• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

What if: Thoughts on a magic system

I had a random thought on a magic system that I would like some input about.

What if every spell you ever learned could only be used once? You could cast spells that are similar, but never the same. If you try, it would just fizzle. For example, you could cast Fireball only once, so you had better save it for just the right time. You might be able to cast Fire-baseball or Fire-basketball, but only one fireball.

Similarly, what if everyone could cast one magic spell in his or her life? How would the world and our lives look different?

I would love to hear your thoughts.
 

Shreddies

Troubadour
Personally, I would probably never use magic in that case. Not because I wouldn't want to, but rather I wouldn't want to waste something that might be useful later on. Kind of like the case of Megaelixers in some Final Fantasy games. They were so rare and in such a finite amount that people avoid using them if they can, only to reach the end of the game having never used them at all. Or conversely they used them up and kicked themselves for wasting using them too early.

On a side note, it sounds a bit like a story I heard of once where every magician only had a certain amount of spells in them, and if they used them all up they dropped dead. Can't remember where that was though. :(
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
Kinda like the ideas of Jack Vance taken to the next level? He was the guy who inspired the now-famous D&D system of having to "memorize" spells for each time you use them.

If a magic spell could literally only ever be used once, I'd expect one of two things - magic wouldn't have much effect on the world (why bother spending the time to learn it if it won't benefit you much in the long run?) or a lot of spells with comparable effects would exist. You can only cast one "Fireball" but you can also use the spells "Firebloom," "Fireblaze," "Ball of Fire," etc etc.

Possible exceptions I can see might be spells to have "just in case" of catastrophe. Healing or teleportation spells, maybe - something that'll get you out of trouble in a hurry.
 

Queshire

Auror
Makes me think of the Staff of One from the comic book the Runaways. It could only cast a spell once and if you try again it causes random stuff to happen, but all the effort it took to use the spell was pointing the staff at something and saying fireball to throw a fireball.

For the second option I agree that'd be Too Awesome To Use or there would be traditions surrounding the spells, certain circumstances where you would be expected to use the spell. Maybe you make a wish when you become an adult? Maybe they teach you that when you're so desperate for something that you would trade your soul for it you use your spell? Well, ok, that last one wouldn't be taught but culture can still teach that without ever saying it up front.
 

JamesTFHS

Scribe
I think this is interesting and could create a pretty dynamic story with each character knowing only a handful of spells and each of them different or useful for a certain problem but also making people who practice and study magic horde the knowledge. Of course i am assuming that said spell could also only be learned once by one person and thus people never learn spells unless permitted or by their own accord. then there is the potential of hunting for more powerful spells and hoping they have not already been used by another
 
I think this is interesting and could create a pretty dynamic story with each character knowing only a handful of spells and each of them different or useful for a certain problem but also making people who practice and study magic horde the knowledge. Of course i am assuming that said spell could also only be learned once by one person and thus people never learn spells unless permitted or by their own accord. then there is the potential of hunting for more powerful spells and hoping they have not already been used by another

My thinking was that different people could use the same spell. So, if you have five people in a party, you may have five chances to use Fireball, etc. The idea is not to make magic unusable but to really force the characters to be creative in their problem solving. Even better, different characters are going to approach the situation differently, which could create some very interesting dynamic tension. One char might think, "I have to save this for just the right occasion." Another might think, "there are always other spells I can use."

I never liked the device of needing to memorize a spell for every usage. Taken to its logical conclusion, one could never actually use magic.

GroundTraveler: I agree. So, it would need to be a system where magic inherent, not learned, or at least easy enough to learn. Once you know the basics, anyone can do it. like driving a car.

Thanks for the input everyone.
 
I would say that use it really once will make the effort to learn it basically a waste of time. Why would I learn fireball that I can use only once instead of learning/inventing other ways to cast fire that do not rely on magic.

But, if you give each different spell a "gestation", then it would make it interesting. You used your fireball and now you have to wait 9 freaking months before using again, but that light spell you used yesterday will be available once more when the moon becomes full.
 

ThinkerX

Myth Weaver
As to characters who could cast spells only once in their life...I gave a bit of thought to the further implications of this:

Spell thieves: People whose talent, or spell, is to steal another persons spell casting ability;

'Givers': These people can 'give' their spell casting ability away - even to somebody who has already cast their spell. Not only that, they can 'give' more than once - say on a yearly or monthly basis. However, the flip side is, if they choose to cast a spell, rather than give it away, then they loose it all.

Flukes or 'Flakes': These people are tapped into something, some source of magic. They *have* to cast a spell a day, or they go insane. As it is, they come across as unbalanced, wandering about in a near daze, possessed of erratic temperament, eating weird things, and the like. Very, very rare.
 

Nagash

Sage
The use of perishable or rare scrolls could also be an option. One would hold the scroll, and recite the scripture when the need for wielding magic comes; once it would have be casted, the scroll would been unusable for a certain amount of time, if not ever, or even destroy itself. Some other scrolls could be however bought - for some price - or found, say in the deepest of caves or dungeons. Practice could be achieved, through the mastery of "evocation" skills and learning formulas, scriptures, ritual gesture, what have you... But the scroll would always be needed to actually cast the spell.
 
Top