An interesting and unusual magic system can be a major element in a fantasy novel, whether you’re writing traditional fantasy or one of its sub-genres. This is one of my articles based on the free templates from my book, “Writing Fantasy (The Ultimate Guide and Complete Reference Book)” (US link). The questions below are designed to help you to create your own magic system.
You can get the link to download the entire set of twelve templates in the Book Samples section. If you want more ideas there’s an entire section of my book dedicated to magic.
- What is this type of magic called and what are its users called?
- What can this magic do?
- How is the magic gained (e.g. by doing a spell, being born with it or being given it by a deity)?
- How is the magic done (e.g. by drinking a potion or being helped by a magical creature)?
- What is the cost of using magic (e.g. it might tire someone or cost them years of their life)?
- What are the limits of the magic (e.g. it can only be used a certain number of times or can only be used within a specific distance)?
- Is the magic kept hidden or does everyone in your world know about it?
- Are there laws in place to control how magic used is or to make sure it is not used for evil purposes or in evil ways?
- Do people learn magic, for instance at magic schools or by becoming apprentices to magic users?
- Do people have jobs connected to this type of magic?
