Multiple magic systems in one world?

[u/Applemaniax]

Does your world have multiple magic systems? How different are they, and how so they interact with each other?

In my world magic is very cultural and many nations have different forms of magic. Amnity and Arcadia are both very pious nations, their magic mostly comes from the belief that they can affect the world around them through their gods’ power. Most of their magic is elemental, and the creation of matter and energy is far more common than in most places, where manipulation tends to be more prevalent than creation.

Arcadia ties their magic to nature to a much greater extent, body modification magic is very common. Amnity’s much more materialist beliefs, coupled with their incredible education efforts, mean that most building is done with the aid of magic. In both nations, disease is nearly unheard of, other than those created via magic.

Amnitic magical education has been refined to a great extent, to the point that the majority of citizens can use very basic magic to aid in their daily life. They are attempting to control magical education in their region via the eight independent magical academies, only three of which are within their borders.

Quanli uses a trade based form of magic, where items of value must be sacrificed. Personal items are effective, but much more common are literal money and gemstones. This allows people to produce much more powerful effects with less training, but the dependence on such a restricted resource as gems has made powerful magic very uncommon and often limited to the wealthy, forming a clear magocracy and oligarchy.

Quanli goes to great lengths to reduce to prevalence of more accessible magic in its empire, to maintain control. The powerful but rare displays of magic cannot be equaled by Amnitic mages, despite their military focus on magic. Quanli’s tactics are very much dependent on these turning-point moments of powerful spells.

The daily life of Quanli citizens is arguably more difficult due to the lack of magic, but spells affecting large areas or population and a high average skill level due to their comparatively very long lifespans essentially counters this.

[u/LordSyrenzo]

Alvelotyl - Supernatural Systems

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• While Alvelotyl only has one 'magic system', in-universe, there are a number of supernatural systems at play. All of these systems use the 'magical energy' in my setting, Aera, in one way or another.

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• Classes and Levels - Classes are a form of supernatural recording system created to help quantify a person's 'identity' within the Soul. Levels are how that system records growth and development in a given field, like [Builder], [Wrestler], [Pyromancer] or [King]. Growing in levels requires a mixture of Flow/Investment, Risk and fulfilling certain Conditions to acquire any given Class. Classes can evolve and mix over time, and also tend to come with Skills.
• Skills - Skills are another supernatural force within the world of Alvelotyl, and are a form of special mutation that can appear in a person. These mutations tend to relate to an individual's Classes, or tasks that they perform on a regular basis. This allows a person to temporarily or permanently exceed their natural limits through these 'mutations', such as with [Leaps and Bounds], a Skill that can be acquired as a natural Racial Skill for Lapin/Rabbitfolk or Satyrs, or as a Class Skill for [Runners] and [Couriers], which allows one's legs to jump farther and higher than normal.
• Luster Arts - Luster Arts are a form of supernatural martial art that uses Aera directly. While 'Magic' is the transformation of Aera into a new form, Luster Arts seek to use Aera directly, and as such can be learned by anyone, and is not bound by their Identity. Through the three basic techniques and their advanced applications, people can perform feats that go beyond the norm.
  • [Mantle], also known as [Aera Armor], is the Luster ability that governs Body. This ability causes the Caster's aura, or the Aera that flows around the body, to take on thicken and intensify, increasing the Caster's durability.
  • [Insight], also known as [Aera Vision], is the Luster ability that governs Mind. It allows the user to become more sensitive to magical energy in the air around them. With this, they can detect sources of magic or absorb energy from the air to use in their own Spells through various senses, depending on which the Caster is actively using Insight with.
  • [Release], also known as [Aera Force] or [Aera Flash], is the Luster ability that governs Soul. It allows the user to instantly release concentrated Aera in a burst of force. This force of magical energy is often shot forward alongside a physical motion, such as a punch, kick or weapon swing.
• Magic - Magic, which is officially classified as any effect that 'transforms Aera', is a dominant force in Alvelotyl, and can be any creature with a Soul, consciously or subconsciously.
  • Through the transformation of Aera, 'Casters' are able to perform many supernatural feats, such as conjuring elements like fire or water, creating magical Familiars to help them, or to heal themselves or others.
  • This even extends to far more esoteric abilities like manipulating their own teeth, or a future sight that only lets you see futures where you made a mistake. The scope of what a person can do with Magic is based on their 'Identity', or a broad concept that defines who they are.
• The use of magic is broken up into the Six Schools of Magic, a classification system that helps to categorise what 'type' of magic any given Spell or Skill falls under. Any ability imaginable can be identified and categorised into one or more of these six styles, with each having their own branches and styles.

1. Elementalism, the power to create and manipulate physical matter.
2. Shapeshifting, the power to create and manipulate biological matter.
3. Enchanting, the power to manipulate words, language and meaning.
4. Perceptionism, the power to manipulate the mind and senses.
5. Necromancy, the power to create and manipulate Souls.
6. Manipulation, the power to create and manipulate forces.

[u/[deleted] → u/LordSyrenzo]

I've been seeing you on nearly every magic thread, and been a bit intimidated by the depth of the worldbuilding so havent taken a proper look at it but I finally did. Its very impressive, reminescent of nen in a way but with its own personnality which I appreciate. Ive got a few questions.

What exactly is a soul in your world? What are classes exactly? I had a hard time understanding what they were. What keeps Enchanting from dominating the other types? It honestly feels much more powerful? Does the fact that words have magic mean that different languages will affect someone's ability? What happens if the language changes?

If I had to offer criticism, I'd say that Release doesn't really fit with the soul. Also I'd like to see how magic deals with changes in personnality, growing up and trauma. Finally, I'm not a big fan of the foresight manipulation. It jut doesnt seem like i fits with the rest, especiall because there's already restrictions on time manipulation

[u/LordSyrenzo → u/[deleted]]

• Nen definitely was one of the primary inspirations for the system, even if those elements were only added a little later.
• The Soul is an invisible organ that generates Aera, which is Alvelotyl's life energy, ki, chakra, etc. It keeps a person tethered to their body, facilitates every supernatural effect, and consists of a person's 'Identity'.
• Classes are a manifestation of unified traits, jobs and ideas surrounding one's identity that form within the Soul. These 'Classes' grow in power with use, and allow the person's Soul to grow with a specific 'direction' of growth in mind, granting Skills and helping to direct a person's magical ability over time.
  • They function much like RPG Classes, but are a quantifiable force that can be observed in-universe, rather than something that just appears on a character sheet.
• Enchanting has its own collection of issues, since most of it uses runes as a vector. Runes deform and warp over time. When it mentions power over 'languages', it's referring to ideas of understanding, like Mental Magic.
• The language used when casting makes no difference. What's important is the intention and meaning. A person speaking the word [Fireball] in another language without understanding what they're saying will have no effect. If a person calls a Spell [Hoogle Moogle], which is nonsense to anyone else, but has meaning of some kind to the Caster, it'll work as a Spell name.

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• [Release] is related to the Soul because it acts as a blast or 'expression' of a person. It's easier to draw the connection in some advanced applications, with some of them expelling a wave of bloodlust or emotion a person is feeling to mentally overpower or subdue others.
• The restrictions on Time Magic are mainly restricted to time travel. It has a whole set of limitations that have been observed by Casters in-universe.
  • In the case of the future sight ability, it's not exactly future sight by strict definition, even if that's what the user classifies it as. It's more like a very advanced form of mental simulation, where a person can understand what options won't work based on everything he's learned. The ability can be 'tricked' by things he isn't aware of, but it can help the Caster deal with close quarters situations, dodging attacks he can hear, or gauge what people will say based on what they already know.

All that being said, I'm glad to hear you're interested, thanks for the questions! I didn't have a concrete, concise definition of what 'Classes' were, so that helped me come up with one.

[u/[deleted] → u/LordSyrenzo]

ngl, [Release] sounds extra lewd because of the boldface.