How to constrain the use of attack magic among civilians

[TWErvin2]

Civilians/individuals would possibly have access to magical charms or shields that they wear, for example. The quality could vary as to how much magic they could deflect or protect a wearer from. That uncertainty might deter the regular use, as the receiver could survive, and possibly retaliate (if not via magic, then through physical, legal, or other means). Sort of like everyone having a bullet-proof vest or body armor. The quality and coverage varies, but may not be readily apparent.

Just a thought on how to deal with the concern. A person goes through the pain/effort of the attack, only to have it fizzle--and face consequences/retribution.

 

[pmmg]

Drawing energy this way can be painful. Holding it inside yourself, without the right amount of control, can cause the energy to damage your internal organs, or make you combust, infect you with a disease, age prematurely, etc. Directing it out of your body without the right amount of control can also cause you to hurt yourself, like blowing off your own arm, losing control of the spell and causing collateral damage.



Would these drawbacks be enough to constrain usage of attack magic among people? Is more needed to control the use of this brand of magic?

I think a drawback like described would certainly constrain the use of magic, but would not put an end to it. By more needed, do you mean more in the way of how one might design the magic system? or more in the way of how a society might try to govern its use?

If it is system design you are after, I would say most magic systems are not inherently available to everyone and many systems extort a price of some sort for its use. No system is better or worse than any other, even an unconstrained one, you just need one that fits your story. If you have a world where everyone can use magic, but the price is high, I suspect that would curtail the use of it somewhat. If you make the price extremely high, it would curtail the use somewhat more.

If you mean by way of how it might be governed, well, that is just the political dynamic for which no one ever seems to have a right answer. You could make laws, and have it shunned and looked down upon, but occasionally I would expect things to blow up. No different than the world of Guns, terrorism and nuclear bombs. In that regard, pandora's box has already been opened. There is no putting it back. I think one only needs to look at how the world is attempting to handle those realities to get a feel for how it might happen if it were magic instead.

 

[Michael K. Eidson]

I think some of what's been said seemingly in opposition to what others have said is actually all saying the same thing. I did, in fact, mention that certain consequences of the untrained use of combat magic might lead to the individual being arrested. I wasn't saying that the only constraint was the risk of self-damage or death. Go back and read my posts....

Here's where I think the discussion is somewhat derailed: We're talking about combat magic. When it comes to combat magic, the intended purpose is to hurt or kill someone else. If you hurt someone else, then as I wrote in a prior post, you might be arrested, and that's how you're stopped. If you aren't arrested, the family and friends of the person you hurt might very well come after you. How does that end? Maybe it doesn't, but if you have lots and lots of wars between families, you're going to end up with lots and lots of deaths, and that starts to put a damper on things.

If risk-takers want to use combat magic against themselves, who cares? It's like the YouTubers who do stunts in our world and put their own lives at risk. Don't hurt anyone else, and you can sit there all day blowing fireballs up your nostrils. Bake yourself from the inside out, if that's your thing. Constraint isn't necessary in this situation, until you accidentally bake the accidental tourist on the sidewalk. Then we're back to the paragraph above.

And I still maintain, that if someone dies as a result of all this random use of combat magic, they ain't doing it anymore. Unless the world has reincarnation or resurrection or some such thing.