New magic system

[GoWibble]

So I've had this idea for a magic system for a while, and I was wondering what people thought about it. 

here it is:

Everyone is part of a Nostrom, except that everyone gets their powers at a different age, which inversely affects the potency of the magic (as they get older without powers, the powers get stronger when they get them). The Nostroms are genetic, to an extent. The Windshreders are the most genetically rare, and the genetic frequency gets more and more with Joltes and Jumps as the highest. The powers also have to do with cell aging (telomere length)

 

Magic system: Nostroms:

•   The Windshreders control the disparity of forces (they can narrow or disperse the area that the force is acting on) wind is very useful for this. Very hard to kill if they get it when they are old. A bullet is like a punch, not a stabbing pain. (cannot fly, unless the wind is directed in the right direction from the beginning (they can't change the direction of the force, only the area that the force is acting on))(the strength and spread of the force is the variable)

•   Stormdancers changes the direction of a force. (to an extent. If the force is too powerful, then they might not be able to change it) (the strength of the force is the variable, as well as the maximum angle that they can turn the force (180 would be the power level right as you die))

•   Chronoflyghtists: Time <= 10 mins away, for 10 minutes max: the longest recorded from someone that was 95 when they got their power (what they do in the past does change the present, the future is only for viewing (after you are done in the future, if it is before your time is up for the alternate time, you are stuck there until the present catches up (basically, your body on the present is not able to move until the time is up)) if you go into another time and see yourself, then you get sent back to your present time and everything that you did is erased from history (if you went back in time)

• Jumps: make someone else’s power work for longer, stronger, in a wider area, or one of the earlier stated for a longer time (only one (varies per person))

• Jolts: cancel the powers of people in a sphere around them for a short time (-10s) (the radius is the variable)

 

People don’t flaunt their powers, partially because keeping it secret could save you, but also that using the power makes you lose some of your energy. 

 

 

The main character is from the Windshear Nostrom and has a mentor that got his powers at 53 (ten years ago). 

 

Flora and fauna:

 

Ontophs: reptiles that control the flow of water. Have large shells that absorb water to cool their long necks and legs. They are basically deer sized brontosauri with large (wide and tall) shells

Yes, I know that they sound like some of the orders from SA, but this was before I read those books. The names could still change. 

Please tell me what you think is good  / cool, and what needs to be fixed!!

[Aluminum]

cool idea, I don't completely understand the keeping your powers hidden thing. If everyone has them I think it would be more normal. Also not sure about chronoflyghists. Might need to work on that name. Good job though. 

Edited February 11, 2020 by Aluminum

[GoWibble]

So, basically, if you reveal your power, then people know abt how powerful you are, and what Nostrom you belong to. Also, using 'power' makes you kind of tired

 

[+ILuvHats]

I'll ditto Aluminum that chronoflyghist stands out as an peculiar and overcomplicated name compared to the others. Also, I have a few questions.

• Is it more common for people to get their powers young than old? Is it a normal distribution centered around middle years (~40s)? Basically, how common is it for someone to be born with the powers late vs someone early vs someone middle aged?
• Does precision increase as well with increasing power level, or is precision gained through practice?
• Is efficiency affected by how late you gain your powers? For example, if someone gains their power later, can they perform the same task as someone who gained their powers earlier without growing as tired?
• What are the conditions determining whether you can affect a force? Does it need to be acting on you? Does the affect of the force have to be within your line of sight? Something else? I'm guessing it's the first. Otherwise, Windshredders and Stormdancers can essentially mobilize anyone they can see simply by messing with the force exerted by them walking/running.
• What are Nostroms exactly? You make it sound like they're an organized guild instead of just a classification for each person's magic type.

This line in particular interests me.

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 11:00 AM, GoWibble said:

(180 would be the power level right as you die))

It sounds like the power level is in relation to your genetic predisposition to die at a certain age. However, the maximum age people can live to is variable, and doesn't rely purely on genetics. The healthiness of your lifestyle has a large impact on how long you can live. So is the predetermined date of death based on how long someone can live if they live an ideally healthy life? Also, if someone is born with a genetic condition limiting their life to only 20 or 30 years, their abilities could be very powerful even if they manifest when the person is young, correct?

Overall, I like what you're doing with the magic. The dichotomy between age and power level is particularly interesting, because there's a natural trade-off between skill and raw abilities, inherently limiting and balancing the system. However, I need more meat! Give me context for the magic system, more background information about how it affects society and other juicy details. It's harder to judge the magic system without this kind of info. Keep up the awesome worldbuilding though.

[GoWibble]

4 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

Is it more common for people to get their powers young than old? Is it a normal distribution centered around middle years (~40s)? Basically, how common is it for someone to be born with the powers late vs someone early vs someone middle aged?

Ok, so I have developed it a bit more in the doc that I am working in, yes, it is more likely to get your powers younger than older, but not normally distributed, but more like skewed right with a peak at 10 - 12 yrs old

5 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

Does precision increase as well with increasing power level, or is precision gained through practice?

So yes to the practice, but I think that the power precision is going to cap out lower if you get it when you are younger

6 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

Is efficiency affected by how late you gain your powers? For example, if someone gains their power later, can they perform the same task as someone who gained their powers earlier without growing as tired?

Yes. Either they could have a higher output of power, or they could lose less energy

7 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

What are the conditions determining whether you can affect a force? Does it need to be acting on you? Does the affect of the force have to be within your line of sight? Something else? I'm guessing it's the first. Otherwise, Windshredders and Stormdancers can essentially mobilize anyone they can see simply by messing with the force exerted by them walking/running.

The conditions would be forces touching you, or touching something that you are touching (not the planet, that would require you to be too old to survive). 

Here is an example: 

Getting up in the morning was hard for Frank. Frank got out of bed refreshed, but kind of bleary. Splashing water onto his face, he narrowed the force to be a sharp shock rather than something akin to a wet slap. Sometimes he wished that he could be a Stormdancer, and be able to just direct the water away from his eyes and just go back to sleep. But he needed to go to work and get on with his life. 

After getting dressed, Frank went outside and dulled the light coming through his glasses. The sunlight was too bright, and the heat was too much for him. He toned it down, not caring that it made him more tired. 

So here in the example, Frank narrowed the force of the water on his face, and dilated outward the force of the light that was going through the glasses and allowed the heat to disperse outward.

21 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

What are Nostroms exactly? You make it sound like they're an organized guild instead of just a classification for each person's magic type

So I'm not sure exactly. At least, they are the classification for the magic type. upwards of that, it depends on what I have the plot going around. 

24 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

It sounds like the power level is in relation to your genetic predisposition to die at a certain age. However, the maximum age people can live to is variable, and doesn't rely purely on genetics. The healthiness of your lifestyle has a large impact on how long you can live. So is the predetermined date of death based on how long someone can live if they live an ideally healthy life? Also, if someone is born with a genetic condition limiting their life to only 20 or 30 years, their abilities could be very powerful even if they manifest when the person is young, correct?

yes! that is where I was going with the main character! They are going to have a disorder that would (at least normally) cause them to die at an earlier age. The power level is dependent on the proportion of the expected age that you would live to if you lived an average life (no extreme choices for diet, nutrition, risky choices...) 

27 minutes ago, ILuvHats said:

Overall, I like what you're doing with the magic. The dichotomy between age and power level is particularly interesting, because there's a natural trade-off between skill and raw abilities, inherently limiting and balancing the system. However, I need more meat! Give me context for the magic system, more background information about how it affects society and other juicy details. It's harder to judge the magic system without this kind of info. Keep up the awesome worldbuilding though.

Thanks! I hope that the example helps, but I don't have a good idea for the plot. This is a secondary plot that I'm working on, and this one is fantasy.