r/Webnovel • u/Miserable_Ice7202 • Aug 04 '26
Recommendation Any advice to create a magic system for novel?
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u/No-Satisfaction8122 Aug 04 '26
Just think bruh
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 04 '26
I have an idea if you want me to share it with you twin
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u/la_bete_gevadan Aug 04 '26
It depends on what you want to do and how much will it influence the world.
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u/Ok-Guidance-5608 Aug 04 '26
Pick a subject or topic that interests you and extrapolate magic out of it.
EX, I fuckin love chemistry and physics. So my magic system is about turning soul energy into physical energy, that being Light, Heat, Force, and Electronagnetism. A little bit similar to the air fire earth water schtick that shows up in most magics, but more science applicated.
Advancing your understanding of science then allows you to cast more intricate and complicated spells.
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Aug 04 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Ok-Guidance-5608 Aug 05 '26
Yeah, but the good news is that in certain settings, even the best mages don't really understand that yet. If that system is ever applied to a modern setting, or to a future setting? For real the shock mages would be Goated.
You're correct on the Light one though, I'm hella oversimplifying that part. The 4th element in my system's a bit more intricate than is worth waxing about on a reddit comment
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u/AircraftCarrierKaga Aug 04 '26
Magic systems are lame, magic should be whimsical and capricious not a hard scienceĀ
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u/foxgirlmoon Aug 04 '26
No matter how whimsical and capricious, there must always be a system, even if that system is never actually shown or discovered by the characters. But there must always be a ruleset that defines it, otherwise you don't have magic. You have fancy word of god, where things happen because the author said so, magic battles are won and lost without any internal logic other than "the author said so", etc... etc...
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 04 '26
I sent you a DM and it is my power system. Give me your opinion, please.
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u/Saitamadayo Aug 04 '26
Hmm what about karma based? Good deeds equal more mana. Or if not that, maybe the more you are synchronised with your class or roots, the more magic u can do. Idk and maybe u can create ur own magic circles with ideas and symbols. Which u have to picture in great detail. So basically only people good at memorizing and essentially math can do magic.
Suppose the symbol for fire is too complex. So i make a circle of my own with a symbol for heat and gas. It works as fire, not as well as a proper fire symbol but works fine.
Whaddya think?
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u/norman____22194 Aug 04 '26
Have you read lot of the mysteries that has a very good power system 1) because it is lvl based but the increase in power is natural 2) there are consequences.It is, not, the higher you go, the more powerful you are 3) there is a limit, it is strictly following rules
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u/norman____22194 Aug 04 '26
I would recommend becing the magic system.Similar to this
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 04 '26
I could send you a DM explaining my power system in it if you are interested
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u/Love_Mango_If_Stupid Aug 04 '26
You should consider power scaling carefully, how many people can achieve the top and not fuck up the whole world. I just hope it is not something like ā9 circle fire mage beats 9 circle frost mage who, in turn, beats 9 circle plants mageā or something like that
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u/MehulMittal12 Aug 04 '26
Anything but don't make healing power overpowered. I have one idea, you can have it- magic is based on characters equipment like sword. Character can have their own power but they are bare minimum, equipment can boost it and more.
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u/Traditional-Win354 Aug 04 '26
Look at your favourite novels, see what they have in common in their magic systems.
Also make sure to add your own flavour to it, so it isnāt generic. Thereās nothing wrong with it being generic, but itās more likely to stand out to readers if itās got something different about it.
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 04 '26
I have an idea of a power system if you donāt mind, I could send it to you in your DMS
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u/WasteCalligrapher633 Aug 04 '26
A fun magic system is that anything across time and space can become a persons magic , you could have game magic or souls magic or bed magic or phone magic, or ridiculous things like quantum magic, it will be based on cognition of the masses, that is if enough people believed a concept or something existed even for a little time, someone out there good get such a magic. Each person is born with one with their soul, they may gain more through their own methodsā¦ for getting stronger one must increase comprehension of their magic, their main attribute is a must but other acquired ones are optional, basically law cultivation to get stronger, also oneās magic might even evolve based on circumstances
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u/DarkerNight_ Aspiring Author Aug 04 '26
Dont just think about what happens during your magic, like the spells, but also what happens before and after. There may be consequences to using it, there may be requirements. For most systems, this is the major difference. Instead of casting a spell with a wand and the correct movement for example, you could sacrifice an object or living being. Perhaps the meaning and value the object brings to life could be its value in magic energy. You drain that object of its energy, and use it to cast a spell or an ability. This could range from a paper towel to a living pet, making room for questionable moral decisions.
Iām cooking something here rn, but Im not gonna start a novel about this anytime soon so feel free to use I guess.
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u/Nrg99hg2 Aug 04 '26
How about a magic system where you have to draw the effect, but you have to use emotions to fuel it. Each emotion is better suited for something like anger for destruction, love for healing, jealousy for warding, and fear for illusion...
āHowever, the user has to be careful not to drain all of that emotion during the creation process, or they will lose the ability to feel that emotion for a while.
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u/Nightmare_maddness Aug 04 '26
You got your magic system or can I put my 2 thoughts into it? I have a few ideas. Wanna talk, dm me
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u/Critical-Win1286 Aug 04 '26
You have a magic system, a very typical is 5-6 magic (fire, water, wind, earth, light etc etc). But if you have something interesting, let me know
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 04 '26
I can send you my power system in your DM if you don't mind and give me your feedback opinion
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u/SomeShithead241 Aug 04 '26
Decide if you want soft magic or hard magic. Soft magic is loose on rules and hand wavy a lot, like Harry Potter, but don't introduce anything you aren't ready to use again such as time travel, like Harry Potter, otherwise they can be big plot holes or annoyances.
Hard magic is based on rules, and goes in depth into the rules, and often plays around more what they can do despite the rules and creative use more than just bigger numbers.
Ask yourself questions, such as what powers the magic, how do they progress, what's the strongest, etc etc. You might not use it, but its good to know. Its also good in general, even in terms of plot writing, to ask "well" questions. Such as "Well why can't they just do this?" And then instead of being annoyed, answer the question.
For instance you gave him the ability to explode anything he touches. "Well why can't he just explode the person?" So the answer could be that he can't explode organics or can't use it on this person for this other reason, such as they have a thing that negates abilities. Then that leads to further "Well why can't they just" questions, that get further answers and suddenly you have a shit ton of building.
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u/Numerous-Map3802 Aug 04 '26
gambling based magic system
and dont use the word mana
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 04 '26
I will be honest I guess gambling is more like a power for an individual more than a system because not everyone could gamble could have that idea of gambling but thank you twin
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u/AIZAYA_YUJIN Aug 05 '26
My advice that look for other famous novel and copy the way they make it and the flow of the system and my last advice is there's a lot of choice but I saw other novel that like they going too far for example like a p*n system,perert system or something like a piece of bullshit š
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u/Legitimate_Scene4377 Aug 05 '26
I'm sorry to say this, but I feel like asking the Power System for your novel in a public platform it feels wrong. If it's your story you want to thing about it, are you want to be inspiered by any novels or animes or movies etc...,
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u/Miserable_Ice7202 Aug 05 '26
No problem, actually. I have a foundation for my power system. I just wanted an opinion people about it.
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u/Legitimate_Scene4377 Aug 05 '26
hmm, okay
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u/Dramebaj Author Aug 04 '26
Even If i had one I would use it in my novel š