Need some help establishing magic power system.

[Astr0ve01]

So I'm creating a fantasy setting for an OC, and I’ve been developing a magic system to accompany this world. It’s still an early work-in-progress, but I want it to feel both intuitive and with enough depth to expand on later. So far, the system has two main components: magic elements and magic types.

The elements I want to include are as follows:

• Pyrokinesis (Fire)
• Hydrokinesis (Water)
• Aerokinesis (Air)
• Geokinesis (Earth)
• Electrokinesis (Electricity)
• Vitakinesis (Life)
• Thaumatokinesis (Primordial/Raw energy)

Each element also includes their logical extensions, such as Hydrokinesis encompassing Ice Manipulation.

There are three distinct magic types: Caster, Enhancer, and Enchanter. Casters channel their magic outward, allowing them to generate or manipulate their element in the environment (e.g., fireballs, gusts of wind, lightning bolts). Enhancers focus magic inward to boost their physical attributes, with additional benefits and effects depending on their element. Enchanters direct their magic into objects, allowing them to imbue items with elemental magic, granting special effects or attributes.

Individuals in this setting are each born with only one element and one magic type, making it impossible for them to access other elements or types.

With this framework in mind, I want to explore the upper and lower limits of this system. How far can I push it? Of course, there are more details on how the system works, but I don’t want to make my first post too long lol. Any feedback is welcomed, as well as any need for clarification on any detail.

 

[Rayfire]

Once I’m on my laptop I’d be willing to help out, but I’d suggest not using black text because on dark mode it’s a little hard to see

 

[Astr0ve01]

Once I’m on my laptop I’d be willing to help out, but I’d suggest not using black text because on dark mode it’s a little hard to see

My bad. I wasn't even aware that there was a dark mode and that black wasn't the standard font color lol. I'll try fixing it accordingly.

 

[Rayfire]

Cool

Anyway, on paper it does sound alright on its own. It’s pretty basic from what I can tell, but obviously if this is your first time writing, something that is pretty standard is always a good option.

As for the limits, in general there’s not really a limit perse, but particularly for tier 2/1 characters (Whom have to go through a review thread to be allowed here) the writing and justifications for stats and whatnot need to make sense and not be ridiculously overpowered for no reason, (which also isn’t a great way to get people to do matchups with you on here either )

For example, I could make a power fantasy Isekai where the mc has a special power that makes him the strongest character from day 1. Not only is this a commonly meme upon trope (Particularly in anime) but it’s also just not a good way to write a character in general without a good stroke of genius, like with Saitama from OPM where it is basically a parody of these sorts of characters and also explores the struggles of being stronger than everyone else.

Basically, you can take the system wherever you want, you’re the author lol, it just needs to fit the standards of good writing, or at least making sense. This is pretty easy since this is a pretty common trope of power system in fiction, so it’s hard to make mistakes. Just be careful to avoid things like No Limits Fallacy, and also develop your characters and/or progress a plot over the course of a narrative, and the sky is the limit.

Of course, if you want to go all in, then being creative can really make a narrative good. For example, the verse that I wrote, which Asuna Kamakura is in, shows more than just its action-packed fights and banger soundtracks. It also focuses on symbolism a lot too, which is partly the reason why Magic is powered by will in her universe. It embodies a struggle against the very idea we are doomed to fail, and that with enough willpower we can achieve anything, although in order to truly go beyond our limitations, we need help from others too, which is why Asuna seeking out her first ever friends due to her crappy life in the real world is valuable to both herself and her growth in the story. Her character symbolizes the indomitable human spirit seeking growth and to do goodwill to others, and that’s why she’s the protagonist. Obviously there is a lot more than I’m yet to explore, but that’s the gist of it lol

I’m yapping a lot about writing here, but it is important for judging power systems in summary that’s all for now, but I’d also recommend reading the rules on the wiki’s front page, since we’ve had some people who get their profiles deleted because of it

 

[Rayfire]

I’m very curious to see where this goes

 

[Astr0ve01]

Yeah, I wanted to keep the basics simple and clear as to not leave the system too open-ended, I want the extents and limitations to be clear. I had in mind that the upper limits of each element could be around their strongest possible equivalent in nature, for example, the strongest possible magical output with Geokinesis would be equivalent or somewhat greater than the strongest possible earthquake in real life and so on. I also want the elements to be somewhat balanced with eachother in terms of output, so that all of them can reach the same peaks. As I mentioned, the system has its limitations such as a steep learning curve and physical/mental strain, so that the world isn't filled with people running around flooding or burning everything on sight lol. If there are any calcs or feats that I should keep in mind for the system and its potential, I would love to know.

 

[Fernaine]

As someone who loves creating magic systems, I like to think that one's limit lies at the point where the power scale stops making sense when placed in comparison with its mechanics and the rest of Worldbuilding. Using my system, The Will, as an example, there is no point in a sorcerer who is above Planet Level; a Will sorcerer who would be able to end the magic system itself. An average sorcerer above Low 5-B when the very living catalyst that brought magic into the world is no more than 5-C? I'm not saying it's not possible (the average Isekai Power Fantasy would probably have one of those characters), but it wouldn't make sense for a character to cross that boundary according to the whole lore of my world.

This is more of a personal opinion than anything. If you want to make your OC 2-B, you can do that (you're the author!), but, in my opinion, the minimum for an interesting magic system would be cohesion with the rest of the elements of the narrative and the functioning of the magic itself allowing for such heights without needing to break the workings of the system you created yourself. If a system is powerful just for the sake of it, with no actual symbolism or reasonable explanation behind such levels, it might end up being a little too shallow.

 

[Astr0ve01]

Yeah, I'll likely keep it below Planet level, as I don't think getting to that point would be necessary. The OC I mentioned, in short, was a human king in a society that hates magic, he was an asshole and no one liked him, so he was assasinated. Some years later he is revived as a skeleton and given access to magic artificially through a ritual, now that he is "reborn" and that he doesn't have a full body, he is now compatible and capable of using every element and every type of magic, but he doesn't know how to use it and is also extremely weak (plus, he still hates magic). I want the story to have multiple different individuals that have different element/type combinations that could lead to fun and interesting feats, that's why I want to know how far I can "push" the system without making it unsatisfying. I want to keep the system somewhat grounded with nature and science.