Questions tagged [magic]
For questions that have to do with magic, as opposed to science/technology. Remember to explain any limits.
2,748 questions
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What military strategy and tactics make most sense when individual fighters are stronger than entire military units? [closed]
The long and short of it is that some people in my setting are not entirely human, and some start human but become much stronger because of mystical reasons. The significant ones can often be strong ...
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A taxonomy of magic
While answering another question (Does my magical addition to Linnaean taxonomy make sense?)
I began to imagine a full-fledged taxonomy of magic. I love fantasy fiction, RPG, and the entire shebang, ...
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Does my magical addition to Linnaean taxonomy make sense?
In my magic world, there are different types of magic and their respective mana (e.g., fire magic with fire mana and time magic with mana). Mana is an intangible thing produced by magic. Non-magical ...
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How can I biologically justify a species not being able to do magic easily? [closed]
I'm revisiting an old world I had built for a TTRPG campaign, and I got the urge to mechanically, biologically, chemically and scientifically justify all the things I've placed in the world. One of ...
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Reason why golems do not run on wheels
In my Napoleonic-era setting enchanters can bring objects to life, the more it looks like a human the easier it is to enchant (joints are taken into account i.e. a statue is less suited than a robot). ...
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How would modern historians reconcile with a past age where magic existed?
Here's the premise. An alternate Earth goes through a very traditional phase of development from early civilizations sprouting up in Mesopotamia to the emergence of a great Roman-esque empire in ...
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What would a "quiet rebellion" look like in its late stages? [closed]
The current piece I'm working on takes place in a Civil War, fantasy medieval(ish) times. For a bit of background, the kingdom is highly religious (theocracy) ruled by a high priest and a small group ...
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Which industrial revolution-age technologies could be mimicked with magic pistons?
In my world there is a magic paint that can be applied to things which will then cause that thing to repel anything it touches that is also painted with it. It would be very easy to build a ...
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In a world where magic can be used to create matter, why isn’t everyone blasting each other with Neutrons?
I’ve been working on a somewhat hard magic system for a project I’m doing with my friends. Basically, the idea is that “magic/mana” is a third quantum substance, alongside matter and energy, and can ...
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Do I need to add other passive defenses against my character's (human) lightning superpowers?
I want to give one of my characters the ability to shoot lightning from their fingers.
How do his ability work? The process itself consists of ionization through the psychokinetic movement of air ...
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What are the implications of a time-locked transfiguration magic system for transforming living beings?
I am considering the ramifications of a magic system for a short story where "transfiguration" replaces an object/volume with a similarly shaped one, rather than changing the object itself. ...
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Drawbacks of stem cell regeneration with magic?
I have mages who can create regenerative effects on the body. They do this by creating stem cells with the patient's DNA inside wounds, replicating the shape of the damaged structures. Assume that ...
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Why would magic users be prone to reproductive disorders (or intersex conditions, in rare cases)?
Setting: Renaissance-era low-grade fantasy on an alternate version of Earth.
Magic in my system is epigenetic (learned environmentally and then can be passed down to offspring). Trying to resolve the &...
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How would my world differ from Earth? [closed]
My world is very similar to Earth. The only difference is that:
There is an "Aether" magic
Every person has an affinity to a specific "flavor" and "polarity" of an ...
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What would happen if every particle in your body decayed all at once?
Occasionally in science fiction/fantasy/anime, you have super powered individuals who can manipulate luck/probability. Whether or not a particle decays is essentially a matter of luck. Particles have ...
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Preventing Timeline Stagnation in a World with Widespread Time Manipulation
In my universe, characters gain time manipulation abilities (if they wanted to) starting at level 60, enabling them to travel 100–500 years into the past or future. Higher levels increase this range (...
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If Gods existed but never cared about humanity, would people worship still? [closed]
This world is an Earth-like planet with the corpses of multiple Gods in orbit, and humans (pre-industrial tech) as the main sapient species. I am not sure what humanity's attitude toward the Divine ...
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How can I use time manipulation in the battlefield? [closed]
So, imagine being a medieval clockworker for the king. (I know they didn’t exist in medieval times, but I’m hand-waving that.) It’s just a normal day, and then—BOOM!—you’ve been magicified. (Don’t ask ...
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How could these super-tough fantasy animals feed?
So I recently made a post asking about the impacts of such fauna on human civilization and its development and I got plenty of good answers, some even brought to light questions I’ve been either ...
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The uses of Transmutation magic in the Metalworking Industry
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This planet is a fantasy world colonized by humans with pre-industrial technology. Magic exists, but the spells that can be cast at any given place and time depend on the positions of the ...
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How would a village be built if its building materials change properties every other day?
Setting
This world is an Earth-like planet surrounded by many small magical "moons" in low orbit. Each moon carries a different magical energy and moves along its own orbit at its own speed.
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Why did testing during childhood physicals not detect main character's large mana reservoir? [closed]
In the world I'm building all living things have an internal reservoir for mana (this is a metaphysical substance not contained within any form of organ or symbiotic bacteria). In this world magic (...
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How to make my magic system less pay to win? [closed]
In my story no one is born with magic but the can gain the right to use it via a job class ticket for a mage. There are different types, trees and ranks of jobs that an aspiring mage can get. If they ...
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Why would square-tessellated barriers be the best against slashing attacks?
I have mages who can conjure hard, flat, glass-like barriers that can be tessellated with triangles, hexagons, or squares. Hexagon-tessellated barriers(inspired by the geodesic dome) are for blunt, ...
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Why wouldn't People become a mage? [closed]
My world is about 19th century and has magic, but I need a reason that normal people would still exist.
My magic system is heavily based in physics with four key areas of magic: Velocity, Mass, ...
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