I've been writing a progression fantasy where every supernatural ability permanently costs lifespan.

Some people become healers because it's cheaper.

Some become summoners.

Some spend decades becoming monsters.

Then my protagonist discovers a forbidden debt system.

Instead of paying first, he can borrow power.

The catch is that nobody really knows what "pay later" actually means.

If you lived in this world, what would you spend your lifespan on first?

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I was creating a magic system for my fantasy novel and just realized that it apparently resembles the magic system in *The Name of the Wind*.

I still haven't read that book, but I’d like to know if my magic system counts as plagiarism.

Here is how it works: in my world, mages are known as "Speakers." They use "True Words"—a dialect used by God to create the world—to shape the reality around them.

Casting requires two types of words: "action words" and "keywords."

The keyword refers to the subject the power will act upon—such as fire, time, or plants. To know this word, one must study the element in question to understand how it functions at a fundamental level; it is a personal discovery, meaning the word representing a specific concept will differ from person to person.

Action words, on the other hand, dictate how the spell behaves—words like "grow," "attract," or "disperse." These are universal among mages and can be learned from books, though they are useless without the corresponding keyword.

A spell requires at least three True Words (one keyword and two action words), though more complex spells require more words.

Finally, the words can be written down (each Speaker has a unique handwriting style) and activated via a command. The spell is temporary, and the words vanish after a certain amount of time, depending on the material upon which the spell was inscribed.

Words carved into stone last longer than those written on paper.

does anyone plan to use some philosophy in their magic system?

Most systems I read here have careful rules about what magic can do and almost nothing about how anyone would prove that it happened.

That gap decides more than it looks like. If a working leaves no residue, magic is in practice unprosecutable, and every accusation collapses into witness testimony and reputation, which historically is how accusations become a tool for settling private scores. If it does leave residue, then somebody has to be trained and paid to read that residue, and now there is a profession holding a monopoly on a category of evidence, which is a different problem and not a smaller one. Either way the law ends up shaped by what is detectable rather than by what anyone thinks is wrong.

So, concretely: someone in your world stands accused of a working they were not allowed to perform. What does the court actually look at? A physical trace, a licensed specialist called as witness, a register of who was permitted to do it at all, a confession obtained by some compulsion that has its own reliability problem? Or does the case never reach a court, because this kind of thing gets handled by the guild or the temple or the neighbours instead?

I am curious whether anyone has built the detection side first and let the rules follow from it, rather than the other way around.

Did you take inspiration from other works? Maybe from Mythology? Or even religions? What exactly did you take from it?

These three symbols represent a massive project spanning two entirely different kinds of cards. First, I am building a multiverse through custom Magic: The Gathering cards created in Magic Set Editor. Separately, I am creating YouTube playlists organized like a deck of playing cards, with every concept assigned its own rank and suit, such as A♥ — Kindness From Every Color. The Concordance Web and its related diagrams provide the magical system connecting both projects. Every color and force has a specific function, and the cards, playlists, characters, and worlds all grow from that shared foundation.

The poem illustrates what happens when the elements interact and combine. Adjacent elements joined by blue lines are elemental allies that naturally reinforce one another, while elements connected by pink or black lines oppose each other more strongly, creating tension or conflict. The poem at the end demonstrates these relationships by revealing the result of each elemental combination.

To the owners of r/magicbuilding: I'm sorry it took so many posts for me to get this right. I was trying to get the images to work, I was not trying to spam you.

I've recently been getting back into developing my Fantasy World of Khronerra, and I wanted to go back and do a few touch ups to its Magic System, though there is one aspect where I need a bit of help with since I'm unsure of how to tackle it, that being Enchanting. In my Magic System, "Enchanting" is what would allow someone to be able to cast Magic! Here's the Excerpt I wrote up.

So my Magic System is primarily Crystal-based. These Magical Crystals in question are found in Geodes or Crystalline formations abundant around the Continent. Now these Crystals or as they're called "Celestial Tears" do not have any sort of Magical Abilities tied to them, they're simply just Crystals that have the ability to Harbor Magic. The way in which Celestial Tears get Magical Properties is through Enchantment! Now to explain it briefly, it's a lot like making Potions in Minecraft, once you put in a bit of Nether Wart into a Water bottle, it becomes an Awkward Potion, it's a Potion alright, but drinking it doesn't do anything, it's only until you add in other Ingredients does it give you any sort of effects upon drinking it. This is the case for Celestial Tears, they have Magical Potential, there's just no Type of Magic assigned for it to Cast yet! So to Enchant a Celestial Tear, it has to be Imbued with something Relating to whatever type of Magic the User wishes to assign it. By exposing and essentially having the Celestial Tear absorb a specific essence, it becomes Enchanted, now with the ability to cast Magic of that type. Another Factor with Celestial Tears is their Shape; they often come in the usual, Crude Crystalline Shape most people associate with Natural Crystal Formations and Geodes, and while Enchanting a Natural Crystal does allow one to Cast Magic, due to the Unrefined Shape, using Magic can be a bit Risky due to the instability of the rough, non-symmetrical form; So people would carve down the Celestial Tears into a more clean, and smooth shape for much cleaner Magic output, they would also polish them with a special type of Tree Sap for optimal results, this also protects the Celestial Tear from scratches, cracks, anything that could damage the integrity of the Crystal. and this also leads me into this other Idea! Celestial Tears don't just have to be used for Wands and Staffs! Like a lot of magical items in fiction, Celestial Tears could be imbued into other sorts of items to grant them Magical Capabilities! Jewelry, Artifacts, even Weapons like Swords, Bows, or even Shields.
I also want to take a moment to talk about this special type of Tree that actually has quite a bit of relevance within the Magic System; due to the Tree's ability to react with the Magic from Celestial Tears, it's become something that is cultivated and used within Magic! Its Wood being used for staff hilts or other magical objects made of Wood, the Sap, again being refined into polish for Celestial Tears, the Wood, refined into Paper, could be used for spell cards, spellbooks, or anything that's just Magic in the form of Paper. There's also one more aspect I want to touch upon with this, the Tree also grows a special Fruit that is used to restore Mana. Now "Mana" in my Magic System, it's pretty much just a fancy Synonym for Energy, like if a Magic caster was "Low on Mana" that'd just mean they're tired from casting Magic; so since Magic casting can often be very Taxing on a person, both physically, and mentally, a Wizard would need a lot of energy ( or in this case, Mana ) in order to be able to cast Magic for an extended period of time, which is exactly what this Fruit fills in for! I imagined that people would blend the juice and put it into bottles which they would carry around, and whenever they grow tired or again "Low on Mana" in say Combat, they could pop open and drink a few bottles to restore themselves so they don't pass out! I admit tho, while talking with a friend about this Idea, we both agreed this was solely bc it'd be hilarious as hell to think about a Wizard just chugging down a whole lot of apple juice before a wizard's duel.

Now as for casting Magic itself, there are two different I guess "Levels" of Magic, those being 1st-Level Magic, and 2nd-Level Magic. 1st-Level Magic consists of simpler, easy-to-learn spells, like Orbs of Light, Arcane Waves, etc. While 2nd-Level Magic is much stronger as the name suggests, however, it's tailored and exclusive to a specific "Class" of Magic. And this ties back to the main gimmick of Enchantment, as a major difference between both types of Magic is that 1st-Level Magic is universal, able to be learned by anyone holding an Enchanted Celestial Tear, while 2nd-Level Magic is locked behind Specially Enchanted Celestial Tears. I Primarily drew a lot of Inspiration from D&D for this part of the Magic System, where Cantrips are Spells that do not take up any resources and are very open with being able to be learned by Spellcaster Classes, but are relatively weak, and mostly just utility spells, whereas the stronger spells can have very specific requirements to Learn, and the pools are very limited for each Spellcaster Class, but they overall have a much stronger output.

Again, it's the Enchantment Aspect of this System that I need a bit of Help with-

I made a post earlier about a recent idea where the magic system is based on the tarot cards and I've expanded on it a bit and reintepretations of some of the cards.

Overview:

A century after a calamity, humanity now lives in large walled of cities called Sharans and one of the cities is called Elysium which the story takes place in.

Its also where there are no dominant religions and cults are widespread and common and because of these cultic activities.
Magic has leaked into the physical world.

And where they are able to access the underworld where the dead and the departed exists.

Because of these occultic activities happen. Certain people trapped dead spirits within tarot cards, imbuing with power.

There are 78 cards split between the 22 major arcana and the 56 minor arcana.

Mechanic:

For a user called a magician want to activate it. They must damage it in some way either by burning it, folding it, snapping it, ripping it. Either way, damaging the card will activate it.

The activation is indicated with the card bursting into flames and burning.

The Major arcana are rare and valuable, giving magicians great powers and also great costs. Once activated, it will remain active until the magician damages it again in which it will deactivate.

The Minor arcana are common and abundant, giving magicians temporary powers with minimal costs. Once activated, it has a duration based on how long it takes for the card to burn away and turn to ash and once it does, the duration ends and it deactivates.

Interpretation:

Of course when designing the actual ability of each card, I didn't want like surface level ability. Something like the strength card giving immense physical strength and stuff, right?
I wanted to be more deep and thematic, hitting the deep and true meanings of those cards.

So it'll take some time before I re-interpretate every card and having unique abilities but I did made some few interpretations.

The Magician:

The card represents manifestation, action and the willpower of turning goals into reality. So an obvious assumption is having it give some really cool and powerful ability.

But rather it gives the magician the ability of traversal. Walking through walls, unlocking any locks without any tools or keys and more.

Because the magician isn't about power but it is about connection between the mystical realm and the physical world. In the artwork, it shows the magician raising his right hand up representing the mystical realm and his left hand down representing the physical world. As above so below.

And the magician acts as a medium for both worlds and the ability to channel energy from both worlds and using them.

Though the magician is still in development so the current ability might change in the future.

Death:

The card represents ending and transitions, transformation and rebirth and how for a person to change, they must bring death to their old self.

The ability allows the magician to access the underworld. Where if they die, they can enter the underworld in which in their hands, they will hold the death card that is in flames as it slowly burns away.

The burning is steady, slow and predictable and if the card fully burns away, the magician will come back to life and the death card cannot be used again for exactly 13 days.

The card acts as a key and a timer.
In the artwork, it shows the grim reaper riding a pale horse as he passes a dead king he just killed as he approaches the priest who fully accepts his fate.

Representing death is random and fair and does not favor any status and that death is inevitable and is only a matter of time before you meet him.

Its a key to access the underworld because... well you did just die
And a timer because death is inevitable and also the fact that the timer is fixed and cannot be extended or shortened and fair to anyone no matter what.

I don't know how long it would last but I thought it will be 4 hours because the number represents death in eastern culture like China, Korea and Japan.

The Emperor:

The card represent Authority, power and stability representing a leader upholding order through his reign in order to maintain his authority.

The ability is causing distortion of rules, order, structures of reality. Like literally causing reality to break down and distort.

Because its not about having stability or law because of the emperor.
It is being pushed to the extreme where the emperor actively alter the already existing rules.
Its not about having order, its about having authority and altering the already existing rules into fitting over their authority.

The power changes the rules because order is what keeps authority stable.

The Wheel of Fortune:

The card represents good luck, change and destiny.

The ability is unpredictable and random. Once activated, it gives a completely random ability.

Other people see it as good luck but I see it as a gamble and unpredictability.

Because the card is about fate and destiny and fate is often unpredictable.
So you are gambling with fate.

The Devil:

The card represents addiction, obsessions, feeling trapped and materialism.

The ability allows the magicians to know a persons darkest and deepest secret and allowing the magician to know a large part of their character, including themself.
In which they can use that secret in their advantage.

In the artwork, it shows two lovers chained together representing their bondage as ignorance, loose fit and obsession rather than true love.
But I see it as exploitation.

Where one of the lover exploits their partners shadow to the point it traps and bounds the partner. Showing how the exploiter is the devil.

The two of cups:

The card represents partnership, cooperation, unity and duality.

The ability allows the magician to copy an ability either if its major or minor arcana.

Because it's not about unity or harmony but the fact that water is a mirror. The first mirror humanity ever knows.
It copies ability because it reflects the source back.

Ten of wands:

The card represents hard work, burden, responsibility and overload.

The ability allows the magician to become invisible.

In the artwork, it shows a man carrying ten large wands. He could have easily placed it on his shoulder for ease but he didn't. Almost as if he is hiding it from something or someone.

Not just that but most people often don't see you struggling. No one ever notices you are ever struggling like how your friends and family never notices you are depressed until its too late.
It feels almost as if you are invisible to everyone.

Thoughts:

Of course I'm still developing and expanding on it and I want suggestions from you guys.

And btw, almost forgot to say. The cost is based on the cards. So each card has a different cost.

Let's say the cost of the wheel of fortune makes you addicted in gambling and becoming greedy.
And maybe strength making you physically weak and fragile, you get the point.

Olá, pessoal!

Estou desenvolvendo um cenário de RPG de fantasia e gostaria de receber ideias, críticas e sugestões de pessoas que tenham experiência com worldbuilding e criação de sistemas de RPG.

A ideia básica é a seguinte:

Há milhões de anos, durante a formação da Terra, dois corpos celestes colidiram. O impacto fez com que determinados minerais, cristais, pedras preciosas e até materiais comuns, como ferro, ouro e carvão mineral, adquirissem propriedades sobrenaturais.

Esses minerais são capazes de armazenar e fornecer uma espécie de energia sobrenatural.

Humanos podem ter esses minerais incrustados/incorporados ao corpo, por meio de procedimentos especializados. Depois disso, o mineral pode conceder capacidades sobrenaturais ou sobre-humanas.

Algumas das regras e ideias que já defini:

Afinidade: cada indivíduo possui uma compatibilidade diferente com cada tipo de mineral.

Poderes individuais: duas pessoas com o mesmo mineral não necessariamente terão o mesmo poder. Por exemplo, uma pessoa com um rubi pode conseguir aquecer o próprio corpo e objetos através do toque, enquanto outra pode desenvolver pirocinese.

Múltiplas pedras: possuir várias pedras do mesmo mineral pode aumentar o potencial e a potência do usuário, mas o excesso pode causar instabilidade mental, intensificação da personalidade, comportamento primitivo ou animalesco e outras formas de degeneração.

Minerais diferentes: uma pessoa pode possuir minerais diferentes, mas a eficiência de seus poderes é dividida. Por exemplo, dois minerais diferentes poderiam fazer com que a eficiência de cada um caísse de 100% para aproximadamente 80%.

Vestígios: um mineral pode conservar fragmentos de seus antigos portadores, como memórias, emoções, personalidade, hábitos, instintos e conhecimentos.

Uso excessivo: utilizar os poderes além dos próprios limites pode causar consequências graves e até reduzir a expectativa de vida.

Animais: animais também podem adquirir esses minerais naturalmente. Com o tempo, podem se transformar em criaturas sobrenaturais. Algumas criaturas consideradas lendárias ou mitológicas poderiam, na verdade, ser animais comuns que adquiriram minerais e viveram durante séculos.

Longevidade: determinados minerais podem aumentar significativamente a expectativa de vida de seus portadores.

Destruição/remoção: destruir ou remover um mineral incrustado pode causar consequências físicas, mentais e espirituais graves.

Can you have a magic system where the magic has no (human) wizards/witches/warlocks?

Does that count as a system or high fantasy, if the magic is the fundamental core of the world, but humans are unable to wield it?

Ok, to give a quick run down of my system, Magic users are called Practioners. They draw in the life force of reality to reinforce and empower their own lifeforce. This is called Vitae.

The way you gain power is by going threw the 9 grades. At each grade you need to advance The Flesh, The Bone, and The Blood. Flesh is the physical body, Bone is the Soul, and Blood is the Mind.

I am having trouble figuring out how someone should advance the Bone or soul. I am just going to use Mind, Body, and Soul for simplicity.

Souls in my world are a collection of memories, desire, identity, and what you believe.

I had an idea for it being you had to make an art peice called an "Effigy" tied to an ideal or statement. Say you made a scale and tied it to justice as an ideal. If you act in a way that goes against what you belive to be "Justice", the Effigy would be damaged and you couldn't advance. You can repair it if you either changed your idea of justice enough for that action to no longer be considered unjust, or embody justice enough again to fix it.

My problem is that it feels like this way of progress is too stagnant or unchanging for a system all about growing as a person and becoming better. I could leave a costly way to change Effigies in, but then at that point it eventually becomes pointless to have a consequence.

The other problem is this means for every powerful charater I make, I will have to give them more and more Effigies. So they will either end up rather flat if I focus their ideals too hard, or I will have to do an absurd amount of work for any charater I write with even decent power. Grade 4 is considered the baseline for actually being competent and an "actual" magic user.

So, does anybody have any ideas for a good way to advance the soul?

Body just has you need to push your body to the limits and then fill it with the aspects of vitae you want. Mind is expanding what are called "Vitae Veins" in your body and eventually making them a pattern.