1.6 Magic Systems in Fantasy
So one of my favourite rants by my spirit-animal Limyaael is all about creating magic systems that aren't over-done, boring or poorly explained and inevitably full of plot holes.
There isn't anything especially bad about the elemental basis- I've seen it done well many times. But I have seen it many, many times.
The white and black magic I have seen more than I want to and it rarely is fleshed out well. The problem with this system of magic is that it is the byproduct (typically) of lazy/incomplete world building.
In my first draft of Silver Buttons, I gave Cehrzad the ability to step into Annwn; the land of the dead, this functioned as a teleportation in a way, but she would emerge where she had entered. The problem- I didn't nail down the limits on this ability. Early in the novel she spends time trapped in a confined space where she cannot get out-- why couldn't she just step into Annwn, wait for the space to be opened, and then step out when it was safe?
This is a common plot-hole you will get when you haven't fleshed out how magic works in your world. Solving future problems- or creating future plot points is great, but not if it makes the character dumb for not using it in a life-threatening situation earlier.
If the character didn't know how to use their abilities until later on, that's fine, but having competent, established, trained individuals, you want to avoid this.
So my advice for this in a dot-point list:
Specifically for Urban Fantasy- if magic and technology evolved in the same house, one is often more useful than the other. If you can click your fingers and create a banquet, why would you even have an oven? If magic is very rare and not permanent, and it has limits, then we have a clear reason why and how these two evolved together.
In fantasy, if you can go to the local mage guild, step on a teleport circle and be in another city, why would any merchant travel on bandit-infested roads? They would be trundling into the local guild, paying for transport fees and skipping the need for guards, arduous journey and extra rations, no loss of stock, no threat of robbery or murder. Even if the mages tried to hold this privilege back, the merchant class would be screaming down their doors for this service.
This is why you need to establish clear limits to your power levels and what can and cannot be done with magic. Establishing these limits also helps your novel- you create future plot points and prevent a lot of plot holes.
Overdone Magic Systems
If you are a big fantasy reader you know two forms of magic very well:- The four elements; fire, wind, earth, water (and usually the protagonist will be Captain Planet while everyone else is stuck to their single element)
- White and Black; this one probably gets me the most. Black Magic is Evil magic and that's final. If you use it, you are Bad. I remember seeing an author making a world and she had about four schools of magic and one school that was 'black magic- evil and bad' with no reason or explanation as to what made this particular magic bad. It didn't draw on the souls of the innocent, it didn't do anything especially different to the other schools of magic she made; it was an arbitrary distinction.
There isn't anything especially bad about the elemental basis- I've seen it done well many times. But I have seen it many, many times.
The white and black magic I have seen more than I want to and it rarely is fleshed out well. The problem with this system of magic is that it is the byproduct (typically) of lazy/incomplete world building.
The importance of limits and laws of magic
So now that we've talked about overdone systems, lets talk about other issues that cause plot holes.In my first draft of Silver Buttons, I gave Cehrzad the ability to step into Annwn; the land of the dead, this functioned as a teleportation in a way, but she would emerge where she had entered. The problem- I didn't nail down the limits on this ability. Early in the novel she spends time trapped in a confined space where she cannot get out-- why couldn't she just step into Annwn, wait for the space to be opened, and then step out when it was safe?
This is a common plot-hole you will get when you haven't fleshed out how magic works in your world. Solving future problems- or creating future plot points is great, but not if it makes the character dumb for not using it in a life-threatening situation earlier.
If the character didn't know how to use their abilities until later on, that's fine, but having competent, established, trained individuals, you want to avoid this.
So my advice for this in a dot-point list:
- Give your magic hard limits that no one, no matter what, cannot exceed. This includes the MC and villain.
- Give your magic hard laws. E.g.: Tuatha require talismans to use their magic, without these symbols, they cannot use it. Fetters, wands, etc. These create vulnerabilities which are so important to your plot.
- Define your magic- why is it the way it is?
- Figure out how much magic is in a person and how many spells they can sling before they run out for the day. I like to think of it as a fuel tank in a car; a few small trips to the shops won't empty it, but a big trip to another city sure will.
- Every character can have different limits, and sure, it's fine to have an MC with a high limit, but still know and show what happens when they push that limit.
- How common is magic? Can everyone in the universe use it- or is it limited to a select few?
- Nail down the learning process.
In a world with magic, why would we need technology?
Specifically for Urban Fantasy- if magic and technology evolved in the same house, one is often more useful than the other. If you can click your fingers and create a banquet, why would you even have an oven? If magic is very rare and not permanent, and it has limits, then we have a clear reason why and how these two evolved together.
In fantasy, if you can go to the local mage guild, step on a teleport circle and be in another city, why would any merchant travel on bandit-infested roads? They would be trundling into the local guild, paying for transport fees and skipping the need for guards, arduous journey and extra rations, no loss of stock, no threat of robbery or murder. Even if the mages tried to hold this privilege back, the merchant class would be screaming down their doors for this service.
This is why you need to establish clear limits to your power levels and what can and cannot be done with magic. Establishing these limits also helps your novel- you create future plot points and prevent a lot of plot holes.
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