Smokecasters

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

So. I have this vague story idea, involving a world of really advanced technology, and also magic. one thing I definitely want is a magic system based on smoke. I'm not sure if it's going to be reserved for the bad guys, or if it's a common type of magic. But I need ideas on where I could go with this, and what it could do. Like, solidifying smoke and making weapons, or maybe you have a specific weapon that you're bonded to (like a shardblade kinda). But otherwise, I'm not sure where this could lead.

(for the most part, disregard most of the stuff above this)

Edit:

So, I'll list here what I have so far:

• Uses smoke as a medium
• Different magic can be performed based on the wood that the smoke is from
• To be a Smokecaster you must be born with the ability. This is very rare. (Although, it wasn't always)
• Smoke can be stored for later use inside of glass jars/bottles (it's like compressed into them)

 

History

(General history anyway, and by 'History" I just mean before my story takes place)

     A long time ago, it was not so rare to be born a Smokecaster. Smokecasters were revered for their powers. They were an accepted part of society, culture, even religion. Because of their powers, great advancements in technology were created. I imagine something like having tubes, that carry different kinds of smoke to places, like, some is used for heating/cooling etc. This led to larger cities, because they were able to be supported. This was until, something happened, either as a result of smokecasting, or because something about it changed (this is the part where I still need to figure out what happened) and caused the destruction of nearly the whole civilization. Society was plunged into another Dark Ages. Because of what happened, there was then a genocide of the Smokecasters. Smoke, and fire became something that was taboo. Generally avoided. What I've come up with, is that eventually the 'church' which once embraced smokecasting (now denounces it of course) becomes the entity which takes up trades such as blacksmithing, glassmaking, cooking, anything that uses fire or smoke in any way. Only the highest ranking priests are allowed to do these things.

     So, after a few hundred years, most people have forgotten about the Smokecasters (except maybe the highest ranks in the Church). And you may remember that Smokecasting is 'genetic' per se, so there are even by then, still some people who are born with the ability to smokecast. However, they are never exposed to smoke of any kind, and are therefore never given the opportunity to express their powers. Also, the leadership of their religion (I'll come up with a name for it someday) has traditionally stayed within a few elite-ish families (which the church knows have no smokecasting ancestry). So, the world has remained quite free of the magic of Smokecasting for some time.

 

Story 

     I won't say much here (I don't have much anyway haha) wouldn't want to give too much away. But basically some guy is going to discover his smokecasting abilities (Maybe he's a high ranking priest, maybe he's just the bad kid who played with matches *shrug*) and of course, misuse his powers and become the bad guy. Probably gonna have a group of 2-4 main characters, at least one who is also a Smokecaster, who get thrown into a quest to stop him. And I have the ending planned out. 

Hopefully that's enough background info to give everyone an Idea of how I want to use the magic system. All comments appreciated!

Edited March 1, 2018 by Benjamin_Stormblessed

[Tsidqiyah he/him]

Does the use magic consume smoke? does it use smoke as a medium? does the type of smoke matter?

enough for those questions ask yourself what do you want the magic to accomplish? having magic just to have it is not a good reason for it. but maybe it gives the good or bad guys an edge (this would lend itself to augmentation type magic (pewter and TIn) or does it provide/overcome obstacles (power set like iron, and steel?)  and if i were you avoid illusions to over done with smoke

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

Right, I think It's using smoke as a medium. And smoke from different woods will change what can be done with it. I'm fairly certain it's magic that the bad guys mainly use, not because it's evil, but because it requires more power/training to use. or it might just be a power you're born with. either way, Another thing that makes me want to give this to the bad guys, is this idea for a magical creature that's like a smoke demon, that can only be created by what we'd call 'evil wizards.' this is also just barely a formed idea in my head, so i'm trying to figure out it's limitations, uses, etc.

[MacThorstenson he/him]

Maybe have the geographical location of where the wood is from have some impact on what you can do with it. Here's a few thoughts on some of the powers smoke could have:

Like you said above, the smoke could transform into objects, swords, and the such. This would involve harder and faster, but not as long range telekinesis of smoke.

A certain type of smoke can be used solely for concealment/observation. I.e. you could send out tendrils of smoke and "see" through them. Or you could gather a lot of smoke into a certain area to conceal your self. This would be much slower, and more natural. If you saw smoke in the air, you couldn't be sure if it was natural or unnatural.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

One moment while I get my gears turning... hm...

How about this?

Smoke from one type of wood (say, oak) has the ability to form into objects, another (say, birch) would have the ability to refract, manipulate light, another type (say, pine) would have the ability to heal wounds, etc.. (by the way, these wood types have no reason whatsoever behind them. They're just the types I know.) In keeping with Sanderson's Second law of magic, only smoke from specific woods can be used for this purpose, and all others will have a sort of "dull" effect, (turning into fire, for instance).

Smoke demons might be made from trees that have been struck by lightning.

On a side note, a main character having these powers that are associated with evil would be a very good plot for a book, if you want to go that direction.

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

I have actually come up with a, very specific, process for creating said smoke demons. But I hadn't considered what I could do with lightning, so thanks for that idea. And I will eventually come up with the specific uses for the smoke from different woods.

[Yezrien]

This probably isn't the kind of input you're looking for, but does it have to be in a high-tech setting? I think a smoke-based magic system would work really well in an ancient or prehistoric world. There was a time when fire was seen as something magical and divine. It was something we stole from the gods, and possessing it gave us power over our world. People read the future in flames. Smoke signals were a state-of-the-art long-distance communication. Take a setting like that, and make smoke actually magical, that's a book I'd read.

And what exactly do you mean by "medium?" A medium for what?

[SilverTiger she/her]

Could you please provide context for the technological level and culture of the people who use it? Because a magic system alone is pretty hard to work with.

[Stormwatcher]

I absolutely love the Idea and I love creating magic systems. I'll be sure to join the desiccation in the near future! 

[Tineye Navigator he/him]

I think if you develop this magic system in an advanced society, you are going to have to have a lot of world notes that you can refer to, explaining the history of the magic, and the world, how they influenced each other. 

Maybe I'm thinking too technically, or earthy, but have you considered the effects of industry smoke? Plastics, smog, vehicular pollution? Do these weaken or strengthen the smoke, cause corrupt types of magic?

Like others have said, make sure the magic has a purpose. Why do you need magic in your world?

EDIT: You mentioned ideas about the casters glass. Perhaps a glassblowing process that involves heating the glass with a certain type of wood, to use the smoke from that type of wood in the actual glassblowing. This would make Caster's glass more common, unless you used some type of rare, or protected wood. What would the benefits/disadvantages be in your story of having caster's glass be common? what about if it was rare?

Edited March 1, 2018 by tineye0309

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

Right. So, I've actually been working a lot with this lately, and I have a more cohesive story idea now, as well as a really interesting history. Basically, because of said smokecasting, there was a highly advanced society, with their tech being based off of smoke, the magical kind. But something happened, which destroyed the civilization and putting everyone back in almost the dark ages. so it's a little bit more along the lines of what @Belzedar said. (Thanks Belzedar, Your comment really helped me shape this up!)

Edited March 1, 2018 by Benjamin_Stormblessed

[Tineye Navigator he/him]

Great! Sounds awesome! I'd love to read an extract of some of it at some point. I have a developing story/world as well. Once I have something concrete with regards to the magic system, I'll make a post and ask for your feedback as well.

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

Alright, Sounds great! @tineye0309

 

Also, I have made some additions to my original post, with some more background info, like what @SilverTiger asked for.

More updates coming soon, I've almost figured out what woods I want to use as the sources for magical smoke, so I'll probably add that next.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Benjamin_Stormblessed

[ShardBreaker he/him]

You were saying people are born with the magic, does there lineage have any specific effect on if they're born with it or not? Also, it would be a cool idea if the "church" outlawed smokecasting, just to add more to the story.  

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

I mean, they don't really need to 'outlaw' it per se. since they control the knowledge of it, and limit it to their highest ranks. So in essence it is outlawed. and because they keep their ranks within several "noble" (yeah, sure close enough) families that they know have no ancestry of Smokecasting, there's really no issues there (besides the possibility of the priest who discovers he has Smokecasting powers and then turns evil) Although as I was writing this I had the great idea for the church to at some point send assassins or something after the main character(s) so thanks! @NickPlum

Also yes. It would be Lineage related. Genetic kind of.

Edited March 2, 2018 by Benjamin_Stormblessed

[ShardBreaker he/him]

Ok thanks. Along with the idea of certain lineages, it would be a cool idea if each family line had specific abilities, or that they specialize in a certain type of Smokecasting. 

[Stormblessed Dolphin he/him]

Right, I just realized that I was unclear in how I wrote it, but the Elite families that the Church selects their leadership from has No ancestry of smokecasting. (no biggie, I didn't make it super clear, so that was easy to mix up). However, I think I will want to stray away from that because of it's similarity to Mistborn