to the wizard patriarchy (some, known as warlocks, tried to use witchcraft, but because the cultural perception of a witch was so heavily skewed towards female practitioners, they ended up being far less powerful). Also, numerous tribal rulers had their high-priests create simple magical systems powered by blood sacrifice to strengthen belief in their war god of choice and instill fear in their subjects and enemies.

Magic is usable by virtually anyone, and while some turn to the study and advancement of the higher magical arts and/or pursuit of arcane power (wizards, alchemists, etc.), many use simple, mundane "Trade Magic" to aid them in their everyday lives. For example, a farmer might use one of countless simple farming systems designed to make crops grow, summon rain and clear skies, increase the milk- and egg-producing capabilities of cows and chickens, and so on and so forth, while an adventurer's might be more along the lines of summoning bread and water, lighting small fires, seeking out the nearest point of shelter, and detecting magical curses. Some people make their living by creating various Trade Magics, and most professions have several competing brands. The longer one continues to use the same system, the stronger and more facile one's control of it becomes and the harder it is to switch to a different system. The closer another system is to one's current system, the easier it is to switch and the less experience-based power is "spilled." It would be difficult for a witch to become a user of various miscellaneous elemental powers, easier for that elemental user to convert to a Four Classical Elements system, easier than that for a Classical Elemental to become a fire-oriented one, and easier still for that fire master to switch over to another, nearly identical fire system with a random cheese-making spell thrown in (Though it is worth noting that tacking on a random cheese spell to a system of elemental fire magic weakens/complicates the whole thing significantly more than adding it to, say, a system of baking magic. Wild Magic likes themes.).

Because everyone is capable of using magic, a small child not tied to any system can be somewhat dangerous and unpredictable, randomly releasing small bursts of Wild Magic. To combat this, most villages employ at least one Binder, someone who uses a magic system designed with the sole purpose of bonding other people to different magic systems. An ordinary, garden-variety Binder will use this ability to bind a newborn baby so something simple like creating weak flashing lights or growing carrots until the child reaches the age where they can learn magic on their own and the bonds on them are lifted. On the other hand, some people have been known to weaponize an extremely powerful form of Binding. The same spells that make a baby only able to create bubbles or colorful light shows can, at a much higher level, be used to completely erase a powerful wizard's entire magical repertoire and permanently bind him to a magical system containing a single suicide spell.

That's about it for now, I suppose.

If the people can't understand how it works, then it's magic :D

Some magical things are actually lost, ancient technology. Other instances of magic are merely the result of superstition and natural psychological phenomena.

And then some magic is the unknowable work of non-euclidian eldrich abominations from beyond the universe, or the work of malicious spirits from this universe. Or a space battleship delivering kinetic munitions onto the stronghold of the aforementioned abomination.

Or it's the number 3. As the Lay states, "Three...is a magic number." Does the Lay (the chief ancient text of the people) depict History, or Prophecy? That question may involve magic.

Magic is what can't be explained by the people witnessing it.

Mana in my fictional world is called magum, short for magic quantum, which are atom sized particles with partial quantum properties. Every magum particle consists of a barrier which sealed the energy within, which comprises of six energy columns that shaped live a sinusoidal wave arranged perpendicular to each other. Different elements has characteristic energy column properties.

Casting them requires mental focus which destroys the barrier and the energy was released in its physical form. By manipulating their sizes, waveforms, distances against each other and where they are accumulated, various forms of spells can be cast.

Gotta love Minovsky Magic.

Magic is an energy that binds everything and that humans can conduct to do their sorcery through their bodies, the more one uses it, the more resistant the body becomes.

Dark magic however, damages the physical body and disfigures it, leading to Body Horror.

When demons and angels use magic, they don't have any of those things, since magic is natural to them [except demons can't use light magic and angels can't use dark magic].

Magic is more like Elemental Powers than things like shapeshifting, teleportation and whatnot. These require a lifetime of work and practice [even for demons/angels].

In the Legendarium, Magic is known as Inner Power. Inner Power was gifted to all of mankind, good or bad, when Agathos (Creator Divinity) sacrificed his body and converted it into Ichor. Ichor is the physical expression of Inner Power that now flows within every human's bloodstream, making up 1% of the liquid in the circulatory system. This also provides the purpose of sealing a fraction of Ruin's (Divinity of Discord) consciousness within every human, preventing her from awakening from imprisonment.

For the majority of the human race, Inner Power is expressed subtly. For example, a person is stronger or faster than most of their peers without much training and at a level beyond the explanation of "natural talent." But about one-fifth of mankind can express their Inner Power with less subtlety, such as creating fireballs or changing the course of rivers.

Inner Power can be enhanced by Divinities, who are basically the gods of the setting. But the effect of such extra bestowed power depends on the Divinity bargained with. If Inner Power is enhanced by a benevolent Divinity, then the user only needs to remain morally upright to maintain that power. If Inner Power is enhanced by a malevolent Divinity, then the magic user is susceptible to their sponsor's whims.

edited 5th Jun '13 5:07:41 PM by Insano

I'll be brief.

In my setting, which is more realistic than fantastic, there are there are two major forms of magic use: Channeling and 'Miraculous' Emanation.

Since magic is an element of nature, not unlike 'the force' in Star Wars, which flows in metaphysical currents through all of existence. Although most people have a dull sense of the magic flowing around them, through intense training and inner discipline, one comes to know the 'Tides of Magic' more and more intimately. Eventually one understands magic so well that they come to eventually be able to manipulate the Tides themselves; basically positioning their metaphysical selves 'in front' of a powerful magical current so that it crashes upon them like a wave, after which they channel it to do their bidding. These 'channelers' are capable of any number of magical feats, but the extreme difficulty of magical study and practice basically limits any single aspiring mage to choosing a single 'school' of magic, be it pyromancy, cryomancy, transmutation, or what have you. There is no special requirement for becoming a channeler, one only needs the determination and practice to persevere through the difficult and painful process required to master it.

Unlike channeling, which is the more common form of magic use, emanation has very little to do with training, discipline, or perseverance. Rather, a small handful of the global population are born with the 'Charismata', one or more of several mutations which allow them to manipulate the Tides in unique and spectacular ways. In some societies Charismatics are seen as messianic gifts from Heaven, while in others they are seen as monstrous freaks which need to be destroyed. One society is even dominated by a class of practically-immortal Charismatic 'Phoenix Lords' who see themselves as the next step in human development ala the Brotherhood from X-Men. They aren't popular.

So, yeah. That's more or less it.

tonnes of different magic 'systems' used by various different magic users. The powers are very broad, allowing pretty much anything to be done using magic, but the thousands of years and effort it takes to learn how to master them leaves you with only two or three sufficiently useful (like that you can't get a doctorate in absolutely everything, or a martial art, you can't get a black belt in everything either. funnily enough, some of the magic is based on martial arts and some of it on intellect). Depending on which form you studied your chosen branch of magic you have studied, it is invoked using herbs and potions, physical movements, written/drawn commands and verbal incantations. the majority of magic users have been killed off (by each other) leaving only a few behind, one of whom I will use as an example.

Dubh is a wizard of fire and darkness. the fire aspect sticks to the basic fire-mage archetype (think firebending) but darkness is something more unique. though early on in studies darkness is a fairly useless visual trick, and requires dangerous tutelage by treacherous eldritch abominations, and also drives the user insane. once sufficiently experienced, though, it can be much more sinister. the user can create a cloud of darkness around him, and anyone who comes into contact with it has their inner light/dark balance thrown off and they die, essentially being a cloud of death itself. it can also be used to confer with the shadow court, the council formed by various gods, spirits and other creatures (e.g. one god of night. a goddess known as the queen of ravens, mother of crows. the black court sidhe. king of demons. queen of valkyries. high witch. etc.)

edited 6th Jun '13 12:43:56 PM by VincentQuill

x5 - we should really have a page for Minovsky Magic.

The Polarity engine.

Pure magical energy erupts the same way as a simple spark flame; it is unfocused, wasteful, and very, very bright, and also yet stemmed in any particular school of magic. However, when the flow of this rogue magic is contained in a prefabricated and stationary matrix, a device that looks remarkably similar to an ornate wheel, this polarity can be used to draw out a counter force- a negative form of the same energy. So long as both matrix wheels are set spinning against each other, a constant magical equilibrium is maintained, by the process of the negative energy converting itself into the positive, and vice-versa.

As powerful and flexible as this manner of engine is, the volatility of a magic based power source, and the expertise needed for repair and maintenance of such a machine have kept it's use almost exclusively restricted to large scale corporations and private estates.

It's called Magic A Is Magic A. (There's a redirect for Minovsky Physics titled Physics A Is Physics A.)

Witches and warlocks have innate magical ability. There are four basics types: Joats

Sorcerers and sorceresses need magic from another source, and bargain/make deals with spirits, demons, and ghosts. They are possessed, damned, or near one of the other two.

Magic can only be used by the living, though the dead can grant someone any power they had in life *

edited 7th Jun '13 5:24:21 PM by UmLovely

Incredibly complicated magical science with carefully calculated mana cost calculations needed for bigger spells.

Small spherical devices are needed to use various unique types of magic.

Many, many, many magical races have their own unique abilities.

I'll attempt briefness, but I highly doubt that will happen.

Magic is divided into three main types: Divination, Arcanism, and Mysticism. Within each, there are several schools of magic which are divided based on what it takes to cast each spell. Other types of magic exist, but they are rarely used and often forgotten over the ages. Most spells consist of three parts. First, the caster draws power from some source of magical energy. Second, the caster channels the energy into a usable spell. This can take anywhere from several minutes of concentration to almost instantaneously. Finally, the magical event takes place. Most spell effects are referred to by the magical community as magical events.

Mysticism is the oldest form of magic and is often called Primal Magic by spellcasters. This magic calls upon the raw power of the universe through the use of runes that are inscribed on the caster's body and clothing. Primal magic is often unstable and powerful, manifesting in the form of one of the four classical elements. Primal magic users generally take the roles of shamans and druids.

Divination, or Divine Magic, is based entirely on willpower and faith. It is essentially the transfer of power directly from a powerful entity to the caster. Once the caster has the divine power, a spell can be shaped from it. One of the easiest ways to cast is Incantation, which is essentially a prayer that results in a power transfer. Sanctification is another method of casting, in which the caster acts as a medium between the target and the entity. Power is transferred from the entity, through the caster, and into the target. Sanctification spells are usually blessings that increase the power of the target. The strongest divine casters are able to perform Affirmation spells, which create a simple magical event, such as a fireball or holy light, drawing entirely from the caster's faith and willpower. There are also Condemnation spells, which are cast similarly to Sanctifications, but cause curse effects, rather than blessings.

Arcanism, or Arcane Magic, is the most recently discovered type of magic, having been discovered while researching alchemy. In order to understand Arcane magic, one must first understand alchemy.

Alchemy is the transfer of arcane energy from components into an alchemical product which contains a magical event. There are four types of alchemical products, one for each of the four states of matter. Vapors are the weakest, taking the form of a gas. Vapors are considered alchemical byproducts because any given transmutation has a good chance of creating a vapor along with the desired product. Vapors are hard to contain and rarely cause lasting effects, making them fairly worthless. Elixers are the most commonly-used alchemical products, taking the form of a liquid. Elixers are much stronger than vapors and can be easily contained in glass vials. These are your basic magic potions. Stones are the most valuable alchemical products, taking the form of a solid. Stones can contain the most powerful magical effects and they rarely run out of power, causing many stones to become legendary artifacts. Anomalies are the rarest and most powerful alchemical products. They generally take the form of plasma, but not always. The only rule for an anomaly is that it causes an effect that should not be. Usually, this is some sort of power radiation with no discernible source of energy. Products are created by drawing energy from specific magical components and combining it into a magical event that is then bound to an empty vessel.

Arcane Magic draws on this principle, but skips the process of binding in favor of immediately releasing the energy. There are two basic schools of Arcane magic: Transmutation and Alteration. Transmutation is the easiest way to cast, but requires material components. The components are arranged and converted to arcane energy which causes the magical event to take place. After that, the caster merely aims the spell at a target. Alteration is simpler to set up, but harder to control. It also draws on a finite supply of arcane energy in the world. The caster channels the spell as arcane energy is converted into a usable form. To do this, the caster must have memorized several formulas and equations to ensure that the spell is formed properly. After the energy is gathered, the magical event takes place and the caster simply releases the spell toward its target.

Well, I seem to have lied about the briefness. Sorry about that.

edited 8th Jun '13 8:13:02 AM by ZigtarXamos

Whenever a human being comes in contact with a special kind of quantum circuitry they get to apply energy to anyway they want to virtually any object they're aware of.

It involves using quantum entanglement in order to draw a connection between the user and the target. A.I.s use quantum computers to try to figure it out and they still have no idea how we do it.

One goes insane in the process and kicks of a robot apocalypse....

This is far from finished, but here's what I have so far.

Magic is sort of an ever present energy, like a planet's magnetic field. Most things don't naturally interact with it. Like dark matter. (Don't read too much into the parallel. Seriously.) Creatures who have somehow been connected to this field can draw from it and use the energy however they want. That connection is often through objects called focuses, which can be a part of the creature's body. (Cells in a butterfly's wings, maybe.) It is possible for one mage to get at another by sending something out through the field that would completely bypass the normal world. Mages cast spells but interacting with the field in any number of ways, a few of which can be: Binding things to the field, keeping them in place. Gathering energy from the field and releasing it in the normal world. (Good for fires, forces, light, so on.) Creating connections between places by folding the field around. (Portals. Of a sort.)

Focusing enough energy on a single point can create a connection the the magical field. Lighting strikes can result in such things, as can explosions. If you're determined, enough mirrors can achieve this.

In order to use the magical field, (basically, to become mages,) people can do either of two things: 1. Bind themselves to a focus (anything works. There is a degree of ritual magic to allow them to do this,) and use that to draw and direct energy. This gives them the ability to work with magic, but that's all.

2. Go through a series of drug-induced mutations that cause them to grow small (microscopic, really,) crystals under the skin that act as a focus. This way they aren't dependent on an object, and they start to draw magic simply for bodily functions as well. The result is a person who can work with magic very intuitively, doesn't need to eat, won't tire, and heals quickly.

edited 17th Jun '13 9:11:56 PM by Traveler

Anything goes.

Short enough?