Need Help with a Magic System

[The Allomantic Metalhead]

Okay, so awhile ago @Unlicensed Hemalurgist had a thread about needing help with a Sandersonian magic system for a mystery novel (click here to view it), and that got me thinking. I need help with a magic system I'm currently working on, too, so why not post a similar thread (yes, I am admitting that I'm a copycat).

Anyways, my story isn't exactly a detective story. It's an Alternate History / Cyberpunk / Urban Fantasy story set in the year 2134 in a really, really crappy alternate version of earth.

Here are some ideas for the magic system I already have:

• There are four branches of it: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, and Digital.
• You can specialize in one or two branches, or generalize in all four. Some specialists have minor-moderate skill in their non-specialized branches, but not to the extent of a complete generalist.
• You have to be born with the talent to use it, but you choose whether you're a one-specialist, two-specialist, or generalist. Whether you have any skill in your non-specialized branches depends on how skilled you are at magic in general.
• It's sort of a combination of Allomancy and AonDor. It also might have tattoos as part of it, but I might not. It cannot be used to "enchant" objects.

Also, for those of you who are curious, although the magic system has been common knowledge and was commonly practiced for centuries, the main point of divergence from our history was in World War 2.

[Eagle of the Forest Path]

If you can specialize in two branches, and on top of that have (limited) skill in non-specialized branches, I'd get rid of the Specialist/Generalist distinction entirely.

Beyond that, I like that Digital is one of the branches, but I'd need to know more of what the magic is supposed to do to give more feedback.
"A combination of Allomancy and AonDor" really doesn't tell me all that much.

In general, for any Sandersonian type magic system I'm creating, I ask myself a series of questions:

• Is the system intuitive to use? (or do you need to spend a decade meditating on some mountaintop before you have the mental control to make it work?)
• Where does the power come from? (How is the magic "fuelled," because Sandersonian magic isn't supposed to break conservation of energy. You don't actually need an answer for this one, but it can add flavor to the system.)
• What are the limits and/or downsides to the system?
• How do you become a user? (In your case you've already said you have to be born with it, but is it genetic, blessing by a Great Old One, pre-natal vitamin overdose, ..., or just totally random?)
• Does it show that someone is a magic user? (Can they pass unnoticed in a crowd, or have they got horns or wings or glow in the dark?)

I've got more of these questions, but these should be enough to help you along a bit.

[+Hoiditthroughthegrapevine]

@The Allomantic Metalhead, I really like Tattoo magic, but I think that could be one branch out of 4 (possibly the Physical).

Along those lines, it would be awesome in a magic system to have Tattoos that can become a physical manifestation of something. Possible examples, would be a sword tattoo down a magic users arm that can be drawn out like a real sword, a crystal ball tattoo say on a person's chest that allows visions of the near future, etc. This would be a little like Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man, with the exception that the tatoos can become physical objects or have some innate magical powers.

Another general idea, which I think would be rad, would be to have this world of the future be one of the two following (the second option probably the most interesting):

1. A partially real, partially simulated world, where the line between reality and simulacra is blurred due to the fact that everyone has a cognitive implant that makes the simulation respond exactly like the real thing. This would give the digital magic a real world manifestation, and it is a pretty rad setup.
2. Overlaying the world is a digital simulation, like virtual reality. Everyone born into the world is spiked with a mind jack that allows them to see this simulated overlay projected over the real world. In the simulated world, there are no homeless or broken windows, everyone can become what they want by designing their own avatar, and yes, even ugly people can get dates. But each person in the world can choose at anytime to view the simulated or the real world, magical powers allow the slight phasing between these worlds (or this could be restricted to one of your magic classes). In the real world you could be drinking your gray protein milkshake, but in the simulated world you would be eating bacon wrapped filet mignon. This too offers lots of possibilites for the causation and effects of the Digital form of magic.

These are preliminary remarks and like @Eagle of the Forest Path said, if you add more details/specifics the recommendation/questions to ask would be better (Eagle, I love your quote by the way, and "Donkey with a plunger stuck to it's head" are the funniest 8 word strung together that I've seen in a long time).

Edited January 17, 2018 by hoiditthroughthegrapevine