Magic Systems

[zas678]

Kaz- I think that having one of the character's names being Cain is a little to obvious. But it doesn't look too bad when it has the last name attached

EDIT- In Valkynphyre's story, it would be awesome if someone (a Marshish character) was forced to be super-powerful (by a father or something) and so he was a good character that had this evil power. He tries to use his power for good, and in order to defeat Evil Man, he has to gain more power, darkening him further.....

Ari- Eno kinda sounds like an Idea of the Day that Brandon had a while back, only it was the opposite. It was were if you cought a cold, then the cold would give you powers(because the virus wants you to live so that it can live). This made it so that the strongest people in the world are actually the weakest. And visa versa

[Patriotic Kaz]

The name is for irony because instead of murdering his brother he is revenging him and everyone else.... and yes it is meant to be obvious... though i could spell it with as Kaine or something

[Ari54]

Ari- Eno kinda sounds like an Idea of the Day that Brandon had a while back, only it was the opposite. It was were if you cought a cold, then the cold would give you powers(because the virus wants you to live so that it can live). This made it so that the strongest people in the world are actually the weakest. And visa versa

As I said earlier, there's a certain amount of overlap inherent to science fiction and fantasy ideas. Didn't expect to be an example though. I picked the way Eno works because, as you'll eventually find out in the beginning of Dreamspace, everyone that wields Eno are men. (Likewise, Idamancers are women) The idea that fighting off physical sickness was the cost of the magic seemed amusingly appropriate, and offered a good opportunity to contrast some characters.

But yeah, "the weak become strong" is certainly a theme both systems share. Eno as a magic system is intended to reveal how characters deal with their shortcomings, while Ida is more revealing about how characters see the world, how subtle they are, and so on. One's an emotional crucible, the other's an intellectual one.

The name is for irony because instead of murdering his brother he is revenging him and everyone else.... and yes it is meant to be obvious... though i could spell it with as Kaine or something

Spellyngs don't tend to make much of a difference in my experience, unless they result in a new pronunciation. Just go with Cain. I think it's tricky using a "talking name"* for irony, and it would probably go over best if this Cain character instead fitted with the profile his name gave him a little- maybe he's so set on revenging his brother because he's ashamed of having wanted to kill him himself.

*ie. a name intended to and generally read to have a specific meaning, like Victoria Major might be someone who wins a great victory.

[Patriotic Kaz]

He always came before his brother b/c he is a super genious in everything but at the same time he is traumatized from his own actions and the fact that he witnessed the massacre of his friends and family.... though i could name him Abel and that would be an interesting reversal of names....

[Argent]

I've been tinkering around with the idea of instant magic. I haven't worked out the limitations and specifics, but I think I like the concept of being able to do almost anything... and it barely lasts a second.  You can stop a blade aimed at you, but only if you create your shield at the right moment, at the right place.

[Ari54]

I've been tinkering around with the idea of instant magic. I haven't worked out the limitations and specifics, but I think I like the concept of being able to do almost anything... and it barely lasts a second.  You can stop a blade aimed at you, but only if you create your shield at the right moment, at the right place.

Hmmm. While I can see that being interesting sometimes, it strikes me as a boring limitation in the same way "you get tired" is- it just tends to result in important characters having incredibly fast reaction times.

[Patriotic Kaz]

Well mine is mental exhaustion caused from over processing.... though the complexity of science makes it all worth while... and i'm using breathing techniques and actual combat forms ect. ect.

[Argent]

I think of it not as reaction times, but as experience. If you are new to the whole concept, you are a lot more likely to create your spell at the wrong time, possibly even the wrong place. When there is a charging berserker running towards you, and you know you have to block his attacks at the exact moment, things can get pretty intense.

I am going to consider your comment though. Not sure what else I can add, but it may come to me - I haven't spent enough time on it to be confident about its functionality.

[Ari54]

There's a tendency for magic systems to inflate as a story develops. (partially because it's more entertaining) If you don't have an active plan for how you're going to inflate (or at least deepen) your magic systems, it tends to be by reducing the impact of the costs- that is, mages start finding it easier to deal with being tired, to react faster, to cope with sickness better, etc...

The best way to do this is to start your characters in ignorance of significant parts of the magic system. It can also help you create intimidating villains, by letting you make the villain have more powerful magic than the hero. Brandon uses this technique himself a lot, and it's a general trope of "low" fantasy.

[Curious]

Here's one. If you touch someone, you can steal their soul. Everyone would have this ability since birth, and would be able to use it without having to learn how. (For the sake of this magic system, if you lose your soul you are more or less a vegetable--it's much worse than Mr. S's Drab idea.)

What kind of bizarre society would that make?

[Ari54]

Here's one. If you touch someone, you can steal their soul. Everyone would have this ability since birth, and would be able to use it without having to learn how. (For the sake of this magic system, if you lose your soul you are more or less a vegetable--it's much worse than Mr. S's Drab idea.)

What kind of bizarre society would that make?

I have something similar to this in one of my books, except it's not quite as easy as just "touching" them, and you also get all of their magic.

[Curious]

Still, the main thing that makes my suggestion so interesting is how extreme it is. Would babies accidentally steal their parents' souls? Would people avoid touching each other, or would people just wear full-body clothing all the time? What kind of magic would people be able to perform by having other people's souls?

I figure if that stealing someone soul left them as a mindless vegetable, the magic you'd be able to do with souls would be much more powerful than Mr. S's use of Breaths because taking someone's Breath only leaves them as a drab.

Imagine if leaders met to make a pact or an agreement, and it ended with them chasing each other with knives trying to cut through each other's full-body clothes to steal their souls?

[Patriotic Kaz]

It's too extreme... so much so that it borders the ridiculous. If touching did thus you could never breed with out one parent becoming a vegetable and you would need to have twins to continue the species... scratch that. Babes would steal their mother's souls at birth and would die of starvation or the populace would die out because of a lack of kid that aren't vegetables. It doesn't border ridiculous IT IS. However if you tweak it , it may be worth a read.

[Curious]

Oh, let me make myself clear. You'd only steal someone's soul if you deliberately tried to. If two people trusted each other, they could hold hands without much fear of getting their soul sucked out. Babies probably wouldn't be able to steal their parents' souls (I've decided), they wouldn't know how to use their ability.

Most likely, children would be repetitively told from a young age not to touch anyone, and to not let strangers get too close to them. People would most likely wear full-body clothing and get nervous if other people went near them. Romantic relationships would take far longer to get to intimate stages. There'd probably be a myth of a shadowman who sneaks up on people and steals their souls, and there most likely would be thieves who would harvest people's souls.

What really needs defining is how the souls could be used to perform magic. It wouldn't be very useful to steal people's souls if all it did was work like Breaths in Warbreaker. In fact, it wouldn't even be that effective if it taught you everything the person who used to own the soul knew. Now, if souls granted magical power that couldn't be used up, each soul increased this power, and the power was something ridiculously powerful like being able to throw large fire-balls or mind-control people or... anyway, that really needs defining. Another question is, if gaining someone else's soul gave you those powers, would each person's own soul give them these powers?

[Patriotic Kaz]

Also what is the consequence of possesing to many souls...i mean your body would be "filled to the brim".