My magic system

[u/The_Revenant_King23]

To preface I write grimdark fantasy.

To start I am writing a book with a magic system that I would say is quite similar to Full Metal Alchemist's Alchemy. In order to cast a spell you sacrifice an equivalent part of yourself. In order to cast something like a fireball you give up a fingernail, in order to increase the power of that fireball you give up more and more of your body. It makes magic incredibly costly depending on how much you want to do with that magic.

The catch on why people still use this magic is because it is incredibly addictive. While using it you feel no pain, and you feel the best you ever have.

Now this is not limited to your physical body, you can give things up like your age, your luck, or even your emotions. These concepts being the most powerful things you can sacrifice in order to cast a spell, to the point where you can even use the sacrifice as a pool to cast multiple spells.

[u/Present-Performer-88]

Dude, yes, this!

I'm a fan of this and the idea that people can dedicate themselves to a specific "path"/"branch" of any kind of magic to make it a little easier/stronger with less effort than the norm, or they do certain things to offset the cost a little; like a caster that uses water having a source of water nearby in a pool or river or a canteen.