What are the consequences of NOT using magic in your world?

[Wuolong77]

In one of my work drafts, I have a world where the magic is treated as technology. It's dependent on the manipulation of a mineral ressource that is mined. And for a long time in this world's history, only an elite group of people had the know-how to harness the power of these minerals to cast spells, which also involves grueling physical conditioning and selective breeding. These people became something akin to nobility.

Everything changed when an inventor found an alternative way to harness these minerals by simply building a mechanical device. Suddenly, any reasonably skilled craftsman could propagate the usage of magic as long as they had the blueprint and about 70 years later when my story starts, the entire society has undergone a form of industrial revolution based on, well, industrialized magic. Inventing and designing new ways to harness the magic minerals is now done by what is the equivalent of engineers, who aren't necessarily the best 'casters'. Or to formulate it another way, any person in my setting can become a magic user simply by procuring the needed device and the necessary minerals. Of course, now that the former nobles have lost their monopoly on magic, their influence in society has waned over the decades and at the point when the story begins there is basically a class war brewing. And the nobles are losing it.

If this setting didn't use these magic minerals, it would still be a pre-industrialized society and if a nobility formed in this world, they would have to assert their superiority in other ways. But there wouldn't be much consequence for the individual, because the magic is for the most part externalized.

 

[SirenSon117]

I have multiple settings. In Terra Sola, the setting of my main WIP Snow Children, Magical energy is a natural resource. Choosing to use Magic is seen as conserving resources, but those people will stull make use of Magitech and thus know the basics of how to use Magic. They just choose not to. People who physically can't use Magic, like Asta in Black Clover, are seen as disabled and are protected and accommodated for under law. On other worlds, Magic is a privilege for people with crazy good luck. People on those more primitive worlds are constantly trying to curry favor with the Gods and other local magical beings in order to make a contract with them that'll allow the poor wannabe hero to borrow that being's powers. On more advanced worlds, it's more like Terra Sola but up to eleven. On those worlds, choosing not to use Magic is like that weird uncle/cousin constantly talking about how he's totally going to live off the grid in a bunker somewhere. Of course, there are some worlds where Magic has been "locked", almost always by a God of some kind. This is the case for Earth, as well as Orphan Lapis Lazuli which is the setting of Ocean's Avatar, a book I need to write early for lore reasons. On both those worlds, Magic is seen as the stuff of storybooks and nothing more. Even if that world houses some powerful Magitech, such as the weapons of the Knights of the Round Table for example, the lock on that world will obscure those artifacts until the lock is broken or some or extreme circumstance forces God's hand.

 

[MrNybble]

There are no real consequences of not using magic in my world. I will just make you the Amish equivalent in the this world. Magic is like any technology and not using it saves you from learning it, influenced by it, or benefiting from it.

 

[ButlerianHeretic]

In Tetrahaim, magic in general is like basketball. Anyone can learn it, some are good enough to do it professionally, but only a few truly excel. That said, there are different kinds of magic, and some require more talent than others. Material magic - alchemy and artificing - can be learned by anyone, though talented alchemists can channel enough external magic to empower alchemical reactions so they are more powerful. Most alchemy is mundane though, everburning candles and torches, blackwash to keep darkling wraiths from phasing through walls, that kind of thing. Fire, acid, and similar flasks and arrowheads are a tiny fraction of alchemical work. Similarly, most artificers make mundane stuff like wards to guard doors and windows against darkling intrusion, only the most talented are able to use oricalcum to weave magic into runes that create items with more overt magical enchantments.

Internal magic takes talent, but only changes the internal state of the user, so is easier than external magic. External magic can directly impact other beings or the outside world. The most commonly practiced form of internal magic is called initiation.

All supernatural creatures (including darklings which are leftover demonic bioweapons from an ancient war) have magical special attacks, defenses, and auras that make it nearly impossible for a mortal to survive a fight with all but the very weakest supernatural creatures. Initiation doesn't provide overt power, but it teaches initiates to fight through those supernatural powers. Initiates know their initiate grade, but can only estimate the power of supernatural creatures based on how much the creature's power effects them. Generally, if monster level-initiate level = 0 or less, the creatures powers are wholly ineffective. 1 = the initiate feels them, but is barely effected. 2 = the effect is powerful. 3 = the effect is almost overwhelming but the initiate might have a chance against a physically weak opponent. 4 or above = utterly overwhelming power, literally zero chance. By contrast, even a high level initiate only benefits from the mundane aspects of their fighting skills and experience against a mundane enemy, and being much higher level than a monster is no more helpful than being just equal in level. The most common forms of magic armor, weapons, and protective devices allow one to fight as if they were of a higher initiate grade - weapons overcome magical defenses better, armors protect against magical attacks better, and protective devices protect against auras.

 

[ButlerianHeretic]

Queshire I'm imagining future engineers talking about modern scientists saying "what did they *think* the exotic matter needed to make an Alcubierre dive work would be? Duh!"

 

[Patrick-Leigh]

In my setting, which is high magic, not using magic makes a lot of things much, much harder. Water purification? Almost impossible without very large, complicated systems that don’t have electricity to enable them. Refrigeration? Accomplished by Cryo Mages freezing water that gets put into ice rooms. Without them, ice has to be brought down from mountains or the poles and won’t last long into summer. Road maintenance? Requires far more manpower and is less effective without Lithomancers to use Transmutation to repair and reinforce the pavement. Societies would be much less vibrant and productive without magic in my setting.

 

[Zainan]

I the work I am currently writing the effect of not using your magic is that is slowly drives you mad. You know you are able to use it but society has deemed it unacceptable to be a witch or magic user. The arcane forces build up in you enough that it starts shattering your mind.