Multiple magic sources system

[d0glife]

So i'm creating this world where gods were created from an ancient civilization, and eventually turned into stars. Those who could not handle the transformation turned into super nova, fusing their divine knowledge with the fabrics of reality, creating magic.

As there are multiple gods (hundreds of them) magic should be totally diverse.

Any experiences with mulple magic sources systems?

It comes from studying the universe, from natural magical places, from meditating, etc.

 

[pmmg]

Well... many RPG's have multiple magic systems.

The system you describe does not seem like it should be a multiple system, it seems more likely that the divine knowledge is something greater then the gods, and something beyond them is the source.

In my own story, there is a shifting magic system. An original one has been depleting, and a new one is taking it over. As a resident of the planet, and not knowing what all is going on, one might surmise that magic use depends heavily on the race of the individual (by race, I mean Elf, dwarf, human), and proximity to sources of magic. The world has a type of ley line system, as well as places where things have pooled, and places where things haven't. At is base, magic is just a tool. Not good, or bad or any of that. But as its shifted there are more spheres of influence, not dissimilar to the light and dark side of the Force.

Along with that, there is the ability of those not heavily predisposed to magic to gain some use of it, and their are items that may be enchanted, or enchantable, items that have some type of intrinsic magical quality, and those for which intrinsic ability could be enhanced.

So...in a dungeons and dragons way, if perhaps, I had the right set of items, I might be able to make magic, but...no one in the story is doing that.

I did have one character mention their medicine bag at one point. In a rewrite I may make that more important.

The story is not heavy with magic though. Its not a story about wizards and spells, and no one is crushing it with fireballs and lightning bolts. The magical using characters are few, and those that can wield it greatly have already been burned by it and dont look to do it again if they can avoid it.

 

[Not_Alice]

Sounds to me like you don't have multiple magic sources but one giant source, namely, everything. If the fabric of your reality is infused with magic, then magic is everywhere and what you're actually looking for is ways to access it. Can everybody just use it? Probably not, so people will have to master certain techniques, ways to open the flow for them. In my YA series, every witch has to find their approach to magic, and they'll find it impossible to use their magic reliably until they find it. (Three times 'find' in one sentence, my inner editor is screaming at me right now...) My MC finally realizes that her approach is music. She needs the perfect song for whichever spell she wants to cast. For other people, the doors will open differently.

 

[skip.knox]

I have multiple magic systems, although I don't. That is, there is a pseudo-scientific explanation that underlies all magic in Altearth, but the people at the time don't know that. So they have their own interpretations and misunderstandings that come out as "systems". There are variations across individuals, but very broadly dwarves have one view of magic while orcs have another and elves have another, and so on. In addition, there's some awareness that the practice of magic has changed over the centuries, so there's some interpretation that "back when" magic was done one way, but we can't do it that way any more.

I've found that having characters in my stories understand the world wrongly--magic included--gives me a great deal of room in which to work.

 

[Devor]

I have multiple magic sources, although the story is about deeply exploring only one of them. The others are mostly a backdrop for secondary characters to make it a busy and diverse world.

I took the RPG-style route, however. The magic systems have a few fundamentals in common and follow some basic patterns that are implied to be on par with one another - in other words, they're supposed to be balanced. They've each got their god-like beings and monsters and powerful locations and artifacts and characters who find ways to wield that magic. Most of that doesn't come into play, but it's a big world, and the story only covers a tiny piece of it.

Oddly enough, I haven't pinned down a creation story. Every time I try and figure one out, the ideas I get seem to cheapen the system and dull the impact. So it's just going to remain an unanswered question.

 

[Prince of Spires]

You could read Brandon Sanderson. This is very much his thing. Mistborn has 3 different ones, The Stormlight Archive has 10.

The thing is with those, that they are tied together. In Mistborn, they all revolve around metals and their magical properties. In the Stormlight Archive, the different magics all originate from 10 different types of mythical creatures that bond with humans. By having such a common source and feeling, the whole thing feels as if it belongs together instead of just being random stuff thrown on a pile. And I think that is the key to it. Make it feel like 1 thing.

 

[FatCat]

So i'm creating this world where gods were created from an ancient civilization, and eventually turned into stars. Those who could not handle the transformation turned into super nova, fusing their divine knowledge with the fabrics of reality, creating magic.

As there are multiple gods (hundreds of them) magic should be totally diverse.

Any experiences with mulple magic sources systems?

It comes from studying the universe, from natural magical places, from meditating, etc.

The showcase forum is a couple clicks away, if you want judgement

 

[Queshire]

There's a lot of fun stuff you can do with something like this. I'm imagining competing dojos that each promote a magic system, "common" magic that's actually just this one particular system that happens to be the combination of easy to use & useful that everyone knows it and Archmages that have minmaxed across dozens of different systems in order to reach the heights of their power.

 

[FatCat]

What's the main character expected to do? The magic system is just a prop

 

[Fyri]

So i'm creating this world where gods were created from an ancient civilization, and eventually turned into stars. Those who could not handle the transformation turned into super nova, fusing their divine knowledge with the fabrics of reality, creating magic.

As there are multiple gods (hundreds of them) magic should be totally diverse.

Any experiences with mulple magic sources systems?

It comes from studying the universe, from natural magical places, from meditating, etc.

I have multiple systems, coming from the same source. Mostly I just notice that it takes way more work than I wanted. XD

You want to make each one feel unique and original, and that can really stretch your mind, as well as your word count.

Edit: I THINK I JUST FIGURED OUT WHY BOOK ONE IS SO MUCH LONGER THAN BOOK TWO.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I have a system of ~18 Elements, and the ultimate source is either singular or ~18. Or 8. Or... it all depends on how you look at it. Every Element has distinct side effects as well. With an unknown number of gods and over 20 distinct religions, the world is a place where everybody thinks they know what is going on, but only a select few know the truth. I don't pull a Sanderson and try to teach the reader how things work because the characters don't know how things work. Only me, a few dragons, and some blokes called White Eyes understand the system, and we aren't talking.

 

[Finchbearer]

I don't pull a Sanderson and try to teach the reader how things work because the characters don't know how things work.

Yes to this. Soft magic systems all the way. Plus, I feel like this makes most logical sense.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I'm not sure I'd call the system soft unless the definition of soft is the level of the reader's knowledge. This is a viable definition. Some people define it as how concrete the system's rules are. In my case, the system is flexible, but the foundational rules are set in stone.

Yes to this. Soft magic systems all the way. Plus, I feel like this makes most logical sense.

 

[Finchbearer]

Well, let’s just say it makes it a whole lot easier for me if even I don’t know all the facets of my magic system.

 

[Prince of Spires]

The thing with pulling a Sanderson is that it very much depends on your story. I think Sanderson himself sums it up great in his first law of magic: An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic"

For Sanderson, the magic is often the point of the story. They use it to solve the problem at the climax. Therefore, the reader needs to know what's going on with the magic. I've read Eve of Snows. There is a lot of magic in there. But it's not really used to fix stuff. It's mainly there to get in the way and make stuff worse for the characters. Yes, the characters also use some magic to help them in some ways. But as a reader I understand what's going on on the small scale it's being used. Character X can do Y with magic. That level. That's very different.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Ayup, I'm not disrespecting Sanderson's approach, just noting I don't do it, and it's what he is famous for so he is an easy reference. I enjoyed the first Mistborn, despite or maybe because, it reminded me of a guy's home brew D&D from the late eighties/early nineties. Enough so it makes me wonder if the DM and Sanderson didn't know each other, LMAO. Geographically, this is possible, but he was in high school while our DM was in college. Still, they were only a couple of hours apart. Heck, I lived fifty minutes from him, heh heh.

Over the span of my books, people will begin to learn more and more about magic and its systems. In Shadows of Man, a young healer converses with a POV about her amazing skills that harken back to the Age of God Wars, and the interested reader will be able to connect more and more pieces about how the system works. I want the hard cores to be able to piece things together while the casuals just roll with it. To feel there's a hard system, and yet for it to seem squishy.

Ahhh, the morning babble.