How much magic is too much magic?

[sashamerideth]

I have one character who has the ability to alter metal, and has trained it to be instinctive, so the foe's sword or armour can become as weak as tinfoil or lose shape entirely, but he has to be at most a few steps away before it will work. I am thinking of reducing or removing any magic elements that act over a long distance.

 

[Ravana]

My usual answer is that it's "too much" magic when you can't plausibly explain why something doesn't happen as a result of the available magic.

Take the Superman example. It's not just that his opponents can't do more than occupy his attention for a short while–nearly all of them shouldn't even be able to do that much. And it has nothing to do with his strength or invulnerability, either… because the next closest runner-up in the unbeatable category should be the Flash, who has neither. Both of them are capable of moving faster than most everyone else can even see, let alone react to: there shouldn't be fights, only blurred smackdowns. And yet they always seem willing to slow up and give their opponents a fighting chance… but why should they? (I know why the writers have them do it: otherwise, there would be no comics. But why should the characters do it?) The only two powers I can think of offhand that can "break" stories more easily are mind reading and teleportation… and both of those are usually represented with limitations–whereas speed is speed: if the character can use it at all in a practical form (without being killed by friction, for instance, or only being able to use it in straight-line applications, i.e. his own reaction time is no better than anyone else's), this story-breaking aspect should crop up with depressing regularity.

That's what I mean by not being able to plausibly explain something that doesn't happen. Another example, from fantasy–from extremely well-written fantasy, even, making this a stand-out exception in the stories–is in one of Glen Cook's "Black Company" novels. One of the magically-inclined characters is noticed blowing pebbles apart for practice… by heating up the water contained in the rock. (Don't ask. There were some very scientifically savvy magicians in those books.) Which would indeed work just as Cook represented it. Now… anyone remember off the top of their head what the percentage of water by mass in a human body is? Did this character ever take advantage of this little detail? It's not like he was exactly squeamish: he was part of a mercenary company, and was personally responsible for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of deaths in the stories. Okay, so maybe he didn't like watching as bodies went pop–rocks are far less messy. More likely, the author never considered the possibility that he could, that it was a logical extension of abilities he'd already manifested.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Interesting point, Ravana.

When I throw my characters into the fray, I try to think in terms of what each character would do and could do in a given situation. I don't THINK I have any glaring errors like what you've mentioned. As I go through the polish/revision process, this is something I'll try to look for myself... just to be sure.

 

[DavidJae]

Having a character with unlimited magic does limit your story somewhat. If he can do anything with a wave of his hand, then we're is the tension and drama?