The magic system thread

[Straw he/him]

This thread is for posting magic systems you have thought up. Here is mine:

My magic system is a elemental magic system with 17 elements. The elements are divided into 5 sections each with a focus. The 5 sections are: Classical (Fire, Air, Water, Stone), Advanced (Smoke, Metal, Wood, Lightning), Higher (Flesh, Light, Shadow, Bone), Godly (Space, Time, Reality, Void), and Magical (Magic).

Each magic user can only access one of the 17 elements. Classical allows you to control your element. Advanced allows you to turn into your element. Higher allows you greater control of your element (Creating your element out of nothing, changing characteristics of your element). Godly allows you to access the pure source of your element. Magical allows you to cancel out or enhance the magic of people you touch.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Straw

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

3 hours ago, Straw said:

My magic system is a elemental magic system with 17 elements...

It's got options, but the idea needs a lot of fleshing out before I can comment any further.
It avoids the "4 classical elements + one more" thing, though, which can only be good IMO.

 

I've been working on this system where the users extract phlogiston from objects (or substances) and insert it in others.
(real-world) Phlogiston was a theoretical element that was suggested in the 17th century that explained why stuff burned.
Because of some early-scientific observations, they deduced that phlogiston had to have negative mass.

So for my system I have two linked properties that can be extracted from one substance and inserted into another (or the same one): flammability and mass/weight. When a magic user makes something less flammable, it also has to become heavier. If they want to make something lighter, it's coupled with increased risk of fire. This becomes rather more interesting when you know I plan to use zeppelins in the setting.

I'm stuck however, because I want to add one or more additional pairs of attributes that can be manipulated. I've been racking my brain for months now, and nothing seems to work. I've thought about magnetism, acidity coupled with solubility, but everything sort of falls flat after a while.

I'd love any suggestions anyone could give me.

[Ecthelion III he/him]

Friction might be fun to play around with.

Maybe ductility, elasticity?

[Tobysmouse he/him]

In the world of Okaros everyone can use magic, no 'nobles get magic's or 'Wizards and Muggles'.

However, magic can only be used when one gets an object called a 'Soul Key' (EDIT: Soul Keys are easily obtained, you can buy them in shops) What you need to do is etch symbols onto it. The element (Fire,Water,Earth,Air,Lightning,Ice,Metal, Solar and Lunar) is written first followed by the type of spell. E.g To make a Water Whip Soul Key you etch the symbol for Water and then the rune for Whip. Once this is done, you either break the key in half (Quicker, but you do not get as much magical energy) or dissipate it (Much slower but you get more magic for your Elemental well.) When you use a Key of Fire, and you have never used Fire magic before, you will gain a new well of power. Children can go to schools of magic from the age of eight. Also when you use a Soul Key, for one day your power in that element will be twice as powerful, but afterwards it will wear off. There is also things called Shape Crystals, with these you carve an animal out of it. Once this is done you can summon that creature, the better it is carved the more powerful the monster will be. There is another world called Ivumel, in that there are a race called Ivumites, they use magic of crystals. They draw energy through the shards embedded in them, then release it in short bursts of power. The way magic came about in the world of Okaros is that elementals crashed to the ground, their meteors shattering into billions of Soul Shards, which are made into Soul Keys. There is a legend that when the Elemental of magic Exos came down, one of his Soul Shards changed into the key of Exos, which is said to (SAID to) give the user all magical abilities (Try and guess what it really does). This is an outline of my Magic system. If too much magic is used, the person's body will start to combust. 

[ccstat he/him]

Eagle, I really like the phlogiston system. Great idea!

Question: does flammability imply flame, or does it refer to oxidative potential in general? Because your airship decks may rust out from under you, and you could design some really interesting electric circuits with phlogistically modified materials. (I'm thinking about a combined lightning rod and galvanic sink for your airships.)

Another question: where and how do you store extracted phlogiston?! That sounds like a very difficult material to handle!

For other properties, Ecthelion's suggestion of ductility could be interesting. I'm not sure what you would pair it with, especially since it seems like most uses would be to temporarily enhance the ductility of something while you shape it, then make it less malleable in the new shape, so the trade off would only be in play for the manipulation of the object, but for its use.

My thought for another property is vital force, in the sense of "the thing that causes spontaneous generation." I'm sure you're familiar with that theory, where frogs and flies and fungus arise spontaneously out of water or food or wood. I'll have to think longer about a good paired attribute for it.

Edited June 16, 2016 by ccstat
Typos

[Noel he/him]

I've got several magic systems I'm working on, but I thought I would share one on a vignette I just did a first draft of.  On the world in question, one of the magics in use is lethature.  Lethature is the repurposing of metals for various purposes.  Different metals and alloys provide different effects, but not all metals have known uses during the late medieval/early renaissance era the story takes place in.

In the story (Death by Fire), the protagonist uses lethature in a combat setting, but lethature has a greater range of uses than just combat.  What follows are the initial notes (sans the known metals and their effects) I made for the story.

Metalbrace

A metalbrace is a lethature that is placed over another object.  It forms an ordered pattern, such as squares, circles or hexagons, over the other object.  If this lethature is applied to an object already covered with another lethature, it is the other lethature that is enhanced, not the object.  The metalbrace can be returned to its original shape by the one creating the lethature.  It is of medium duration.

 

Metalcap

A metalcap covers only a portion of the object it is placed upon.  It is capable of some flexibility, but not to the point of permitting fine motor control, such as that of fingers tying knots or the like.  It can be returned to its original form by the creator.  A metalcap lethature has a long duration.

 

Metaldrop

A metaldrop creates a lethature that acts as a reserve for a metalcap, metalskin or metalward, increasing its duration by one step (two if the same metal is used) and increasing its capacity by 50% (100% if the same metal is used).  A metaldrop used in conjunction with a metalwake will create permanence in the metalwake lethature (if the same metal is used, then it also allows an additional, creator-determined property such as mutability to be added).

 

Metalhold

A metalhold molecularly bonds two or more pieces of metal together.  The bonding is nearly unbreakable and often has to be undone by the original caster or by melting the metal down.  It only works with metal or metal alloys.  It is of permanent duration.  IT DOES NOT WORK ON LETHATURE EMBUED ITEMS.

 

Metallift

A metallift is a lethature that is placed over another object.  It forms a chaotic pattern that often appears as jagged lightning or meandering lines.  If this lethature is applied to an object already covered with another lethature, it is the other lethature that is enhanced, not the object.  The metallift can be returned to its original shape by the one creating the lethature.  It is of short duration.

 

Metalskin

A metalskin creates a lethature that acts as a protective layer around an object.  Sufficient material must be present to create this lethature.  Lack of material will either fail or create a metalcap if possible.  The metalskin is highly flexible, thus allowing it to act as armor for a living being.  When the effect of a metalskin is exhausted, it returns to its original shape.  It is has a short duration.

 

Metalwake

A metalwake creates an object imbued with one particular power associated with the metal so used.  Unlike other lethatures, this lethature requires more metal for the object than exists in the final product.  The amount needed is from two to five times the mass of the final object, depending on which other lethature is mimicked in the metalwake.  It is of an extremely long duration.  When the metalwake expires, the metal is lost.

 

Metalward

A metalward provides either a direct or indirect protection.  In the case of an indirect protection (such as enhanced alertness), the metalward has an extremely long duration.  In the case of a direct protection (such as resistance to acid), the metalward has a very long duration. This lethature must be in direct contact with whatever is to be protected.

 

Metalburn

A metalburn is a complicated lethature, and is as yet unknown.  It allows the melding of lethatures with a living being.  It requires twenty to fifty times the volume of metal as will exist in the actual lethature endowed upon the target,  as well as five metaldrops of the same metal to power the metalburn created lethature.  Once created, the lethature may be used double the normal allotted duration of a single lethature during a twenty-four hour period.  Every time the lethature is used, the clock is 'reset'.  For every five additional metaldrops used, an additional use per day is added.  The end lethature is permanent.

 

Lethature overlap creates a 50% increase in effectiveness.

 

Instantaneous - the lethature is an immediate, one-moment, event.

 

Extremely Short - fifteen seconds

 

Very Short - two minutes

 

Short - sixteen minutes

 

Medium - one hundred twenty-eight minutes (two hours)

 

Long - one thousand twenty-four minutes (sixteen hours)

 

Very Long - eight thousand, one hundred ninety-two minutes (five and a half days)

 

Extremely Long - sixty-five thousand, five hundred thirty-six minutes (forty-five days)

 

Insanely Long - five hundred twenty-four thousand, two hundred eighty-eight minutes (one year)

 

Permenant - non-ending

 

Some examples

 

Aluminum   subject to metalhold (yes)

                      effect of metalbrace (reduced weight)

                      effect of metalcap (immune to electrical current)

                      subject to metaldrop (yes)

                      effect of metallift (taser target)

                      effect of metalskin (unknown)

                      subject to metalwake (yes)

                      effect of metalward (unknown)

                      subject to metalburn (yes)

 

Iridium         subject to metalhold (yes - creates delayed radiation burst)

                      effect of metalbrace (unknown)

                      effect of metalcap (immune to toxins)

                      subject to metaldrop (yes)

                      effect of metallift (radiation poisoning)

                      effect of metalskin (immune to bio toxins)

                      subject to metalwake (yes)

                      effect of metalward (unknown)

                      subject to metalburn (yes)

 

Iron              subject to metalhold (yes)

                      effect of metalbrace (increased endurance)

                      effect of metalcap (immune to piercing/cutting)

                      subject to metaldrop (yes)

                      effect of metallift (reduced endurance)

                      effect of metalskin (immune to piercing/cutting)

                      subject to metalwake (yes)

                      effect of metalward (debilitation)

                      subject to metalburn (yes)

 

Zinc               subject to metalhold (yes)

                      effect of metalbrace increased vitality)

                      effect of metalcap (unknown)

                      subject to metaldrop (yes)

                      effect of metallift (leech vitality)

                      effect of metalskin (unknown)

                      subject to metalwake (yes)

                      effect of metalward (immune to loss of vitality)

                      subject to metalburn (yes)

 

Also, my apologies for the double post on this thread; I realized belatedly I'm not supposed to do that.

Edited June 18, 2016 by Noel
Updating my magic system information

[Noel he/him]

23 hours ago, Eagle of the Forest Path said:

I'm stuck however, because I want to add one or more additional pairs of attributes that can be manipulated. I've been racking my brain for months now, and nothing seems to work. I've thought about magnetism, acidity coupled with solubility, but everything sort of falls flat after a while.

I'd love any suggestions anyone could give me.

I would suggest flexibility tied to something like conductivity...

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

Ok guys. This is going to get REALLY complicated. 

I've been working on numerous magic systems which I surprisingly find easy to make. All I really need is initiative and motivation. So one day after prayer when our imaam was speaking of action and intention and how our intentions can justify our actions in some cases or the opposite etc etc. And then I came up with this monster of a magic system. I hope people get inspired by it but don't copy it.

In my world, every object has an Intention, Purpose, and Potential.

The object determines Potential

The user determines Purpose through Intention and can control it

The Purpose is what the object was created for. The Reason for Existence*. It influences how the object can be used and sets it's Potential parameters

E.g A person cannot Take a door's Potential an Intend it to make him faster when it's Purpose is to separate two things but make them accessible

That same person, however, can use it's Potential to teleport somewhere. Where you can teleport is determined by the amount of Potential it has. A glass, automatic door has almost no Potential compared to an ancient, wooden locked door's Potential. But again, It's Purpose may interfere with the Intentions. The glass automatic door would allow you to teleport anywhere instantaneously however, if someone is chasing you, they will know where you have gone as the glass would reveal your destination. The locked door is trickier however as you may have to Expend** (* means see spoiler) to harness it's Potential. But once you have "unlocked" it's Potential you may be able to Teleport, Switch realities, jump dimension, or just walk to the other side of the door. The PossibilitieThis post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules are unlimited. Plus you may be able to lock the door behind you if you know how and force whoever is chasing you to Expend to unlock the door again or to just give up. Or you can Expend to barricade the door and make it inaccessible from the other side. 

The user can harness the Potential and Intend to teleport as they are Fulfilling it's Purpose**** 

Spoiler

*Reason for Existence. Your Fate, why you are here. It is just as dangerous as a True Name and can similarly be harnessed to gain ultimate control over sentient beings. This is how we can harness an object's Potential as by creating it we also give it a Reason for Existence.

**Expend. Expending is using one's life-force to manipulate Potentiality. Do not do so often as your life-force takes time to regenerate 

***Possibilities. This refers to what the object has the Potential to do

****Fulling Purpose. Why we can only do what an Object's Purpose indicates, however there are loopholes....

There is one side-effect. When you Take a, say, a paperweight's Potential, It's Purpose becomes your Intention, and so the Paperweight itself has no Purpose anymore as it's Purpose has been Fulfilled, so it becomes the opposite of it's Purpose, as light as the paper itself, essentially useless. Using this one can cancel out the effect an object can have in the world. Using what I will state shortly one can turn a bomb which Purpose is to explode useless by taking it's Potential and make it your Intention. You can manipulate this as it is now YOUR Intention and say, make Intend it to explode only where no one or nothing will be damaged, then you can Return it's Potential and give it a "new" Purpose.

One can use their Intention to manipulate an object's Purpose for the Purpose is Imprinted by the Creator, but the people who use it can redefine it's Purpose with their Intentions like how you can use a bottle as a vase.

Taking and object's Potential, just to store it, renders the Object useless or turns it into the opposite of what it was created for depending on it's Purpose. And lastly a word of caution. Taking say, a Kevlar Vest's Potential to make your skin like Kevlar but continuing to wear the same Kevlar vest cancels the whole operation and can be fatal if used improperly. If you take too much Potential out of an object and continue using it, it can become unstable over time and Potentially Dangerous*

Spoiler

*Potential Danger. The amount an object's Purpose has become corrupted, rendering the Potential unstable. If the Potential is unstable enough, it can break down onto itself until it is a pinprick of energy and then explode with the power of a firecracker to a Supernova, ripping holes through Time, Space and Reality. This has happened numerous times before (How do you think the Loch Ness Monster suddenly appeared in Loch Ness?)

                                                                       

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

Does that mean you could use a pair of scissors' Purpose, i.e. to cut, and use it to slice open a bank vault (or equally sturdy target) or split the atom? Or are there limitations you haven't mentioned yet (teleportation from any door you want already seems kind of OP)? Ahhhh, that must be where the Potential comes in?

What determines whether an object that had its Purpose taken is rendered useless or turned opposite? Is there a defining factor or is it random?
To use my scissors example, going useless would likely be the same as being blunt, but going opposite would make the scissors... glue things together?
Thinking on it, would a gun (Purpose=to kill) that went opposite be able to revive the dead?

I really like your notion of Purpose, Intention and Potential (PIP for short?), you can probably do a lot with that in a story.

[Zathoth]

@ccstat I really like this. There is a lot of old psuedo-science you could steal from.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments

This was the first thing I thought of, maybe that gives you some ideas, or not.

@Darkness Ascendant You werent joking when you said it was complicated, as much as I understand it I like it though.

 

Ok, time for my show and tell. first I stole the setting from Super Mario Galaxy. You know, planets of all kinds of weird shapes and sizes floating around in the air. It is like a mini universe. I call this Skyverea, it is a portmanteau of Sky-Universe-Sea.

Anyway, Stars are glowing orbs that float around as well and give off Starlight (not starlight, Starlight. The one with the S is magic radiation, the one with the s is not). Stargazers (Mages) are able to weave around the Starlight and make Illuminations (Spells) out of it. Starlight exists on a spectrum from cognitive to physical and all human characters have three Illuminations, or magic colors or whatever (I call those Illuminations as well) in a row, unless they are cheating, or are The Grand Stargazer, who has all nine, because he is definitely cheating.

The spectrum is as follows:

Spoiler

1. Manipulating emotions, telepathy, mind reading, dream walking, inserting thoughts and creating hallucinations in the 'victims' mind.

2. Makes things experienced differently. For example you can make something appear more likeable, scarier or less noticeable.

3. Creates Illusions (Think Lightweaving) for every sense. It is however still just an illusion. If you hit someone with a touch heat illusion they will feel burned, but they wont be burned. It can also be used to record things happening and even use it to sense what is around you.

4. Buffs and debuffs and other such changes. Make things more durable, less durable, make people heal faster, more flammable, less flammable, stronger, faster, better. Or weaker, slower and worse.

5. Telekinisis. Move things.

6. Reshape things without changing the substance.

7. Transformation. Can work both as turning rocks to diamonds and turning yourself into a wolf.

8. Shaping Starlight into shapes. The shaped Starlight turns into something like multi-colored glass.

9. Create things from Starlight, such as fire, water or stone.

Of course there is more rules than this. Everything takes practice. Want to move wooden objects? That will take practice. Want to move metal objects? Wood and metal are both solid, so the amount of practice is not as much (Think moving from guitar to bass), but if you want to move liquids? Start practicing again.

Starlight can also be stored in Starshards to use when the Stars dim (I wanted a day and night cycle) or in potions so you dont have to weave it.

There are also actual magic potions and magitech. Isnt it awesome when you realize that your magic system allows for both beam swords and mechas?

 

So thats that. I am pretty ok with it as it is, but if anyone has any ideas, Illuminations (the numbered kind) you think I should add, names for them because numbers are boring, extensions, etc I would love to hear it.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

8 hours ago, Eagle of the Forest Path said:

Does that mean you could use a pair of scissors' Purpose, i.e. to cut, and use it to slice open a bank vault (or equally sturdy target) or split the atom? Or are there limitations you haven't mentioned yet (teleportation from any door you want already seems kind of OP)? Ahhhh, that must be where the Potential comes in?

What determines whether an object that had its Purpose taken is rendered useless or turned opposite? Is there a defining factor or is it random?
To use my scissors example, going useless would likely be the same as being blunt, but going opposite would make the scissors... glue things together?
Thinking on it, would a gun (Purpose=to kill) that went opposite be able to revive the dead?

I really like your notion of Purpose, Intention and Potential (PIP for short?), you can probably do a lot with that in a story.

Yes you are correct. Potential DOES come into play. A pair of scissors cannot cut open a bank door as it's Potential isn't that great. However if you had an extremely strong laser perhaps you could. I still have some "laws" I am working on and will update my magic system later. As for doors, their Potential is limitless as they are (I haven't coined a term yet) "special" objects.

Whether an object is turned useless or turned opposite depends on it's Purpose. Taking too much Potential can make them unstable hence turning them randomly Opposite. Rendering them useless is when you take it's Potential to Store, Using the Potential turns it Unstable as there is no hope for the object to get it's Potential back. This magic system is very tricky. Once I've compiled my Laws, it will probably be "limitless Possibilities yet boundless limitations"   

Your wrong when it comes to the gun however. You must look at objects at a very minute level. The GUN's Purpose is to fire a BULLET. The BULLET's Purpose however is to kill. So you can alter it's Purpose so it either doesn't kill or it kills a specific person. These Purpose manipulated weapons I intend to be ready to anyone for a price as people who practice this magic will probably want to make a profit off it. Things like specially made Named Bullets which will always find their target or Elemental Based Specially Made Blades (working on a better name ) Which are Created to take on the Properties of a specific thing.. Like a Blade of Fire

Keep asking great questions guys. As they are giving me great answers which also prompt my imagination to go wild XD

[Lindel he/him]

I've got this concept that revolves around beings, called Incarnates, which are the manifestations of the "soul" of a community. Households, dynasties, cities, significant geographical areas, nations, and so forth would all manifest Incarnates. Incarnates can only be seen by the Speakers (the magic users), and appear as anthropomorphic animals. They are shaped by the identity and ideals of the community they're tied to. Speakers are the only people able to see and communicate with Incarnates. The magic is based on temporarily altering history within the Incarnate's sphere of influence. First, a Speaker and Incarnate must come to an agreement about what is to be changed. Once the Incarnate has given its consent, the Speaker may invoke the Incarnate's power through spoken words by crafting a story, or Myth, that tells how things might have gone differently. Once a Myth is invoked, it bends reality in the Incarnate's sphere of influence to fit the premise of the story. Similar to Forgery, the more detailed and believable the story, the better the changes will stick. If the story is consistent enough with the place it influences, it can even alter the inhabitant's memories for the duration of the Myth, though this requires extensive study and a lot of work. Depending on the power of the Myth, it may last a few minutes, weeks, years, or even a lifetime. Even the most powerful Myths will die with the Speaker who invoked them, though there might be some ways to get around that. 

Edited July 5, 2016 by Lindel

[ccstat he/him]

On 6/15/2016 at 2:56 PM, Eagle of the Forest Path said:

I want to add one or more additional pairs of attributes that can be manipulated. I've been racking my brain for months now, and nothing seems to work. I've thought about magnetism, acidity coupled with solubility, but everything sort of falls flat after a while.

I've been thinking off and on about additional properties that could work with your system. The strength I see in your phlogiston pairing is that the particle of interest inherently does two things (mass and flammability) that are otherwise unrelated. Since you are already using some not-as-we-now-understand-it physics, I don't feel bad about recommending some fanciful effects. Try these on for size, and see what variations may work with the world you've created. (And if they don't fit, that's fine. I had fun coming up with them.)

1) As I suggested before, one might manipulate the vital essence of a material. In my mind this ties to the alchemical mutability of a substance. Want to turn lead into gold? Add more Vitae before reacting it with your philosopher's ston. It is now more able to change into something else, but all sorts of chemical/alchemical reactions will likewise be enabled, so be very careful how you handle it. And odds are, you will have tadpoles, mice, and other vermin popping up around your workshop. On the flip side, do you want to make the steel beams in your bridge more permanent? Take out some Vitae and they will last much longer without corruption. But beware, contact with avital objects can be unhealthy--don't sleep under that bridge if you want to wake up again! Coming from the other direction, you can make a highly vital totem to promote healing/fecundity/ etc, but there is a good chance it will convert itself to cheese instead of wood when you aren't looking.

2) An object's luminosity, or ability to give off light, is a function of its [Luminon] content. Add some, and an otherwise mundane object starts to illuminate the space around it. Take some away, and it gets harder and harder to see, no matter how bright a light you shine on it. Useful for flame-free lighting if someone has been manipulating phlogiston nearby, and also for hiding things or making spaces inaccessible. Since light (or rather, the speed of light) is closely tied to the passage of time, I imagine that adding or removing Luminons from an object will alter the speed at which it ages. Something you brighten will wear out quickly, while a photo that you try to preserve for a long time will be very difficult to see. (The direction of this trade-off can be swapped, of course, if it fits your narrative better.) Also, if Betty the Brightener is manipulating the luminons in something, there will probably be some spillover effects to her own body as she is working the magic.

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

Thanks for the input @ccstat , it's given me some good ideas. Along with some substantial wiki-browsing on Obsolete Scientific Theories.

On 7/5/2016 at 5:31 AM, ccstat said:

... The strength I see in your phlogiston pairing is that the particle of interest inherently does two things (mass and flammability) that are otherwise unrelated. ...

They're actually not completely unrelated, though the relation is based on a misunderstanding.
Imagine an experiment where you have a piece of wood in a (sort of) closed space. If you burn the wood you end up with a pile of ashes and a certain amount of water vapor. When weighing the ashes and the (condensed) vapor, the mass (weight, really, but whatever) would be greater than that of the piece of wood. This made people at the time believe that there was something in the wood that had negative mass (phlogiston), which left when it burned, making the resultant ash and vapor heavier than the wood. (It was actually that oxygen combined with hydrogen to form the water vapor, but the oxygen wasn't taken into account for the original weight of the reagents.)

Quote

1) As I suggested before, one might manipulate the vital essence of a material. In my mind this ties to the alchemical mutability of a substance. Want to turn lead into gold? Add more Vitae before reacting it with your philosopher's stone. It is now more able to change into something else, but all sorts of chemical/alchemical reactions will likewise be enabled, so be very careful how you handle it. And odds are, you will have tadpoles, mice, and other vermin popping up around your workshop. On the flip side, do you want to make the steel beams in your bridge more permanent? Take out some Vitae and they will last much longer without corruption. But beware, contact with avital objects can be unhealthy--don't sleep under that bridge if you want to wake up again! Coming from the other direction, you can make a highly vital totem to promote healing/fecundity/ etc, but there is a good chance it will convert itself to cheese instead of wood when you aren't looking.

It's an interesting idea, but not really what I'm looking for. It's a bit too... esoteric?... for my purposes.

Quote

2) An object's luminosity, or ability to give off light, is a function of its [Luminon] content...

This is a possibility, but I'd have to adapt it substantially. 

At the moment I'm thinking along the lines of the Fluid theory of electricity. Taking away "positive negative charge" from an object, making it go positive if it was originally neutral. It would allow me do a lot of things with attraction-repulsion effects for action scenes if I want/need to. And there's the possibility of sparks .

Spoiler

The theoretical substance would essentially be electrons, meaning it can also be used to counteract the quick-rust problem of phlogistonated metals by depriving it of electrons for redox reactions. Though I'll have to decide whether I want to use that in the story.

The ductility/malleability/plasticity idea is also promising, but that one still needs a lot of thought concerning the paired attribute. I'm thinking size.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Eagle of the Forest Path

[Tobysmouse he/him]

Ok here we go. This is just a little thing I've been thinking of, I might turn it into something. Idk

In this fantasy world, magic is a substance, like a liquid.

 

There are two 'classes' of mages. One uses magic to power their devices, think carts, or armour (I know total Shardplate ripoff). They also use it to enhance physical attributes, such as speed, strength, agility and many more, creating magic items with the energy. Certain requirements have to be met though. For the magic to be potent enough it must be heated to the right temperature. (857 degrees Celsius) Must be kept in a certain container, and must have specific ingredients added, depending on what it is going to be used for.

 

The others ingest the magic, taking the energy into their veins. These people do not need specific requirements to be met, but they cannot keep as much stored in them. They can use it for basic energy attacks such as a blast (Think Kamehameha) or other things, like providing cover for a city under siege, or cloaking assassins and thieves. 

The origin of the magic is this. The gods once walked Earth, until one day something changed. The gods were melted into the magical energy. called Arcanum and humans found uses for it.    

 

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

I'm trying to write a novel or series where, like in the cosmere, two gods who are opposites rule. After a great event or catastrophe caused Maer, the benevolent goddess of light and creation, to fragment, Lith, the Malevolent God of darkness and destruction, started to destroy the worlds that they had built together. Luckily, when Maer fragmented, many lesser beings picked up her fragmented self and, through her ideals/desires/magic they defended their worlds. Over time Lith has managed to destroy all but nine of the worlds by subverting and dominating the common race found on each of them, humans. In this world light magic works with the user having a complete understanding of their limits and abilities, while dark magic( of Lith ) works on a soft, do this and this happens for some unknown reason type basis. Human's have all but lost the ability to access light magic, and dark magic, while powerful, harms the user through prolonged use by feeding on all of a person's positive emotions over time, leaving only hatred, sadness, curiosity, and disinterest. Light magic does the opposite, instead propagating positive emotions, making such emotions easier to feel, and becoming stronger while the user feels said positive emotions. Light magic can, if used in a completely unselfish/altruistic way, surprise the user with the gift of eternal youth, though such a gift is rare, and is randomly given in such situations. Dark magic can grant the user eternal life, minus the youth aspect, if used in a completely selfish/anti-altruistic manner. 

 

The light magic I'm currently trying to develop takes three genetic forms:

Spoiler

Creatures:
Cold blood-  singular, any one reptilian/human hybrid( lizard most commonly found form.). Charmed by music. Can use Magic( vocal; incomplete data. All attempts at study have failed. Will search further venues.)

Fae-multiple, shapeshifter, can use Magic(they gain the abilities of their current form.). Enslaved by magic(semi-permanent). Limits of Fae magic un-tested/un-defined. Further study will be appropriated.

Skin changer- singular, any one mammal/human hybrid( horse most commonly found form.). If a human puts a circlular man made object around its neck and keeps it in a human dwelling over night, the skin changer is enslaved to that person for seven years. Should the human master die from unnatural causes before the seven years are completed, the skin changer's enslavement is extended until the family's bloodline is ended . Can use Magic( speak all languages, can control basic elements, =2 Jack Frost's ice control. Are extremely weak in terms of magical power. Their magical abilities are not widely known. All attempts at using suicide to extend the enslavement period have failed. Further study required.)

All Fae and skin-changers have eternal youth and cannot die unless killed, deliberately or on accident, by someone else.

All three can be a wizards familiar, but fae and skin-changers are easiest to control and fae enhance a wizards power the most.( the extent of a cold-blood's enhancement of a wizards magic is unknown)

If you have any thoughts or Ideas that might help, please share them. Thanks!

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

The setting of your story will have to change I'm afraid, @ShadowLord_Lith

Lets see.

On 20/08/2016 at 0:21 PM, ShadowLord_Lith said:

 

I'm trying to write a novel or series where, like in the cosmere, two gods who are opposites rule. After a great event or catastrophe caused Maer, the benevolent goddess of light and creation, to fragment, Lith, the Malevolent God of darkness and destruction, started to destroy the worlds that they had built together. Luckily, when Maer fragmented, many lesser beings picked up her fragmented self and, through her ideals/desires/magic they defended their worlds. Over time Lith has managed to destroy all but nine of the worlds by subverting and dominating the common race found on each of them, humans.

 

Two gods opposite, Honor and Odium, however much subtler and Cultivation is just there in the background XD

Honor gets splintered, and Odium begins hunting other Shards on Shardworlds

Here's where it sorta splits off. Many Lesser beings picked up her fragmented self? The Heralds, The Knights Radiant. But not to protect their "worlds"

Subverting and dominating the common race found on each of them, seems alot like what happened to the Voidbringers

The magic system itself is alright, like your ideas with emotion. And the three genetic forms are a little bit frayed at the ends, but otherwise fine. 

Cold Blood? Na, go for something like The "something", Like The Brood

Fae seem pretty OP so far

Same with Skin Changer. What sort of name is that? Skin Changer would make sense for a shapeshifter. Also, can the Skin changers resist humans? When you say that all you have to do is put a circular, man made object around it's neck (A pokeball XD -or do u mean something like a leash) and leave it in a house-hold overnight, then people would have armies of them no? Unless they aren't very common. 

Seems very immoral to me though

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

I don't think that Honor and Odium are opposites, though the mistake is common. Honor is Honor, but Odium means hatred. Devotion, which is similar to love, is more likely to be Odium's opposite, though I do see the point. I'll change their personalities slightly, and maybe add a god or two.

Your right about the cold-blood's. I've managed to write two of the chapters in my book so far and I actually have made them call themselves the brood-clans, impressive catch on your part.

Remember, Fae gain the magic of whatever form they have Now, and it takes time for them to shape-shift. As for the skin changers, well, I originally intended them to be similar to were-wolves, in that they could shift between two forms, anthropomorphic and half human half whatever else, and that had reminded me of the native-american skin walker/changer mythology.what name would you suggest?

The object does have to be leash like, although to be fair, the average height for humans in this world is similar to our own, but the... Maerilian clans(?) height average is usually 6-foot eleven inches tall, so, unless the European-medieval style humans in my world have impressive lassoing skills, its not likely to happen. And then there's the free will factor. I said that one must get the object around their neck, like a leash, but I never said that they had to obey you while they wear it. They can take it off unless its enchanted rope, or you give your first command while its still too shocked to respond with it conscious mind. So you'd have to sneak up on them, in most cases in a place they've lived their whole lives. And your right, I've decided that since wizards are like nobility and lesser folk sometimes imitate nobility, at least subconsciously, the common folk would grow hateful and envious and all that other stuff as well, just not for the same reasons.

How are my three genetic forms frayed at the ends? Thanks for the input!

Edited August 22, 2016 by ShadowLord_Lith
forgot to address something.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

@ShadowLord_Lith, no waaaayyy, actually? You called them the Brood Clans? WOW. That was just the first thing that came to mind XD

I would call the Skin changers, multiple things; changelings, Dopplers, Transmorphigator, or Rakshasa, a hindu shape-shifting demon

 and make it that they shed the skin they wore before

Ah I see what you mean!

When I say "frayed at the end" I meant you haven't provided a solid and detailed backstory, you write that insufficient data is known, however, you are the writer, so you kinda should know that data. 

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

Yes I'm serious, and I think that changelings is a good name. Thank's, I'll use it. Anyway... Shed their skin... hmm... I think I can add that in, if you think it'll help. The reason it says unknown, is because I was writing it from the perspective of a researcher, if you want more info, here:

Spoiler

The Brood-Clans magic works ( so far as I had it built before calamity struck and i needed to manipulate the gods) by taking a fragment of Maer, which has by this time come to symbolize an ideal or specific object, and binding your soul to it. this let's them manipulate what it represents along with their instinctive abilities of healing and growth, though their magic only speeds the said processes. once bound, the magic you gain can take many forms so long as it always stays true to its intent. that does not include protecting someone by killing someone else. all brood-clan magic requires singing to become active, otherwise nothing happens. anything I missed?

 

Edited August 27, 2016 by ShadowLord_Lith