Trying to design a magic system is the newest rabbit hole I’m trying to wrap my head around. Like all the anime I’ve watched and mythological stories I’ve heard about, I want to add magic to the story I’m writing to make things cool. More importantly, I want the magic to be another layer that makes the story more wild. A great example of this is spiral power in Gurren Lagann: a magic power that allows anyone to surpass the limitations of the universe. Not only does spiral power accomplish making the story absolutely crazy in scale, but it hammers in the point that the power of the human indomitable spirit is infinite.
Inspirations
Now the question is, what should my magic be a metaphor about? As of writing this, the themes that my first novel will be centred around involve the idea of trying to escape mediocrity in life and challenging the fears that hold you to stagnation. I’m basically trying to describe the feeling of trying to something meaningful in life, but having everything around you constantly trying to stop you from achieving it (including yourself). My current idea for this magic system is based on synchronizing your thoughts with objects that embody a part of your “soul”. Once synchronized, the object takes form and grants the user an ability that is based on the user’s perception on reality.
I’ve been doing research and noticed the magic system I’m trying to design has elements from Bleach’s idea of the zanpakuto. In Bleach, zanpakuto is typically a generic sword that is made of a soul/spirit, but this sword can be shaped based on the soul energy of the user. This relationship between the sword and user is what I like for my magic system. It’s this idea that the things around you are influenced by your current focus in life. Another source of inspiration I really want to implement in my own magic system are the stand battles in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. There are many unique personalities in the series that are accompanied with equally unique abilities. Making each power personalized to the user promotes an additional layer of individuality on the characters that are encountered in the show. The chaotic nature of combining the characters into a battle scene makes for some of the most wild fights in anime for me. Not only this, the fights tend to become bizarre and introduce additional dynamics to a fight that not many shows could implement well.
My Magic System
Here are some of the basic premises for the “Object Deviation” system:
- Objects imbued with “soul energy” can become Deviations when a user’s thoughts synchronize with the object’s core purpose
- Deviations are unique powers that shape a localized point in reality based on the user’s core identity. This is usually a single ability, but with multiple applications.
- Example: Lighter synchronizes with the user’s will to keep fighting: allowing the lighter’s flame to never die under normal circumstances (water, limited fuel, etc.)
- I want to put an emphasis that you need to take care of your mental in order to function. Overwhelming yourself and not taking time to face yourself will lead to ruin.
Limitations:
- Deviations require the user to be touching the object in order for the ability to be used. The object acts as a conduit of the user’s will. You need to be actively using the object’s intended action to activate the ability.
- Limitations are unique to each user’s ability which are typically based on the user’s own flaws
- Example: Claire’s ability to predict, calculate, and execute actions with intense precision quickly (i.e. deflecting bullets out of the air with her sniper) causes mental strain based on complexity of the calculation (sped up calculations combined with Laplace’s Demon concept)
- Cannot completely manipulate matter; can only manipulate the segment of reality your Deviation is made for
The issue I’m quickly realizing with the current design of my magic system is both a visual one and a limitation one. As mentioned before, I really like the emphasis of individualistic abilities as seen in Jojo’s Bizzarre Adventure. However, this becomes a dilemma in that I will need to make unique limitations for each Deviation ability in the story. I’ll have to spend some more time coming up with more specifics on general limitations, but know that I want Deviations to put a spin on reality but not too far where it is really confusing to comprehend.
The visual element is an issue since I initially wanted the Deviation ability to enhance or manipulate the user’s human perceptions. Like being able to see the future positions of objects or moving people’s memories around. These powers are likely to be hard to visualize at least from a spectator’s point of view. In order to make this have a little bit of leeway, I added the premise that the Deviation ability can only manipulate a small locale of reality. This allows for more variety and a more defined limit that you cannot expand the ability’s power apart from what it can do initially. I definitely want to play with the idea that Deviations change depending on growth, but I’m thinking this may just be a cop out to add new “bullshit” to the character’s repertoire.
This page will be updated as I figure out some more specifics to add to my Object Deviation magic system. I want this to be some sort of guiding document for the work of my first novel as is the theme with the rest of the posts related to the book.
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