Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and the non-conforming workers’ committee. I have a post I want to share.

  Unfortunately, it isn’t one of those meme posts I usually make. This is mostly because I just finished writing the current arc of New-Age Monsters (Year of the Cascade) and want to have a little celebration. But besides going to the celebration thread, I will do what all writers with an inflated ego always do. Which in this case, it is making a post about how they make their own series with a sense of superiority. As this is about New-Age Monsters, I will yap about that for a good while. But to save time and not endlessly ramble like a lunatic, I will only talk about the magic of the setting.

  But let’s lay down some ground rules. This isn’t going to be some sort of smart blog or essay about how “my magic is cooler than yours”. Nor will I argue for some arbitrary rules about making a magic system and how soft or hard magic systems are better than the other. What I want to do is demonstrate my thought process in creating the magic system I used in my writings. Making this less of a guide and more of a guy talking about his ideas with a smile. Maybe you’ll get something out of it, or you’ll realise that I’m a clueless moron.

  Of course, there will be spoilers for the series. If you don’t want spoilers, it is perhaps best to avoid this little tangent. Without that out of the way, let me talk.

  Theme of Unity:

  When it comes to adding something into my stories, what I usually think about is how it interacts with the heart of the narrative. In the context of New-Age Monsters, it is about how we can all come together despite our differences to combat any oddity and horror. Be it the monsters that hide under our beds, or a problem that couldn’t be beaten with guns and swords. Though the road to unity and coming together is a bumpy and slow one, it is still a road that is possible. A functional example within the text would be the Order (an incredibly flawed group, but that is neither here nor there). The Order is an organisation that is formed to defend humanity from all threats, be it natural or supernatural. But that is a topic for another day. Right now, we have the whimsy of magic to talk about.

  Yet even though it is the heart of the series. It is a theme that takes a long time to develop. So, there will be moments where stories are not about unity but something else entirely. Most of the time, some stories are used to give the audience an understanding of the context of the setting. Very few stories delve into the theme of unity, mostly because the actual story of NAM (besides being almost 1k pages long) is in its early stages narratively speaking. Despite having 40 short stories and 2 complete arcs. If NAM were translated into a novel, we would be in the first five chapters. It is functionally a slow story by design (though broken up into shorter narratives) with a hard theme to tackle. A discussion for another time, but relevant to the topic of today.

  So what does this have to do with magic? With how I write my stories, I like to think about how certain elements interact with the narrative’s theme. Though that isn’t always the case, as I do like adding stuff for the rule of cool or because it is interesting. A good example would be mechs, and a few odd pieces of alt-history within NAM. (e.g. the United Kingdom balkanising, the Soviet Union collapsing years earlier, East and West Germany not uniting, Australia being a republic and not a constitutional monarchy, drones/unmanned vehicles being nonexistent, etc.). Meaning that there are instances where I would prefer to go for cool and interesting ideas that are separate from the theme I want to explore.

  Magic doesn’t work like that, not in a narrative sense. Throughout our own history, we see people throughout the world believing in the supernatural. Magic (which can be known as other things, like qi or chakra) is a universal thing and something deeply human. Often, we use magic to explain what we don’t understand about the world, mythologising the strange and the weird to be digestible. In other cases, we use magic in mythologies to teach a moral lesson or explain how something works in a story to move the plot along (yes, even the ancient world will use magic to hand-wave a plot hole or two).

  All of this comes to the design of the magic system and how it needs to tie into the theme of the narrative. Though magic is spectacular and cool, I believe that it is because magic as a concept is so universal and part of the human experience; it has to be more than just a cool thing.

  Meaning it has to serve two functions to fit the theme of unity. The first function is making magic usable to everyone and not locked behind something silly like magical bloodlines (I see you, Harry Potter) or an arbitrary rule in the universe (the Force from Star Wars). Everyone can learn to be competent with magic; all it takes is some time and study. Not everyone will be inherently great at using magic, just like how not everyone is going to be a brilliant mathematician. It varies from person to person. This function shows the accessibility of magic (in theory, more on that later) in how someone can become a non-user into a user of the mystic arts. Because to me, magical bloodlines and other forces that gatekeep people from using magic goes against what NAM is about, as it creates a separate class of people that makes them more special than the ordinary people. By making magic accessible by default, it demonstrates that people who use magic actively do it by choice and not because of inherent specialness ordained by family history or some god.

  The second function must demonstrate the diversity of magic. The problem I came across is that magic traditionally practised in Europe is totally different to the magic practised in Oceania, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Every continent will have its own unique rules, beliefs, myths, and customs in how magic functions that contradict one another. Choosing one magic system would, to me, be a statement in itself, as I would be announcing how one magic system is superior. Which in itself can also be used as an argument about how certain cultures are better than others, as magic systems that are rooted in certain areas and cultures. So, I figure the best way to approach it is to allow all of those magic systems to be a part of the magic system in NAM. Caveats, contradictions, rules/rituals, all of it (which I will explain later on). By following this approach, I feel that employing all magic systems used throughout the world is to demonstrate that all of these cultures and religions are equally valid and doesn’t suppose superiority over them by choosing one of them.

  Since NAM is also in the public domain, the fact that all historic magic systems are functional allows someone who wants to take it to also have canon to support their creative endeavours, including a magic system that is tied to a certain location/culture. Granted, canon can be fast and loose with NAM. But it is the thought that counts in case other people want to take it.

  However, that is the boring narrative and meta stuff. What about the real question?

  Soft, Hard, or Lukewarm pub milk:

  Since you are reading this on a writing thread. I will assume that you know the concepts of soft and hard magic systems in writing. You perhaps wonder whether NAM’s magic system is a hard magic system. Well, not to waste your valuable time. You are correct… kinda.

  From afar, NAM’s magic system does have rules. You have a source of energy (souls), where that energy comes from (Realm of the Dead), and how you can use it. But the system should best be described as multiple systems interacting with one another. What does this mean? In the simplest way possible, NAM doesn’t have one magic system, but dozens of them working independently with one another. The only restriction that binds them all is that they all share the same energy source (souls) to make that magic system function. Yes, magic is just energy conversion, but without the science stuff.

  This ties back to including contradictory magic systems from other cultures. By making them all unique systems that can work independently from one another (which, in the context of NAM, the people in the setting separate these systems by calling them “Schools of Magic”), it demonstrates how vibrant and diverse magic is and how there is never one correct way to approach it, just different philosophies to how to stare at paint dry. With multiple schools existing at once, you will have some magic systems that are either hard or soft in their rule system. Theoretically, the magic system from Avatar: The Last Airbender can coexist in the same setting alongside Harry Potter’s magic system.

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  I did this for a few reasons. As stated before, there is a meta-reason to include other cultures’ magic systems into NAM without picking just one of them or sacrificing the uniqueness of these individual magic systems. I also want to create a lot of mystery about magic and how it can function differently under different circumstances. If the magic system is pure hard magic, I feel it just creates this air of predictability and uniformity that removes the mystique of magic. While it is being soft magic, I feel it will have the opposite effect and have it be too convenient or a Deus ex machina. Having both can create an understanding of magic, but giving the reader and the characters room to learn it. In the writing aspect, it can give the writer freedom to play with it however they like. Leaving room for exploring magic as a science or a mysterious force that we struggle to understand. Which brings me to my next point.

  Science and magic:

  I remember reading an argument about the problems with turning magic into a form of science. Long story short, it comes down to the idea that using the scientific method to approach magic makes both a hard magic system and removes the mysticism of magic, which is a unique part of… well… magic. Magic is the strange, the unknown, and the bizarre. All of which are fair points to make. Removing what makes it fun can cause some readers to dissatisfied as they like magic being the other.

  However, I think it is a misunderstanding of science and how we approach learning in the real world. People will often assume that the scientific method is a form of domination of the unknown and removes any form of scepticism we may have had. There is some sort of truth to it, as understanding something more removes any misunderstandings you may have on the subject and brightens our horizons. But this approach, being a pure end-all be-all understanding of the unknown, has a problem making science seem like a dominating force. Which in reality, it isn’t.

  Science is just an approach to trying to understand the world around us. Magic in the context of NAM is an aspect of the world that actively interacts with every living thing (and can create life). Every living thing has a soul, as a soul is a requirement for something to be alive in the early stages of life (which you can freely remove or destroy your soul once you are born without consequences). But it isn’t fully understood. There are scientific truths as well as theories to help explain how magic works and interacts with the material world. Think of it as being similar to early-life research; we have theories and studies explaining how early microorganisms came about on early Earth. I want that to be the same with magic in NAM. Not a thing to dominate or to remove whimsy, but to facilitate a culture of curiosity and desire to understand the unknown.

  Plus, as a side note. If you have a scientist talk about the things they are studying. They will not stop talking about how cool it is to the point that it sounds whimsical to the layman.

  Science isn’t separate from magic, nor do I want to treat them as such. I feel that making them their own thing will only create unnecessary meta-conflict, which I believe goes against the message of NAM. By treating science as a willingness to want to learn and understand, to me, leaves room for magitech to be developed in the setting. Mechs, teleportation devices (Charms of the Steppe), and long-range cross-realm communication devices (Slit-Net Communications Link), energy sources (Ra Engine), etc. What I want to show is magic, an aspect of reality that can be integrated into everyday living that is outside of casting spells. Which, to hammer it home, goes back to unity.

  Prime Inspiration:

  For anyone curious about where I got the idea from. The inspiration for this magic system (which is bonkers in its own right) mostly comes from when I was a kid and fantasised about characters from different stories coming together to do cool stuff. Of course, things like the popular YouTube series Death Battle (and Epic Rap Battles of History) were integral to what I liked about daydreaming about cool fights and scenarios.

  So, yeah. The inspiration for the magic system had humble beginnings. Naturally, with time, I think it became something cool and a bit nuanced. Which also means it is perfectly legal to come back to the ideas you had as a child later on in life and use them in your writing. What is child you going to do? Sue you?

  The Power of Magic:

  Now, some of you are wondering. How powerful is magic? Is it the ender of conflicts? The sack-tapper of fights?

  The answer: depends… mostly.

  To me, I believe that power (be it magic, powers, skills, knowledge, etc) fluctuates depending on the situation. A magical spell might allow the caster to turn a mountain into a crumpet. On the other end, people without magical capabilities have the tools to deactivate magic (though for a time).

  Though magic is capable of doing so much. There are ways to prevent people from casting a spell, either by taking away the source of magic (souls) or making casting a spell hazardous to the person who wants to throw a fireball. Magic users (mostly the lethal kind) are also rare due to magic (or the knowledge of it) naturally being a cognitohazard. So, while there are theoretical powerhouses, because of the risks of learning magic and the fact that an ordinary person has methods to effectively fight back, it creates an in-universe reason for someone not to be a magic user. Though most magic users learn safe schools of magic where they only learn one or two basic spells (like creating a ball of light or a laser pointer). The idea that you can explode learning how to light a cigarette with a click of your fingers is unappealing to any sane individual.

  Corruption is also a hazard of using magic. Though it entirely depends on the spell, there is a chance that you develop a new limb or have black blood. That is, if you are lucky not to get tumours and die instantaneously. Failing to cast a spell correctly can also be dangerous. Death is a possibility, but there is also a chance that you could be teleported to the Realm of the Dead and in a fluctuating state of death and life while your body is being torn apart and put back together. Either way, you won’t have a good time.

  But magic is important to the setting and necessary for a lot of factions and characters. Magic and magical equipment are the only things that can harm certain monsters. It is also responsible for developing some important tech and advancements in medicine. In a way, the risks associated with magic are ignored because the benefits and hope that it could bring a better future are what push people to want to learn and understand magic. I like to think that the risks and hazards of magic also build a narrative expectation for how one should handle the unknown. The subject must be approached with care and respect. Magic cannot be overpowered, nor can it be subjugated by any means. Countering magic (like silenced spheres) can only prevent magic users from casting spells at a certain distance and only for a time before it turns off. Showing that magic can only be delayed before it comes back to punch back.

  Plus, it is funny to have a tradie give a mage a knuckle sandwich. I just have to make it make sense.

  Conclusion:

  I think I will end the thread here. I hope I did my best in explaining the idea of magic in the setting of New-Age Monsters. Maybe the idea helps someone explore their magic system. Perhaps you think this entire idea was made by an idiot (me) and want to spend some time making fun of the idea.

  If you have any questions. I will also be happy to answer any questions. Hell, feel free to share your own magic system and explain why it is cool.

  Anyhow… umm…

  Bye!