Building Magic

[Turos he/him]

Are you familiar with the Sanderson Laws of Magic? Here are some links:

 

Sanderson's 1st Law

 

Sanderson's 2nd Law

 

Sanderson's 3rd Law

 

By following these guidelines, I think we can come up with some very cool magics.

 

Here's a hard magic idea:

 

You can tear a page out of a book, tape it to a wall, and draw a doorway on the wall to open it and enter a scene as described on that page. It only creates a mirror scene constricted to an area generally the size of a large room. You can leave through the same door, but if you solve a puzzle in that room, you can take one item from it back into reality.

 

A limitation is the book must be a best-seller and has to come from an actual copy of the book, not photocopied.

[Young Bard he/him]

Just to clarify, what is the point of this post? Is it to spout magic system ideas? Or is it to consider the potential of your specific magic idea that you just mentioned?

 

If you want us to discuss your magic system, then here's my two cents.

 

Many people have a different definition of bestseller. Sometimes, it is whether it has sold x number of copies. At other times, it is based of a newspaper article release which calls it that. If you are thinking of using this, that might be something you want to think about. Also, what kind of puzzle would you face? What kind of objects could you take? Is the room different or the same each time? Why? Can you use the same page and/or book twice? And, is their any risk involved in this magic, e.g. You get locked off from the real world if you get the puzzle wrong?

 

*takes a breath and counts to 10*

 

If you want us to talk about our own magic system, here's one I just made up on the spot as I was typing. This is sort of semi-stereotypical, so bear with me.

 

You can use a magic doorway to get into a kind of crossroads between dimensions. However, you can only ever enter a dimension, besides the one you were born in, once. After that, the door will not work for you.

 

More about the crossroads.

 

The laws of physics don't apply in the crossroads. It is a place of pure chance. A surrealist's fantasy. In addition, time also goes backwards in the crossroads, meaning that if you go in to the crossroads at 12:00, stay there for 5 minutes, and then walk out, it will be 11:55. Furthermore, your other self from between 11:55 and 12:00 will cease to exist, and all their actions (save for them stepping into the crossroads), effectively never happened. You can then re-use those 5 minutes.

 

Not sure what you wanted the response to be, so I just did a bit of both worlds.

Edited May 13, 2015 by TheYoungBard

[Turos he/him]

Yeah I get that I am not very clear a lot, so I apologize. I intended for both, so good guess.

 

I'm thinking the puzzle would be related to recognizing an inconsistency in the scene from the actual book. What if an object or person or action was there/occuring that shouldn't be, and it is up to you to call it out, causing it to disappear/cease. It wouldn't be obvious, and knowing the rest of the book would help immensely. Maybe it could be a 'red herring', a bit of false foreshadowing that you can point out vocally. As long as its subtle and takes some quick thinking.

 

If you don't figure it out, by the time the scene finishes unfolding, you become trapped in the book, altering the copy you tore the page from so that you are at least a supporting character. Either way, once the scene ends, the page flies back into the book and mends itself.

 

If you succeed, you can take one carriable object that was described in the book. Also, the page you use is only a gateway. The scene included on it is used from beginning to end, though you won't be certain what the puzzle is until near the end. You also get only three guesses. Any object you take from the book remains in the real world, but is removed from all copies of the book from that scene onward, possibly changing the direction of the story.

 

As far as 'best-seller' goes, I was trying to create a means that prevents anyone from just writing a page to make whatever they want. Perhaps it should be a bound hardcover book, fiction, and the more people who have read it, the more powerful the magic is in creating this copy dimension that you enter. If only ten people have read it, nothing will happen. A hundred people might create a blurry dimension. a thousand people would at least bring key elements into focus, for the most part. At a million readers, you have a complete scene.

 

 

 

I like the limitation on your magic. How would someone discover a new dimension to enter? Are there actual doors laid out in a hallway? Are there any dangers in the other dimensions?