literature

Magic?

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Welcome World builders!

Well, it's time for the second installment of World Building Basics. Last post I went over the different kinds of world there are to choose from, and hopefully, you've got a basic idea for your world. In this post I'll be going over another basic, and that is magic.

Magic, magic is one of my favorite parts of world building for a few different reasons. It can help you build certain parts of your world from guilds to cults and actual places that could have only been forged using magical energy.  This can also bring new races into your world and dangerous creatures for your characters to hunt and fight against! But before you start to think up imaginative magical beings and objects, you have a few things needed to be set straight. Where does magic come from? Do mages, witches, warlocks, etc. use their own life force? Do they use the life force of others? Do they get magic from something like the sun, fire or the cold? Maybe there is a special element that mages drink, eat or consume to give them magical power? Does every race of humanoid get their magic from the same source? Do some races excel in using magic while others can't use it at all? Is there a 'bad magic', a magic that evil people use, like blood magic?
It's a lot of things to take in account when infusing magic in your world, and you should take great care when you are trying to make a perfect system! Especially if your developing your world for a game.

(Also, Another thing i might include is what kinds of effects does using the magic have on somebody? does it make them physically weaker? Do they start to lose their mind? Just thought i would quickly throw that in as well! )


I thought that I would think up of a little self made example to show you what kinds of things can be done.


In this, world magic is called Shia'ti, which, in the native language, is translated into "sun". These barbaric natives use rods called Shia'dota to channel their suns solar energy into balls of fire that they fire like a cannon.

In my short little explanation, I showed where they get their magic from, how they control and use it. I hope this has shown you how you can incorporate magic into your world, but also use your own great, imaginative ideas.
This is the second Tutorial for my group BuildMeAUniverse!
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