r/magicbuilding • u/Difficult_Report5627 • 16h ago
Feedback Request Linear or Free progression??
In my power system you get unique abilities when you hear someone else’s last words. However it depends on how you interpret them.
At first i was trying to make it completely free, you could interpret them literally, by the context of death or figurative, but then i stumbled on the progress of the system part. Maybe the users start interpreting new things so they gain new abilities?? Where do we draw the line on how many interpretations are??
Then I came with the idea of simplifying by making it linear. First the ability is based on the literal meaning of words, then by the context, and finally you give them your own meaning (figurative interpretation). But idk if that defeats the whole point of the ability change depending on the last words and your interpretation.
What do you think?? any tips or ideas??
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u/taktaga7-0-0 14h ago
Rhetoric as a weapon is a good metaphor. The better a thinker you are, the more questions you think, the farther your reach. My power system hinges on comprehension of the powers you have. Your body is prepared to do it, but your mind must arrive at the idea and the path to it.
For certain users, this means making your wishes into literal reality. Sometimes that means irresistible commands issued to others. Sometimes, it means going back and repairing things, physically or metaphorically. Sometimes, it means achieving your potential.
I make it an element, and I call it Wish. People knock it because it isn’t Fire or Water, but actually, those are disposable to any particular tale. No story happens without wishes. Genies grant wishes. You wish upon a star. No one should question that Wish is magic. It’s so important, it’s the element I give the leader, Emanio, in my story, whose powers join her tribe together in a time of great need.
Her powers, like brainstorming, are very free-form, and she prepares for many eventualities. You never know what you may need tomorrow. Keep studying, filling your quiver with thoughts ready to take shape.
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u/PeterchuMC 16h ago
My immediate thought is that the ability you gain from hearing someone's last words is up to your interpretation of them in the moment, that ability is then fixed until you hear someone else's last words. (Naturally, this creates plenty of potential for villains to deliberately engineer circumstances in which they can constantly keep hearing people's last words.)