I've had the basics of the idea for a kind of magic system I haven't quite seen before. It takes element from a variety of sources, with a bit of (hopefully) original stuff in it. So... shall we?

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Magic is a force unlike any other. It is capable of twisting reality, bending minds, and transmuting matter. It is energy, yet it is not. Were one to compare the world to a Box, Magic is a force flowing around outside, capable of reaching in when called upon, and altering things according to the wishes of the Sorcerer. Whatever is naturally in the box is created by, and follows, a certain set of rules; Laws, even, of nature. Magic, being beyond this world, does not abide by these rules, and as such can act in ways that would otherwise be impossible.


Magic can do virtually anything. It can harden rock to become harder than steel, let wood become as water, or make flesh as malleable as clay. The laws of our reality do not apply to it, and as such whatever can be conceived by a mortal mind, Magic can accomplish—and more. From altering one's very body from human to beast, or calling upon the very elements themselves and hail down fire from the very skies. It is often said to artists that the only limit to what they can create is their imagination. For Sorcerers, this phrase is literal in every sense of the word.


As mentioned earlier, Magic is to be called upon before it can affect anything. But how is it called upon?
Everything about our bodies can be explained through science in one way or another: Skin made of cells, cells made of molecules, molecules made up of atoms, atoms made out of electrons, protons and neutrons. And even farther down, made of Quark and Matter. Every facet of our very being can be explained through science, except for one: Our minds, our thoughts. Movement is caused by electrical currents through our brain, and chemicals released to induce a variety of effects on ourselves; the very organ itself deciding much of who and what we are, but none of what has yet been discovered can explain how we are able to think: How we are able to remember.

But what is the nature of Intent?

The first rule when practising Magic is that you have to have an Intent. You can call up vast amounts of magical energy from the beyond with the simple intent of collecting it, but with no purpose for it, it will simply fizzle and turn to nothing. If one calls up an amount of magic, and intends to call forth lightning from their fingertips, the magic gathered will follow that intent—that thought—and cause it to happen. How, nobody is quite certain. All they know is that if the intend to do something is there, and is solid enough, it will happen.

This is what is meant when it is said that only the imagination sets a limit. So long as you can imagine that something will happen, and truly intend for it to happen, then it can and will occur. But even magic isn't a limitless font of energy, and though it is forever outside of our reality, never truly depleting, it is impossible to do great things without equally great amounts of power.


For some, it is easier to keep a clear intent of whatever it is one wishes to do by speaking it aloud, in one way or another. It can be in another language—Latin is an oft used language—or in one's own language, or even in using nonsense words. The only thing that is important is that the words mean something to the Sorcerer in question. For example, the word "Gaia", the name of the Greek Primordial Goddess of the Earth, might be what one Sorcerer uses to call upon a spire of bedrock, because to them that is the intent and the meaning behind the word, whereas to some other Sorcerer it might do nothing as they do not connect any Intent of meaning to it.

Alternatively, there are also those who use crystals; channeling their magic through a gemstone of a specific colour, or a specific shape. That is to say, they use a Foci to channel their power through, foregoing the use of spoken language or silent thought to guide their magic. A foci can be a wide variety of things: From symbols written on a book's pages, to a quarter staff inscribed with runes or glyphs.

So long as something carries a meaning, and is able to guide the Intent of the Sorcerer, anything could be used as a foci, if they use one at all.


The Sorcerer acts as a conduit for the forces they call into this world, and every person has their limits. So while magic can do virtually everything, a human cannot.

Have you ever worked on something for so long that you felt yourself grow tired? Not physically exhausted, but unable to concentrate and continue working. Such is the effects of exhaustion from using too much Magic. While the state of exhaustion will recede with sufficient rest, a person can only channel so much power through them—hold Intent and their desired Effect for so long—before their mind becomes tired, and they are unable to keep a grasp on what they wish to happen. This limit exists for every Sorcerer, and is the only factor aside from their Imagination that limits them. It is, however, a soft cap, meaning that it is possible to continue after this state, although it is difficult, hence it not being mentioned in the introduction.


Magic is a force outside our reality, capable of being reached and drawn upon through our minds: Our Intent. If a Sorcerer wishes to cast a spell, they must truly be intent on doing it, and be able to imagine what it is they wish to happen. It is not so simple as simply telling oneself that they believe it will happen, they will have to want it to happen. If they do not, their grasp of the magical energy they have collected for the task will fizzle and become nothing.

Greater spells calls for greater amounts of magic, which will lead to becoming exhausted quicker. Everyone has a limit, and it can be extended through training.

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So, I hope this is at least a little bit interesting. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Edit:
Added a section about Channeling magic, including brief information about Foci, Incantations and the like.

(This is actually one of the discussion threads that I've been intending to reply to for a few days now, @kapuchu, but due to a multitude of problems (including sleep deprivation) I've held back until now. I wanted to make sure I was at least coherent when I replied; I'm not exactly feeling the best still but now's probably a better time than any.)

While I had a rather lengthy reply in mind for this thread... I've actually decided to avoid posting it here due to the fact that I'd be spoiling (something I have no intention of doing) a pretty significant detail about my main story project if I explained my concept of what "Magic" is here. Due to that, all noteworthy information I give about that project will only be done over PM for the time being. All I'll say for the time being is I found this thread interesting, mostly because I usually like to see different people's ideas for magical concepts. My own is something I consider particularly unique in some ways, so I won't be commenting here by relating to it (meaning I don't have much to say), but since no one else had posted here I figured I might as well say something.

I will note that there's some parallels between a bit of what you've written and some of my own concepts and ideas (which I've been working on for decades) actually, though I'm perceiving that there's some noticeable differences too. Admittedly, I'm still not feeling particularly coherent, so I can't give my best analysis.

Whenever I see a magic system I'm always interested in how the writer explains the sociological implications of it. Like, what determines if a person is a Sorcerer or not? Is it a hereditary part of their bloodline, an outside force granting them powers or is it a skill that anyone can pick up with practice? I've always found the popular notion prevalent in fantasy that magic is privy only to a select group of ubermensch as boring and overused. Yeah we get it, magic flows in your veins or perhaps you have a sixth sense or something, making you automatically superior to most other characters you come across. As I said, boooring. (that's just my opinion in general, not slagging off anything in particular)

So yeah, when it comes to your system, I'd like to see an explanation about what makes one a Sorcerer and how it sets them apart from others. Sure, you can always say that it's "just magic, it happens", but since you're already going fairly in-depth with the system, I don't see why you shouldn't touch upon this as well.

Another thing, apart from mental exhaustion and such, usually there is some sort of price/restriction associated with spell-casting so that it remains somewhat balanced and interesting, otherwise people can just use magic willy-nilly to solve all their problems. Tolkien keeps magic users rare and the whole thing is shrouded in mystery, it's not something that the Fellowship can call upon at any time; George Martin uses blood magic and the idea that you have to give up a life in return for power; Dragon Age has these demons in the Fade that can take over your body if you're not careful (as well as blood magic, which seems like a popular concept these days); the Source in Jordan's Wheel of Time can burn you out if you draw too much; Brandon Sanderson's magic in Mistborn uses metals as a fuel and so forth. These are just at the top of my head, but I think it's important to have some drawback to using magic, because this keeps it interesting for the readers.

Also, since I mentioned Sanderson, I wholeheartedly recommend you check out his magic systems, he's one of the best in the game when it comes to that sort of stuff.

@Vor
I'll give a few replies and thoughts to your contribution without spoiling too much. If anyone happens to actually have any sort of interest in the implications of some of the things I say, once again, I'll have to insist that further explanation remains in PM. Otherwise feel free to simply make of my input what you will. I've only spoken of these matters with a couple of close friends/associates.

Whenever I see a magic system I'm always interested in how the writer explains the sociological implications of it. Like, what determines if a person is a Sorcerer or not? Is it a hereditary part of their bloodline, an outside force granting them powers or is it a skill that anyone can pick up with practice? I've always found the popular notion prevalent in fantasy that magic is privy only to a select group of ubermensch as boring and overused. Yeah we get it, magic flows in your veins or perhaps you have a sixth sense or something, making you automatically superior to most other characters you come across. As I said, boooring. (that's just my opinion in general, not slagging off anything in particular)

So yeah, when it comes to your system, I'd like to see an explanation about what makes one a Sorcerer and how it sets them apart from others. Sure, you can always say that it's "just magic, it happens", but since you're already going fairly in-depth with the system, I don't see why you shouldn't touch upon this as well.

Depending on how you define "ubermensch", it's hard to say whether or not what you're saying would apply to my work, but I actually spend a very large amount of time in my narrative implying the social and philosophical implications of those who are capable of using "Magic", and not only on the scale of human society but on the scale of the cosmos itself. I can't actually explain what "Magic" is without more or less spoiling a large detail (the same one I didn't want to mention in my previous post). There's definitely a line between people who can and who can't use it, but I don't feel like it works anything like conventional fantasy does. I definitely don't just say "it's magic, deal with it", nor do I try to pass it off/dumb it down as some sort of science. I will say there is some element of "six sense" about it (though it's far more complicated), but how this works and is gained is not something that comes from your bloodline or such.

Another thing, apart from mental exhaustion and such, usually there is some sort of price/restriction associated with spell-casting so that it remains somewhat balanced and interesting, otherwise people can just use magic willy-nilly to solve all their problems. Tolkien keeps magic users rare and the whole thing is shrouded in mystery, it's not something that the Fellowship can call upon at any time; George Martin uses blood magic and the idea that you have to give up a life in return for power; Dragon Age has these demons in the Fade that can take over your body if you're not careful (as well as blood magic, which seems like a popular concept these days); the Source in Jordan's Wheel of Time can burn you out if you draw too much; Brandon Sanderson's magic in Mistborn uses metals as a fuel and so forth. These are just at the top of my head, but I think it's important to have some drawback to using magic, because this keeps it interesting for the readers.

Again, this is something I'm not able to divulge on it any great detail. I'll definitely say that the characters in my setting (nearly all of them, not just a select few like you mentioned) are incredibly "broken" if you put them outside of the setting I've created, but within the setting I've done a lot of balancing and power-scaling; in fact I have databases devoted to this power-scaling. Most of these characters are not so much held back by a "price", nor an "exhaustion" for that matter, but more so by certain limitations placed on them by the world itself (which can at times be overcome) and the fact that most of them somewhat cancel each other out in certain regards.

@Vor
Sanderson is one of my favourite authors. I'm particularly a fan of the way he does magic in his Stormlight Archives. It is, as I recall him describing it, a "Science based magic". I'll admit to not have read the Mistborn series, chiefly because it hasn't really peaked my interest all that much. I have considered it, and might at some point, but not right now.

But your comment makes me realise that I have insinuated that Sorcerers are both manyfold, and few. I should've been more clear as to which it were. As for a drawback or a price... I don't actually have one in mind, but I'll see if I can figure something out that will fit. My immediate thought to it is that pushing yourself too far, or attempting something too great, could cause brain damage of some kind. I've already established that Magic is something that is directed and controlled by thought, so the brain essentially. But if you bite off more than you can chew, it could lash out and damage you. I may have to rectify the "Magic fizzles if you don't do it right" thing, for that to work, as those two ideas would clash.

So essentially, unless a person is careful, they'd end up a vegetable.

That's just one idea, and I may have others. I'll probably update this thing in a the coming days. Thank you for the feedback :)

@kapuchu Ah, a fellow Sanderson fan! I think it might be hard to go back to Mistborn after reading the Stormlight Arhives, that's what I did, but the drop in quality was noticeable; he's a much better writer now than when he put out Mistborn (not to mention his earlier works).

Anyhow, the magic systems in his settings follow a similar logic, they're all part of his Cosmere after all, so the same basic rules apply. That's the thing about him that I like - he follows the constraints of the system he's built, thus making even crazy feats of magic appear appropriate to the setting. I believe that's an important thing to keep in mind when creating such a system yourself - have a number of set rules that you can use as guidelines, so that you can know what characters in your setting can and can't do beforehand. This is especially important if you plan to use this in an RP, as players will always find a way to break your system

As for drawbacks, what I was thinking is that you could maybe play with the idea of Intent. People often have certain intentions, but when it comes to realising them, we typically get vastly different results than what we expected. So let's say a Sorcerer wants to conjure a bolt of lighting from his fingertips. Provided he has the required focus and strength of will, their Intent will transform into reality and some hapless bastard will get zapped. But what if they don't have the necessary willpower to do this? What if their Intent is too vague or maybe they think they want to do one thing, but subconsciously intend to do another? In that case, I'd say the Sorcerer might accidentally conjure a thunderstorm instead of a lightning bolt or summon an angry storm elemental, that sort of thing.

Dunno if that makes sense, but it's basically the saying "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it". So all in all, not only does a Sorcerer have to be careful about their mental exhaustion, they also have to be very careful when considering just what their Intent is. Maybe that's what happens when magic "fizzles", you get something that you didn't quite intend.

@Shoryu Magami The system you describe sounds intriguing, but as you yourself said, it's hard to discuss it in more depth without having access to more information about your setting. I will say, however, that you've been teasing us with your project in various threads and topics, so I hope that once you consider it to be ready you'll share (parts of) it with the rest of us :)

@Vor
I knew Sanderson had a Cosmere (Wit ftw, btw!), but I wasn't aware that the same rules applied for magic in all of his series. That's intriguing.

Also, your proposal is a very interesting idea, and I think it fits pretty seamlessly with what I've already written. I didn't mention it, only alluded to it, but it takes study and practice to be able to become a Sorcerer. Think of how many people in our world are capable of concentrating on one thing, and one thing only. You don't find a lot of people with that level of focus, and so it would require training to be able to do it.

My idea is that everybody has the potential to become a Sorcerer. It's not a genetic trait, or a "Cosmic Gift" of any kind. It is a part of being human, but the ability to channel Magic isn't innate, but something that needs to be taught. Think of it like a language. Everyone, no matter how intelligent, has the potential to learn any language. Some people may be better at it, and others might be very slow at learning, but everyone still can. It's the same principle with this magic system.

But you can't just learn to speak a language if you aren't capable of, well, speech. Think of "Speech" as being able to "Draw Magic". It isn't something you're born with. You are born with the potential to do it, but you have to learn it first. So once you've learned Speech, you are capable of advancing to learning how to Shape magic (and shape sounds into words).

This is all a bit confusing, but here it is in a single sentence: You aren't born with the ability to Draw Magic from Cosmos. You have to learn this skill before you can use magic. Anyone can learn it, but no one is born with it. (This way we avoid a Harry Potter scenario where someone is mad at their bully, and inadvertently explodes them into chunks of gory meat)

But when this skill is learned, we face another issue: If you can't focus well enough, you may end up with... unstable results.

"I want to light a candle!"
>Re-enacts the Hiroshima Bombing

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I hope everything here made sense xP Thank you for your input.

Also, you are free to make use of this system if you want. I posted it here just because I had to idea for it.

@Vor
Without hesitation, the moment I believe my project is in a state (thousands of notepads to sort; life's a bitch) that's readable and coherent to people other than me (I usually work in a code; I'm very adamant about preventing my work being stolen) I'll let you all have access to something to read immediately. As I've said, I am open to some level of discussion over PM; I just don't want some of the elements of my setting or certain spoilers becoming public yet. Cheers for the comment though.

I'd attempt to contribute to the rest of this discussion, but I'm overworked for now. Possibly later; you seem to have it in hand though.