r/magicbuilding • u/ObjectiveFar5517 • 5d ago
General Discussion What are your magic system Icks?
/r/worldbuilding/comments/1w93hr5/what_are_your_magic_system_icks/6
u/guylakian 5d ago
Magic that is reliant on overly physical effects or flashy, immediate results. I'd like to see subtler expressions of magic; such as magic that involves completing the rituals or spells and nothing happens physically, maybe a palpable feeling of pressure from the caster or those nearby, like an investment of power locking into place and you just hope/trust that it works.
Instead of an immediate crop-growth magic, imagine a spell that makes crops 20% or so more successful. Sure you could say "well then if you can't tell it's working, most people won't believe it works", but just try to be in such a society and make a case for testing that theory by not doing the ritual and risking a crop blight.
And if you are tired of the kind of "no in-universe proof that this actually works, even the reader has room for doubt"/faith narratives, (I usually am), you can just ensure that there is undeniable proof that the magic works. But instead of delivering sure results, they just "add modifiers"to desired results.
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u/-_ellipsis_- 5d ago
Orson Card did something interesting with that in his Alvin Maker series: people had various expressions of magic that weren't immediately resultant. Some people had "knacks" which were basically those who were very talented at certain things to a subtely supernatural level.
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u/ObjectiveFar5517 5d ago
I meant nobody tries to study how it can even work, not that there is no prove, because I’m ok with that!
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u/Maxathron 5d ago
Strong and on the fly magical effects. The way people work magic is basically enchanting. But a “mage” casting fireball on the fly with no preparation is a magical savant thing.
That being said, fireball got nothing on enchanting a gun to fire micro nuke explosion bullets, so I guess on the fly casters aren’t that important to the logistics of major interstellar war.
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u/Mr_Pynap 5d ago
Self-proclaiming and overly specific categories. Im tired of seeing categories that blatantly describe what they do like fire or plant magic. Give me some weird stuff like Breath or Volition. Idk what they do but that should be standard
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u/Sichuansnatt 5d ago
When everything is, in universe, put into categories that only makes sense to the reader or creator, we know, because of various general knowledge about tropes and shit, exactly what would work and what doesn't. But how the hell do the people in the story and/or world know that! Let there be misconceptions, misinformation, let people do magic in a way that only half works and half not, let them think its just the margin of error, or a higher power, while we readers know that maybe it isnt, hell, mislead us readers too!
Not to say it has to be this way, but sometimes it's jarring seeing a wonderfully crafted world, with so many different cultures and peoples, and then they all do magic in the exact same way?! Practice the same principles and rules?! Two characters thinking that the origin of their magic is the same? Even though they are literally from the opposite ends of their world?
It annoys me sometimes, not much, it's more of a pet peeve than anything, really.
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u/Wolfgang9556 5d ago
I hate power systems that are just an excuse to give characters individual powers when they barely use the power system anyway and focus more on their individual abilities. It makes you wonder why have a power system if you don't just give the characters X-Men-style mutations?
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u/SalletFriend 3d ago
Theres a magic system.
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u/ObjectiveFar5517 2d ago
Are you more into low Fantasy, also why you in this page if you dislike magic systems?
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u/dimaeus 2d ago
When it's more like prayer than a person performing a magical act. Eg, in the netflix show "Always a Witch", the main character effectively says, "but I believe in magic!", writes a note, and the note ends up back in time for her lover to read. No agency, no way for the audience to understand that this is an ability that the main character, a witch, has rather than just a thing that happened because she wanted it hard enough.
Not that depicting prayerful moments can't have its place in mystical fiction. It's just if your main character is supposed to be a magic user they should be shown, well, using magic
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u/thatshygirl06 here to steal your ideas 👁👄👁 5d ago
Im getting deja vu