Building a world where magic and mythology creatures have become a thing

[WonderingSword5]

If sometime in the future magic has become a thing, after it has been closed off from the world for centuries and has now been brought back and released mythological monsters across the globe, how would this change people's lives? What type of groups would be formed to combat these mythological creatures and what skills of combat can humans learn with the magic surrounding them?

 

[Saigonnus]

As to the former question: I think if hypothetically magic had been dormant for centuries, then reappeared, then it would stand to reason that those that decended from the last generation of mages could suddenly be able to sense it and maybe in some minor ways even manipulate it. This ability would get stronger the farther along you go, and; it would really depend on what sort of magic system you work with and whether or not magic is addictive.

With a traditional handwavium sort of magic, not really addictive, just a bit dangerous from using too much, then I would imagine a small die-off of people who may or may not know they are mages and tap it in times of stress or danger and overuse themselves unintentionally. It could also account for more cases of mental diseases like Schitzophrenia or early-onset Dementia.

If it is handwavium, but addictive, then I believe it could cause a mass die-off of mages; mainly because none would have any institutions of higher learning devoted to the study and use and they would burn themselves out and killing themselves in the process.

if it is your runic type (like Doctor Strange); powered on life-force, then it would be less dangerous I think for the mages, but easier to burn themselves out. I could see most industries benefitting from this type. Imagine a glyph that improves/purifies whatever substance it comes into contact with... no further need for waste water treatment facilities, or bacterial infections like rotovirus from soft drinks... just put a glyph in the bottom of the bottle and poof... stays pure and clean forever.

As to the latter question, it would really depend on what sorts of creatures we are talking about.

Pixies and Fairies and all those minor little annoyances? Pest control services that deal with them (like the movie "Bright")
Dragons? Depends on whether they are the mindless eating machine sort, or the intelligent sort. If the former; Dragon hunters. If the latter, think tanks or research centers.
Centaurs? New clothiers for the critters, taming services, mounts in combat? Transportation couriers?
Demons? If they are depicted as the type that cannot control their baser instincts; then I don't think they would survive very long because they would cause so much chaos where they appear (murder, rape, violence, etc...) that pretty much everyone would come together to kill them, and maybe even like the dragon above, demon hunting could become a new sport. If they are depicted as shrewd adversaries, then I imagine they'd be like a mafia boss, or yakuza, quietly pulling strings from the darkness; while their human lackies bring them whatever they need. Could also bring about demon hunting; but a quieter, darker, deadlier sort.

 

[Chasejxyz]

Gonna need more info to really give you good answers lol.

• If the world is modern-day and magical things now exist, then governments are going to find ways to regulate/control it, companies are going to find ways to exploit it, there's gonna be trade in unicorn horns on the dark web, kids will find all the cool new drugs that are out there etc. Stick magic into guns! That'll be neat. Combat is going to be mostly the same as it is right now (bullets are iron and iron works good against fae), we're not all of a sudden going to start using swords unless magic makes guns useless (and we can't make magic guns).
• If the world is Ye Olden Dayse like most fantasy, then people are going to be inventing wizard schools and potions and stuff for the first time. Society might make some big technological leaps as people sequence break tech trees. Like just having indoor lights is going to change things a LOT since there is more hours people can work. Messenger pigeons were a thing back then, but what about messenger gryphons? Dragons? What if they can carry packages and not just a small letter? Or a person? Maybe a small person, like a kid, and fly over a battlefield to collect intel or napalm an enemy city? Some cool ideas there.
• If the world is sci-fi-y/far future tech, then you got two ways of looking at it:

1. This isn't actually magic, it's explained by science. The creatures came out of a portal, some weird quantum wiggling has changed the laws of physics in such a way that "magic" is now usable. Many people will still refer to it as magic but that would probably be looked down upon. There's probably going to be people who want to LARP as wizards or dragon riders, but mostly people are going to want to study these new scientific things and figure it out (and then apply it to their current world, whether that's bioengineering, space travel, robotics etc).
2. This is actually magic and no one can explain it. This is going to screw with people's heads a LOT, since it means everything we thought we knew about chemistry/physics is wrong. Will FTL suddenly stop working? Or gene therapy? Are planets suddenly terraforming themselves or is new, hostile life appearing in the colonies? How important is humanity's understanding of science to our sense of being and stability? A society where "logic and reason" has essentially killed off things like religion, superstition or prejudice is going to have all those things coming back in new, interesting ways. Do we still feel like we're in control of the galaxy? Do we think this is an alien invasion? Or that our universe is going to end?

In pretty much any situation, you're either going to have monster hunters or any of the groups in the greater SCP Foundation canon (including the cultists, the Jeffery Epstein types, and the toy makers). Which ones get powerful first and do the most are up to you, my guy, have fun with it.

 

[WonderingSword5]

As to the former question: I think if hypothetically magic had been dormant for centuries, then reappeared, then it would stand to reason that those that decended from the last generation of mages could suddenly be able to sense it and maybe in some minor ways even manipulate it. This ability would get stronger the farther along you go, and; it would really depend on what sort of magic system you work with and whether or not magic is addictive.

With a traditional handwavium sort of magic, not really addictive, just a bit dangerous from using too much, then I would imagine a small die-off of people who may or may not know they are mages and tap it in times of stress or danger and overuse themselves unintentionally. It could also account for more cases of mental diseases like Schitzophrenia or early-onset Dementia.

If it is handwavium, but addictive, then I believe it could cause a mass die-off of mages; mainly because none would have any institutions of higher learning devoted to the study and use and they would burn themselves out and killing themselves in the process.

if it is your runic type (like Doctor Strange); powered on life-force, then it would be less dangerous I think for the mages, but easier to burn themselves out. I could see most industries benefitting from this type. Imagine a glyph that improves/purifies whatever substance it comes into contact with... no further need for waste water treatment facilities, or bacterial infections like rotovirus from soft drinks... just put a glyph in the bottom of the bottle and poof... stays pure and clean forever.

As to the latter question, it would really depend on what sorts of creatures we are talking about.

Pixies and Fairies and all those minor little annoyances? Pest control services that deal with them (like the movie "Bright")
Dragons? Depends on whether they are the mindless eating machine sort, or the intelligent sort. If the former; Dragon hunters. If the latter, think tanks or research centers.
Centaurs? New clothiers for the critters, taming services, mounts in combat? Transportation couriers?
Demons? If they are depicted as the type that cannot control their baser instincts; then I don't think they would survive very long because they would cause so much chaos where they appear (murder, rape, violence, etc...) that pretty much everyone would come together to kill them, and maybe even like the dragon above, demon hunting could become a new sport. If they are depicted as shrewd adversaries, then I imagine they'd be like a mafia boss, or yakuza, quietly pulling strings from the darkness; while their human lackies bring them whatever they need. Could also bring about demon hunting; but a quieter, darker, deadlier sort.

These are all excellent points on how the different factions of groups would be formed! But now let's say that this one corrupted leader who acts like they are trying to save mankind against the supernatural, by having the most special advanced tech and magic, holding a tournament fighting competition to offer the winner a special some bonus prize money and to prove to the world that this organization running the tournament, that they're special magic and high tech weaponry is unbeatable and the best way to defeat the supernatural as a way to test and show by holding these no hold matches?

 

[WonderingSword5]

Gonna need more info to really give you good answers lol.

• If the world is modern-day and magical things now exist, then governments are going to find ways to regulate/control it, companies are going to find ways to exploit it, there's gonna be trade in unicorn horns on the dark web, kids will find all the cool new drugs that are out there etc. Stick magic into guns! That'll be neat. Combat is going to be mostly the same as it is right now (bullets are iron and iron works good against fae), we're not all of a sudden going to start using swords unless magic makes guns useless (and we can't make magic guns).
• If the world is Ye Olden Dayse like most fantasy, then people are going to be inventing wizard schools and potions and stuff for the first time. Society might make some big technological leaps as people sequence break tech trees. Like just having indoor lights is going to change things a LOT since there is more hours people can work. Messenger pigeons were a thing back then, but what about messenger gryphons? Dragons? What if they can carry packages and not just a small letter? Or a person? Maybe a small person, like a kid, and fly over a battlefield to collect intel or napalm an enemy city? Some cool ideas there.
• If the world is sci-fi-y/far future tech, then you got two ways of looking at it:

1. This isn't actually magic, it's explained by science. The creatures came out of a portal, some weird quantum wiggling has changed the laws of physics in such a way that "magic" is now usable. Many people will still refer to it as magic but that would probably be looked down upon. There's probably going to be people who want to LARP as wizards or dragon riders, but mostly people are going to want to study these new scientific things and figure it out (and then apply it to their current world, whether that's bioengineering, space travel, robotics etc).
2. This is actually magic and no one can explain it. This is going to screw with people's heads a LOT, since it means everything we thought we knew about chemistry/physics is wrong. Will FTL suddenly stop working? Or gene therapy? Are planets suddenly terraforming themselves or is new, hostile life appearing in the colonies? How important is humanity's understanding of science to our sense of being and stability? A society where "logic and reason" has essentially killed off things like religion, superstition or prejudice is going to have all those things coming back in new, interesting ways. Do we still feel like we're in control of the galaxy? Do we think this is an alien invasion? Or that our universe is going to end?

In pretty much any situation, you're either going to have monster hunters or any of the groups in the greater SCP Foundation canon (including the cultists, the Jeffery Epstein types, and the toy makers). Which ones get powerful first and do the most are up to you, my guy, have fun with it.

I would say it's a mix of all of them because in this world, scifi tech exists, but is not enough to combat the supernatural causing havoc around the globe, so this greedy ruler decides to in order to combat them and get people to want to purchase his special tech that can be used against the supernatural, he holds this tournament for the best fighters, soldiers, warriors, cyber combatants, everyone who's the most skilled combatants that man kind has to offer, to prove and test that his tech is the most advanced. Both advanced technology and magic will be in the same world but they are not the same.