Intro to Building Soft Magic Systems

Hard magic systems get a lot of attention and I've been getting a lot of requests on this topic, so here we are. This video digs into what a soft magic system is, what it can do for you, and the basics of how to build it.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:40 Definition of Soft Magic
03:29 Examples of Soft Magic
05:55 Strengths of Soft Magic
09:18 Understanding Scope
16:00 Building Soft Magic
#magicsystems #writingfiction #softmagicsystems

[@GnohmPolaeon.B.OniShartz]

Soft magick is like knowing the sound wind makes so perfectly that you can call on it like a freind. It's understanding so much about the plot that the plot reveals it's self to you rather than you attepmting to rwrite the story yourself.

[@TheMichaellathrop]

Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrel(at least the TV version) was also a fantastic use of a soft magic system both for wonder/whimsy and for horror which honestly is about how you should handle interpretations of the good neighbors based on historical beliefs.
I'm also curious how you would define the magic system in the Mage Errant series; what we see for the viewpoint charioteers feels like a hard magic system because they are still very limited in what they can do, but as a whole you have dozens if not hundreds of different "elements" that a mage can be attuned to many of which bleed into each other and many mages have more than one of, and we see non viewpoint characters whip out new stuff all the time.
One Idea I think could be fun to soften a somewhat simple but prevalent magic system is to have some of the details be misunderstood or unknown by almost everyone... except the main villain so that they can cause plot problems by doing something that is supposed to be explicitly impossible.

[@themagicengineer5314]

That is an EXCELLENT idea and a great way to take advantage of Perspective.
I'm not familiar with the Mage Errant series, but I'll add it to my To Be Read list. It sounds like a hard-irrational system, if I had to guess.

[@christymcnamara6393]

It's like the iceberg. How much is hidden beneath the water vs. how much you can see. How much do you need to see in order to ascertain the scope of what is unseen.

[@lucasfv1357]

I feel soft magic is more of a worldbuilding tool than a plot writing tool (even if the magic takes center stage, like the One Ring). I feel more or less the opposite for hard

[@StarlasAiko]

Soft can be used to create the plot, but not to solve the plot.

[@GnohmPolaeon.B.OniShartz]

You get it.

[@lucasfv1357]

@@GnohmPolaeon.B.OniShartz heh, wouldn't go that far bub, but thanks anyway

[@themagicengineer5314]

@@StarlasAiko That's a GREAT way to put it! Mind if I steal that?

[@StarlasAiko]

@@themagicengineer5314 It's under Public Domain Open Licence ;-)

[@StarlasAiko]

And how many people actually understand the He (the Power)? Even the Trollans, who have bound the He into the sword that evenutally ended up in the hands of King Greyskull, didn't fully understand the He. They only know, the He was instrumental in creating the universe and, focussed through the Sword of He, it can turn even the weakest whimp into an unbeatable hunk of beefcake.

[@GnohmPolaeon.B.OniShartz]

We call it the basics of magic but the basics are the building blocks so really, the basics are the most powerful if you build on existing pillars of truth. Oh, is this not as above, so below. Wizards master the basics and sorcerers master self will. Tolkien didnt write fantasy he just repeated the story.