Creating Magic
Today’s post comes to us thanks to my good friend Stuart Jaffe (of “The Eclectic Review” fame) who emailed me a few days ago to discuss the creation of magic systems. This is something I’ve done quite a bit, and it’s one of the things I enjoy most about writing fantasy. Magic is, in many ways, the defining characteristic of works in our genre. Yes, I know: We often say here at MW that character and plot and voice are the most important elements of good storytelling. But the fact is that fantasy wouldn’t be fantasy without magic. And besides, making up magic systems is really fun to do. But contrary to what some people think, creating a magic system is not an anything-goes endeavor. 1) A magic system has to have limitations. 2) In my opinion, magic should have a cost. 3) And finally, (this is pretty basic) a magic system has to be internally consistent. As writers of fantasy, we ask our readers to suspend their disbelief every time they open one of our books.
The Writing Café
Author C.L. Wilson Blog
Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble... ~ Shakespeare's MacBeth In this long-delayed (and for that I do so apologize. Deadlines, you know) continuation of my Worldbuilding 101 series, we're going to talk about creating credible magical systems for your world. Because magic is by definition the most fantastic element of your created world, creating the specifics of your magic system can either fascinate readers or destroy all suspension of disbelief. I'm big on "discover as you go" but the basics of the magic are the one concrete foundation I absolutely MUST establish from the get go. The Magic Must Make Sense The number one rule when creating magic is this: create your rules, then follow them . It doesn't so much matter how your magic works but that it works the same way, every time . This does not mean you cannot have surprises or have your characters learn new magical techniques. What can your magic do? What can your magic not do? Can magic be counteracted?
Alignment Tendencies
Anyone familiar with the Outer Planes will have already been exposed to the concept of alignment tendencies. In fact, there are almost as many Outer Planes that exemplify such "in-between" alignments as there are planes for the nine canonical alignments. Alignment tendencies are a further refinement of the alignment system. The Alignment Chart This chart represents all possible alignments. The color scheme shows how the various alignments begin to "shade" into other alignments when Neutrality comes into play. Nomenclature By convention, alignment tendencies are given in parenthesis and are described as being more extreme than a certain neutral alignment not having the tendency. Using Alignment Tendencies A tendency can be used to indicate one or more of the following: "Not Quite Neutral" An alignment tendency could be used to show the preference of an ethically and/or morally neutral character to favor one "side" of his neutrality a little more than the other. "Not So Extreme" "Pious Enough"
How to Create a Unique Magic System for Your Book
Edit Article Edited by Jonta, Maluniu, Grendle, Anonymo and 14 others Ever feel that books such as Harry Potter have taken all the good Magic set-ups in books? Ad Steps 1Remember that magic is distinguished from science by the measure of mystery in its elements. 6Write your book and remember to follow your own guidelines! Tips Use abstract thinking. Warnings Use care when borrowing ideas from others. Things You'll Need A source of informationImagination and a lot of time
Forms (WTF)
Welcome to White-Wolf.com. White Wolf Publishing has produced gaming universes for over 20 years including World of Darkness, Exalted, Trinity, and many more. White Wolf merged with CCP Games to focus on translating the World of Darkness IP into a massively multiplayer experience, and the North American office is fully dedicated to making this evolution a reality. In order to continue to support our existing RPG and LARP communities, we have entered into a number of partnerships with individuals and groups who can focus their full attention on the art forms White Wolf created and lived in. Digital Publishing and Print On Demand Both new and classic White Wolf products are available for digital download and Print On Demand through DriveThruRPG.com. Tabletop Roleplaying Games Our tabletop RPG publishing continues via Onyx Path Publishing. Live Action Roleplaying Games Our live-action "Mind’s Eye Theatre" publishing returns by way of By Night Studios. Live Action Organizations
Principles of Tolkien's Magic
This is an attempt to outline some principles of magic in Middle Earth, with an eye for adaptation to role-playing games. Rather than starting from a pre-existing RPG system, I will go through the canon evidence and proceed into speculation. Within Tolkien's works, we have a number of examples of magic use -- but no explanation of what magic is or how it works. f My aim is not an encyclopedic listing of magic shown in Middle Earth, but rather a system or set of principles which is true to the spirit of the stories. Practitioners of Magic The most obvious practitioners of magic are the order of wizards, the Istari. However, magic may also be done by mortals. However, it is not as clear how good magic is learned by men, or what it would look like. Of course, elves and dwarves also have magic. Limits of Magic Magic in Middle Earth is based around enhancing or weakening the inherent properties of things. Magic cannot burn snow or other unnatural effects. Forms of Magic Crafting Creatures Spells
Folktexts: A library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology, page 1
page 1 edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh © 1996-2020 Return to: Abducted by Aliens. Bald Stories: Folktales about Hairless Men. Cain and Abel. Dancing in Thorns. East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Fairies' Hope for Christian Salvation.
Magicology: The Study of Magic Systems | Atsiko's Chimney
This page contains links to all of my posts relating to the construction and analysis of magical systems in speculative fiction. (I reserve the right to include posts about video game magic systems and real world magic systems.) Tags are great, but a list of posts just seems so much simpler. 1. System? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Like this: Like Loading...
Get Your Mojo Workin’ with Creative Writing Prompts
There is nothing worse than thinking your writing mojo is gone. If you need to reconnect to the passion of your writing and story, these prompts are designed to take you right back into your happy writing place. Start with these prompts for a quick-start, and the moment you feel your mojo come into your heart and through your fingers, go back to your writing and enjoy! (Keep and pull these out again in case of writing emergency.) Your Personal Book Journal Questions Remember why you wanted to write this particular book? Why are you writing this book? Ramp Up Your Story Need to inject some excitement into your story? What can you add to the mix to make this concept bigger? Write (First Person) in Your Protagonist’s Voice Ask for help from the most logical person…er…character! What do you think about what just happened? Write (First Person) in Your Antagonist’s Voice Don’t leave out the bad guy. Good luck, go forth, and reclaim your writing mojo!
