Magic Limitations

[WickedChaos]

I'm working on a story that has a strong amount of magic in it. I want the sorcerers to be powerful, but not the only people able to stand up to a fellow mage.


What are some ways I can limit magic use so it doesn't become the nuclear weapon of my novel?

 

[HoopyFrood]

Ooh, blimey, there are many ways that you can limit magic. I think quite a few authors try to avoid the "unlimited magicial powers" because it's practically a deus ex machina.

Hmm...well, in Terry Pratchett books there is the fear of the Things in the Dungeon Dimensions (like demons) that are attracted to great amounts of power. Too much magic and they'll get you.

Then, like in Eragon, where the effort needed to make the spell work is the same effort that would be used if it were done by hand, so to speak. So lifting a rock takes the same amount of energy than if done manually. There are ways around this, like I think it is possible to take energy from your surroundings, but there are still inherent dangers to the whole process.

Um...well, they're a couple of examples off the top of my head. But there are many ways you could limit magic...perhaps making it a very specialised skill that takes a long time to learn, or like with the two examples have definite down-sides to the whole process. Anyways, these are just a couple of points that will hopefully help a bit!

 

[Lenny]

You could do something like Garth Nix is doing in his Key to the Kingdom series: the more magic Arthur does, the closer he comes to becoming a denizen of the house, and not being able to live on Earth as a normal human.

 

[Joel007]

In D&D words have power, and a spell can be memorized through great effort, only to vanish once used. The spell must be re-memorized to be used again.
Fatigue is a fairly common limitation on a mage or sorcerer too.
Also the nuke option can be avoided by limiting the spells that are known. Or even making each sorcerer only capable of a certain type, or school, of spell. This way you can leave a possible "end of the world" spell available until a later date by it simply not being known even though it exists.
Plenty of other options too, be creative!

 

[Pyan]

I can't remember the author or title, but I'm sure I've read somewhere about a magic system where all the spells have to be written down, only to vanish from the paper as the spell is cast.
They then have to be written down again before the spell can be re-used, severely limiting the speed of using them - and, of course, magic-users are very reluctant to use spells too early, for fear of not being able to re-write them at all.
You could also give the mage's opponents Shields of Negation, or similar: old, uncommon or valuable, and restricted to the High Command - except for our hero, who just happens to find his crippled father's old shield in the stables, but doesn't realise what it is until a mysterious stranger appears....Damn, I'm turning into Paolini again....

(Btw, Joel, why a wildebeest?)

 

[Lenny]

Then there's always the system of magic in which a person's magic comes only from the magical artefacts they have on their person... and even then, they must be trained in the ways of the artefact before they can use it to it's full potential.

You can further limit this magic by allowing the artefacts to run out of magic over the years - the bigger spells leaching it more than the smaller spells. And so every magic user has to go on a pilgrimage to the magical centre of the world (not the core in the middle of the earth, but a place in the middle of some land) to renew their artefacts power... which could make a nice story of a young hero inheriting an artefact dangerously low on power, forcing him to make a dangerous pilgrimage to the magical centre of the world, sneaking past bandits waiting to ambush unprotected magic users and steal the artefacts to sell on the black market.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Ooh! That's reminded me of the Artemis Fowl books, and how a magicial being's magic runs out after a while and so a...process has to happen in order to 'recharge' their magic...I think it's something like they have to plant an acorn (possibly from a site known for it's magicial 'ambience') in the ground.

 

[Lenny]

Yep.

That's where I got the idea for going to the magical centre, to be honest.

Can't remember where the artefacts came from, though.

 

[Joel007]

(Btw, Joel, why a wildebeest?)

Because if it wasn't a wildebeest I wouldn't have quoted Red Dwarf exactly! And there are people who get upset at misquotes.

 

[Chrystelia]

Then there's always the system of magic in which a person's magic comes only from the magical artefacts they have on their person... and even then, they must be trained in the ways of the artefact before they can use it to it's full potential.

You can further limit this magic by allowing the artefacts to run out of magic over the years - the bigger spells leaching it more than the smaller spells. And so every magic user has to go on a pilgrimage to the magical centre of the world (not the core in the middle of the earth, but a place in the middle of some land) to renew their artefacts power... which could make a nice story of a young hero inheriting an artefact dangerously low on power, forcing him to make a dangerous pilgrimage to the magical centre of the world, sneaking past bandits waiting to ambush unprotected magic users and steal the artefacts to sell on the black market.

Yes, just think of computers, softwares etc, you first got to learn how to use it, and then it's like magic, you can communicate with people thousands of miles away etc. just modify it to suit the fantasy setting, I'm sure you can come up with some interesting magical artifact!

 

[Pyan]

Because if it wasn't a wildebeest I wouldn't have quoted Red Dwarf exactly! And there are people who get upset at misquotes.

Yes, of course it's from Red Dwarf! Duhh....

 

[Commonmind]

I think in general the overall consensus is that there should be some form of limitation that either inhibits the users strength or that takes a large amount of devotion and dedication to learn powerful spells. This is a pretty tried-and-true system and it has many qualities that play to characterization as well. For instance, someone of great power with malicious intentions might be unwilling to inflict himself with the pain/weariness required to cast a stronger spell, or he may be impatient and therefore unable to devote himself to learning and memorizing more powerful magics; so his motivations would be truncated by his unwillingness to sacrifice (just examples of course, the opposite might be true as well; ala Raistlin).

Either way, I feel like limitations in the art should be a part of the story, and should be thought of with the level of importance you give to the actual system of magic itself (as limitations, in truth, should be a part of that system). Without going into too much detail, I developed a system of magic that is random and governed by how close you are born to the core of magic in the world, called the Atrionich Ball. Individuals are tied to the ball by their Eletic Strings, and those born further away might have no power, while another born closer might be born with great power. However, one cannot change their position in relation to the ball, and trying to draw its power through their string would be essentially like trying to siphon gas from a gas tank. The longer the tube the more difficult and the harder it is on the individual, trying to draw from the power might essentially suck the life from the person. Whereas those born close to the ball can draw from it and use greater amounts of its energy. However, like the siphon analogy, if they pull to quickly, or try to pull to much, they will swallow the rush of gas coming from the tube, making them sick, or killing them. What i love about this system is a farmboy might be born with the greatest ability in the world, but never learn to harness the power, while a man within the political heirarchy of the magical order might be born with no ability, striving his whole life to use the small amount he has been gifted.

 

[Talysia]

Aside from the magical exhaustion issues, you could introduce some kind of artefacts that limit or reduce magical power, so that there are consequences of some sort when too much magic is used. That would also add a tactical element, especially if the enemy mages had possession of such artefacts.

 

[Lenny]

There's another idea - magical is physically limited by those in power.

For example, in Modesitt's Recluce books, any magician, whether a magician of choas or order, has to be taught in that field, else they are hunted down and destroyed.

 

[Aes]

I've always liked the mixing of fatigue and strength as limiters.

Strength: Just as somebody lifting weights has their limitations, so does a spellcaster. What's more, just as there are very few people in the world capable of lifting exceptional amounts of weight, there should be very few people capable of wielding exceptional amounts of magic.

Fatigue: It's unrealistic for even a master swordsman to spend all day slaughtering foes on the battlefield without rest. A mage should have the same kind of limitations, in that any spell or set of spells capable of large-scale effects should consume a great deal of his energy.

To me, these are good because they can be easily incorporated into a story without having to rewrite any of the world's current magic rules. Just remember that, above all, you as the writer are the main force limiting the power of magic. No wizard in your story is going to be able to scratch his ass to make cities turn to dust if you don't give him the power to do so.

 

[WickedChaos]

Thanks for all the advice. I didn't want to rip any of the ideas straight out and plaster them into my story so I kinda worked with a couple and made them into something.


How does this sound, honestly?

Whenever a spell is cast the user's mind feels the fatigue. Small spells will give a slight twinge of pain, moderate spells could give a prolonged headache, strong spells will induce migrain-like effects, and extreme spells could destroy the mind, causing the user to go mad.

 

[Commonmind]

Well, the lower, mid and strong based spells have side-effects manifested as physical pain, whereas the extremely powerful spells simply destroy the mind, or cause the mage to go mad, dealing with a mental state rather than the physical. Try and be consistent if possible, unless it was your intention to change the way it affects the individual. For instance, instead of destroying the mind, maybe the extremely powerful spells actually physically damage the brain, cause hemorrhages or have their brains literally turn to mush. If you prefer the mental approach, keep the side-effects for the extreme spells the same, but change the lesser ones. Low-end spells cause the individual to feel a sense of confusion or disorientation after the spell is cast, mid-ranged spells might cause the user to hallucinate or give the caster a temporary sense of delirium; the more powerful spells might actually be more severe, causing the mage to lose a memory, or a part of their motor functions that they may have to relearn. Imaging being an all-powerful wizard, casting balefire, and having to learn how to speak again, or not remember your wife, etc. You get the point I hope.

 

[WickedChaos]

Excellent idea, it gives it more depth than my previous "headache" idea. Hopefully I can expand even more on this new system with time. This magic system has heh kinda inspired me again.

Thanks a lot.

 

[flynx]

Just remember that, above all, you as the writer are the main force limiting the power of magic. No wizard in your story is going to be able to scratch his ass to make cities turn to dust if you don't give him the power to do so.

Now there's an idea!

Your wizards etc are all subservient to their creator (bit of religion there) and their creator is you the author. So their magic depends entirely on your mood. That's going to be difficult to pull off but could be highly amusing.

 

[Aes]

I didn't quite mean it like that. When someone is designing a video game's characters and enemies, they must be careful to preserve a balance to prevent gross imbalances in the combat system.

As an author, you have a similar obligation, although instead of stat values, you're dealing with something more abstract. Sure, you could easily allow your magic users to wave their hands around to soar through the skies, revive the dead, or make the enemy army's heads implode--all with virtually no effort. Of course, this creates the problem we're trying to avoid.

Instead, flying through the air might require rest if done for more than an hour, reviving the dead might require the sacrifice of something that is already living--quite likely the caster's own life, or your character's magic might only be strong enough to make a few soldiers implode.

You just need to be clever about how you limit things. That's all.

Edit: As a sort of practice story, my protagonist belongs to a group of summoners who lives in village hidden away from the wrath of the world's self-righteous church. So she's able to pull fiends out of a hat at the very least. In addition, she has the unique ability to work magic without the world's normally-required spell incantations, and on top of that, she was born with innate combat skill and strength that is above average, despite a lack of training.

As you can see, this leaves an amazing potential for imbalance, but as the writer, I plan on making sure that's never a problem. In fact, I gave her all that badassery on purpose--since it's a practice story, things like balance, a viable explanation for having above-average power, and making the character a person rather than a set of abilities is all something I wanted practice with.