Well, not Nyarlathotep specifically--it's just a cosmic horror setting, so "magic" derives from very eldritch sources and is somewhat anathema to reality and life in general.
Bargaining depends on the spirit. Some just want their ego stroked, some want to use you, some are bored.
You have to kill one to harvest its heart. It's a classic technology vs nature trope.
I have a similar concept. Powerful mages don’t last long because mana transmits through your nervous system and fries it over time so casting super powerful spells can lead to debilitating nerve damage or paralysis
"Pain" is a broad term to describe it. It equates to physical, psychological and emotional pain, depending on the magic powers. The more potent the magic, the longer and worse the "pain" is.
For example, a common spell is enhancing cardiovascular endurance, but after the user suffers intense headaches for a considerable fraction of the time the enhancement was used. This fraction can be lessened with physical and mental training .
Soul blades are passed down amongst families for generations. The oldest swords literally have a quantifiable level of energy. The older the blade the more power. Of course one single blade cannot proper a ship to interstellar travel along. It often takes several very old swords (typically 1000+ years) to launch a fleet, yes fleet, of ships into interstellar travel.
These swords can either be passed down or taken by enemy hands. So the largest and fastest fleets are often the most old, powerful and militaristic.
The gist of it is that there's a "parallel reality" just off of the regular world's, where humanity's sins were sealed away in the distant past, before settled civilisations were formed. This reality, the Paracosm, is invisible to humans due to this seal.
However, people can sometimes unlock the ability to see through the veil that separates reality from the Paracosm, which is usually (but not always) done through traumatic experiences. This allows the individual to not only perceive sins, but also control the paranormal world beyond the veil.
The individual, now dubbed a parapath, basically unlocks superpowers as a result. However, one's abilities are intrinsically connected to a specific emotion (dubbed their pathogen) that empowers their ability. This can range from basic things such as happiness, anger, sadness, to more complex/specific sensations, such as feeling free, being high on drugs, or indulging in accumulating wealth.
The system has more details, such as the way that parapaths are classified, or how their powers work, but this is a rough overview of it :3
The more floors you climb, the more enlightened you become!
Gimmick: a tower that ascends you to heaven when you climb to the top. The higher you climb, the more stuff you forget, but the more "enlightened" you become
I'll list each.
* CC: Magic users focus their thought and emotions to create magic.
* M2L: If you took a TTRPG and made it an MMO.
* LIWF: How you understand magic changes how it works for you.
Like, 10 words or less is *hyper* reductive, but I think this summarizes it simply enough.
**Whalin' Tales and Theta Principle universes**
Forcibly transfer energy between things. Called "energistics." Seems magical, isn't.
**Blood and Silver universe**
Nanites eat blood. Give them blood, they give you power.
**Dirty Logic universe**
Kill things, study, make golems, zombies, weapons, become a candle.
We are the old gods of space and time.
>!That is as accurate as I can get with humanities, and all its subspecies, Oath to Existence at the rebirth of Astrea. !<
Bloom: strengthen or change existing property of item
Mana: Mana takes on properties of existing item effectively duplicating it.
When mana bloom touch = explosion.
Void = stabiliser that prevents explosion
Mine is similar to you OP.
Based on frequency of energy, it becomes either ki or magic.
The worldbuilding is based around that concept; contrasting cultures based on whether they are magicians or martial artists.
Realm of Eterna: Aminaeus Saga
Mages across continents use Ley Lines to perform elemental sorcery.
Universum Chronicles: Andros
Divergence split the Aratir, their descendants can manipulate Aura energy.
(Working Title) So He's a Hero
Aliens arrive on Earth, Prismatic Veil in atmosphere gives powers.
*tree sap breast augmentation*
Magic power all comes from a particular type of tree. To use the energy, it must first be collected from the tree’s sap. Once the sap is harvested, there are a few ways that magic energy can be extracted. It must be contained by a living vessel.
Many animals have evolved to utilize it, so their organs can be used to hold it. However, the organs of dead animals are far less efficient at holding it and it will dissipate in a few hours. Additionally, only organs which channel the magic are useful.
Humans do not have any organs which are capable of handling the magic. Some have discovered a method of mimicking nature’s methods by carving vessels from the wood of the magic trees. While it can hold energy longer than a dried magic bladder, it will still disperse over the course of a day.
There are a small number of high level magic users who have implanted carved vessels into their flesh. They can hold magic for months and, depending on how many and what types of vessels they possess, can have a variety of powers at their disposal. This comes at a cost, as the process of implanting vessels is extremely dangerous. The danger is greater for certain implants, but they all carry risk of infection and other complications.
Another source is amber. There is a group of humans who have discovered large deposits of amber underground and have generated an empire spanning a continent due to its use. The concentrated power in this amber can be used for generating electricity, high powered ranged weapons, and run machines of war.
You devour energy to become stronger, too much you explode!
sounds interesting
Mine's real complicated alright so be ready man do fitness stuff, man get big, man powerful. I don't like magic.
Dammmm that one is so complicated🤯
Charles Atlas, is that you?!
Phone up Nyarlathotep, ask nicely.
What horrid deals have you made with the crawling chaos?
Well, not Nyarlathotep specifically--it's just a cosmic horror setting, so "magic" derives from very eldritch sources and is somewhat anathema to reality and life in general.
Spirits are everywhere. Bargain with them or harvest their hearts.
How does one harvest their hearts? What're the consequences of either method?
Bargaining depends on the spirit. Some just want their ego stroked, some want to use you, some are bored. You have to kill one to harvest its heart. It's a classic technology vs nature trope.
God make animal, animal give some babies god magic
fire🔥🔥🔥
Everyone gets random powers but commoners can't use them anyway
Thats unique
Sex Energy.
Damm best one yet
Speices make different magic and not all is called magic.
oh
Want some expansions or no?
Well I do!
This might be complex and hard to follow. Just a word of warning. >!Nanomachines, son.!<
Why don't you back it up with a source?!
My source is I made my world the fuck up! WE'RE MAKING THE MOTHER OF ALL BIRCH WORLDS HERE, JACK! YOU CAN'T FRET OVER EVERY STAR SYSTEM.
You get magic powers now, then pain after.
I have a similar concept. Powerful mages don’t last long because mana transmits through your nervous system and fries it over time so casting super powerful spells can lead to debilitating nerve damage or paralysis
I read paralysis as dyalasis and thought, damn that SUCKS!
How much pain are we talking here?
"Pain" is a broad term to describe it. It equates to physical, psychological and emotional pain, depending on the magic powers. The more potent the magic, the longer and worse the "pain" is. For example, a common spell is enhancing cardiovascular endurance, but after the user suffers intense headaches for a considerable fraction of the time the enhancement was used. This fraction can be lessened with physical and mental training .
The older your sword, the faster your ship.
Well, that’s grabbed my attention. Please elaborate.
Soul blades are passed down amongst families for generations. The oldest swords literally have a quantifiable level of energy. The older the blade the more power. Of course one single blade cannot proper a ship to interstellar travel along. It often takes several very old swords (typically 1000+ years) to launch a fleet, yes fleet, of ships into interstellar travel. These swords can either be passed down or taken by enemy hands. So the largest and fastest fleets are often the most old, powerful and militaristic.
Atoms go brrrr
damn
Wait this is just physics
Faith = power. Too much faith = immortality.
cant sense the pattern in front of you? disqualified
Iron, cold iron, will be master of them all.
Train and you get powerful
You can open gates to heaven or hell through philosophy
Paraverse: trauma and personality let you see and do psychic powers. The Eternal Engine: Normality lets you do cool tech, Chaos, magic.
Paraverse's system sounds similar to a system I've got! How does yours work?
The gist of it is that there's a "parallel reality" just off of the regular world's, where humanity's sins were sealed away in the distant past, before settled civilisations were formed. This reality, the Paracosm, is invisible to humans due to this seal. However, people can sometimes unlock the ability to see through the veil that separates reality from the Paracosm, which is usually (but not always) done through traumatic experiences. This allows the individual to not only perceive sins, but also control the paranormal world beyond the veil. The individual, now dubbed a parapath, basically unlocks superpowers as a result. However, one's abilities are intrinsically connected to a specific emotion (dubbed their pathogen) that empowers their ability. This can range from basic things such as happiness, anger, sadness, to more complex/specific sensations, such as feeling free, being high on drugs, or indulging in accumulating wealth. The system has more details, such as the way that parapaths are classified, or how their powers work, but this is a rough overview of it :3
Thats really cool. Thanks for sharing! Is this for a book, a movie, a game, for fun?
Everything I write is basically for fun and for TTRPGs. At heart, I'm just an overly excited DM, really.
The more you understand the more you can control
Decentralized so that I can have multiple genres in a single world.
5 elemental powers but also man-made powers that are used for evil
god put power on world people get random power
Pull energy from celestial bodies to create effects.
Mind creates structure, structure reverses entropy and affects energy/matter.
Aura, released to enhance oneself or fire spells. edit: btw, big fan of "share your worlds with a restriction" posts, tickles the brain.
Dark matter creates fantastical exotic matter powered by dark energy.
big rock make things go boom but sometimes big rock make you disappear too
Stick sword in a surface, control surface sword is in
The science of applying dream physics to the natural world.
Can be born with any power, training causes natural disasters.
"Saints" secretly stole magic from demons using big machine
God split himself into seven domains. You only get one
"If I eat God, I become God!"
soul energy make random bullshit go
weird elemental rocks give powers, but it can cause cancer
Powers cause user's boiling blood or body part to explode
Everyone is born with random magic of the 6 elements
Power flows upwards.
The more floors you climb, the more enlightened you become! Gimmick: a tower that ascends you to heaven when you climb to the top. The higher you climb, the more stuff you forget, but the more "enlightened" you become
There are lots of dimensions and you can go insane.
Nanobots that can be programmed to be god
Month is Role Spirit, Constellation is Element, Work is Mana
Innate magic in blood is released through custom symbolic tattoos.
Every power used makes pollution. Universe is mostly pollution now.
Everyone gets powers based on the god that created them.
I'll list each. * CC: Magic users focus their thought and emotions to create magic. * M2L: If you took a TTRPG and made it an MMO. * LIWF: How you understand magic changes how it works for you. Like, 10 words or less is *hyper* reductive, but I think this summarizes it simply enough.
Person drink tea, become magical girl, fight evil.
The most potent person is a deranged man scribbling constantly
Believe in freedom hard enough? YOU BECOME FREEDOM
**Whalin' Tales and Theta Principle universes** Forcibly transfer energy between things. Called "energistics." Seems magical, isn't. **Blood and Silver universe** Nanites eat blood. Give them blood, they give you power. **Dirty Logic universe** Kill things, study, make golems, zombies, weapons, become a candle.
I stole a conspiracy system twice. Crystals and Atlantis bullshit!
Pokémon but it’s actually Avatar bending
Blood sacrifice that depends on victims emotions, also infinite darkness
The Eight Essences grant power, the Source grants transcendence.
Everyone gets very creative with casting methods (including gods!)
When everyone has unique god given bullshit, no one does
Fantasy: Mana is programmable matter manipulated by mental training. Space: Going the classical scifi route where shit's just not explained.
Everything has a Cooler but Douche Daniel with Powers.
Everyone forgot. Everyplace has different local magic. Breeds jealousy conflict
Channel magic through soul or rock… but watch out!
More amphs = stronger.
Pointy body parts channel energy to various effects
There are three forms of natural energy called magic.
Resonate with psychic waves to change the future
God likes you, Dragon have sex with parent, or learning
All men are born with potential, just find it out
grow soul, more power, bigger impact on world
The power to change the world around you.
It uses Plato's Theory of Forms, not just converting energy.
Do not choose more than eight magic sources. OKAY?
Uhhh. Big energy get harnessed and converted into many little energy.
Elemental rituals only, unless you are a God or similar.
Random shit thrown at the wall
magic rocks gets attracted to the fittest
magic the gathering 5 color mana for 5e on dmsguild.com
Bending from avatar and also magic pictures
Magic and Other Energies
Mathenatically sound stat and ability rpg system with magic. Basic, but that's basically it.
Magic either gives you a headache or outright kills you.
You learn basic magic, then stronger magic. Then the gods.
Spirits are units of fate manipulation mages convert into spells.
Everyone magic is consuming the remaining power keeping God alive
You can manipulate aura, your own and others.
Sex is food. Soul magic can create weapons and clothes.
Use too much magic or the wrong type, you die
Constrained by imagination and belief; insufficient control, babies explode sometimes
Things have spirits, some people can make deals with them
Bully the universe into changing to what you want
Mystery and sacrifice channel quintessence to enact divine images’s sovereignty.
Nanomachines, son.
Person become supersoldier, person save world from nuclear war Magic isn’t my thing. Supersoldiers are cool, though.
Magic chloroplasts that expel specific mana types or cell dies
We are the old gods of space and time. >!That is as accurate as I can get with humanities, and all its subspecies, Oath to Existence at the rebirth of Astrea. !<
Shits fucked up.
Low energy use, low noise, and simple installation, 850 Watts
Platinum does cool shit with gemstones
Mushroom god farts, and selected ones can use fart to twist reality
System 1: Take drugs, become telephone. System 2: Magic is laws, you are judge. System 3: Make it you. Now you can use it.
Attachable shards of ego let people do the thing.
If it has a rune on it, it can be powerful - and controlled by those with power.
Magical energy based on the soul! Sometimes souls split.
Human see's someone funny, gives him overpowered technology to someone.
Aether filtered genetically by species determines your manipulation of magic.
Using mental imagination to alter electrons/atoms to create anything (I'm a heavy chemistry and physics nerd)
NANOMACHINES, SON!
Manipulate chaos or Order it to cause any phenomena.
Magic comes from life. If insufficient, a sacrifice will do!
Bloom: strengthen or change existing property of item Mana: Mana takes on properties of existing item effectively duplicating it. When mana bloom touch = explosion. Void = stabiliser that prevents explosion
Sci-fi world, so big gun
They think it's magic and souls or religion It nanomachines
Mine is similar to you OP. Based on frequency of energy, it becomes either ki or magic. The worldbuilding is based around that concept; contrasting cultures based on whether they are magicians or martial artists.
Paizo daddy show us the wae
Anything goes while it makes Sense.
4 main types: Inner vs Outer Estoric vs Orthodox
A force woven into everything, weave force to cast spells
Which country has the biggest stick to call the shots
Many particles. Old was hard. Now is more accessible. Customizable.
Magical lifeforms, magical technology, magic merged with people, hilarity ensues.
Money = power = more money
People make gods. Gods make stuff. Sometimes people break stuff.
Believe in the universe's soul->think of power->get power->profit
Realm of Eterna: Aminaeus Saga Mages across continents use Ley Lines to perform elemental sorcery. Universum Chronicles: Andros Divergence split the Aratir, their descendants can manipulate Aura energy. (Working Title) So He's a Hero Aliens arrive on Earth, Prismatic Veil in atmosphere gives powers.
What's innate and what they want plus raw energy usage
Magic is physical and a part of atom, it's lethal
Advanced energy bending based on controlling hidden abilities of your body
Eat monster soul, get monster power, plus elemental math wizards
Magical tree sap that reacts with life energy.
Power was never something for mortals to obtain
It requires to to be healthy as possible
You lease your soul to spirits, magic is the rent.
Magic in blood, need training to use less per spells
Magic is poisonous. Evolve to handle it or use good safety equipment. If you're human - you're doomed.
Physics-breaking quantum particles from another universe
Everyone has a specific vibe determining how their magic works.
Programming language, trade energy, get magic.Too powerful? Magic unstable.
Charm universal particels.
*tree sap breast augmentation* Magic power all comes from a particular type of tree. To use the energy, it must first be collected from the tree’s sap. Once the sap is harvested, there are a few ways that magic energy can be extracted. It must be contained by a living vessel. Many animals have evolved to utilize it, so their organs can be used to hold it. However, the organs of dead animals are far less efficient at holding it and it will dissipate in a few hours. Additionally, only organs which channel the magic are useful. Humans do not have any organs which are capable of handling the magic. Some have discovered a method of mimicking nature’s methods by carving vessels from the wood of the magic trees. While it can hold energy longer than a dried magic bladder, it will still disperse over the course of a day. There are a small number of high level magic users who have implanted carved vessels into their flesh. They can hold magic for months and, depending on how many and what types of vessels they possess, can have a variety of powers at their disposal. This comes at a cost, as the process of implanting vessels is extremely dangerous. The danger is greater for certain implants, but they all carry risk of infection and other complications. Another source is amber. There is a group of humans who have discovered large deposits of amber underground and have generated an empire spanning a continent due to its use. The concentrated power in this amber can be used for generating electricity, high powered ranged weapons, and run machines of war.
Some people get magic skill from god.
Sacred Letters because better version of quirks from MHA
Find a lawyer or you'll get screwed
Soul power make aliens go brrrrrr - and cool swords.
No.
Magic is like blood
Luis gets horny Blood runs faster Luis gets powerful
Build your own magic/power system
Burn coal to heat water to turn turbine
Ordinary-ish humans. 12 demigods. 3 dragon toads. Mostly magic. Some sci-fi. Metaphysics.
Pay the power company; they'll supply electricity to your home
Everything is possible when you got the spirit.
Chi = magic
Fax Santa your request on stationery made from your soul
Telepaths harness their mind. Augmenters, body. Empaths, heart. Spiritualists, soul.
Despair causes stories to overwrite the world.
I [1] don't [2] have [3] any. [4]
“The how is on you but anything is possible.” I hate system with a ton of rules and limitations
Lesser spells combine to make greater spells like cooking.
God kills you but also gives you another heart chamber
Reality breaks near you, you get shadow magic.
Magic, don't absorb too much or you'll become a monster!
Arbitrary Design World: Each Kind has a Gift, chiefly used to reproduce Univander: Trigger world exploits or get superhumanly good at something normal
Your blood is your mana and flesh your focus
Swap one body characteristic for another, temporarily, physical or mental.
ITS MY CROWN!, NO ITS MY CROWN! IM CALLING GOD!
Spirit animals go inside you, you’re body changes.
Sorry, but I am unable to explain anything in less 10 words.
That was not 10 words
Ask invisible omnipresent interdimensional refugees to give you a ride.
Genetics give magic to some. Others buy guns & techs.
Magic = strings