Quantum vibrations made up of binary that is reality manipulated through music, song, or dance which through the years developed into Mathemagics, numerology, and interpretive dancing, all ceremonial of course in order to tie in with the local wave lengths and manipulate them into the desire affect.

Not many people can use it to it's fullest potential. On a basic level song, music and dance can effect people on a very basic level.

Though with varying amounts of success. Like how a certain kind of music in life can change a person's mood or surface thoughts, that type of shit.

Thing is, to garner full potential, one must have deep concentration, understanding of basic metaphysics of magic, and a lot of studying. Wizards essentially.

Bards are just Wizards who use the old ways of magic.

It's almost like an exact science, quantum science that is.

I'm currently working on making magic based on the Four Humours. Essentially, magic "spells" are actually (usually) invisible daemons (in the "ambiguously aligned magical being" sense of the word) called Spites. Although they are made up of the 5th traditional Element, Aether, they are heavily influenced by the four humours and all that entails.
In a way, I'm fluffing it that the human soul and most spirit beings are made of aether, possibly having Spites be ghostly remnants of people.

Anyway, a person's Temperament will naturally attract like Spites. Sorcerers are able to actively call Spites and even bind them, thereby using their power as magic spells. The most reliable method for binding a Spite is to trap it in one's own body, effectively using one's soul to keep the Spite in place since they are more or less made up of the same material.
Doing so is easiest when binding Spites of the same Temperament and more difficult for those of others (but not impossible).

When using a Spite bound in one's body, a sorcerer will simply call the Spite's name to manifest its power, at which time the Spite will return into the user's body to "recharge."

For example, a Sanguine Spite would be stored in the user's heart, feed off his blood, be most powerful in the spring, have air-like properties, and be some combination of "courageous, hopeful, playful, carefree."

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>>34611288
Forgot mah pic.

What I really need help with is coming up with the types of spells each Humour would be host too. I want there to be some overlap, with each one having the tendency to manipulate the attributed element and to be able to influence the emotions of a target (either inducing the emotion attributed to it, or removing it by lowering the bodily juice that causes that temperament).

Using this chart as a base line, what kind of magic would each Temperament specialize in?
This is what I've got so far:

Sanguine:
>Air-magic, induce/remove joviality, trickster magic
Choleric:
>Fire-magic, induce/remove anger, combat magic
Melancholic:
>Earth-magic, induce/remove sadness(?), defensive magic (?)
Phlegmatic:
>Water-Magic, induce/remove peacefulness(?), illusion(?)

As you can see, I could use a lot of help in this regard.

>>34611246
Bard magic sounds fucking awesome.

Have you considered Ley Line stuff as an optional addition?
It might fit in well with the local condition idea.

On a related note, what's the most interesting magic system you've seen in a game or book?
Fluff wise?

I've been reading the Codex Alera books and quite like the furycrafting, myself.
Earthsea has an interesting and straightforward one as well.

Or do you prefer the "it's magic, I ain't explaining shit" approach?

>>34611459
Not a bad idea. I'll take that into account.

There is no magic, all mages are low- to mid-level reality warpers who follow 'rules' the first warper created to stop them from doing something stupid under the belief that it's magic.
The main villain is no longer under that belief.

>>34611659
I had a setting once in which the there were hidden fonts of incredibly powerful magic scattered across the globe. They were nearly impossible to find, largely because the ley lines shift over time and some of the fonts were only accessible at certain points in history. Predicting when one will become accessible in nearly impossible, but people continue to try because if they do succeed, they'd have the power to do pretty much anything they wanted (using the first Font created the barrier between the mortal realm and the afterlife, effectively creating death, for example).

The BBEG led a campaign to slaughter entire cities and committed horrible acts of genocide because he discovered where one of the Fonts -used- to be, and needed the Ley Lines to shift just a few degrees to the spots they occupied back when it could be used.

Never did get to run that game.

About a year ago I was working on a setting that was more or less Highlander meets the X-Men, in the 1920s.
There are 99 spells that people are randomly born with. Killing a spell carrier grants the user the dead person's spell (both gaining that ability and getting marginally more powerful in a 1+1=2.1 sort of way).
If a person with a spell died on accident, a newborn would gain the spell.

Since the spellcasters were spread across the planet the chances of meeting another one were incredibly slim for thousands of years, let alone all of them. But now that world travel is comparatively quick and easy, spellcasters have been coming in contact with each other more and more frequently.
The few scholars that know about them believe that if one person can "collect" all 99 spells, they'd become a god.

Like Highlander, spellcasters are able to sense each other when nearby. I also had it so they could find the location of the nearest one by doing things like placing one of their hairs in a glass of water, but never finished.
The project mainly fell through because I couldn't come up with 99 distinct spells.

But it was fun to work on.

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My current homebrew is a combination of magic systems from other settings and games, though often reimagined and often changed about to fit my paradigm. It's meant to be a clusterfuck since it has 7 distinct magical classes. The game's world is solely human with a few beastmen and other near-human monsters thrown in here and there. The game is also meant to be played with an completely caster collection of characters, since magic users are meant to be objectivly stronger then normal, non-magical people. Doesn't mean you can't get stabbed and die though. Magic users are pretty low powered without some serious effort put in on their end all things considered. I really like it.

>>34612002
You need to read Jim Butchur's Codex Alera series.
Sounds vaguely similar to what you just said.

Also,
>7 distinct magical classes
I don't even need to know what they are to know that sounds fucking great. Mostly because of
>completely caster collection of characters
Can't argue with alliteration.

That being said, might I ask what some of those caster classes are?

In my games, magic doesn't just erupt from people's bodies nor do they harness the power of ancient beings. Instead, in order to acco.plish any magical feat, the PC must link themself to the center of their planet, where all life springs.

In the core of the planet resides the Well. It is a collection of the entire planet's energy densely packed into a sphere. Obviously, the sphere leaks some energy, which allows all life to thrive on the surface. But wizards harness the remaining power for their own needs.

Essentialy, every time a wizard casts a spell, they take a chunk of energy from the Well. They destroy the planet from inside out, not knowing that for every fireball they cast, the planet sloely decays.

The wizards gain the amazing power of the Well by obtaining chunks of rock with which the energy flows. The rocks come from the core of the planet, and are linked to the Well for the rest of its life. Adventurers can find these stones in deep tunnels that go through the planet.

Once a wizard takes a hold of a stone, they must chip off a piece of it and insert it into their wrists. Thanks to humans being products of the Well, the stone acts as a conduit between wizards and the core, allowing infinite energy to travel inbetween.

I made this after watching my party destroy everything they saw in Pathfinder and decided to make a magic system that favored the mages extremely at the start, but would effectively destroy them all in the end.

Keep in mind that small spells still cause a large amount of damage to the Well, so mages aren't top dogs for long.

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>>34612296
I don't know if you're That GM, or That GM I Really Want to Have Run My Games.
Either way, that's glorious.

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>>34612121

Absolutely. You're the first person to ask. I'm 100% erect

Essentially the game steals from many other ideas and concepts to make the world have some really strong but fairly balanced mechanical variety too it.

This chart here best represents the sort of meta-plot that separates the classes of magic user.

I'll go over each of them quickly.
>Wizards
Use a magic focus (Wand, Staff, Ring, and other weirder ones) to cast spells and only spells; no spontaneous magic. Mix of Harry Potter, DnD, and typical pop-culture Wizardry. Can also learn Mage and Adept spells.
>Mages
Combination of Ars Magica and MAGE- use various Techniques and Forms to cast spells and spontaneous spells, but have to spend their stamina for spells and have a weird aura that unnerves people and animals.
>Adepts
Stolen from UA. They are crazy and do crazy things to charge up their magic and do their magic, but are the ONLY type of magic user able to make charges this way.

As you can see, the MIND sphere of magic is all about manipulating things. Wizards manipulate spells, Mages manipulate natural elements and classifications of things, and Adepts manipulate a concept with a paradox that gives it its power.

Next up are the other two. Hope this isn't too wordy.

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>>34612483

>Possessors
These guys are essentially magical superheros. Their magic is just a power; they can breath fire or fly or turn invisible or whatever as an innate ability. While this is second nature to them and quite strong, they can't really learn other abilities.
>Sorcerers
Sorcerers are magic users that get fucked over by their magic in the end. They come in 3 kinds- Bloodline, Madness, and Essence. Bloodline sorcerers have magical powers stemming from whatever magical creature their grandfather screwed in the past. Madness just have some unexplained but connected ability. Like they have an any colony that lives inside of them they can tear out and fling at people, stolen from DRYH. Finally Essence Sorcerers suck out their Stamina points and Will points to create enchantments. Enchantments are very flexible but the more powerful they are (requiring more points) means they become more 'alive' and can eventually turn on their creator or do unexpected and unwanted things.
>Vessels
Vessels are Avatars (also stolen from UA) and Warlocks/Witches. They get their powers from following an archetype of humanity like The Mother or The Warrior if they are an Avatar or get their powers from a demonic patron if a Warlock.
>Works
Finally WORKS is a collection of magical skills like alchemy, ritual spells, summoning, divination and so on that anyone, even mundanes, can learn to some degree. Certain people have a magical spark in them that manifests (instead of as a Wizard or Mage, for instance) as an extreme skill in one of these Workings, meaning they are a Master of Works.

That is the basic structure to all the classes. I carefully choose and presented each one for certain reasons. I quite like how each class is the opposite of another on the other end of the wheel, and how the mechanics also tie into the lore and world.

>>34612483
I'm not sure what UA is, but the adepts sound kind of like the contractors from Darker than Black, but with the cost of using their power being paid -before- instead of -after-.

And no, you aren't too wordy. I find this kind of stuff to be fascinating, and may possibly steal your ideas.
Uh, I mean, "borrow" your-
No, no I'd be stealing them. Totally stealing.
Mwahahaha

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>>34610936
I've always wanted to do a magic system based on the Lesser Key of Solomon. Ancient semitic, cabalistic rituals, freakishly alien angels, demons and spirits granting insane powers to mortals and the like.

Only problem is I'm so bad with writing my own crunch.

>>34612483
>>34612615
I agree, the way all of that is connected is great. You obviously put a lot of effort into getting them to match up so perfectly in both the fluff and crunch departments.

I am impressed.
What is the rest of the setting like? Are the semi-humans capable of using magic as well? Are they limited to certain types?

>>34612645

UA is Unknown Armies. I'd highly recommend it. I sold the Adepts pretty short there, almost criminally. Adepts are people who are crazy, because they have a strange worldview. Some may obsessively clean beyond what is necessary or even comfortable. Some may cut themselves because it builds self identity. Some acquire tons of wealth and money but can't spend more then a fraction of it at any time; these are the paradoxes that drive Adepts and give them strength.

The interplay within the mechanics and what people can do and learn is some of my favorite things about the game, go ahead and steal the mechanics and shit. When I finally finish my game-books for this, I will post them on 4chan and finally get all the recognition I deserve for themlel

The current setting I'm working on is called The Corridor.

Basically, the Corridor is the pathway between worlds, filled with portals that lead to those worlds. The catch is that the only people who can go through these portals -- referred to as "residents" -- are bound to the corridor, and can only go so far from the portal they entered through (What happens if they do differs on the person -- some hit an invisible wall if they try to go further, others steadily take damage while outside of that range, etc.). The portals can take the form of anything -- for example, one might be a book that to the eyes of a resident has a doorway to the Corridor between pages 98 and 99 where there should be text (Though it would appear differently from the Corridor side). Some portals can be moved, some worlds have more than one portal, and so on.

But where things get weird is what separates the residents from the people who live in the worlds -- Talismans.

Most notable are Class Talismans -- equip a Ranger Talisman ("equip" in this case meaning "fuse with your skin"), and every time you kill something or achieve something notable, it gains charge. Once it reaches a sufficient charge, it expends it to impart the skill and knowledge of the associated class -- that is, you take a level in it. People who aren’t residents of the corridor have to learn their trade and level up the hard way, through training, instead of just killing stuff.
>(Cont'd)

>>34612771

The setting is meant to be kinda typical generic fantasy but only humans as the races. There are a few distinct ethnicity types out there but are fairly rare. Each one has special strengths but countering weaknesses as well; because each lies at the heart of paradox.
There is a race of huge, powerful giants but who find it very hard to stomach violence and are pacifist.
There is a race of brilliant madmen. Get bonus experience points and skills but are all mentally hinged in some way.
There is a race of beautiful dancers. While all of them seem so very charming and in control of themselves, they cannot use Avatar magic (meaning they can't connect to others) and are easily possessed/mind controlled (not in control of themselves).

Aside from that though, the cast is mostly just humans.

As for Semi-Humans yes, they can use magic but it requires humans to power it in some way. The current meta-plot or connections are that beastmen use physical human parts (human skulls, human blood, etc.), Demons use Human souls and spirit for their magic, and a yet undecided third type will use Human minds/memories for their magic. Their magic is significantly weaker then true human magic. The elephant in the room is that humans are the source of all magic, Mind, Body, and Soul- hence why magical creatures and demi-humans are restricted to a few minor powers and don't really have access to true spellcasting without humans to directly back it up.

>>34612887
There are also Talismans for Feats and Skill Points (Feat Talismans each being for a specific feat, Skill Point Talismans -- called skill beads -- able to be slotted into any skill) which can be put in to give you that feat or give you more skill points, the maximum amount you can equip being determined by your level (And to a lesser extent, your race). There are also Talismans for races and for spells known. Changing which Talismans are equipped requires you to find a special altar and expend some of the charge in your current class talisman, unless the class talisman is what you’re changing. When someone dies, their equipped Talismans will either dematerialize or crumble into dust, randomly.

From a meta standpoint, this limits available Feats, Races, spells, and cross-classing to what the DM provides.

Within the Corridor, Skill Beads are sufficiently commonplace that they're used as currency in place of GP and the players can just immediately slot in more beads when they level up.

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>>34612722
Same here, actually. This sight has been a godsend, despite looking like something the mid-nineties shat out:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/index.htm
This is the grimoire section (although you've probably seen all the texts in your research).

The way I've been working it, characters have to spend considerable time doing research into the origins of the spirits they are planning on summoning/binding and have to take the time to plan out rituals.
Once a spirit is summoned they have to make a deal with it to gain its power. Typically, this involves keeping the spirit bound and then hurting it with further bindings and the like until it agrees to serve them (usually for a set amount of time or for a certain task).
I'm also not very good at crunch, but I've been attempting to get around this by playing it a bit loose and using contracts and rules lawyering during agreements between characters and spirits.

My major inspiration was Prospero from Shakespeare's The Tempest. A mage can make a spirit his bitch, but better not be too abusive or there will be hell to pay once the spirit is free.

So it mostly boils down to punishing the hell out of players who forget to add a "And swear not to harm me or mine once you're free from my service" clause to the contract.

And then the usual rolls to make sure they did their seals and wards correctly.

>>34612935
>site
Goddammit, me. Can't you post one time without a typo?

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Crystals!

It's a barren desert world with two moons, ringed by a glimmering band that sparkles against the night sky and makes a pale appearance during the day. The moons are such that only one can be seen at a time.

Meteorites fall from the heavens (read: planetary belt) on occasion, bearing sorcerous star-iron and/or clusters of precious crystals. Those who are pure of mind can focus these crystals to create light, see omens, and burn those who would disturb the peace. Different colors also have different abilities; some can be commanded to float above the ground, bearing the great weight of caravans.

The crystals and the debris belt are the remains of the third moon.The remaining two are titanic sentient geodes with a grudge to settle.

>>34611619
I still think Type-Moon has the most interesting magic system, in part due to how much stuff it tries to combine intelligibly, but especially in considering how absurd and "impossible" things like teleportation and time travel are.

>>34611429
Well, you could move illusion magic to trickster magic, since illusions are pretty much the definition of trickery. Are they any healing/holy spells already? If not, just make water support magic. Buffs, healing, and the like. Also, inducing/removing peacefullness is just pretty much being on the lower end of the spectrum in the anger scale. Maybe calmness would be better? It's not exactly the same thing as peacefullness, but it works better.

Melancholic/Earth, can't help you as much there. Maybe add debuffs and unholy magics to it? Corpses and undead come from the earth after all. And the the debuffs could be diseases.

On second thought, maybe change the things the Four Humors can induce, for a bit less overlapping.
Example:

Sanguine:
>Can induce/remove courage
Chloeric
>Can induce/remove charm/leadership
Melancholic:
>Can induce/remove wisdom
Phlegmatic:
>Can induce/remove peacefullness/calmness

Just my thoughts, gotta say, like the concept, although it's still pretty rough, it's a good concept nonetheless.

By the way, are there mages who can use pure aether, or is that just gonna be the BBEG?

In one setting, Magic is narrative. The setting is focused pretty closely on necromancers (all player options are necromancers) so it's more or less designed to fit that.
The basic 'narrative' of a human liferesides in human remains, which is what allow a necromancer to raise it. How does a corpse see with no eyes? The narrative it is enacting implies sight. This forms the conceptual basis for other magical effects; adaptation, revision, synochdeche etc. The setting is kind of low-medium fantasy.

another one I'm making is in a high fantasy setting, which I thought I'd try because high fantasy is usually something I avoid. It's elemental, I don't know, maybe you guys can give me some feedback

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>>34612935
>The Tempest
Mah nigga. Definitely pulling some inspiration from him and Faust too. Saw that shit performed live in a park in Buffalo. Shit was so cash.

And thanks for the link too. I've actually only looked into the Ars Goetia, mostly thanks to a push from Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, and I think the originals are way more interesting than what the VN did with them (though Ronove is a fucking boss)

I'm thinking of rolling distinct personalities and agendas for each summon. If you're just using them to your ends, they may not show you the extent of their power or patience, but if you take some time to help them in their agendas, they can make it worth your while.

There's also the matter of their legions of hell, though I imagine they've all got a hard rule to not put them on the prime material, or else the angels come down and basically start the Rapture early when nobody is prepared for it

>>34613043
I saw "crystals" and nearly dropped it. But shit, dat spoiler. I dig it.

>>34613189
Earth
Fire
Air
Water

Earthfire - life/living things?
Wild like fire, enduring like earth
Life is both consistent and erratic. Life will often pick a form and stay with it, though the form of life varies greatly. Life likes to spread propagate, and will consume resources to propagate its form. Life seeks to endure like earth, but eventually expires like fire, a fundamentally defining paradox of this element.
When earth dominates, life will carve through persistence an ecological niche, and there it will stay, successful for eons. When fire dominates, life will spread, adapt and change, going where it can easily and avoiding where it is difficult.

Earthair - darkness
Darkness, ethereal like air, impenetrable like earth.
Darkness likes secrets, likes to conceal
Darkness likes silence, and to equalize by negation
When earth takes precedence, darkness does not yield easily to light or sight, and will hang heavy in a given place. When air takes precedence, darkness will flow, grasp and flee or evade light.

Earthwater - ice
Ice, solid like earth, dynamic like water
purity
Earth is staunch and unchanging, water is mercurial,
Ice likes to preserve, and to display. Ice can change, but does so cautiously.
When earth takes precedence, ice will resist destruction, freeze the external, and in doing so grow. When water takes precedence, ice will change shape to fit needs, will reform with greater ease and will be more tolerant of the external.

What mortals of the universe believe about magic and energy: Mana is the general use word for magical energy, they believe the universe is laced with it and this allows people to cast spells and whatnot. Other energies (electrical, thermal, etc.) are explained the same way you or I would explain them (conservation of energy and energy transfer etc.)

What is actually true about my universe: Mana is not just energy used for magic, mana is the "genesis" of all energy. For example; in the real world, the thermal energy from fire is traced back to the chemical potential energy of the burning material, which is then traced back to the various energies that went into putting those molecules together etc. etc. In my universe, if you trace back energy in the same manner, it all leads back to mana. Mana is laced through the universe through vein-like structures referred to as leylines. While mana converting spontaneously into other forms of energy is rare (save for directly at the incidence of large, unstable leylines) other energy expended (usually ending as thermal energy) eventually finds its way back to mana.

How Gods work: Similar to how planeswalkers in MTG work. They were once mortals at one point and learned how to tap into the universe's massive mana stores. Knowledge of how the universe truly works is normally (95% of the time) required in order to get a good enough mental grasp of mana and ascend to godhood. Obviously, gods don't want every mortal and their mother becoming gods so they keep the secrets of the universe to themselves and make sure mortals don't find out. Basically, someone will usually be researching or something and crack the code to how it all works, then they ascend to godhood and leave everyone behind without explaining how it all works.

>>34613225

Fireair - light
Light, weightless as air, radiant as fire
Light likes to expose, to make things clear. Light inspires, it ‘enlightens’, and encourages ambition by revealing what lies ahead.
When fire takes precedence, light will sear, blind and cow. When air takes precedence, light will spread, illuminate

Firewater - poison
Poison, vicious like fire, coursing like water
Poison likes to corrupt, to take over
When water takes precedence, the sickness takes a long course, and falls silently into death. When fire takes precedence, the sickness is virulent, bodily destructive

Airwater - cloud
Soars like air, drifts like water
Cloud likes to cleanse, to bring change, and announce it with their coming
When air takes precedence, clouds will float quickly, change from shape to wispy shape, bringing symbols and messages
When water takes precedence, clouds will drift slowly, carrying burdens, bringing change and omens

Life-darkness - death
Life-ice - time?
Life-light - love/passion?
Life-poison - infirmity? Predation?
Life-cloud - energy? Lightning?
Darkness-ice
Darkness-light
Darkness-poison
Darkness-cloud
Ice-light - illusion; ice gives discrete form to the dynamic
Ice-poison -
Ice-cloud -
Light-poison - madness/unrest
Light-cloud - celestial
Poison-cloud - disease

>>34613043
If there isn't a giantgantic climatic battle with the two moons, it's not worth it.

>>34613065
>By the way, are there mages who can use pure aether, or is that just gonna be the BBEG?
I hadn't really thought about it, now that you mention it. Part of the idea behind the Spites is that the temperaments/humours give personality to the Spites in the first place, which allows them to manifest different abilities.
I guess I was simply assuming pure aether would be what makes life happen, or something.

What the BBEG does, however, is pretty nasty in its own right.
Some sorceres learned that they could coerce or trick Spites to enter the bodies of animals by raising them a certain way and causing them to exhibit a humour (yellow bile, black bile, blood, or phlegm) more than the others, or by simply draining the others. Once this is done, a sorcerer would kill the animal and harvest the organ related to that humour (so, hearts for sanguine). Doing so gives them a little spite-battery, good for one spell and charged by submerging the organ in fresh bodily juice (blood for sanguine, my go-to example).
The downside is this takes time and effort, and animal organs only store one Spite on average. The success rate is fairly low, too.

The BBEG has been doing this with humans.

I had been toying with the idea people can manipulate their own aether, sort of like "ki." But I dropped it since it sounded a bit too anime-ish for this kind of setting.
The idea was the spirit is a reflection of the body and the body is a reflection of the spirit, so by manipulating the spirit, a person could change their body (making themselves tougher, faster, etc).
The application was somewhat limited, but attaining mastery of the art would make storing spites in one's body more easy.

I came from the Bowie and stayed for the extensive magic.

>>34612935
>So it mostly boils down to punishing the hell out of players who forget to add a "And swear not to harm me or mine once you're free from my service" clause to the contract
in the interests of criticism, the fact that this becomes a given, binary and fixed makes it something everyone will do and therefore be an empty risk or be like not having rope on their character sheet after they've fallen down a hole
they'll either attempt to negotiate that it was assumed, take it well, or be really bummed they've been comprehensively fucked over by a single detail


essentially, I think the 'contract threat' needs more nuance

>>34613253
Woah man, try to not get too ahead of yourself, try to make it a little simpler, otherwise you're gonna spread yourself too thin.The elements would probaly overlap, considering there's what, about 50+ magic types? Again, I like the idea, just make it a bit simpler.

Also what would cloud, ifirmity/Predation, and celestial magic do?

>>34613432
How many people are going to remember the, "and don't ask any other spirit/daemon to get revenge for you."

But yeah, it needs work.

>>34613379
I mean, why not? It'd be nice to have a more physical-based wizard. Also, can you induce people to pretty much excrete a humor? If so, making enemies shit or piss themselves could be hilarious.

>>34613470
simplicity is a big issue since I'm going brainstorm crazy. There's 25 types atm, (4+6+15)
There's a definite sense that things like cloud aren't well defined, while things like poison are quite easily, but some of the work is done by 'elemental properties'
each element has a list of characteristics. Eg Fire: spreads on flammable objects, heats things up, creates smoke, is insubstantive Ice: cools things down, is solid and brittle, freezes water. Any element mixing would be a selection of characteristics from both, so, a brittle solid substance that spreads on flammable objects and freezes water? It’s something.
So if cloud or celestial have a divinatory (or long distance message) aspect, then divination via a dying man or in a melting ice sculpture
In a general sense
predation: animistic aspects, instincts, and success within an ecology
celestial: the degrees of the heavens (eg moral bans)
Cloud; meteorology (eg changing weather), sending omens and messages

The entire world takes place in a reality-overhaul machine developed in a Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy sort of setting. After time travel was invented, the economy of every era went to permanent inflation hell. Also, physics had been broken so many times and in so many ways that one company came to supreme power by creating an area of controlled physics and a planet that is "completely normal" in a pocket dimension. Being able to live a normal live (in a medieval sort of setting) has become the galactic ideal of heaven.
Getting mind wiped and having one's soul reborn in this new world has become the only industry of importance in the galaxy.

In the pocket dimension, there are two types of "magic." Both of them take the form of "holy languages" left behind by the gods.
Alpha Magic is the most powerful, able to rewrite reality at any level. It is used by cleric, religious types.
Beta Magic is less powerful but more common.
(These are the codes used by the alpha and beta testers to fix glitches). It is used by wizard-types.

Using an Alpha or Beta spell is actually logging a request with the mainframe for a fix. If the spell isn't incanted perfectly, the request doesn't go through. And even if it is done right, there is a chance it won't be applied.

The monsters in the setting can be one of four things:
Viruses in the system
Programs developed by bored interns for lulz
Genuine glitches
Aliens from the "real" universe trying to get into the program illegally.

Sometimes programers have to step in, acting as in-setting gods and angels, depending on their rank in the company.

>>34613587
I guess I could go for something like Haki from One Piece. It would make non-humour-mage characters a viable thing.

I'm also debating whether or not iron will negatively effect magic.
On the one hand, it's a staple of the RL beliefs about spirits and such around the time the Humours were actually a thing believed by people. On the other, iron is in the dirt, and Earth is part of one of the humours.

Maybe refined steel, instead of iron?

Magic (white magic specifically) is residual energy left over from the creation of the world. Every living creature can use magic to make things. However, the effects of mortal magic fade within a day (unless you use your magic to shape or alter existing matter).

Making fire, ice, and electricity are traditional types of magic, but everybody is better at some kinds of magic than others. Some people can focus their magic on their internal physiology making them extremely strong or fast. If you seemingly can't use magic, most people would say you just haven't found your knack yet.

Buildings are built by multiple humans working together to raise them from the dirt and rock underground. Being invited to help build a home is considered an honor. When the last builder of a home dies, the building is typically condemned and left to stand as a mausoleum or monument (or warning) for the family's legacy. Condemned buildings are allowed to erode under normal weather unless the legacy was particularly important.

Magic can't bring back the dead. Black magic (purely destructive magic) is theoretically impossible, but once in a while you'll find an artifact that has odd properties, such as a sword with a rusty handprint that will return daily.

>>34610936
You speak one of these languages or you don't do magic. You write one of their alphabets or you don't use enchanting.

Vaylenvaro - language of the gods, linear A & B alphabet
Ancraic'Dagdor - language of ancient undead, sumerian alphabet
Urweod - language of ancient demons, corrupted polyglot language and alphabet
Laystagir - language of bards, ogham script
Baristhilmo - Language of elves except drow, ogham script
Fuitharmul - language of dwarves, furthark alphabet
Targ'zagnor - language of orcs, dragons, trolls, and kobolds, Akkadian alphabet

These languages are used for casting, casual speech is a different language for those who would know these languages. Essentially these are (mostly) casting-only type languages. More than one may be used to cast a single spell, but it is not common to do so, and if it is two opposing forces, the spell has almost no chance of working. Success or failure of the spell is determined by; speaking the language correctly, no deities or demons intervened, and if the target failed or passed its resist check (if it gets one). Of the languages, Vaylenvaro is the hardest to learn, as it is found in relatively few inscriptions, all of which are found at locations built by either titans or gods during the foundation of the world. Ancraic'Dagdor and Urweod are harmful to a non-evil race's soul, and draw evil races that use them into greater and greater evil behavior, so theres not much point in learning them unless you are undead or a demon. Laystagir is learned by all bards who have reached the 5th degree (i.e. level 5). Finally, elves have secret, magical names in Baristhilmo, as do dwarves in Fuitharmul, and learning these names gives you great power over them, so they mostly keep those languages to themselves.

>>34613959
Name translations.

Vaylenvaro - literally, "It is our (i.e. the pantheon's) will to be/exist".

Ancraic'Dagdor - Something like "whispers/sighs from far below ground/the underworld". Ancraic'Dagdor is a somewhat contextual language, and the same character may mean something very different from the norm if it is placed next to different than usual characters.

Urweod - "The words that shape the abyss"

Laystagir - "The words that start all songs/lays"

Bristhilmo - "the forest's wisdom"

Fuitharmul - "words that became fire". The name sources from the fact that dwarves were the first mortal race to discover and use fire, and they used fuitharmul magic to create it before they understood flint & tinder.

Targ'zagnor - "Words the shadows keep"

>>34613627
>There's 25 types atm, (4+6+15)
>25 types atm
>atm
This is what I mean, you got all these ideas, but when it gets time for the other basic elements, you're gonna hit a block, an you're gonna spread yourself too thin.

Just make it so that only the basic elements, fire, earth, water, and air, can only mix. You still get a large amount of magic types,I believe around 20, and it's not too complicated.
Example:

Fire = Fire
>Regular ol' fireballs, firebreathing, typical stuff.
Fire + Earth = Life
>Healing spells, maybe some animal taming stuff, make it a gurantee you're not useless. (Maybe)
Fire + Air = Cloud/Weather
>Zap people, and maybe make it rain when dramatic effect is needed.
Fire + Earth(Life) + Air(Weather/Cloud) = Celestial
>Skew the odds in your favor through divinity, so buffs, maybe some oracle/prophecy stuff, miracles, and probably getting shot at poker tournaments.

>>34613775
Maybe make it a special mixture of metal? Maybe make a mage/witchhunter group, and they only know the secret to making these mage-effective weapon.

>>34613627
My intention is to help you, not annoy you, but I have a few questions.

1. A weapon is found which seeps evil-as-a-substance. How was it created in your magic system? What abilities might it have?

2. I use a spell to transform myself into an octopus to swim from a sandbar to the beach. How do I determine my size, traits, coloration, and general self-defense ability? How do I determine how long the spell works?

3. I am a dead wizard who has a living descendent who is pivotal to the fate of the world. What magic would I use to send this person a dream or other message warning them of their importance and the danger they'll be facing?

>>34614347
okay, in this case it's decently far along that I can tackle these questions, so a basic rundown:
Using Magic always contains two characteristics The Element and the Application. The element refers to what kind of magic is being used, which is the stuff I posted (light, fire, poison, etc)
Application comes in three kinds: Manifestation, Imbuement and I can’t remember what the other one was (I may have abandoned it). Manifestation refers to summoning the raw element itself, and Manifestation is broken down into a set of rules which was Form (shape, which would be things like, beams, spheres, toruses, squares and so on the complexity and spontaneous malleability of which is a function of skill) Volume (how much of the element you summon) and Power (how intense a given volume of element is). What this raw element does is described by it's properties

Imbuement is giving something that already exists a quality associated with the element, rather than bringing raw element into the world. The translucence of water, the agility of fire, whatever. It’s intended to modifying gear and characters in straightforward ways such as extra damage or qualitative ways such light production. Again, this should relate in some way to the elemental properties. So

1: If there is an evil element (poison/light for instance?) this sword has been Imbued with that element. Imbuement is a distinct application and therefore skill from Manifestation. It's abilities are a grey area, because the intuitive answer depends on the same effects as the element manifested, but this does not allow for very creative use, or even need, of imbuement. Suffice then that it should simply be thematic to elemental properties, for instance it performs better when committing atrocities, or modifies it's users will statistic when resisting questionable moral acts

2: Interesting. One could displace Manifestation parameters to correspond to an octopus template, or treat the process as self imbuement

>>34614538
3. currently, celestial seems like the best candidate for activity regarding the supernal realms, though if a 'dream' idea can do distinct thematic work, that could be applicable
then, one may have to manifest time (currently ice/life)
so such an act would be fairly advanced and require access two tier 3 elements

>>34614265
I can certainly tweak the way elements combine. I'm more worried about making each do distinct work and being appealing. I appreciate the input

>>34614265
>Maybe make it a special mixture of metal?
Interesting idea. Doubly so for the witch hunters thing.
Perhaps they're alchemists?

Or would it be too much like The Witcher for them to enhance their bodies via drugs and such?

>>34614569
Two more questions. I ask them to get you to think, there is no wrong answer.

1. I am a magic user who is casting an attack spell. A javelin pierces my heart mid-spell, resulting in death. How does this affect the spell? Does the spell still go off? Does something entirely different and unusual happen?

2. I am a devil that was summoned to the material region by a magic user. What actually physically happens to me during the process of summoning, travel, and appearance in the material region?

Magic in my homebrew setting, as an energy, springs forth out of 'nodes', which are closer to extradimensional holes that energy leaks in through. A mage pulls energy from a node, loads it into their 'palette', and later casts spells with it by converting the magic through raw willpower and training, into the form that they need. Different manas act different ways. For example, a Xaphos light spell will make the people who see the light feel drowsy and slow, because Xaphos is the mana of dreams. But if you cast a light spell with, say, Hemaros, that's the mana of war. It'll make people feel more violent, more physical, get their blood rushing...

>>34610936
They speak the words that the gods used to create everything in the first place. The power and effect of your magic is based on how well you pronounce the words and the basic sentence of words you use them in.

>>34614679
Thats very similar to my system at >>34613959
>>34614152

The difference is only one of the languages is the language the gods used like that, and very few mortals speak it with any degree of skill.

Having magical talent is like having musical talent. Pretty much anybody could do at least a little bit if they had a tutor, but some are just naturally better than others, and you can't tell how good you're going to be until you try. Just like how some people irl are tone-deaf and have no sense of rhythm, some people just can't cast. You can learn pretty much any magic from a spell book (of which there are two kinds: regular ones with text to guide you through, and magical ones that actually GIVE you the knowledge of the spell, but can only be used once), but it takes a certain kind of spark to do something original. Simile example being cover bands vs bands who write their own songs (some just don't have a mind for creating music; myself included) compared to shooting a fireball vs willing fire you created to move in any way you tell it to. The latter are called "spellshapers"

Magic itself is divided into elemental and nonelemental. There are eight elements that oppose eachother. If opposite elements of equal strength come into contact with eachother, they cancel eachother out.
>light/dark (referring to both good/evil and bright/shady)
>fire/ice
>earth/air
>lightning/water

Everybody, even those without a hint of magic in them, is attuned to two elements, one major and one minor (these can be opposing elements). Experienced spellshapers can cast spells that combine their elements for endless possibilities. being a spellshaper with opposing elements is a mixed blessing because you can't truly combine them (though you can do things like simultaneously do a dark and light attack and have them be right next to eachother you can't actually merge the dark and light together), but you're guaranteed to always have a spell that can't be canceled (unless you happen to come up to another spellshaper with the same opposing elements as you, which isn't gonna happen. shit's rare as balls)

>>34614711
I want to create a piece of proto-matter. What elemental affiliation does it have? Is this even possible without being balls out Over Powered as all hell?

>proto-matter - matter resulting directly from the big bang, matter from the earliest stages of the universe's existence.

>>34614711
How many spells a mage can cast is reliant on their mana pool. big spells take up a lot of mana, small spells use very little. Figuring out your limit is more natural than you may think. Just like how you can be physically tired, mentally tired, both, or neither, you can also be magically tired; they all feel unique and all are fixed by sleeping. You expand your mana pool by gaining experience. Yes, really. Doing pretty much anything will expand your mana pool just so long as you're figuring things out and learning. Scholars, explorers, and warriors all generally have huge mana pools, they just don't have the magical spark that lets them actually make use of it.

>>34614807
nonelemental magic. Covering that next post

>>34614606
Ooh, just thought've more.

Fire + Water = Illusions
>Fool people with fake stuff. Pretty much it, unless you get creative.
Fire + Water + Earth = Espers/Summoning
>Make some of those scary monster illusions real.
Fire + Water + Air = Ether
>Not much info on this really. It appears to just plain make you stronger, faster, other stuff, but there could be untapped potential.
(Don't really have too good of an idea to do with ether, something about spirit, but physical boosts are all I got.)
Fire + Earth + Air + Water = Arcane
>Purest form of magic, and the deadliest too. Few mages use this, as arcane magic, while powerful, can backfire on the user terribly.

Just my suggestions. And don't forget, ideas are great, just try not to overexert yourself.
>>34614606
Why not just make them seperate branches? The alchemists could be researchers on how different metals affect magic, and trying to make special drugs, potions, and other stuff for the hunters themselves.

And The Witcher thing? Just make it so that drugs aren't what make you a witchhunter.

Make it so that people w

>>34614621
I can only give this an intuitive answer, since particularities I typically do not crystallize until the mechanisms are laid out more fundamentally
Bringing out a volume of element make take time (based on power, let's say). As casting is a conscious act, manifestation will cease upon death/unresisted disruption of concentration.
If there is any spell that requires preparatory time, it does not go off, nor does anything unusual happen (beyond say, if anything unusual happens metaphysically upon the death of a magic user generally)

2. since the system/setting specifically sidelines goetic and ritualistic magic for the purposes of focus and theme, I can only answer this question in regards to necromancer, the other game I mentioned which does contain the option of playing a goetic necromancer (who imbues remains with 'demonic' entities, their power, and practices the magic of seals, circles and curses)
This is a great question but I think a lot of summoning design handwaves it, and so have I
The devil exists in an austere feudal subterrania, overseen by a pantheon of Barons (and Baronesses etc), Dukes, Kings and so on who embody a profile (eg a portfolio) of concepts. Think lesser key of solomon in the sense that demon A Is the demon of wizardry who likes to teach mortals about astronomy, demon B is thr Demon of gardening who controls 40 legions, and so on.
The goetic necro learns and instils remains with demonic power by, asking, bargaining, promising, serving, and so on. Typically these demons only send their influence and servants to the material realm, in the form of the demonic metanarrative of contract which travels through 'mediums' (and substance which can hold narrative, which may as well be everything), or concious entities travel through 'low places' or 'cenotes' between feudal subterrania and regular realm, and are 'adapted' (the same narrative is transcribed from one media to another) and thus given form

>>34614927
I understand you to be saying that, effectively, demons with names (that is, those powerful and intelligent enough to have their own seals, etc), do not take physical shape in the material realm until the end of time approaches. Barring some very serious matter that is a threat to everything, everywhere. Instead, their "power" possesses material forms like a soul would, and is given forms by that.

>>34614915
Woops, cut off my post by a bit. Meant to say

Make it so that people that can absolutely not use magic, and maybe gain magic resistance because of this, can become witchhunters. It prevents most magic spys, (I mean, I would try to find out the secret to the magic-effective weapons, if I was a mage.) and makes witchhunting easier.

>>34614711
>>34614840
This is nice, simple to learn, and complicated to master, not bad.

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Humours magic guy here, I'm off to bed.
Thanks to everyone for their help.

I hope this thread is alive in the morning, it's been a real treat to see all this great material.
Goodnnight, /tg/, and keep up the awesome.

>>34614986
that's fairly accurate, yes
to extend the metaphor crudely, the regular realm is like film, and the subterrania is like a novel
The demon is a narrative, and to move from a novel to a film he must be adapted to the new medium.
narrative is the fundamental metaphysical force and all expressions of power ultimately reduce to it

>>34614840
In addition to being linked to a major and minor element, you also have what's called your semblance. Your semblance is how magic best manifests within yourself and it could be pretty much anything from magnetism to necromancy to booze. There is no easy way to tell what your semblance is other than dumb luck, and 2/3 of all spellshapers never end up discovering theirs, though some claim to have found their semblance as a result of meditation, praying, or seeing it in a dream. Anybody who can use magic can use a basic elemental spell, even if it's not one they're tuned to, if they can find a teacher or a spellbook or whatever else, but the only way you're casting a non-elemental spell is if it's related to your semblance. On the bright side, elemental magic covers a LOT. healing is a light spell, necromancy is dark, plants fall under earth, etc. If you have an elemental semblance, then it's most likely going to be a specific domain of that element. So somebody with an air semblance could fly at jet speeds and be only decent at other air-related magics.

protomatter would likely come out as just explosions, being so unstable. Upon discovering that protomatter is your semblance, you'd likely blow yourself up because you had no idea what you were casting, though since it was your first time, it'd probably be small enough that you'd survive to cast another day. Eventually you WOULD wield power strong enough to blow up the world. The thing is that if your enemy is 20 feet in front of you, you gotta figure out where to place how much protomatter so that he's at least wounded and you're not chunky salsa. Something like that pretty much balances itself.

>>34614706
Yeah, my god language is not used to chat or anything though, having a conversation would probably end badly as you either created everything you talked about or warped reality around you to make your exact sentence the way things really did happen, and that assuming you didn't burn out from having a full conversation in the first place or suffer horrible horrible things happening from mispronouncing.

>>34615083
reminds me of earthsea

I have a blob of dark matter in a secure magic container. Does it do anything magical? The dark matter, not the container.

>dark matter - matter that has absolutely no internal energy of movement of any kind, and which is energetically completely "dead"

>>34615064
You know, this isn't too bad, either, nice and balanced. But what would you do if a player wanted to find his semblance?

>>34615123
>of = or, no energy OR internal movement

>>34615083
Using Vaylenvaro, at all, without a deities explicitly given permission is considered severely blasphemous, and deities are inclined to appear and dispense immediate severe justice on any mortal who uses it without their permission and foreknowledge. In my system, the deities are able to use vaylenvaro to communicate with each other without destroying themselves and the universe, but they keep the knowledge of it basically to themselves, for exactly the reasons you're discussing about reality being warped/harmed by its misuse.

>>34615127
If the person started out as a mage, then they'd have already chosen their semblance before the game started, and then roll a die whenever they encounter something related to their semblance, if their semblance is something pre-existing, like wood, animals, whatever. Depending on how rare the basis of their semblance is, it'd be anything from a d100 to a d6, and if they roll high enough their semblance reacts to them (the wooden bucket leaps into the air, he can hear the animals thoughts, etc). If it's something that they themselves do, like teleportation, laser eyes, keep in mind your semblance could be literally anything then it's a d100 any time they cast magic, if they roll a 100, then they cast something related to their semblance instead of what they were trying to cast. They can also invoke a semblance check by focusing on finding it in whatever way they choose (as above, meditation, drug-induced hallucination, etc)

If the person learned magic partway through the adventure, then I randomly generate a semblance for them, and then the above applies. It is entirely possible that they'll end up with something that they CAN'T ever cast, like technomancy. In which case that sucks, but hey, that just means you can focus more on refining your elements.

Two types of magic I like

-Absolutely no explanation for how it works, its absolutely fantastical and only a few can use it, has no combat applications.


-You control forces and objects by speaking their true names in an ancient and secret language.

>>34610936
Can you make this a general to keep all the casual faggots in one place?

>>34615322
Yeah, but how do you know what semblance you give them?
Example: If a 100 while casting, do you choose if it's laser eyes or teleportation? Is it random? Do you have a table or something? What is it?

>>34615379
Can my fist enter your mother's bunghole?

>>34615412
If it'll keep all of you here, yes.

>>34615416
My wand of faggot detection is going off anon. It is pointed at your post. You got something you want to tell the thread?

>>34615478
Yes. See >>34615379

>>34615495
Losely translated it says here in this grimoire that UR A FAG!

Hows that for MAAAAAGIC that I don't have to explain?

Its to late for this nonsense. I'm going to sleep.

>>34615379
>>34615412
>>34615416
>>34615478
>>34615495
Jesus, fuck off, we were havin a nice discussion about magic shit, and you guys gotta go and shit the thread.

>>34615540
speaking of magic SHIT

>Belt of accident prevention - sudden, unexpected bowel urges (i.e. I need to "go", RIGHT NOW), are teleported to a region of nonexistence.

Completely forgot about ritual magic. It's its own thing.

Nobody's entirely sure how spell circles were discovered; it's just some knowledge that's been passed down for as long as people have been casting. You can accidentally cast a spell, but to stumble upon specific symbols arranged in complex patterns to cast spells without mana? Hard to believe, and yet...

Ritual magic is less comparable to music, and more comparable to programming. You go to your mages college, learn 80 symbols and how to arrange them, then trial and error until you can make it actually do something. For example, there's a symbol for "fire". But just drawing that symbol won't do anything. You have to specify that you are creating a fire, so you use the "create" rune. You draw the circle last, because it'll automatically happen once the spell circle is complete, and the spell circle lights on fire. That's what you wanted right? Oh, you wanted a fireball? Well you have to modify the "fire" rune with a direction rune (north, south, east, and west, combined in large quantities until you get the direction desired), and then add in a few "speed" runes so that it'll actually go somewhere. No, wait, with nothing to sustain the fire it'll dissipate long before it reaches the target. Better add more runes...

The upsides are that you don't need any magical talent for it, it takes no mana whatsoever, and it can do non-elemental spells. The downsides are that even if you already know what you're drawing, it's going to take a while to complete it. There are actually Rune-mages, fill large books with hundreds of near-complete spell-circles so that they can more or less use ritual magic on the fly by turning to the right page

>>34615411
First line, first paragraph:
>If the person started out as a mage, they'd have already chosen their semblance before the game started
First line, second paragraph:
>if the person learned magic partway through the adventure, then I randomly generate a semblance for them

>>34610936
I've been messing around with the idea that magic MUST be taught from master to apprentice. There are no magic blood lines, no secret books you can read to learn a spell, no demons to make pacts with. You MUST be a willing student to a willing master.

>>34615603
Oh, sorry, just misunderstood that part. But seriously, I am liking your magic system. It's relatively simple, but can become extremely complicated, in a good way. Nice job.

Well, gonna share my homebrew magic setting tomorrow. Goodnight everyone.

Spirit Arts: Spiritual power that has dominion over what it defines. A spirit of the storms can stop and start storms, or if one is very creative, do "stormy things" with it.

Man can use this power too, but they must attune their souls to use it, be it temporary spiritual possession for weaker powers, or taking that spirit into their soul permanently for stronger powers.

Soul Arts: Only those with a shard of Chaos or the Creator can use this art. Man is one of these beings. This is essentially a dominion over spiritual essence. This allows for the manipulation of the very soul, and power over it. It's a very dangerous path to power.

>>34612296
Coolest idea for a magic system in my opinion, wish I could come up with creative stuff like this.

>>34611876
Well you could share what spells you did come up with, perhaps some kind fa/tg/uys could help. Atleast it would be a fun mental exercise.

For me, magic is not fundamental. It is as fragile and malleable as the roiling emotions of the mind. Magic is as unnatural and abnormal as sentience, it is a fungal growth and stagnation in a clockwork universe, out of place, a thing that should not exist.
Magic is more or less identical to how I like to think of Chaos as

>>34619223
I'll have to find my notes, but I won't be able to do that until I get home in about 8 hours.

>>34619223
>>34620532
>>34611876
Ah, found a draft on my flash drive:
(I believe "affinity" meant you couldn't be harmed by whatever you have an affinity for)

1. Affinity for fire
2. Affinity for iron
3. Mind reading
4. Invisibility
5. Water breathing
6. Water walking
7. Transmute liquids (into other liquids)
8. Transmute metals (into other metals)
9. Slow time
10. Accelerate healing
11. Accelerate plant growth
12. Control plants
13. Control animals
14. Polymorph (into other humans)
15. Polymorph (into animals of similar size)
16. Polymorph into inanimate objects
17. Change size
18. “Doorman” (can use key for 1 door w/ ANY door, basically teleportation)
19. Weather control
20. Magnetic control (iron only)
21. Control water
22. Control wind
23. Create light (that also hurts undead)
24. Remove light
25. Create illusions
26. Dreamwalk (can enter/control others’ dreams)
27. Sense/control Love
28. Sense/control Fear
29. Sense/control Happiness
30. Sense/control Hate
31. Astral projection
32. Body switch (required eye contact?)
33. Can give commands when touching person’s head
34. Control spirits of the dead
35. Summon/converse with spirits in the afterlife
36. Tongues (instant fluency in any language you come into contact with)
37. Teleportation (Nightcrawler limits)
38. See the past (of object, person, or area you are in contact with)
39. See present through mirrored surfaces (only places/things you’ve seen)
40. No need for sleep (but must eat a lot)
41. No need to eat (but tires quickly)
42. Intangibility
43. Control age
44. Bind Shadow Demons
45. Bind Fire Elementals
46. Bind Water Elementals
47. Bind Wind Elementals
48. Bind Earth Elementals
49. Create golem

Wow, it's worse than I remember it being. I was really grasping at straws there at the end.

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>>34610936
In my low-fantasy homebrew setting for a politics-heavy game about running a country, magic is poorly-understood and rarely referred to as magic. It's always called either witchcraft or sorcery.

While different cultures in the setting have different interpretations of what exactly it is, the common thread among them is that to use it, you need to be marked by a spirit. Spirits are capricious and inscrutable and their ways often make no sense to humans, and they might mark a random-ass person for fun, to see what they do with their newfound power. Someone who already has a mark might pass it down to their child. Another way to be marked is to perform a ritual to contact a spirit and promise it something, whether your soul, a task, an object, a person, or to push that spirit's agenda.

Having the mark gives you access to these powers, which vary from spirit to spirit. They're not spells in the D&D sense or the Vancian sense, because they're not formulas or whatever. One spell might be a single word that lights things on fire when spoken (but burns the tongue to speak), while another might be a permanent, irreversible transformation that strengthens your jaw, grows fangs, and hardens and sharpens your fingernails into vicious claws.

All spells and powers have some kind of visual tell or permanent transformation, which can make it difficult for students of the occult to blend in with the rest of society. Another problem is that in the past couple centuries, two major (and opposing) religions have declared these spirits to be daemonic entities to be avoided or destroyed, and practitioners of the occult are heretics and blasphemers.

Mercifully, the nation the PCs will be ruling hasn't quite fallen under the influence of either of those religions (Not-Christianity and Not-Islam, respectively), but being an obvious occultist might not go over well diplomatically.

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>>34612483
>>34612615
This is good shit. 10/10 would play in your game

>>34621018
Why not just condense the 99 powers, into, let's say, 40-50 powers? You can put all the polymorphs together, and you coild combine Create Light and Remove Light into one power.

This is kind've what I was talking about with the "mixing elements" guy, you had all these ideas for powers, but you get stuck mid-way through.

For powers, again, you could combine many of them, and new ones could be stuff like control of gravity, maybe spacial powers, also just basic element stuff, skin turning to stone, some pretty basic stuff.

>>34622074
Wow did I say "basic stuff" a lot, anyways to be more clear about the powers, you can do the following:

1. Combine very similar ones.
2. Gravity powers
3. Basic elemental powers, control over fire/water/wind/earth etc.
4. Skin turning to stone/metal
You just gotta get creative with it.

>>34622466
That's probably for the best. The 99 thing was mostly chosen for being one less than 100, they is, one shy of perfection. Out was a matter of theme rather than practicality.

>>34623218
Then make it 49, just one less than 50, and also make it so that for some reason in your world, 50 is perfection, not 100. You are the setting's creator after all, so it doesn't have to strictly adhere to this world's rules.

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My personal favorite magic system is based almost entirely on faith. Not faith in deities, but the actual faith itself acting as a fuel, and when enough people have faith in something it can have a magical effect.

For this reason, people can actually give birth to literal gods. If an entire country has faith in a god, then that god will come into being and treat the people as the faith dictates, and a god can die if people stop believing in it. Of course, such an act cannot possibly be done by a single person, the energy required is too much.

Furthermore, this belief fuels spells. All those really easy spells they teach at school the first year? They are the easiest spells precisely because everyone believes those are the easiest spells, and have believed so for generations. It is also entirely possible for a single person to "invent" a new spell, but they need to be really powerful and have complete faith in themselves. And once they do, that spell is "stamped" onto the fabric of faith that covers the collective human spirit and other people will be able to cast it more easily.

Faith also applies to weapons and places. If you use the same weapon for a long time, grow sentimental of it, pour enough energy into it, it eventually becomes a magical weapon. Give it a name, give people reason to use that name in hushed tones at dim bars, and it will become even more powerful. Sunder a peoples' faith with defeat on a hilltop, and that hilltop will gradually grow more and more magical as people remember it.

>Continued

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>>34624551
>Man, was not expecting to go over the limit

This is why superstitions are actually very real, but only if you believe in it. If an entire culture believes stepping over a fallen tree will bring bad luck, but one person genuinely does not believe so and steps over a tree, the energies will still effect him but not nearly as badly as it would a superstitious person.

Of course, no one knows that faith fuels everything, and if they did it would be bad news; if you believe something with your logical mind first, it sucks up your magical energies and becomes very difficult to fuel the faith. So, when magicians are studying magical theory to make a new spell, they're only superficially studying people, but that "Eureka!" moment is still enough to have the desired effect.

>>34624622
So yeah, not nearly as in-depth as everything else made in this awesome topic, but it's my system and I like it.

magic in my world is basically runoff power from three warring gods. mortals can use this power for their own ends if they can effectively siphon it through their bodies.
the different gods give off different kinds of magic though, and they interfere with each other, so most mages can only use one type of magic.
We use a mana management system to dictate spell frequency.

>>34610936
Magic is an interface with the underlying code of the universe. While you cannot fundamentally enact change within this underlying code without entering the Akashic Record, you can manipulate it by say, telling the universe that there is fire within a certain location.

Most anyone can enact this interface on some basic level, though outside of the simplest of spells, magic takes a long time. Highly trained individuals can compile a limited number of spells within themselves by reformatting their souls - this is much less dangerous than it sounds, as consciousness is kept in the mind. The soul is an organ that extends beyond the material plane, which allows for mortals to interface with the record and manipulate their immediate world space.

Some people are born with genetic anomalies that allow for a more natural interface than this reformatting, allowing them to "snap cast" certain spells without any formal training. These spells are by and large limited to a certain number, and mature with age rather than study.

>>34612296
Hello final fantasy 7, how are you today?

>>34621456
Seconded.

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I've always wanted to run a campaign based off of Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys albums, I just don't know where to start.

>>34627857
Thank you for reminding me about Helloween.
I love that band.

>>34628008
They're the ones that got me into speed metal.

>>34627857
Wouldn't you just start with the seer of visions sending the PCs on a quest to get the seven keys?

>>34627857
You made me curious enough to look up the album, and now I'm a fan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BfZFh_ipeA

Thanks!

>>34633194
That shit quality makes me feel like I'm listening to it on a cassette tape again

>>34623728
not him, but you can also consider the fact that players are from this world. And if the idea of the century or the clean 100 is cognitively pleasing, it may have a place in the game

>>34633194
The third album in the series, Legacy, is my favorite.

I once had the idea for a magic-ish system based on Laputa, Castle in the Sky.
An ancient race created a massive, impossibly powerful machine capable of rewriting reality. Pieces of the machine, crystals that are often made into jewelry, remain connected to it and are used to relay orders and controls to the machine. However, they only work for people descended from the ancient and now destroyed culture.

The rest of the setting, however, is based on Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Humans have varying degrees of tech-level, with their main enemy being a Zerg/Tyranid/Vorn-esque race of bugs.

Their guns are more like casters from Outlaw Star, though. The bullets are "spells," created using near-forgotten bits of techno-lore from the ancient race that made that engine thing.

I am such a fucking weeaboo.

>>34610936
>That image
I fluff my custom magic as Cocaine usage.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPRI2BIirTw
>2:15 - 2:20

>>34610936
some dude talked to me about the realm of forms from some philosophy so i went about and drew inspiration from that.

along with the planes, there exists a reality in parallel with the game world. it cannot be reached by spells or prayer, and very little is actually known of it. all the knowledge of it is more centred around tapping into it's power. magic, in all it's forms, is merely taking power from that parallel reality and pulling it into our world and bending it to your will. wizards do so with knowledge of the power, sorcerers use their innate connection to the realm, bards channel the energy through their art. it also makes up divine magic. the more people believe and pray to a common source, the more things happen. a collective will turns gods into actual beings, and that same power used to create them is lent to those who follow them. which is why even minor deities exist even if their creation story differs from everybody else's. a paladin or cleric taps into this collective will to bend the energy of the other realm. though only a select few know the truth of "divine" magic.

>>34637618
I mean, I'd be okay with all of my magic being borne from cocaine.

>>34610936
I've been working on a skill based magic system. with the following premis.
1) You "Know" certain effects.
2) You can combine them to form spells.
3) The final spell will have a DC you roll when you cast it.
4)Overcomplex spells have additional cost (more than 2 parts)

The idea is that you make your spells up on the fly. You know "Fire" DC 4 you know "Cone" DC 12 you can make a Cone of Fire by rolling a DC 16 when you cast the spell. If you wanted to add "Intense" DC 5 (+2 dice damage) your total would be DC 24. as you added +3 the first "Complexity" modifier, +5DC for the second and so forth.

The currency of magic is Mana, which you spend to pay for spells. Mana is spent rearguardless of success.

>>34642704

How do you get more mana is the question?

Also that system kinda sounds like Ars Magica's system that I really love, though a bit more specific. In Ars Magica your spells are also made of a technique; which are Create, Perceive, Change, Destroy, and Control. I like your system idea too though.

>>34642718
You incresase your pool as you play. Leveling is done dynamically insetting. If you want to blow all your points to have a massive mana pool, you can do that. Have fun waiting for it to fill as mana fills statistically from the world around you. Think of it like walking along a riverbed. Its deep in some places, shallow in some, and even dry in others. The deeper the spot, the faster you recover your mana. Dry portions generally have something wrong w/ them though, and ambient mana fills them fast enough. (Nature abhores a vaccume, etc)

Large mana pools are actually a sign of Item Creators as making permanant magic infused runes for magic items takes a massive initial investment (And much higher DC) for them to self perpetuate as if they where drawing in magic like a person.

You can spend points to increase your efficiency as well, but you can't pull more mana than is around you. I'd say the max would end up being around 5/min. I haven't fleshed it out nor playtested so i cant say for certain if that would be balanced. Very much in alpha stages.

>>34610936
Mage: The Ascension is the answer to all your questions.

>>34624920
I like it, very folk-y.

Last setting has a great, leftover machine the size of a planet's core in the planet's core. This machine has a control room, and the room is very simple; you have a bunch of sliders that open up or close up a portal to the plains; almost every slider is set to neutral, meaning that this entire planet has normal everything; all the main elements and their combinations (fire, water, air, earth, mud, ash, whatever you've read Planescape), radiant and dark energy, a connection to Valhalla, Nirvana and Nifelheim (and all the other heavens and hells)...

This was a default sword and sorcery soup setting; where everything just worked. If someone were to enter that room and mess with the controls, the "material planet" would attain the plane's characteristics, for example, pulling the "Water" slider to max, you'd do double damage/effects with water spells, and slowly, the world would become all water, over a couple million years.

The Strogg (like those from Quake) want to get into this room and turn all the sliders to none; meaning they'd cut off all the magic, all the divine magic, all the faith, everything fantastic and amazing, and they'd leave only the mundane on this planet. Would be like Earth if they succeeded.

Casting/using magic just means you're somehow attuned to the energies of these planes. Casting a fireball means using a bit of "Fire Plane" that's all around you, forming it into a ball and shooting it off. Pretty standard casting for a 3.5ish game.

>>34642704
>>34642718
Similar to how I have my homebrew magic. Spell effects cost specific amounts of mana and are additive. Metamagic can be added additively, but acts as a multiplier to the total cost. (i.e. Fireball is 4 mana for fire, 2 mana for projectile. Increasing range and damage is 2 mana each, so the total cost is 6 x 4 = 24).

However, Mana is capped at 20, and replenishes per round. Every character will have some form of access to magic, it all depends on how much. The mage archetype can "Overcast", increasing one round to 1.5 times their current mana, but They then have a penalty to total mana equal to the amount increased, which recharges at a slow-ish rate.

Ideally, it'll allow for some pretty free form casting, while keeping numbers small and easily manageable.

>>34643313
Current setting's magic is based on the dead and their memories, faiths and so on. All PC's I ever GM are already dead, and have returned to life for an adventure (sometimes I disclose this info, sometimes I don't). My current setting's basically a Purgatory where the dead spirits go to cleanse themselves as much as they can before getting killed themselves and shipped off to God knows where.

Their faded memories, their longings, their feelings, faiths and prayers, sorrows and joys, made an impact upon this realm (or their original realm before they died and got transported here), and are stored as energy in their Undead bodies.

Every creature in Purgatory has this energy, and it's counted in "Souls" (like from the Souls Series (DeS, DaS, DaSII)). Whenever you deliver a killing blow to a creature, you obtain its Souls. You can trade with them, level up with them, imbue weapons with them, cast powerful spells with them, whatever you'd believe they can do.

The plane's "atmosphere" is very heavy with these Souls, and almost anyone can use "Magic". "Magic" is segregated into Feats, Tricks and Spells;
Feats being the amazing tests of body, strength and will that allows warriors, berzerkers, knights and so on to do amazing deeds on the battlefield (Rallying allies, cleaving foes in half, becoming a tornado of metal, shooting through multiple foes...).
Tricks are used by saboteurs, rogues and anyone who has a high cognitive intelligence to use poisons, alchemy, bombs, traps, mutagens, and whatnot. They're created "out of thin air" by expending "Souls".
"Spells" are classical D&D-like or fantastic spells. To use very powerful spells, you need sacrifices, and so on. Most spellcasting is done with strong imagination and faith (if you believe that chanting an incantation will produce results you imagine, it does).

>>34643375
Lore-wise, my magic is manipulation of matter. The same form of matter that comprises the spirit, it makes it not only somewhat difficult to manipulate, but also difficult for it to affect the physical world.

It takes an inefficient amount of effort and material to light physical wood with magical fire, but it is possible. That being said, armor innately provides similar protection from physical attacks as it does magical, but because magic is the same matter as the spirit, it affects souls (spirit and body together) perfectly fine.

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>>34612483
Aza! I found ya!

>>34637618
Never noticed that before, good catch Anon.

>>34643434
>All PC's I ever GM are already dead
I like the general idea you're going with here, but wouldn't your group eventually get tired of always starting off dead?

>>34646081

Alright, now we are even.

Also I've been updating the game a bit, hence why I was trying to contact you. Will probably send you a new version of the Wizard rulebook, since a lot of new stuff was added from your version.

>>34650978
They don't always know (sometimes whole campaigns are made in demi-planes for some higher being's amusement), and I love using it to kill off their shitty overinflated ambition and sense of "holy shit I am the prince of Fagassia, grant me wenches and riches".

Brings people down to earth nicely, imo, and they all get a common goal, to escape the Purgatory somehow.

I do agree with you, I'll mix it up sometimes.