What are your favourite principles of magic?

[TheSword]

No this isn’t in the D&D forum because it’s not about the PHB or game rules. The question is which Magic systems in fiction - written or screen - do you like? By principles, I mean conventions, and restrictions that put limits on magic and make it interesting and engaging to you?

I thought I’d talk about some of the things that make magic unique in my favourite novel series - the Wheel of Time.

• Magic is a weave of threads of power corresponding to the classic elements plus spirit.
• Everyone has a strength of magic that can increase over time
• Holding the source of magic in yourself causes a light to surround you visible to other magic users with the brightness corresponding to your strength.
• Holding Magic feels amazing, almost ecstatic, and while holding Magic, senses are amplified.
• Male magic users can only see the weaves and power of men and women for women.
• The male half of magic is tainted by evil and drives male magic users mad and inflicts a rotting disease on them eventually.
• You can learn new ‘weaves’ by watching them demonstrated by another magic user.
• Magic can be held and maintained or ‘tied off’ and it will usually unravel over time or become vulnerable to another channeled cutting the weaves
• A magic user can cut another off from magic - called shielding - though it’s much harder to shield someone who is already holding Magic. While you might shield someone by taking them by surprise you can usually only maintain the shield on someone weaker.
• Magic users can link together to share and increase their strength. A circle of up to 13 women can link. One person has to control the circle and direct the threads.
• Some magic users possess Talents. Unusual strength in a type of weave or a lost ability like Foretelling.
• A channeled can permanently lose the ability to use magic either as a punishment ‘severing/stilling’ or as a result of drawing too much magic - ‘burnt out’.
• Magic item creation is lost to time and creating new ones almost unheard of.
• Some magic items can increase the strength of a magic user - Angreal - and the more powerful version Sa’angreal. The latter can allow the user to perform phenomenal feats particulary when the user is already strong.
• Other magic items - Ter’angreal - have various effects, some requiring magic to power, others just by contact. These include portals, a bowl that can control the weather, power wrought weapons etc.

Just some of the things that I think make the magic system really interesting and internally consistent.

Over to you folks. What are the rules and traditions of magic that you like from your fiction? Or do any of these peak your interest?

[Edit: amended rules to principles, just to make things clearer]

 

[Ryujin]

I rather like the idea of ritual magic. Magic that takes time to cast. That can be used to create items that don't need as much time to use, because they've already been imbued with magic. The idea that people don't have to be born with magic in them but can, instead, learn to use it. You can't just bust out a Fireball on the spur of the moment, but you could make an item that would allow you to do it. Potions. Balms. Rings of power.

 

[MNblockhead]

I like magic drawing from the forces of chaos. That doesn't necessarily mean evil, just dangerous. Because it is dangerous, society at large may seek to suppress or heavily regulate its use and study. Imposing order on its use through channeling, ritual, and sticking to well-known, learned spells can make it safer. But I like it when there is always some risk or miscasts and/or corruption. But at the same time I like the idea of a magic user being able to take on greater risk for more powerful results.

I like Dungeon Crawl Classics, but I am really digging Warhammer Fantasy 4e's casting rules (with the Winds of Magic book).

I also am a fan of TTRPG magic systems that don't use spells. Systems that let you specify the effects you would like to make and rules for how to resolve whether you succeed, what the risks are, etc. Mage the Ascension and some of the systems you can kit-bash with Cortex Prime.

 

[Distracted DM]

I like it best when magic is not a science. When it is not predictable. When it is magical.
But I also like DnD so.. best for an rpg? Dungeon Crawl Classics' magic off the top of my head.
Warhammer Fantasy might have had something with winds of magic.

 

[cbwjm]

Andrew Rowe wrote a series called the war of broken mirrors and it has one of the coolest systems.

Dominions are areas of magic, such as life, flame, water, knowledge, light. A sorcerer will be able to master at most a handful of dominions. The cool thing is that casting a dominion spell will take from you; cast a flame spell and you'll lose body heat, cast too many knowledge spells and you'll lose memories.

There is also a race that has a natural aptitude for a dominion, being bound to it when they're born.

Many people can learn magic, but often they'll only pick up a single dominion unless they focus on sorcery.

 

[MarkB]

I like the magic in the Rivers of London series, where it is in some sense quantifiable, but nobody's been able to work out its full principles. A large part of mastering more powerful magic is being able to handle the complexities of stringing together different basic spell effects to create more complex outcomes, but there's also a limit to how much raw power you can channel - try to do too much, and it will cause physical brain damage.

 

[overgeeked]

I really enjoy many of magic systems you find in anime, manga, and light novels. Bending from Avatar, alchemy from Fullmetal Alchemist, types of magic from Mushoku Tensei. But I also like magic from Changeling: The Dreaming where you combine effect with target but have to perform a bunk. And games like WFRP and DCC where magic is dangerous and corruption common. And I really enjoy “magic” as superpowers, like you see in some characters in One Piece or My Hero Academia, where the character can do one or two things but has to learn their limitations and work with them and use the power in new and interesting ways to overcome obstacles…which circles us back to bending from Avatar, alchemy from Fullmetal, etc.

 

[TheSword]

I really enjoy many of magic systems you find in anime, manga, and light novels. Bending from Avatar, alchemy from Fullmetal Alchemist, types of magic from Mushoku Tensei. But I also like magic from Changeling: The Dreaming where you combine effect with target but have to perform a bunk. And games like WFRP and DCC where magic is dangerous and corruption common. And I really enjoy “magic” as superpowers, like you see in some characters in One Piece or My Hero Academia, where the character can do one or two things but has to learn their limitations and work with them and use the power in new and interesting ways to overcome obstacles…which circles us back to bending from Avatar, alchemy from Fullmetal, etc.

What are the principles of magic in the Avatar world? I know it’s elemental but how does it work? What are the boundaries… if any?

 

[TheSword]

One of the things I like about how magic is handled in the Wheel of Time is that magic. However as the main cast of characters find out more about and interaction with the ancient world the reasons for some of these traditions becomes apparent. It creates a lot of depth.

Its also interesting how different cultures have different approaches and capabilities based on how they were taught. Or value different abilities.

 

[overgeeked]

What are the principles of magic in the Avatar world? I know it’s elemental but how does it work? What are the boundaries… if any?

Each nation has an associated element (air, earth, fire, water) and within the population some percent of the people have the power to bend their element. It's treated like a martial art in a wuxia story. You learn the basic moves (gust of air, move a stone, produce fire, shape water) but then you have to either suss out for yourself or learn from a master more advanced techniques. Though I don't remember anyone finding a book or scroll with a lost technique in it. But it works like any comic book superpower. You can manipulate the element in various ways, to do various things. The limits are your imagination and your strength as a bender. You can train to get better and stronger with it.