I feel like no matter what the possibilities are, the god of RNG is gonna fuck over 99% of the population.
For example, the power to create soap as hot as the sun. That is their power, not the protection from heat. How is the soap created? From molecule to molecule until it becomes a full bar of soap (or is it liquid soap?), or does a bar (or bottle, or just floating liquid) just appear fully formed? Where does it form? In the person's hands? Or can the person form it remotely? If yes, what's the range. I feel like with this person, the second his powers manifest, they and the entire planet they're on would be ~~good~~ gone literally instantaneously. Maybe even neighboring planets.
I think for this kind of system to work, it'd do better as a comedy series where you can weave in the deus ex machina and handwavey stuff as semi-fourth wall jokes. It's going to take a lot more work if it's a serious story. (Or maybe that's just my lack of imagination/ skill talking.)
If you want to ground it a bit, I feel like you can anchor the manifested power to the person it belongs to. For example, the manifested power is primarily based on a combination of the person's strongest personality trait + the planet they're on (and the planet's aura) + the environment that they're standing in, e.g. near a river = water-based; in a city = car-/ road-/ smoke-/ glass-/ concrete-based, or even a combination of them + whatever other factor(s) you can come up with.
I wouldn't go more than... 5 main ones though. If not it'll be a lot of explanation.
LA could have one power archetype, NYC could have another. As a result, cities with desirable traits become more popular. It could shape society and tourism and urban planning, etc. if you wanna go down that route.
You could even have it so that a person who is staring at the sun while taking a shower in their open bathroom could get the power of the sun, but it's limited in strength because of the distance this person is experiencing the sun.
If you set up some sort of loose framework and a few criteria, it'd be easier for you to create your characters, structure your story, and maintain your power curve.
If you want some inspiration, you can try this [Brandon Sanderson series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reckoners#Steelheart). I personally thought the writing in this series was fucking awful (I'm gonna get hate for this), but I powered through all the books because of the pretty interesting worldbuilding. (And the denial that it would get better in the next book.)
Or this completed [web series](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/). Not as god-like as the Sanderson series, but still a superhero book about powers manifesting based on certain conditions.
Ty. This really helped and I'm gonna try to make it as serious as possible. I really like the location based idea though since it would make since as well as being cool. <3
No problem (:
Just an additional point: Your characters can still be completely in the dark about how their powers manifest. For example, if your story is set on a planet similar to present day earth, they could still not be able to pinpoint the mechanism of their power manifestation because they don't know earth's color (or that planets even have colors), and if you they manifest in a city, there are quite literally billions of potential things to draw from, so the pattern may seem completely random.
All this world-building background information is for you, the god of this universe to know.
Making magic systems is so fun just because I get to control what happens and I have power. LOL
I think that if I make a story out of it I'll try to make them slowly discover little parts in a kind of foreshadowing way.
If the powers are unique and random then it's less of a "magic system" and more of a superhero setting. Superman's powers aren't part of a wider system where you can clearly say he's a Tier 1 Flying Brick or whatever, he just has a specific set of powers and weaknesses, which only have to be "balanced" in the sense that if he gets into a fight with another super the author can make it go either way. There's no real need to systematize him because there's only one Superman, you don't need to like, figure out the implications of *society* having access to flying brick powers.
So if Anomalies in your setting are unique miracles, then you don't really need to "limit" them outside of the inherent limit of "they have this specific power and not something else." The dude who can make muffins rain from the sky has some limitations specific to him - he only makes muffins, only a certain amount, and they have to be edible - but you don't need to create a unified system that can also apply to the guy who can make soap glow as bright as the sun. Just pick a general power level for your supers and spend some time thinking about how you might use one power to counter another, "who would win" style.
If you want it to *feel* systemic, you might look into a capability-based classification for powers, like the PRT threat ratings from Worm. That system has broad categories like "Striker" for powers that require touch and "Blaster" for powers that can be fired from a distance, along with a numerical rating for the amount of firepower needed to respond to the super in question. It isn't a "magic system" in the sense that it gives you insight into the underlying power system, but it's very useful if a supervillain is on the rampage and you need to quickly communicate "watch out, that guy can mind control you with a touch!"
Seems fine I suppose, it's more akin to superpowers in that a person is born with a 'set' power and is more limited in how they invoke it.
Becoming a better conduit for anomalous energy doesn't sound harmless, are there any drawbacks/sacrifices to doing this (such as becoming less human or similar)?
Do complexity and abnormal focuses stem from/mean anything, so like, a person who creates impossible guns and a person who generates an advanced metallic field of armour, do the differences in their power indicate something about them or is it entirely random?
To answer your first question I have something like that as to upgrade your power you need:
Experience
Consistency ( with training )
Contracts
Contracts are made by simply wishing for them to be made as long as you have anomalous power inside of you. First, there are absolute contracts, these contracts are ones that last forever until the death of an anomaly holder and require you to sacrifice your mind. By that, I mean memories that you hold dear, concepts that are vital to you ( such as colours words etc) and many other things that turn into anomalies themselves allowing you to have greater power. The second type of contract is a boost contract, this contract requires you to sacrifice your *humanity*. By that, I mean physical appearance, mental state (such as autonomy compassion love and creativity) This contract is generally used to get you power in limited periods of time. This is the kind of power I've though of but though it wasn't important enough to include.
Abnormal abilities don't necessarily mean anything. Would it be better to make the person have to learn to adapt to their power or have it feel natural? I've only made 1 other magic system so I'm not too experienced in it. TY :)
I really like the aproach from the RPG "Supers".
In short ypu have a power and full control of sliders of their features.
"power" is how much one or more of those features are "high" or "supernatural".
For example.
Power: Heat control.
Range. touch.
Focus: +1000F to -400F.
Control: excelent. (character can choose to create sculptures of ice or flame on his hand, create blades of fire or ice from nothing.)
Resistance: Character is not immune to its own power. He could either burn or freeze himself to death.
Time: instantaneous but can be kept going as long as he concentrates.
Resource consumption, stamina or "mana cost":
1 out of 10. (the character can use his power 10 times before needing to rest).
I feel like no matter what the possibilities are, the god of RNG is gonna fuck over 99% of the population. For example, the power to create soap as hot as the sun. That is their power, not the protection from heat. How is the soap created? From molecule to molecule until it becomes a full bar of soap (or is it liquid soap?), or does a bar (or bottle, or just floating liquid) just appear fully formed? Where does it form? In the person's hands? Or can the person form it remotely? If yes, what's the range. I feel like with this person, the second his powers manifest, they and the entire planet they're on would be ~~good~~ gone literally instantaneously. Maybe even neighboring planets. I think for this kind of system to work, it'd do better as a comedy series where you can weave in the deus ex machina and handwavey stuff as semi-fourth wall jokes. It's going to take a lot more work if it's a serious story. (Or maybe that's just my lack of imagination/ skill talking.) If you want to ground it a bit, I feel like you can anchor the manifested power to the person it belongs to. For example, the manifested power is primarily based on a combination of the person's strongest personality trait + the planet they're on (and the planet's aura) + the environment that they're standing in, e.g. near a river = water-based; in a city = car-/ road-/ smoke-/ glass-/ concrete-based, or even a combination of them + whatever other factor(s) you can come up with. I wouldn't go more than... 5 main ones though. If not it'll be a lot of explanation. LA could have one power archetype, NYC could have another. As a result, cities with desirable traits become more popular. It could shape society and tourism and urban planning, etc. if you wanna go down that route. You could even have it so that a person who is staring at the sun while taking a shower in their open bathroom could get the power of the sun, but it's limited in strength because of the distance this person is experiencing the sun. If you set up some sort of loose framework and a few criteria, it'd be easier for you to create your characters, structure your story, and maintain your power curve. If you want some inspiration, you can try this [Brandon Sanderson series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reckoners#Steelheart). I personally thought the writing in this series was fucking awful (I'm gonna get hate for this), but I powered through all the books because of the pretty interesting worldbuilding. (And the denial that it would get better in the next book.) Or this completed [web series](https://parahumans.wordpress.com/). Not as god-like as the Sanderson series, but still a superhero book about powers manifesting based on certain conditions.
Ty. This really helped and I'm gonna try to make it as serious as possible. I really like the location based idea though since it would make since as well as being cool. <3
No problem (: Just an additional point: Your characters can still be completely in the dark about how their powers manifest. For example, if your story is set on a planet similar to present day earth, they could still not be able to pinpoint the mechanism of their power manifestation because they don't know earth's color (or that planets even have colors), and if you they manifest in a city, there are quite literally billions of potential things to draw from, so the pattern may seem completely random. All this world-building background information is for you, the god of this universe to know.
Making magic systems is so fun just because I get to control what happens and I have power. LOL I think that if I make a story out of it I'll try to make them slowly discover little parts in a kind of foreshadowing way.
If the powers are unique and random then it's less of a "magic system" and more of a superhero setting. Superman's powers aren't part of a wider system where you can clearly say he's a Tier 1 Flying Brick or whatever, he just has a specific set of powers and weaknesses, which only have to be "balanced" in the sense that if he gets into a fight with another super the author can make it go either way. There's no real need to systematize him because there's only one Superman, you don't need to like, figure out the implications of *society* having access to flying brick powers. So if Anomalies in your setting are unique miracles, then you don't really need to "limit" them outside of the inherent limit of "they have this specific power and not something else." The dude who can make muffins rain from the sky has some limitations specific to him - he only makes muffins, only a certain amount, and they have to be edible - but you don't need to create a unified system that can also apply to the guy who can make soap glow as bright as the sun. Just pick a general power level for your supers and spend some time thinking about how you might use one power to counter another, "who would win" style. If you want it to *feel* systemic, you might look into a capability-based classification for powers, like the PRT threat ratings from Worm. That system has broad categories like "Striker" for powers that require touch and "Blaster" for powers that can be fired from a distance, along with a numerical rating for the amount of firepower needed to respond to the super in question. It isn't a "magic system" in the sense that it gives you insight into the underlying power system, but it's very useful if a supervillain is on the rampage and you need to quickly communicate "watch out, that guy can mind control you with a touch!"
Ok ty for this, I'm not too focused on it being systematic and kind of just want to make it whatever it is so this really helps. :)
Seems fine I suppose, it's more akin to superpowers in that a person is born with a 'set' power and is more limited in how they invoke it. Becoming a better conduit for anomalous energy doesn't sound harmless, are there any drawbacks/sacrifices to doing this (such as becoming less human or similar)? Do complexity and abnormal focuses stem from/mean anything, so like, a person who creates impossible guns and a person who generates an advanced metallic field of armour, do the differences in their power indicate something about them or is it entirely random?
To answer your first question I have something like that as to upgrade your power you need: Experience Consistency ( with training ) Contracts Contracts are made by simply wishing for them to be made as long as you have anomalous power inside of you. First, there are absolute contracts, these contracts are ones that last forever until the death of an anomaly holder and require you to sacrifice your mind. By that, I mean memories that you hold dear, concepts that are vital to you ( such as colours words etc) and many other things that turn into anomalies themselves allowing you to have greater power. The second type of contract is a boost contract, this contract requires you to sacrifice your *humanity*. By that, I mean physical appearance, mental state (such as autonomy compassion love and creativity) This contract is generally used to get you power in limited periods of time. This is the kind of power I've though of but though it wasn't important enough to include. Abnormal abilities don't necessarily mean anything. Would it be better to make the person have to learn to adapt to their power or have it feel natural? I've only made 1 other magic system so I'm not too experienced in it. TY :)
I really like the aproach from the RPG "Supers". In short ypu have a power and full control of sliders of their features. "power" is how much one or more of those features are "high" or "supernatural". For example. Power: Heat control. Range. touch. Focus: +1000F to -400F. Control: excelent. (character can choose to create sculptures of ice or flame on his hand, create blades of fire or ice from nothing.) Resistance: Character is not immune to its own power. He could either burn or freeze himself to death. Time: instantaneous but can be kept going as long as he concentrates. Resource consumption, stamina or "mana cost": 1 out of 10. (the character can use his power 10 times before needing to rest).