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[JoshuaFH]

In the name of the thread, I demand you elaborate.

[eerr]

I think we could make an real awesome system of magic here.

Magic is either like heat, or created through pressure.

[eerr]

Or maybe magic is like heat but created through pressure?

[JoshuaFH]

I was being silly with the pneumatic magic comment, but hey, if you want to spray pressurized magic in people's faces with a plastic hose, go ahead.

[eerr]

I was being silly with the pneumatic magic comment, but hey, if you want to spray pressurized magic in people's faces with a plastic hose, go ahead.

This is how Dwarves make artifacts?

[LegoLord]

In the name of the thread, I demand you elaborate.

Well, alright.  Takes place in another galaxy/dimension (not sure, in the latter case both), and lots of the traditional fantasy races are alien species.  Magic has a material form, and if this is present within part of a planet's crust when gems are forming, it can settle in.  The magic covers a lot of problems with sci-fi space travel, but isn't all the space travel relies on (technology is involved as well).  The magic has set rules, though, so if you come across some giganticly powerful artifact, you can make your own copy with enough skill, money, and gems of the appropriate quality and size.  There would also be the supernatural metals like adamantine, and they'd have nifty little properties to give them their own niche in manufacture (rather than just being arbitrarily better in every way).

Ideally, you get the fantasy creatures that aren't alien species by modifying creatures, even your character, with the magic gems.  And that makes the creature go berserk.  "Player cancels quest:  Too insane" would be entirely possible as a way to play.

And things just get more detailed from there.  And I've barely touched the finest details in my GDD.

[JoshuaFH]

So wait, magic has material form? Kind of like that "Magic can be mined by dwarves, with some stuff about templars" idea in my other thread?

[LegoLord]

More like if you can build something capable of getting through a storm of the stuff, you can use it to power the gems (or sell it, but that gets into details).  It'd probably be closest to a plasma like state, but at all times has some behaviors that are normally associated with the other three states of matter.

[JoshuaFH]

So it's like compressed super-science or something? I don't feel I'm getting you.

[LegoLord]

It has the same relationship with magic that normal matter has with energy, basically.  Only it's magic, so it's less restricted in what it can do.  Essentially, it works just like a battery for the gems, providing constant power to all the gems on the "circuit."  Too many gems on the circuit - well, I haven't worked out what should happen.  But it should be worse than a short circuit with electricity.

Edit:  It can also be used for performing magic itself, but is extremely unpredictable - just about anything could happen.  Que why the gems are useful.  Think of it as quaffing from fountains in Nethack, but you can carry it with you and it lets you use spells.

[EagleV]

I recently started using an Eragon-based magic system. I think the movie sucks, but they have some good ideas. Magic is the manipulation of energy, trough means of some almost forgotten language. You need to state what you want in this language, eg. you can say 'burn that door' in the ancient language and your magic will burn the door. However, stronger magicians require no sentences, but can use words, eg. 'burn door' or 'fire door' or even 'flames portal', as long as it is clear to the magician himself what he means with it. A very powerful magician might be able to, for instance, say 'pig tail sock' and burn a door, as long as the link between the sock and burning the door is clear to him.

Magic is also possible without saying a word, however this is extremely dangerous, as it is guided only by your thoughts. Eg, if you think 'burn the door' and at the same time think of your wife, you may come home to find her charred remains (Or her body with a door trough it. Or a door with her stuck in it. Or a burning door, whatever). Only trained magicians attempt this, and only if necessary.

As said before, magic was the manipulation of energy. Life energy, to be exact. This means, if you want to lift a stone with magic, you would lose as much energy as you would by lifting it by hand. This amount of energy even increases when the stone is further away. Some spells have proven to be so demanding in terms of energy, nobody has ever succeeded, eg. resurrecting the dead or seeing the future. If you cast a spell that requires more life energy than you have, you die, unless you have a way of interrupting the spell.

You can also take life energy from living things (plants, animals, sentient) around you, but this fact, and especially the method to achieve this, is a well-kept secret. So far, no magic-user has ever found a way to use non-living energy (solar, movement, ...).

[JoshuaFH]

Does this mean that using magic makes you tired, and you have to recuperate by eating and sleeping?

[Bricks]

Does this mean that using magic makes you tired, and you have to recuperate by eating and sleeping?

I believe it was more of an exhaustion thing than hunger in the books, since each action was supposed to take as much energy as performing it under ideal circumstances.  There were a lot of ways to sorta cheat the system, since you could run a rock through someone's skull with relative ease.  It was also reminiscent of programming - you had to "encode" your spells with kill commands so they wouldn't run forever.

[sonerohi]

Is life energy finite, and is there a standard amount? I.E. if there is a basic measurement system, like lifting a certain weight to 3 feet in the air from a foot away is 1 Energy, will you be able to accurately gauge your magic using for your lifetime?

[EagleV]

Does this mean that using magic makes you tired, and you have to recuperate by eating and sleeping?

I believe it was more of an exhaustion thing than hunger in the books, since each action was supposed to take as much energy as performing it under ideal circumstances.  There were a lot of ways to sorta cheat the system, since you could run a rock through someone's skull with relative ease.  It was also reminiscent of programming - you had to "encode" your spells with kill commands so they wouldn't run forever.

It would have the same effect as a physical act. Imagine you just ran a marathon, you'd want to drink and rest first. Though drinking wouldn't be as important, since you probably don't warm up when using magic the same way you do when using muscles.

About the kill spells - the spell would stop when the task was complete, though if you are uncertain about the power that will be required, you could say 'lift that guy in the air untill I say stop' instead of 'lift that guy to the top of the cliff'. That way, you could stop earlier if you feel too exhausted to continue.

Is life energy finite, and is there a standard amount? I.E. if there is a basic measurement system, like lifting a certain weight to 3 feet in the air from a foot away is 1 Energy, will you be able to accurately gauge your magic using for your lifetime?

It's the same energy you use when sporting. So it is limited by how well-rested and well-fed, and how fit you are. If you want to know if you could do it, ask yourself if you could do it with your hands. Eg, lifting the guy up to the cliff would require as much energy as doing it by hand - if you had a pulley system, or stairs. A little less, because there is no friction (nitpicking ftw).