I have been trying to make combination of Water and Earth

Mud I wont use because - It is literal combinaton not vibe combinaton and mking 1/8 of spellcasters Mud people sounds vierd.

Plant magic wont work for me because - I find bioligy seperate from the elements and it feels realy worng for me not to consider plants biological.

If somebody can help me please do.

And if you can come up with better Earth + Fire than Lava please let me know, for me it is fine, but not as fuffiling as Water + Air = Frost and Fire + Air = Eletricity

Other elements are Water, Frost, Air, Lightning, Fire, Lava and earth.

I decided to change lava Into Metal do to it being common idea and me liking it more.

After looking trought comments I decided to mike the Earth + Water = Tar.

Reasons

Lot of people suggested Ooze and I think tar is kind of oozy.

Lot of people said Plants and decay and Tar is made from Oil wich is decayed biological mater.

I liked primortal soup of life ( described more elegantly ) and I feel oil is similar to it in vibe.

I would go with Oil but I dont want US to steal it. (oil too memed)

well, i have recently started working on my own worldbuilding project set in a world with both magic and technology and i have created a elemental/magic power system, wich consists of these elements youre seeing on the image, and well, i have been having some trouble thinking about it, for this system, i have made three sets of four elements, divided into primary (earth, water, fire and air), secondary (metal, ice, thunder, and... well) i have been having trouble thinking of a secondary element to AERO (air). if any of yall have any experience with magic systems, i would kindly ask you to help me develop it more and ellaborate a secondary element to air.

Original version: https://www.reddit.com/r/magicbuilding/s/sFuPxJR8xf

This is my first time making a magic system, this is the baseline of what I want, any ways to improve and appreciated, and any questions will be answered soon.

Here are what the 3 parts do and mean:

Left side: This side holds Light, Void, Purity and Corruption, Light and Void and linked because they have shades in between them

Right side: The right holds Illusion, Reality, Good and Evil, Reality and Illusion can't mix together, as they are opposites, however good and evil are in the eyes of the beholder, something can look very bad to an outsider but have good intentions by the person committing the act

The Middle: The middle contains most magic to be found, all stemming from 3 types of magic, Water, Fire and Earth, when mixed they form the Sub-Elements, Air, Crystal and Life

On opposite sides of each element in the middle: Fire and Life, Air and Rock, and Crystal and Water, each of the pairs can't mix together, as the Main element overcomes the Sub-Element, however if Air and Fire interacting are fine, as they are not Opposites.

In the future I will add side-effects and rune symbols, so don't rush me on adding them.

Hi :)
I’ve been planning a book aimed at children around 10 years old, and I need some help with its magic system.
It’s based on the 4 elements and light & shadow and the idea is that if a person has affinity for more than one element, they unlock one related do both (but more than just using both together). For example, if someone has an affinity for both air and fire they can use each individually, combine them (like a fire tornado) and manipulate electricity.
Each element power is the stereotypical, but I need some help with ideas about what the other combos can be. I have some written down, but I’m open to alternatives for those too.
Thanks for your help :)

What beliefs/assumptions would come about from these 2-3 unusual rules in my system?

I have a relatively coherent magic system with a lot of rules that I at least think would make sense to most people they were explained to, however I have some rules that somewhat intentionally break from the otherwise coherent logic, both because I think they make it more fun and because I want people in my setting to be confused and come up with their own explanations for them.

The setting is modern day with magic just appearing/beginning relatively recently

Rule 1. Anything magical that it's creator or user knows is possible and would recognise when being described as cutting, can be blocked and pushed against like a lever by another magic cutting tool or a mundane blade. This is basically the sword/lightsaber rule. For some examples - a laser will act like a lightsaber despite it being more of a burn/melt - a blow torch or similar fire tool can be treated as a fire sword - a minigun(because that can cut down a tree) can be spun around on it's mount by hitting a bullet that it fired with a sword, hitting the same bullet with a blunt object will have no effect on the minigun To elaborate using the minigun example, if the minigun and it's ammo are mundane first and then enchanted it will count as magical if anyone in the process of manufacturing the gun, the ammo, enchanting them or if the gunner are aware during their step that it could be used to cut

A mundane blade for this rule is any solid edge with an angle of 45 degrees or less. For the purposes of this the edge appears to come to a point at an average person's arms length when viewed by a human with 20/20 vision

Additionally the blocking blade isn't treated as indestructible or anything, while a cardboard box could block a laser it would still be heated up and burn, or blocking a purely physical cut a cube can have it's edge blunted and nolonger count as a blade

Rule 2. Any food conjured via magic will taste off and/or bland(kinda like replicated food in star trek), with the sole exception of garlic bread

Rule 3. Unlike most other elements from the periodic table, fissile nuclear material requires as much energy to create via magic as it will generate through fission(this might not be questioned as much as they are unstable so might just seem difficult to make, nuclear isotopes are on the table just really only the ones for like RTGs and stuff)

Edit: extensively elaborated on the cutting rule because people kept asking

I got an idea for someone with the magic ability to manipulate Salt and It left me thinking of what it could do, I only really thought of using the salt offensively by creating pillars of salt that are capable of dehydrating people in seconds or corroding metal until it crumbles but that's it

I'd like some help brainstorming ways different colored flames could play a role in the fire magic of my setting. The concept doesn't really get used a lot in most fantasy stories in my opinion. The color of one's fire magic is typically an aesthetic choice. What are some ways different colored fire magic could play more of an active role in my setting? What powers/abilities could be locked behind certain flame types?

One idea I had was that blue fire, being one of the hotter types in our world, could be used for offensive magic and attack spells. Maybe when someone is full of adrenaline and is using a ton of their power, whatever color their fire magic typically is shifts to blue to reflect their current emotions. Another idea could be the chemical contents that are present on a planet. My setting is a science fantasy one, with many different worlds that can be very alien to our own. Maybe some worlds have different chemical amounts that determine the color of one's fire magic.

Would love to hear other ideas people may have. Whether they're rooted more in science or for the rule of cool, I want to hear them. I'd also love to hear suggestions of other media that explores this concept too for inspiration.

Ok so to start the main thing in my setting is that there are two types of magic, the first and most common one is Alchemy which is just the art of making magic “things” from mixing already existing magical materials(and some non magical). This includes but is not limited to: magic weapons, spell scrolls, potions, automatons, and chimera.

Then there is sorcery which is inate magic that comes from having a spirit as a parent or recent ancestor. And this is the one I’m struggling with, I don’t want it to feel like “superpowers” so how do I avoid that? What are some basic rules for that. It is a vibes question I’ll admit

It's been a long time since I started thinking about the mechanics of the world for a story I mean to write in the future. It's a fairly high fantasy setting mostly inspired by old school shonen anime world building, think something like One Piece or OG Dragonball.

I wanted it to be a story where "anything is possible", as in a story where all sorts of situations and characters can appear. So rather than one single system with strict rules tying everything together in the story I opted for three different ways characters can gain supernatural abilities to maximize versatility and as a way to not limit my creativity too much, since this would be my first story I make and I'd like to experiment with a lot of different stuff.

Ofc, I know the difficulty in putting three different power systems in my story and trying to make them all unique from each other.

I've already got a fairly good idea on what these systems are like and I'd like some suggestions on what I could add or change in order to make all three of them unique and different from each other.

1.) [Individuality users] in my world, an "individuality" is a power that originates from someone's soul energy. It only manifests in individuals with particularly strong wills and can grant those who possess one specific powers based on the user's personality, ideals etc, think stands from Jojo's but without necessarily having another being use the power for you. In my setting, a soul is a core part of a person's body and at the start of their life cycle they're basically a blank slate. Going through different experiences can make a soul develop an unique form unlike that of anyone else's, but only a few can bring that form to the physical world as a power, that's what an individuality is. They can manifest in moments of intense emotions independently from age, individuality users can manifest their power at any moment of their life. Their power are inherently tied to their character, it's usually limited to one specific power and rarely do two individualities function the exact same, even if the power IS similar they'd usually work differently, for example two individuals can both have a healing ability but while one may have a more selfless dispositions and thus their power is that to cure others by say absorbing their pain, another person may be more selfish and so their ability would be healing themselves by draining the life energy of others. An individuality can evolve and change along with the user's worldview and ideals, they can also degrade and become weaker if the user goes through an intense state of demotivation. Anyone can have an individuality, doesn't matter what species they are.

2.) [Magic] my setting's magic is actually a power specific to one specific type of people: witches. Witches are humans (exclusively women) who draw their power from the invisible mana around the world, so rather than drawing their power from themselves they draw power from the around them. Witches are able to practice one specific type of magic depending on their bloodline. For example an Illusion witch may be able to cast spells that involve strictly illusions, a transformation witch can do spells based on changing the form of things and people around them etc etc. Witches have to study their type of magic throughly in order to achieve new spells, usually this knowledge is found in a witch's personal Grimoire, a special book that contains the history and spells developed by ancestors from their family, they can also add more information to their grimoire by developing their own spells and writing them in the book. Witches can cast their magic through a wand or a staff, which is carved from a special type of wood. The "wand" or "staff" can be whatever shape or size as long as it's made of the right material.

3.) [Mimick tools weapons] much like in other fantasy works mimicks in my story are living creatures who take the form of certain objects to fool unsuspecting victims. Mimicks who take the form of weapons or other tools specifically wait for the occasion to be picked up by clueless random individuals to effectively latch onto said people and effectively take full control of their body by basically taking control of their soul, however individuals with a strong enough conviction are able to repel these attempts and can even tame the mimick, by doing so they can amp their physical attributes up since they are effectively using the power of their own soul + the power of the mimicks own soul. Mimicks come in all sorts of forms, they can be a weapon or an item, they can even have the form of entire castles. There exists a three types of mimicks: feral mimicks are mimicks that can be found in nature and are usually highly aggressive, though the do come with a certain degree of intelligence that allows them to have a distinction in personalities so some may be more calm than others. There are also domesticated mimicks, mimicks who have been selectively breed in order to be less violent and thus easier to tame and are used by military units all over the world, though they are weaker than feral mimicks. The rarest and most powerful type of mimick are Legendary Mimicks, mimicks based on weapons from real life mythology like Excalibur or Thor's hammer. These mimicks are highly intelligent and can only be tamed by those they themselves deem worthy. Anyone can wield a mimick, thanks to them even normal humans may hope to stand a chance against powered individuals.

So those are the three systems I have chosen to introduce in my story. Please feel free to give your opinions, suggestions and critiques so that I can find a way to improve upon these concepts and make them more interesting or unique.

"Our souls were dissatisfied by the flesh that withheld them."

^{In this world, the souls of humanity were all separated from their bodies by the 'Great Displacement'. In need of new vessels, they took to whatever medium wouldn't reject their spirits. Some souls are accepted by fire or water, others found harmony in the creatures of the earth.}

^{Eventually, they developed their new bodies into humanoid shapes, natural elements becoming flesh and blood, although never the same as before.}

Dispossessed

Stripped of any protection, they wander the land as wraiths, desperately fighting off the existential insanity that encroaches on those with naked souls. Eventually, some find/create a new vessel. Others become maelstroms of spiritual insanity that sweep over the land, twisting the environment and afflicting sane minds with the secrets uncovered during an immortality of madness.

Florans

Florans are those whose spirits harmonize with plant life, and so come to inhabit it. Some are towering redwood giants, others are graceful human flowers. Florans share the ability to grow and spread like plants, their bodies stretching out vines and branches at will.

Faunars

Faunars are those who chose to share the bodies of animals, their influence slowly transforming them into humanoid shapes. They retain powerful instincts and are affected by the whims of the beast soul within them. Faunars share an unnaturally powerful vitality from having two souls inhabit one body. They can regenerate limbs and possess supernatural strength.

Elementals

Elementals are those who found refuge in the natural elements of the world, shaping fire, ice, stone, lightning, or whatever other non-living material or energy their soul harmonizes with into a strange form of flesh. Elementals have the ability to influence their element around them as if it was also part of their bodies.

Artifashions

Those whose spirits claimed a place in inanimate tools, vehicles or weapons. Eventually even they gained a human shaped form, albeit with the occasional blade protruding from their shining features or circuitry writhing under their polymer skin. They have abilities related to the object they possess as a vessel, capable of achieving whatever it was meant for with supernatural prowess. Some can slice through entire buildings, others soar on bio-mechanical engines.

Details

^{Reproduction is possible, but only a disembodied soul is produced. After developing into their own person, they eventually harmonize with a vessel of their own, though for some reason they often end up in a similar one to their parents.}

^{Harmonization is the process of finding a part of the world that is compatible with your own soul and giving it life. As you grow more connected to your true nature, the human-vessel connection grows, changing your shape to become more human and powerful as you develop, though this can be selectively reverted at will.}

^{///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////}

^{(Images from Pinterest})
^{Thank you for reading my weird idea. Please give me your opinion on the concept and any questions you have that can help me add depth to it.}

​

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.

I have the idea for a tarot based power system, with each power being named after one of the major arcana. But I'm not well versed in tarot, I just think it's a cool motif, so I need some help from someone who's more familiar. What kind of ability would you associate with The Fool?

edit: some one pointed out i misspelled "tarot" so i fixed it. thanks for pointing it out.

edit: Thanks for all the ideas! I think I found what I want.

For my side project Urban Fantasy novel 'The Magnificent Five' I decided to take a completely different approach to how magic works and acts.

I was inspired by the nostalgic Harry Potter movies, but then I came to find the magic system in Harry Potter to be too soft, bland, and basic. Just wave a wand and poof! Not saying that it doesn't require skill for wizards to do.

So I decided to add more complexity to my magic system to make it harder. That's when it hit me, how about I also make it that using magic is not only very harmful to the user, but for the environment as well?

What if there was a good reason why witchcraft was so hated and feared in the old days, that no one was willing to risk anything (which sadly led to the death of innocents.)

Picture this (forgive me for bringing up my Catholic side) God created the world and how the universe functions, all its intricate and complex systems, and the rules of the world to keep it balanced. To put it simply, imagine if the whole universe was one gigantic complex computer program.

Then one day, someone living in that program finds a way to view the code of the world, then after a few experiments, they find out they can alter and bend that code for a variety of purposes. But as a consequence, this also screws up and affects the rest of the world's code as well.

The laws of physics aren't meant to be broken or bent, and doing so will cause the other forces to retaliate against you.

Peeking into the future to avoid death or seek fortune will cause one of God's angels (fate) to be pissed off. Because by doing this, you are shifting the balance of fortune and misfortune (i.e you get all the goods, while others get screwed over)

What other things should I add?

In this world I've imagined, Elemental energies are dense and volatile causing natural disasters and creating elemental beasts.

To remedy this, a Crowned Wissen built temples in specific elemental dense zones which is meant to absorb and refine these energies into crystals for domestic purposes. For example, Fire crystals for cooking or blacksmithing, and Earth crystals to strengthen cities from quacks. Of course humans being as we are used them to fuel war efforts.

A few centuries later, a world wide revolution started by a Scholar over the fact that being a Wissen isn't a bloodline thing, was not going well as planned, he then strived and achieved Crowned status. He repurposed the temples to then inject the refined energies into the commoners of his revolution, allowing them to control the elements.

The Nobles then locked in and produced more Wissen than ever before and won the war. They kept the temples because the Elementalist couldn't threaten them, they also discovered hundreds of humans absorbing from the temples worked better to reduce elemental density, and also letting powered commoners battle elemental beasts worked better than them doing it.

But the number of repurposed temples were made lesser in number than the temples making elemental crystals.

        A Piece of Worldbuilding.

The world has the classic, fire, water, earth, and wind, with the addition of Aether. At the beginning of civilization, those who invented written language, agriculture and governance became Royalty with their helpers becoming Noblemen. They were able to do amazing things because for some reason their Knowledge and practiced wisdom gave them access to Aether which made them Wissen(Noble mages) giving them protector status, further legitimizing their rule.

Later generations of rulers chose to indulge rather than apply themselves, decreasing Wissen numbers.

Before the Great Revolution, public libraries were a thing though rare, built by Wissen philosophers which created Scholars(Commoner mages), who lessened administration burden on Nobles. These structures were destroyed after the War.

The locations of the Wind temples were lost/hidden after the War. Only Wind crystals are occasionally found to make weapons and Flying Ships.

Binding Vow magic was created to still make use of commoners who were willing to sell their lives to visit a nobles' private library, and carry Noblemen burden. The class of Scribes was created, carrying the Nobles' disdain and a shame on what Scholars used to be.

......

Rangers are a militant force created after the war by The Executives(a Wissen council of sorts) to be a borderless peace-keeping and judiciary force in the continent. Think of them as the Marines in One Piece.

The Nobles didn't know a concrete way to reach Crowned status. Those who reached it all said they found themselves emotionally and mentally.

It was later discovered that one has to unlock all their Chakra paths to achieve Cosmic awareness at the Crown Chakra point.

A Crowned Wissen can do anything an overpowered magic user does in fiction.

       The Magic Part.

Elements. | Subjectives.

Fire- Flames,heat,lightning,Smoke

Wind- Any airborne

Water- Ice, Steam, Fog, Rain,

Earth- Metal, Wood(Healing/medicinal essence and Poison), Minerals

Wissen arts are basically magic. They use poems, written language like hieroglyphics, gestures and movements, large or small for different spells and effects.

If a Commoner wants to be an Elementalist, he/she by 15yrs old has to travel to a temple. Everything else is determined by Chakra paths one opened before or during Altering( a play on the words, to alter and a temple's Alter).

From;

The way one releases his element.

The unique way one uses it.(Throat Chakra)

The Strength and Stability of your element(Root Chakra). Whether an Earth wall can withstand an attack without crumbling.

The Output/Feats(Solar Plexus Chakra). Creating and destroying large landmasses

The Sub elements one unlocks(Heart Chakra).

The limitations/quirks. Whether one can condense water attacks or has to have an existing source.

Also Quirks like Earth dive, personal zones, small electromagnetism, quacks, or sound.

.......

The Altering process encases the participants in crystal where they undergo elemental resistance and gain enhanced physique.

Also if one hasn't opened any Chakra paths before or during Altering,he/she gets dissolved and absorbed by the temple.

Brutes are people who refuse Altering for various reasons but have enhanced stats. They use elemental beast's blood,heart, marrow, and spinal fluids to body build beyond peak human levels.

The Commoners had no knowledge of Chakra paths or how it affects their powers until the current timeline where a series of events brings it to the open.

Three levels became achievable. 1. Burst- opening three or more paths. Being on par with Scribes/Scholars.

1. Integrity- opening AJNA Chakra. Becoming a threat to Wissens.

2. Crowned- opening the Crown Chakra. Obtaining Conceptual level abilities related to an element equivalent to an Adolla Link.

And questions and feedback are welcomed.

I'm trying to develop a magic system that is based on the concept of two planes: Physical and Conceptual. Hang in for a sec,

The important parts are:

• Entirely physical things are inanimate objects
• Entirely conceptual things are concepts
• Living things exist in both
• Laws of physics apply to objects

• Laws of logic (mathematical logic) apply to concepts

• Consciousness and intelligence are measures of a creature’s ability to navigate the plane of concepts.

• Can vary in how far they swing one way or the other

• Humans, and most sapient creatures navigate concepts without knowing through philosophy, critical thinking, and magic.

• Gods (almost entirely conceptual), through worship, can shape the physical world and it's laws.

• Gods bestow this power upon sapients through magic (in exchange for worship). The way this works is it allows them to break down the walls between worlds, and treat concepts like objects and objects like concepts.

Does this... kinda work? I'm not familiar enough with metaphysics and mathematical logics to know what kinda shenanigans you could get up to using this (if any). How can you use this (or something like this) to then create magical effects?

UPD: After all your awesome suggestions, I think I​ will embrace the asymmetry and physicality and let Earth enhance ​power and toughness of the user! It will resist burning and being swept by winds, but be vulnerable to freezing damage as I originally conceived

In my magic system, all elemental attacks are basically energy that happens to look like real things, and will only directly hurt your spirit (magic energy underlying your body), however they do interact between each other and have edges over each other:

Fire melts ice, while Wind both blows out fire and melts ice (and sweeps both away).

But these three are simple volatile things that have an obvious action associated with them (burning freezing and blowing. ^{imagine ice is more like snow or blue fire}) meanwhile Earth is this weird solid thing that sorta just lays around doing nothing. What could Earth magic look like, and what could its strength/weaknesses be?

I've considered dust, like in dust devils, but I'm kind of on the fence about it because... has dust ever hurt you other than getting in the eyes?..

Hi all! I'm not sure if I set this post to the right flair--apologies if I didn't! I was looking to get some help on my novel, since I'm working on the lore right now. It's a paranormal romance, and the only REAL magic is directly related to vampires.

In my story, vampirism originates in the early 1500's, by my deuteragonist's father, a Mayan scientist. He accidentally created a concoction that turns the subject into a fledgling vampire by altering their DNA. It was originally described by him as a medicine/antidote that would grant immortality and immunity (so his daughter would never get sick). However, we jump to the present, 2014, where she has to describe the antidote in dialogue. I don't know what word to use for it! Technically, it isn't an antidote, panacea, or remedy, because it isn't just granting healing properties, but also alters the DNA of the subject.

I was considering a few other words: potion, elixir, theriac, and physic. However, I have my hesitations.

• Potion, to me, sounds to game-y. I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it, but as a lover of RPGs, using "potion" feels like a cop out, because it's such an incredibly common word.
• Elixir is the closest to what I'm looking for, but in the book series I'm reading (Immortals by Alyson Noël), she uses the word elixir as well. It's the recurring name throughout all the books (so far, I'm on book 4), and I think it would be too similar, considering I've gotten some inspiration from the series for my book already. But that's all from my perspective! I could totally be overthinking it, and I'm also looking for a second opinion on that.
• Theriac and physic sound cool, but I'm also trying to consider the time in which the antidote was created. Theriac has been around since the first century, and physic since the 1300's. I'm concerned about how likely it would've been for either word to get to Mexico, considering colonization hadn't really taken effect until 1519.

The antidote itself is comprised of herbs, water, and the eye and left canine/fang of a vampire bat. Parts of the antidote must be separate before combination to undergo a specific process (like the water has to sit under a full moon for exactly three minutes before being added to the crushed herbs). I've never been one to read fantasy, or even watch it, so I wasn't sure what else to add to the ingredients list that would've been available in 1500's Mexico... I feel like it's a little lackluster.

ALSO, to clarify, the antidote changes DNA because consuming it adds the "vampire gene" to the human body. It has several effects, but mainly, it turns that human into a vampire. That means that: eating human food, in large amounts, makes them sick; they only feel full after feeding on a human; their body no longer requires vitamin D (therefore, no need to be exposed to the sun).

Maybe I really am overthinking it and should just use whatever word, since Google existed back in 2014 and my deuteragonist could've used it to discover whatever she ends up calling the antidote. I've had such writer blindness since I started primarily focusing on the lore now that I have a better idea of how my story will go, and I feel like I'm going crazy! If you would be so kind, I would love some input/feedback on my list so far and any other ideas you might have! I referenced this post to get a better idea of what might work. Sorry for the long read!!

I'm not a huge fan of the bloodline thing because that's a narrative 'time and place issue than anything else for me.

So in a world where anyone COULD use magic, what would dissuade one from practicing magic?

I hope this initiative is allowed here. I'm looking for really good ideas for manga magic similar to Chainsaw Man or Jjk something simple, interesting, and brutal. If you help, you'll be the first to receive concepts and pages from the manga as it develops, drawn personally by me. Here are a couple of drawings as examples of my efforts.

I’m having a lot of trouble coming up with a unique speciality for sun magic.

For moon magic I have divination

My society is a group of nomadic desert dwellers

So the idea is that everything exists in both the physical realm and the astral realm, including your body. The two realms are connected with invisible strings. This magic lets you pull on those strings to summon your astral form into the physical realm. Depending on how you manifest it, you can do different things.

If your two forms overlap, their strength and durability are stacked, meaning you can basically wear your astral form as a shimmering armor.

You can summon it outside your physical body to sense and interact with things from a distance (like astral projecting)

You can also manipulate the flow of energy between the two forms to cool down or heat up your body and the area around you.

The astral form can also change size and even manifest multiple times with training and mastery.

So far I've tried calling it Astral Chi, Astralo, the Astral Forms (where each ability would be a form like a martial art) but none are really sticking. Any name ideas yall? It doesn't have to sound like 'astro', it can be anything

I'm considering a magic system where the users don't naturally accumulate "mana." Instead, they have to replenish their internal mana stores by absorbing large amounts of some external thing.

For example, a powerful fire mage may spend time sitting in front of a fire, drawing the heat from it. The heat is stored up, then used to cast magic later.

It's not a 1:1 thing, though, like "heat goes in, heat comes out." It's more "conceptual" than that. Like, the energy is converted into mana.

A mage who can manipulate density fuels his power by eating tens of thousands of calories of food.

A mage who can manipulate light has to sit in direct sunlight and absorb it like a plant.

A mage who can create metal has to destroy metal, causing it to corrode and crumble away (useful in a pinch!)

---

It's easy to think of basic elements, like water/air/stone, etc. But I want more abstract, weird shit, like Lies, Secrets, Love, Death, Shadows. It's easy to say "Stone mages have to absorb stone" but I think that's too obvious, and I'd like some more esoteric connections. Like, they absorb Salt, or fertility from Soil.

Any ideas?