Have you ever dived into a fantasy book, only to find the magic feels out of place? Like a fragment of our world – medieval Europe, the American West, or the Far East – with fantasy elements awkwardly pasted on top? This lack of depth in magic systems often stems from a common error in world-building: creating cultures first, then adding magic as an afterthought, leading to a disjointed blend of reality and fantasy. But what if there's a better way?
In Worldbuilding Blueprints, we embrace the art of simultaneous creation, intertwining culture and magic from the start. This iterative approach doesn't just fix the magic into your world's fabric; it evolves it alongside your culture. Today's episode delves into this magic-culture synergy. We'll explore how to craft a magic system that is ready to form the bedrock of not only your fantastical worldbuilding elements, but also your cultures!
Welcome to Episode 2 of Worldbuilding Blueprints by Just In Time Worlds. I'm Marie Mullany, your guide to building what you need, when you need it.
In the last episode, we delved into the heart of your story: finding the core of your plot and world: the 'North Star' to guide your world-building journey. Today, we shift our focus to magic systems, measuring their alignment with this North Star. We'll explore in detail how a magic system can both fit into and enhance your central theme.
Magic systems often lie at the heart of fantasy elements in a story. They set the stage for the impossible and outline the realms of wonder. A well-crafted magic system not only adds coherence to your world but also depth to your narrative. Whether you're working on a soft or hard magic system, the exercises and worksheets we'll cover today will prompt you to think about magic's role in your story, which is crucial. Remember, the importance of magic lies not in its 'coolness,' but in its impact on your story and, ultimately, on your readers.
The magic you create exists in your imagination and is shared with others through your storytelling. What makes it truly compelling is how it affects the reader's experience of your story. Whether your magic's rules are rigid enough to fit into a video game, or as fluid as snow melting in spring, it's an element that can powerfully drive both plot and theme.
Can you tell it’s getting warmer in Finland? Soon, I’ll be using summer metaphors :D. Speaking of worksheets and spring, in celebration of nearing the end of winter, I’ve made the worksheet that accompanies today’s podcast available on my ko-fi site for the price of “pay what you want”, so feel free to grab a copy! It will remain available for zero dollars until March 15, 2024.
Right, let’s crack on with some meta-exercises in building your magic system!
[The purpose of magic]
The first topic under discussion is the purpose of magic, beyond its inherent coolness factor. Magic should captivate us, whisking us from the mundane to the extraordinary, that’s always a given. However, it has a role beyond this in many fantasy stories, and that’s to enhance and enrich the theme of the story. And in this role, there are three broad categories of purposes that magic can fulfill.
Firstly, magic as a reflection of human nature and society. It's a lens to examine power dynamics, ethical dilemmas, and societal themes, often through allegory. C.S. Lewis used this in Narnia, where magic is an allegory for spiritual. Brandon Sanderson explores power and prejudice in Mistborn, and Ursula K. Le Guin addresses ecological balance in Earthsea. I do just want to give one warning here: when using magic in this manner, subtlety is key! If you’re too heavy-handed, you’re going to overwhelm your audience with your theme.
Secondly, magic can be used as a vehicle for personal growth and self-discovery. It's a core element in a character's journey, exemplified in stories like 'Star Wars' with Luke Skywalker, Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials', Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time', and J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter'. Here, magic is integral to the hero's evolution and overcoming challenges. The hero learns magic, struggles externally with that and internally to overcome their internal thematic journey and when they overcome their flaws, the magic flows and they achieve victory. Huzzah 😊
Thirdly, magic can be used to explore philosophical and moral questions. It poses questions for the audience to ponder, without necessarily providing answers, allowing the audience to answer for themselves. Again, you want to be a little careful here to not hit the audience bonk-on-the-head with your themes. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' exemplifies this, using magic to question progress versus tradition and nature's role. My magic system in Sangwheel Chronicles mostly falls in this category as well. I use magic to explore moral dilemmas like the cost of power and breaking free from the past.
However, I have minor themes around the disparity of power as well, which is a mirror of our society here in the real world. Indeed, most rich magic systems do blend all three categories or at least touch on additional categories than their main one. Consider Brandon Sanderson's magic in 'Stormlight Archive'. It reflects human nature with the spren representing aspects of humanity. It certainly aids in character growth, especially in the case of Shallen and Kaladin, and it asks philosophical questions about the complexities of right and wrong in a morally gray world.
It is therefore worth remembering that these categories aren’t strict divisions, they’re just useful tools to think about your magic.
Alright! So that’s our three broad categories. Your first exercise for today is:
Determine where your magic system fits. Does it align with one, two, or all three categories? If it doesn't seem to fit perfectly, that's fine. Sometimes, magic's role is simply to enchant and add wonder to your fantasy world, and that’s okay too.
Now, before you go scribble your answer, remember to also check magic’s purpose against your North Star and make sure that your world remains coherent! If needs to be, you can make adjustment to your magic's purpose or to your north star, but it should be a higher priority to change your magic's purpose because your north star has a higher weighting of importance. But that doesn't mean you can't change your North Star. It just means that you should consider changing your magic’s purpose before adjusting your North Star.
[Crafting a Magic System]
That was quite a philosophical workout! Let me know in the comments how you got on with it and let's turn now to somewhat more practical matters. How does magic actually work and what kind of system do you need? Brandon Sanderson coined the phrase hard magic system and he kicked off a raging debate about what is better hard versus soft. The honest truth is this argument is without any merit. The purpose of a magic system isn’t to be hard or soft. Their purpose is to serve the story and they are as hard or as soft as they need to be. However, there is some value in discussing hard vs soft in terms of your needs as a storyteller and so I will be doing that, but bear in mind, hard isn’t better than soft, soft isn’t better than hard. Both have merits, the only real question is which serves your world better.
Okay, caveats out of the way, let’s discuss the spectrum magic systems reside on.
Some magic systems are hard, they have fixed rules and set limits. Pretty much all of Sanderson's magic systems are like this. You can take those rules and transcribe them into a video game. And this benefits Sanderson’s worlds because he uses magic as so much of personal growth. If a magic system has some rules, it makes it easier to drive character growth through the magic system. On the far end of the scale in the other direction, Tolkein’s system is soft as a runny egg, but it serves the purpose of his world equally well. The purpose of the One Ring isn’t to be a magic item with explorable power. It’s in the story to represent corruption and it does that really well.
Between Tolkien and Sanderson, there is a plethora of other systems. Jacqueline Carey’s system in the Naamah Trilogy is a softer magic. The reader understands that the mage draws their power from this twilight realm, which is accessible in the wild places. You don’t get a detailed breakdown of limitations and powers, but you also don’t need it. The purpose of magic in the Naamah books is to represent the conflict between the two worlds the character finds herself in, the lavish and civilized Terra d’Ange and the wild places of her heritage from Alba.
Jim Butcher’s magic system in the Dresden files, as a counter example, is harder than that. You know how potions work and you get a fair idea of how spells work. But Butcher also isn’t afraid to break the rules. Harry gets access to a genus loci and then all kinds of fun and games ensue. Or if he really needs to break the rules, Butcher just pulls out “ye olde fairy magic”. So it’s a harder system, because it also serves as a signpost for personal growth, but it’s nowhere near as hard as Sanderson’s approach.
Long story short, don't get caught up in the hard vs soft debate. Think about the purpose of magic and then define the magic system in such a way that it helps you fulfill your purpose. The questions we’re going to go through now are designed to help you shape your magic system in this way.
And if you liked sidestepping that whole mess of hard vs soft, hit the thumbs up button and let’s talk actual exercises!
Okay, firstly, let’s discuss the source of your magic. What is the origin of magic in your world? Is it drawn from natural elements, divine powers, or some inherit part of reality? For instance, in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender', magic is elemental, while in 'Narnia' by C.S. Lewis, it's divine. Jordan has the One Source, Tolkien the very fabric of the natural world. The source sets your world's tone. If people need to absorb life to use magic, that’s probably a fairly dark world. If your magic comes from the loving bonds between a family, that’s likely a much cozier setting.
Second in line is the Cost of Magic. What must mages sacrifice or consume to wield magic? Do they need to consume a physical substance like jade in the Green Bone Saga or metals in Sanderson’s Allomancy? Or perhaps it’s just that the mage is quickly exhausted if they try to channel too much power.
I do want to caveat this one. You need to be mindful of unintended thematic implications here. For instance, using addictive substances as a magical fuel could unintentionally introduce themes of substance abuse. Now, if you intended to use this as a minor or major theme, that’s great. But if this is not your intent, consider using a different cost.
Okay, third item, the limits of magic! Define what magic can and cannot do. Clear boundaries prevent magic from being a catch-all solution and we call those deux ex machina. They’re bad because they undermine narrative tension. Questions you should ask yourselves include: can magic be used to heal? How about resurrection? Can it create infinite food? Clothing? Houses? If magic can do those kinds of things, reflect on how these limits affect your world's dynamics. Is your world actually a utopia without disease or poverty? If yes, where is the conflict for your story coming from? If no, why not?
Halfway there! The fourth question is about the manipulation of magic.
How is magic physically wielded? Determine whether it involves spoken spells, written incantations, martial arts-like movements, or other methods. You don’t need to go into super detail here, you only need a high-level understanding of magic’s manipulation.
Question five is all about magic items. In this question, consider the role of magical artifacts, consumables, and semi-durable items in your world. Artifacts are for example, the One Ring. Semi-durable items are like a magical sword in DnD and consumable are like Harry Dresden’s potions or sunlight caught in a handkerchief. Also think about how available these items are and their potential impact on society. For example, if consumable magic items are common, how does this affect the role of mages and non-mages? Are mages all actually just merchants selling potions to fighters who do the questy stuff? And how does that affect your North Star and your themes?
And last question, how are mages created? How does one become a mage in your world? Is magical ability innate, learned like a scholarly discipline or martial art in a school? Or perhaps you have to go through a trial or ritual to gain your magic. For all that it’s the last question, it’s an important one. Not only does the process of becoming a mage tie back to your narrative purpose, but it also significantly influences your world's social dynamics and cultural hierarchies. Remember, mages live in your world’s culture. If they’re unique and special, how do they fit into your culture? If they’re common place but magic is uber powerful and limitless, why isn’t everyone a mage?
I hope you can see from these exercises that the purpose is not to design a system in isolation. We’re trying to build a magic system that works together with your plot and your world to create a rich experience for your reader (or your players if you’re a Game Master). Remember, each aspect of your magic system should align with the overall purpose and 'North Star' of your narrative, ensuring cohesion and depth in your world-building.
And that is how you build the high levels of a magic system that fits into your world and supports the core of your story! Next month we will explore further adding fantastical elements and we'll be looking specifically at fantastical geography, geology, and fauna and flora. After that, we'll turn our attention to culture building which is a big one and will probably consume most of the rest of the year! Now as I've said earlier, today's worksheet is available for anyone and everyone on Ko-Fi for pay as much as you want, which means from $0.00 to whatever you feel up to! But if you want access to my membership exclusive videos on YouTube as well as all of the worksheets of this podcast, you can become a member of the YouTube channel for as little as €3 a month, and support the podcast in that way. I very much appreciate all of my members, and a special shout out to Tony as a member of stone and Quenten, Dylan and Tiffany as members of Build it in Wood.
If you want to support the podcast in a different way and also see how I worldbuild, there is a link to my website down below and the fiction books that I write are on there. And other than that I will see you soon for another episode. Do remember: build what you need when you need it and happy worldbuilding!
