How to Upgrade Your Magic System: (Sanderson's 3 Laws)

[@moonangel97]

Hey, guys, sorry about the audio issue. I have already lost some of the clips so I can't re-upload, but I have fixed the problem for future videos. Thanks for all the comments and support!

[@axschia]

You could redownload the video off of KZbin and then just put it into what ever audio software you use and make it mono

[@moonangel97]

@@axschia I don't know why I didn't think of that! Thank you! I'll give that a try.

[@matityaloran9157]

Great video by the way.

[@HuxleysShaggyDog]

You can't use mono with left channel?

[@sammoony9687]

@@moonangel97 A quick way to do it is to run it through davinci resolve and set the audio to both right and left channels. It's not as intuitive as premier but its best for transcoding and fixing technical errors like this one.

[@AgusSkywalker]

There is another general rule that is useful to follow: "sudden magical events should be used to create problems, not to solve them". In Avatar there is a great example: when Zuko becomes Aang's master, his firebending suddenly stops working, this creates a problem and the episode is about the protagonists solving it. The opposite would be completely unsatisfactory. If, for example Zuko won a fight by suddenly using lightning when we previously saw he couldn't and there is no reason why he can now. Another part of the rule is that you should later explain why that event occurred. But its not really necessary.

[@aneonfoxtribute]

Yeah Sanderson did the opposite, and that's one of his biggest regrets from that book. The ending of the first book of Mistborn has the main character use mist to power her magic, which has never been established as a thing and wasn't foreshadowed at all, since magic in this world is powered by ingesting metal. There IS an explanation for it, there's a reason why the main character could power her abilities with the mist, but it's not explained until later. Whenever Sanderson talks about that scene, he always says that he regrets not adding foreshadowing before he did that

[@osanneart9318]

Another cost/limitation that is often used in magic systems, but is often not seen/well used is movement or speech being needed to activate the powers. In harry potter the kids need to say their spells out loud, while adults can choose nonverbal magic. In Avatar you need to be a martial artist master to be bending master, and most benders lose their powers when their hands are bound. This is often not really understood as a cost, which makes most writers overlook this cost in their own writing, even when it actually is included in the story. Avatar has a lot of cases of people making sure their enemies can't bend anymore. While in Harry Potter every limitation is relevant for pretty much one book and then forgotten.

[@redwarrior864]

My world building is for running D&D, so this is one of the things I consider by default. While some (sorcerers) can get around it, most casters cannot cast if they are gagged and bound. To be specific, my seetting is a world being re-integrated into the typical D&D planes (Or, rather, my version of them) after thee connection was cut over 600 years ago. Magic was slow to return, and they've only had spellcasters for about a decade- and even then, when the players joined the setting level 2 spells were the apex of magical might on the material plane (This starts to rise quickly as the actions of the players lead to an acceleration of the integration). Anti-magic zones? Silence spells to prevent casters? Illusions cancellers? All unheard of to the governing bodies of the material plane, and each citystate has its own solution. Aeverin uses registration of magical ability and laws of its use to control the magically gifted of the populace, with a special police force of divination focused magic users and anti-mage fighters. If a spellcaster needs to be jailed? It's a near-permanent mouthguard and iron gloves. Inezar hasn't done much to counter spellcasters, but the desert around it is full of ruins that get uncovered and covered again by storms, with "artefacts" (Magic items of, at most, rare rarity- and in bad condition) occasionally retrieved. Inezars measures focus on these. Eago has outlawed all magic. You can be a magic user, but if you actively USE magic you're in trouble, and they're a bit... overzealous (Witch trials style, kinda). Misthaven is the most relaxed, but also has the least of an already rare population of magic users. Their only restriction is that magic cannot be used for business without express approval, as they cannot guarantee the products of such processes will be up to standard.

[@quentinego3102]

I'm thinking about a magic system where every individual has a very specific and relatively weak ability. In this world, there is some kind of revolution, and one person is really good at matchmaking powers so that they work together in a very powerful way. The limitation would be that the team must stay complete to do the mission : one member out, everyone's out...

[@moonangel97]

That sounds really cool! I could see that working really well for an underdog/heist story where the matchmaker is getting the team together to pull off the revolution. You could even call it The Match. (With the double meaning of starting a fire)

[@LuckyOwI777]

I love that idea so much

[@Maerahn]

That's a really cool idea; almost like 'puzzle magic,' i.e you need all the pieces in place at the same time, or you can't solve the puzzle.

[@varunkanabar2993]

Arcane ascension has my favourite magic system, it's amazing that you ended up talking about it. Great video!

[@stinegregersen6553]

My favourite magic system probably has to be the one in Witch Hat Atelier. It’s unique and complicated, but also has limits and is easy to grasp. I highly recommend Witch Hat Atelier 💕

[@NorthVilla]

Amazing to see a manga reader and a witch hat atelier fan here 👋

[@stinegregersen6553]

@@NorthVilla ayyy :D ✨

[@DuskHwy]

Hello. I admire the way you organize your thoughts and choose your words. The way you express yourself makes these concepts not only more accessible to me but -Intuitive-. Thank you!

[@RustBrand777]

Wow! Neat little channel you’ve got here. Honestly I didn’t go into this expecting to learn anything(I don’t expect to learn much I haven’t already heard as I’ve been researching for years it has nothing to do with you or your vibe) but color me humbled as you’ve given my a PARADIGM shifting revaluation! Satisfying verse Spectacular WOW that’s a really neat way of looking at things!

[@moonangel97]

Thank you so much! I'm happy to bring a new perspective!

[@AlexHuneycutt]

Your a good speaker. Thank you for sharing

[@axschia]

The avatar hello future me reference was actually so funny 😭😭

[@matityaloran9157]

8:58, in Harry Potter, it’s a hard a fast rule that “no magic can bring back the dead” (even ghosts are mere shadows of the people who died rather than genuine resuscitation and the Resurrection Stone cannot truly restore the dead to life only temporarily summon them to a world to which they don’t belong.)

[@jagnestormskull3178]

I think the Dumbledore destroys the Inferni scene was both satisfying and spectacular, you're just narrowing the definition of satisfaction to meet Sanderson's Laws. I think that, while hard magic systems done well _(Death Note,_ _Code Geass,_ etc) are incredibly satisfying, there's a certain point where you have to let magic be magic, because if you add too many rules to a magic system, it stops feeling magical and becomes more like superpowers. _Harry Potter_ and _Blue Exorcist_ are both examples of franchises that let magic be magic.

[@nettietrees7238]

Agree. I would add that when you add too many rules, it starts to feel more like ‘science’. It reminds me of the Arthur C Clarke quote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” - and being a slave to the laws of magic feels a bit like this quote, but in reverse.

[@Sorain1]

@@nettietrees7238 I believe it was Girl Genius that added the "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science." And there is validity to the point on both ends. For an end user, high enough tech might as well be magic, you do a thing and get results without understanding the how in-between. The same goes in reverse, if you study something enough to reliably say 'A+B=C' while explaining the how in-between, that's a science. When spells become engineering problems there is no meaningful distinction. Or as Gargoyles put it "Magic or Science, energy is energy."

[@haku8135]

The problem with Harry Potter isn't that there's lots of spells, it's that magic in general is literally whatever Rowling wants it to be in the moment. It has NO rules. Even needing a wand isn't a rule, it's a FASHION. It's established canonically wizards that don't use wands are MORE powerful, and that wands are a European invention. So where is the tension in any situation when the writer can just pull a spell out of nowhere that solves all the problems a character has? In this scene Dumbledore is unable to help and Harry is overwhelmed by this monstrous enemy. How does he solve the situation? He doesn't, Dumbledore is just instantly better and then casts ONE spell that kills all the inferni because he's awesome. It would've been way better if Dumbledore while disabled taught Harry a fire spell, and he had to use this very simple spell to ward them off while barely lucid Dumbledore makes a path for them to leave by freezing the water, Harry needing to lend a shoulder while shooting off flames. There's no point in saying Dumbledore is disabled if he's immediately not disabled the second danger gets close and then destroys all the danger with one spell. How hard is it to learn that fire spell? How hard is it to learn ANY spell? The Patronus is said to be a really challenging spell to do, and few wizards can make one.... But the ONLY requirement given is a happy memory, and Harry's ENTIRE YEAR manages to learn the spell in private secret lessons in their off hours. What makes Harry's Patronus stronger than Jerry's? I dunno! Why is Harry so good at magic? Is he even good? Is someone's skill in magic determined by how BIG physically a spell is? Harry casts a powerful slashing spell without even knowing what it did or how to move his wand, he just said a couple words he read in a book and it worked perfectly first try. Snape invented that spell by the way..... Is that impressive? How hard is it to invent a spell? Wasn't every spell invented? Surely magic flying cars needed a new spell invented. Then there's the plot holes. OH GOD THE PLOT HOLES! This series has SO many plot holes, most of them are a DIRECT result of Rowling just making up things magic can do. Harry's parents should NOT have been killed according to what she established magic can do. It's like in Secret Invasion when the bad guy can heal, even if he's shot in the head, then he's killed because someone else shot a hole in his stomach, and he just doesn't heal anymore cause the show is over now. His parents should still be alive. One port key by Harry's bed would have saved AT LEAST Harry's mother life, and there is absolutely no reason they couldn't have put one there. Port keys can even bypass Hogwart's no teleporting rule, which again is broken MANY times so it's not even a rule. Harry Potter's magic is random, it's arbitrary. Magic can do anything except what she doesn't want it to at this moment. Rowling is constantly just adding new magic stuff at every turn nonstop and none of it is explained because whenever she explains something she contradicts it anyway or she has to make her characters really stupid. Harry's parents are found in the first place because his parents and the entire order of the Phoenix decided to give the key to their location to the by their admission WORST person for the job! The spell they used to hide is very well explained, and it is a PERFECT spell to hide people, so she had to give the key to a guy named Wormtail who is a known coward instead of the guy who said he'd die before betraying his friends. Or a fucking werewolf! Either of those is a better option. Best option, GIVE THE KEY TO DUMBLEDORE! No, her writing is just.... Bad. It's only with fantastic beasts people are starting to slowly understand this. I could go on.

[@MeepChangeling]

Hard disagree. Soft magic entirly shatters the suspension of disbelief. Take Harry Potter for instance. I see no in universe reason why there isn't a spell called "Voldamortus Headexpplodus". Its magic seems like it can do *anything*, so there's no mention or suspense. You feel like every situation is contrived because everyone has a "do anything" button.

[@haku8135]

@@MeepChangeling Rowling's magic system is so crap, it ruins even competent story tellers. In Hogwarts Legacy, which is actually a decent game because Rowling wasn't involved in making it, the BEST storyline is one of the side stories. Specifically it's Sebastian's, he's a Slytherine who's actually not a total shit, and his story is focused around one thing. He wants to find a cure for his sister, because she was cursed by a dark wizard, and it's slowly killing her with random bouts of increasing pain. The ENTIRE STORY relies on one thing. It is IMPOSSIBLE to cure curses. IMPOSSIBLE, it's SO impossible that Sebastian's uncle takes and INSTANTLY destroys TWO different things that according to ample research have a chance (in one case a VERY considerable chance) to reverse dark magic curses. So this entire plot line relies entirely on the audience just accepting that curing a curse is super impossible and Sebastian is looking for a miracle. The story is actually well written and it's pretty tragic, especially when you include Sebastian's friend into the mix, it's actually really good. BUT WHY IS CURING A CURSE SO IMPOSSIBLE!? There are spells that DELETE people's BONES, and the HOGWARTS NURSE can regrow bones in a few weeks time! There are spells that can CREATE LIFE, Ron barfs up SLUGS for hours! And that was HIS OWN SPELL, so presumably it'd be a lower tier spell! Crabbe, I think it was him, just casually cast a spell that made a GIANT FIRE SNAKE that was so powerful it could destroy HORCRUXES which are supposed to be so powerful no normal magic can destroy them. Side tangent, Dumbledore dies because he's cursed by a Horcrux he destroyed apparently in the wrong way, because I guess somehow he didn't know how to destroy it correctly, and he just lets Snape kill him because curses are just impossible to fix, at least this one is so powerful it's impossible to fix, and he'd die ANYWAY so he makes his death useful to help Draco. Should've used Fiend Fyre you stupid asshole. Oh, and both Ron and Harry destroy a Horcrux by STABBING it and nothing at all happens to them. Ron actually gets BETTER in fact. Tangent over. So, ok, so curses are apparently UNSTOPPABLE once you're hit with one. WHY ISN'T EVERY SINGLE DARK WIZARD JUST SPAMMING THESE THINGS AT PEOPLE THEY DON'T LIKE!? Sebastian's sister had to leave school within a short period of time of getting cursed because the random bouts of pain were so bad she couldn't remain in school. How have dark wizards not gotten together, agreed on a set of targets, gotten close to them, and then whipped out their wands and just cursed them? The MINISTRY OF MAGIC can't detect when someone is using POLYJUICE POTION, they're not gonna stop a dark curse. Soft magic systems aren't inherently BAD, they're bad when the person creating them thinks magic doesn't need any rules if it's a soft magic system. No, all soft magic systems worth their salt have rules! Lord of the Rings is an excellent example. In this, you don't really understand the magic, but that's part of the design. It has rules, but you don't know them, because you're not following a magic man, GANDALF needs to know the rules, and he does, but you don't need to know them. In addition, magic is VERY rare in the story, only like 2 people can really use it. So Gandalf is basically the authority, and he never just pulls magic out of his ass to solve problem after problem, his magic is limited in scope and scale. So you can understand his LIMITS based on what he's not doing, and because the story is well written, when he does something it's really cool and makes sense even if you haven't been given a list of spells he knows. Cause those spells don't just solve the entire plot on their own. Like imagine if he pulled out something REALLY stupidly powerful like, I dunno, a spell so retarded no writer worth anything would ever invent it in a serious story, an INSTANT KILL SPELL. Yeah, that would be STUPID.

[@SuperBatSpider]

My magic system is soft but has 3 rules 1:Magic follows the law that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. If you want to summon something, it needs to exist and you need to know where it is, if you want to fire an energy based magic attack you need to use the energy stored in your body from food and sleep. 2:Curses (Spells made to cause harm) cannot be blocked with magic, but physical objects block them. If there’s a spell that’s basically a magic gun, block the magic bullet like any normal bullet. So a non-magic user with good enough armor can basically say no to curses and any evil wizard who uses curses has to get really good at aiming or deal with the armor on the guy first. 3:No magic user is more powerful than another magic user, if one loses to another it’s a skill issue. However, there will be people who think they are stronger, because they refuse to memorize this third rule.

[@brianedwards7142]

Kryptonite isn't Superman's original weakness, it's Lois and Jimmy. The way to hurt him is through his friends.

[@moonangel97]

I totally agree with this! A real Superman story isn't about punching people. It's about his relationships, his struggle to keep his friends safe And his identity a secret.

[@doctorrexington5104]

Your husband has great taste. Love some LitRPG.

[@saikq5380]

great video! this was super informative!

[@skart1]

This video is amazing. sad about the auido issue but when I just set the windows audio to mono while watching the clip (Windows: Select the Start button, then select Settings > Ease of Access > Audio, and then switch on the toggle under Turn on mono audio.) in any case this is great keep up the good work!

[@MaDOS_dsplyName]

Mistborn is my favorite trilogy, and Sanderson my favorite author (though I've yet to read more 😅). The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon) is a very close second. I'm excited for the Disney+ series.

[@kyratries]

Thank you for the helpful and comprehensive video! Much appreciated!

[@zennvirus7980]

Another good example (ease of understanding, limitations and expansion), is Re:Zero's Authorities. Specifically Return By Death, Subaru Natsuki's main power (spoilers ahead for anyone who has not read/watched the story). Its pros: -You can restart from a specific "checkpoint" in time very time you die. -You retain memories from failed loops. -You have (theoretically) infinite retries. Sounds awesome, right? Not quiet, because... Its cons: -Your (forewarned) actions WILL change the future in minute ways, meaning no loop is entirely the same. -You also retain all the emotional pain and trauma caused by those failed loops. -Until you can find a way to overcome your situation... you are more or less trapped in and endless hell. And that is not counting Return By Death's costs! And there are several. Costs of Return By Death: -Sanity. Subaru goes through some truly horrifying experiences, and in fact breaks down more than once; sometimes in the same sequence of loops. -Secrecy. Subaru can't tell anyone that he Returns By Death. As soon as he tries to speak about the skill, ghostly black hands that only he can see will squeeze his heart, not killing him, but inflicting grievous pain and instilling in him primal fear. But if he powers through the pain to mention the skill, then truly soul shattering consequences will visit him (I'm NOT spoiling that one). And the effects escalate, badly, if the... 'right' conditions are meet. -If he overcomes a problem, then a new 'checkpoint' is generated. Let the potential consequences of that sink in in lieu of the emotional burdens this skill generates. As such, a big part of the story is learning about all these as Subaru tries to do as a gamer does and... die until he "git's gud". Also finding out why and how abilities like this one, the Authorities of Sin, exist, and what each and everyone can do. They are such delightful, but ruthless and downright cruel plot elements that you get hooked, if only to see him succeed. And the pay-offs of his ordeals are EPIC. Tappei Nagatsuki is another amazing world builder because of this.

[@xSageFables]

Just wanted to drop a comment of thanks! Learned a lot from this video.

[@mitchhaelann9215]

A good magic system has to be internally consistent. It has to make sense. But when writing a story, remember that the magic doesn't have to be EXTERNALLY consistent. The people who live in your setting, they likely have no idea how all the magic works. In the real world, we don't understand more than a quarter of quantum mechanics, and only about half of electromagnetic physics. Sure, we use radio waves and electricity to do stuff, but most people don't actually know how their computers work, or even their cars and that's just brute-force moving-metal-with-heat physics we've been doing for centuries. So just because you, as a writer, know how magic works, your characters probably don't. And your readers should only know what your character knows. Don't be afraid to reveal more over time, or keep the deeper magics locked behind a black box.

[@MidnightStationOfficial]

Nice informative video. I see your channel is new, congrats on beginning your journey :D

[@MagnusItland]

Reading "Sufficiently Advanced Magic" because of you. (Or your husband.)

[@Andrewtr6]

I heard her say "Stevie Wondercock" and was wondering how she said that with a straight face. I replayed it 4x out of confusion then checked the CC and saw it was "cut" not "cock". I have a magic system for a fantasy story I'm writing. The setting for the story is a school where magic from the multiverse is taught. I really love the idea of explaining the system in small bits through classroom lectures, homework, and class projects. This magic system has changed so much from when I started it; specifically, the setting. Originally, it was a modern fantasy, but I changed it to an "otherworld" fantasy story to separate it more from Harry Potter. The story also has a lot of action so the system has to be flexible.

[@alexkaen1701]

We need to divide Magic into two schools: Miraculous and Disciplined perhaps. Basically, magic is either controlled in a way people could understand, or it is beyond understanding. Both have a place in literature, just look at Lord of the Rings and Gandalf, who's powers are based on concepts of the world rather than hard rules. On the other hand, there's a good deal of Anime with systems so in depth that they're probably written out in the hope that it can be merchandised as a video or card game. This is fine and fun, but a very different type of Fantasy.

[@Nora_Nyxx]

I did my first novel and gained about a million viewers/visits within 1month even though I am not a native English speaker and I dropped it 3 weeks in😅... My only experience with writing was in school works and journals. The reviews were great and all, but there will always be that handful of readers who have poor reading comprehension... It makes me frustrated and I dropped it at 50k words not even done with the initial introduction as I planned it to be a long novel in my outline, about 4 readers needed to be spoonfed the information and needed to be told what it meant to read along the lines that my mood soured and dropped it entirely, even with the great feedback by others😅 I feel bad for those who enjoyed as I would occasionally still get DMs and comments for an upload, I'm in pre-med so I'm also busy so the stress must have gotten to me and the handful just worsened it... Basically, in writing, as mentioned the satisfaction is proportional to the reader's understanding; I like doing foreshadowing, world-building, and of course dialogues as well as symbolisms... Not to mention I stand by show not tell as I did my research before trying out writing my piece, but it's so frustrating (it's kind of mean, but what I want to say is idk what to do if the reader is dumb...) I am not a native English speaker, and as I've observed, so were those who complained (like 4 of them), but as I upload digitally and by chapters their comments are plentiful😊 Their problems and questions could have been minimized if they knew how to read between the lines like the others, but I couldn't say that to them as it would be too mean😅... This turned into a rant about my experience as a first-time Author... Many would probably suggest I ignore the comments, but I CANT HELP IT😂 it's my first upload and it gave me pride how well it was received so I read those thousands of comments every chapter no matter how silly and I would even translate them if they were typed in a different language; replying and teasing on what was to come😅 Many many sweethearts thanking me for the creation even those asking for P@treon to read ahead(I don't do those, cos 1 writing is a hobby which I am not proficient in, and 2 idk how it even works lmao), and bam surprise I ghosted my readers because of a few bad eggs😅

[@xCorvus7x]

3:38 That depends on where the story was supposed to go at that point. As you hint at later, Harry Potter (at least at that point in the sixth book) is not that kind of story about the personal growth of the protagonist; rather that scene introduces the trials and tribulations that Harry and company have to face from that point onward: sinister curses that are almost incomprehensible, that may be impossible to overcome and through which they may just have to suffer to succeed (which is kind of what happens: the finale doesn't go down due to some honed ability but fate, basically, all things happening to work out in their favour).

[@lesath7883]

Good video. I see you changrd the third law inyo a suggestion rather than a law. The original is: A deep magical system is more interesting than a wide magical system. Taking the analogy of deep ponds and shallow oceans.

[@Iso20227]

I rather like how my own magic system turned out. In this world, everything has energy contained within. Everything, animate or inanimate has a raw form of this energy that they describe as magic due to their limited understanding of it. Some humans have learned to manipulate this energy and transform it into the element that they understand it as. In order to wield this energy, one must understand its nature, and in order to understand it, one must be able to visualize what they want to happen, and guide the energy in the proper way to make what they want to happen, actually happen. Out of 100 aspiring mages, only 1 will have the mentality to wield the energy effectively, while all others can barely perform menial feats such as sparking with a snap of their fingers, or gently lifting small pebbles. This magic can only take the form of something natural. Any attempts to force it into an unnatural state will result in catastrophic consequences. Of these natural forms of magic, there are three classes. Elemental manipulation (Mana), Atom stitching also known as Mending (Ether), and animation also known as necromancy (Magick). Elemental manipulation offers the wielder control over the forces of nature (wind, fire, lightning, water, ice, etc). To wield the power of the elements, one must understand the nature of each element and the relations between them that keep the balance in the world. Atom Stitching is the use of Ether to intertwine the atoms of an object and fuse them into one object. This can also be used to stitch wounds without a scar, although it's extremely dangerous and meticulous. To use Mending, the wielder has to understand the form of an atom and the power that they hold. And lastly, Animation is the use of Magick (spiritual energy) to give an inanimate object a replicant of a soul, and this can work on new corpses for until their bodies decompose. To use Animation magic, one must understand death and the soulless in its entirety. These three classes can be mixed, but only if they’re compatible, and it’s only learned later in the series. Thoughts? Input is optional, however greatly appreciated.

[@sk3tchsmith]

Great video!

[@spacedinosaur8733]

Book series that I thought have interesting magic systems: 'The Dragons of Dorcastle' by Jack Campbell, #1 in The Pillars of Reality series and 'Hard Magic': Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles by: Larry Correia Both are done very well and create very intriguing worlds to visit.

[@AseAPS]

This video covers this topic well.

[@zaydenross7044]

The entire video is only in my left earbud?

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

Pretty good topic Ability systems are something many writers of fantasy want to get done right Dragonball keeps upgrading something that is already op Fairy Tail is too cluttered Black Clover has a better, more organized system

[@Achieme]

I'm glad i got to watch your video I draw my OC and try to add lore to them to make them entertaining. I like the kind of Magic system that is simple to understandable but not too complex. I also like limitations and how it forces to character to not completely rely on the power they posses instead use their wit and integrity to push themselves or get out of a situation. I do though have to disagree with the narrative of "superman is hard to write because he's broken" because you can introduce new elements that can cripple superman's character He has a few weaknesses besides kryptonite. You can also push his limits/morality that further develop his character. I can accept magic systems being broken for the sake of the plot to a certain degree if the author makes the writing clever enough to be acceptable.

[@SnekChrmr]

My favorite magic system, which I think follows all these laws perfectly. Is the Nen system from Hunter X Hunter.

[@jamestolbert1856]

Superman isn’t about his powers, it’s about his humanity

[@AnthanKrufix]

Can exact concrete difficulty be an effective form of limitation? _In my setting I have it that magic is powered and controlled by emotions and literal experiences... (Not in the way that emotional outbursts power up the magic and cause explosions), more so that specific spells require exact emotions to be thought of to cast. And if one can't imagine the right emotion, or at least not currently, then the spell is off limits._ _E.G: Creating a healing potion might require chopping the ingredients while feeling happy and healthy, so if you really desperately need a healing potion immediately, you won't be able to make one. Technically it'd be possible but only if you're very good at gaslighting yourself into believing you're fine._

[@marcusblacknell-andrews1783]

I wonder how well these laws can be used for Role-Playing stories

[@matityaloran9157]

7:20, this is the part where I (almost) unequivocally agree.

[@bottomfeederhatchery.5630]

The Charlie drop had me laughing alittle to hard, thank you

[@matityaloran9157]

3:43, It seems to me that you don’t understand the point of that scene. It’s meant to establish that even at his weakest moment, Dumbledore is still powerful and skilled enough to do something like that so when Dumbledore is killed at the end of the book, his death completely shocks us. It establishes that even someone that powerful can die thus implying that no one is safe.

[@jdmj707]

Did you know that your entire video is only coming through my left headphone and it’s driving me completely insane? Please re-upload this so that it comes through both headphones, otherwise I will never watch it all the way through. I would like to watch it because it seems pretty interesting

[@solalabell9674]

I literally thought it was my headphones breaking till I realized the BG music was in right

[@shadewolfe1231]

Check’s in: Left ear only audience

[@ErisCalamitasButFR]

Just don't use headphones you coward

[@biggchungoos6557]

Bro just watch it without headphones

[@Migantos9989]

This guy, demanding her to re-upload all because he needs to have both headphones on, gtfo haha

[@notproductiveproductions3504]

Only one gets a free ride to Rizz Academy. Who -Blue Beetle -Denji -Johnny Bravo -Sanji -Tighten

[@reaganmonkey8]

One good example of extrapolating magic is in Shadow of the Conqueror by Shad M. Brooks. His system revolved around Darkstone, which doesn’t move at all unless it is lit, it only moves naturally if the light if all around, otherwise it is repelled by the light. He uses this show airships and floating islands.

[@Euphie_E]

The 1st rule is golden to me. I hate the magic deus ex machine. LOTR is great, but gandalf`s magic is just that, when nothing can help, he does something new

[@michaelklaus]

I find the Superman examples for weaknesses of magic systems rather ironic gieven that one weakness of Superman is that he is succeptible to magic

[@AmitCinematicUniverse]

I think my magic system is fairly balanced.

[@matityaloran9157]

5:38, that’s true. It’s also true that Waterbending is explicitly “not magic” and Airbending likewise. (Whereas with Firebending and Earthbending it’s only implied that they’re not magic.) And it makes sense that they’re not considered magic because once you explain how it works then it’s not magic anymore unless “impossible in the real world” automatically equals magic which I don’t believe makes sense as the standard

[@matityaloran9157]

1:59, if this happened at the beginning of the story or even in the middle of it then the audience wouldn’t be left unsatisfied because instead they’d be excited to find out what other powers the sword has that the character hadn’t known about until this point

[@owensanfordstuff]

Skulduggery Pleasant magic lore🙌🏻

[@mynameisjeff2567]

it's a good video info wise, but my god, i had to turn on mono audio to listen to it and then i got a earraped by this 5:44. No matter how good the message of the video is, u need to fix these type of small things.

[@cbrooks97]

Can you tell us where you got this bit of advice from Sanderson? Did you find it in an interview, or did he write it somewhere?

[@moonangel97]

He actually has a whole semester of classes posted on his KZbin channel of him just teaching about writing. I got a lot of information from that and from his personal website where he discusses his writing methods.

[@cbrooks97]

@@moonangel97 Thanks!

[@Azor19]

❤

[@adamtideman4953]

Is there a type of magic that could fix the sound on my right headphone? Wingardium Leviosound?

[@matityaloran9157]

@Moon Studios, I know that Sanderson meant them as general guidelines rather than hard and fast rules (and that you acknowledge that in your video.) That said, at the end of The Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, (spoiler alert) Taravangian kills Odium and absorbs Odium’s godhood. There was no prior indication that that was possible. So a major character satisfyingly solved a problem with unexplained magic. So as good as your video was (and it was good) I still disagree with Sanderson’s First Law of Magic Systems (though not the other three.)

[@nadie9058]

The thing is, that was a problem already solved, Odium had been beaten. He states that magic cannot solve problems, characters do, but that magic can *introduce* problems. Taravangian ascending to Odium is more creating a problem than solving it. And i disagree that there was no prior indication that that could happen, as he spends the whole book seeing how Odium is afraid of Nightblood, and the sword was previously shown to be incredibly powerful, even chipping an honorblade.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@nadie9058 If that’s the case then in Moon Studio’s own example of the magic sword then (if it were priorly established as powerful) then it bursting into flames wouldn’t break the First Law of Magic Systems. Also, Dumbledore defeating the Inferi is almost immediately followed by Dumbledore’s death so it’s already trading one problem for another.

[@nadie9058]

@@matityaloran9157 The problem with the sword example is that it wasn’t foreshadowed, if it was then it can be satisfying. I can’t comment on the Dumbledore scene as I haven’t read the books and only mildly remember the movies, but the important thing is the message, not the actual example. And the laws are not hard and fast rules, they are guidelines that you can follow or ignore.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@nadie9058 If the sword example happened in the middle of the story instead of the end (and if it were used to set up the sword getting new powers over the course of the rest of the story) then it could be quite satisfying. And you’re entirely right about Sanderson’s laws being guidelines rather than hard and fast rules (though some fantasy purists insist on declaring that certain books or movies are bad for not following them even though that’s not how Sanderson conceptualized them at all.)

[@terrenceprice6504]

@@nadie9058It absolutely was foreshadowed. Investiture is investiture. It’s the stuff souls are made of, and the sword was specifically shown to rapidly feed on it. Investiture is literally the energetic material of divinity. And likewise, if you didn’t think a mortal could take up a Shard’s mantle, then you missed the whole finale of Mistborn. Nightblood is also a weapon that was repeatedly implied to not be native to Roshar, and to be the black blade from Warbreaker, a book in the Cosmere that predates the events on Roshar that the Stormlight Archives cover. Nightblood explicitly draws investiture from Szeth when he wields it, which is why he has to be charged with stormlight before wielding it. And the sword master that trains Kaladin uses the magic system native to the same planet that weapon is from. That’s why the strips of fabric seem to move as if “alive” when they sparred, they were invested with “breaths” and commands.

[@tommartin1223]

What was the name of the book you were holding nesr minute 14

[@moonangel97]

Significantly Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe.

[@slasher1563]

I might have to actually start watching avatar, i mean seriously every damn video talking about writing is talking about avatar lol. Great video btw

[@mikeknight6556]

In newer runs, superman, has an additional weakness to magic.

[@kinscendecrovax466]

Was hoping for something a little more substantial other than a slightly padded out textbook definition... *Shrugs*

[@Aperson-cw8mj]

Hate to be THAT GUY but Katara said “It’s not magic, it’s water bending” in the first episode😂😭

[@soupermeger]

Is Spiderman and avatar considered a magic system? I've always called them power systems. I thought magic system were like power systems that you don't understand and you have to learn.

[@vi7husan]

avatar could but i dont see how spiderman is

[@pyr666]

well my left ear enjoyed this video.

[@manolgeorgiev9664]

5:43 Unexpected Moistcritikal jumpscare

[@---zh8qn]

Uhm, great video, but i think you kinda messed up something with the audio ^^' I only get sound on one ear which makes it very irritating to listen.... Or am i the only one with this issue?

[@KaweerMonger]

5:50 loud screaming (glad im not wearing headphones this time) holy shit

[@dragonslayer3552]

Cool video but do try fix the audio next time since its only hearable from one headphone... And well that "WOOOOO" was so loud and distorted that made me jump and throw the headphone down jesus

[@boldgryphon]

7:43 I have the impression that the sword or your idea for Stiwi's sword is simply an idea stolen from "Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer"

[@moonangel97]

I'm sad to say I haven't read the Magnus Chase series yet. It's on my list, though. I'll check it out!

[@boldgryphon]

I meant that the titular sword is also a sword that can cut through anything, can fly and has its own consciousness (and if you want to check out this book, check out the author because this series is part of the entire universe and is not chronologically the first)@@moonangel97

[@tenchimuyo69]

Averting power creep.

[@matityaloran9157]

1:17, I like Sanderson but my problem with this observation is that it isn’t true. Myths, Fairy Tales, even Classical Fantasy writers like L. Frank Baum and C.S. Lewis were able to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way without explaining said magic.

[@scyllajk2757]

Im sorry moon, I really want to watch this video but im not changing my audio settings and I will not listen to 16 min in one ear.

[@ZenTea]

You have great taste in books, try writing something!

[@solalabell9674]

Watch on moon audio or she’ll only talk in left ear and music in right

[@Yesytsucks]

My left headphone is broken i vant hear anything ;-;

[@matityaloran9157]

4:08, if that were true then almost every fairy tale would be universally hated. Fairy Tales solve things with magic all the time and seldom explain how magic works at all.

[@matityaloran9157]

2:52, to whom? Since I was satisfied by it. And based on how successful and popular the book was and is, I’m far from the only one. Also (for the record) we knew it was possible to conjure inordinate amounts of fire since the first book and both the fourth and fifth book have Harry quickly regain his skill at magical duelling after having been tortured and incapacitated by the Cruciatus Curse so even by Sanderson’s First Law this is allowable.

[@Migantos9989]

I wasn’t. I’m a huge HP nerd but there were various times throughout the series where there is a Deus Ex Machina moment which happens to save Harry. Dumbledore was not only weakened by the Horcrux he had touched in the beginning of the book but also even MORE weakened by the liquid he had to drik, then out of nowhere he managed to produce a powerful spell just when they were about to be overran by the Inferi? C’mon …

[@innocencesgone]

Avatar Magic system is actually super duper lazy. Elemental kinesis to everyone in 3 elements bc one of them was erradicated. Thats it.

[@cristhianmlr]

Yes, my fav magic series, *SPIDER-MAN*.

[@sky0kast0]

Hmm she's only left ear is that a choice

[@262ferrari]

I have the same issue. Think some setting is off

[@Szystedt]

Definitely some error she made when exporting/editing the video, I’ve seen it happen many times and I’m never quite sure how they don’t notice? I suppose they’re using mono-sound when using their computer?

[@cxa24]

Is KZbin literally only for stalkers and creeps now?

[@brianedwards7142]

I love Superman but man of Steel was bad.

[@bjorncorvin4568]

I used to be a big time, hard magic world builder but Brandon's work inspired me to focus not on what the Wizards, Witches, Warlocks and Sorcerers CAN do, but on what they CAN'T do

[@kelpiekit4002]

I feel it is helpful to consider there is different ways of understanding something too. Intellectually understanding is one form. Emotive or empathic understanding is also common. Physical or motor control based magic can be interesting and leads to a more sensory journey or magical development. Conversely self-deception and delusion can be the basis. In which case forcing understanding can be a weapon against magic (Common in fairy magic stories or magic powered by childish imagination). If magic is intelligent then social expertise maybe more meaningful, such as if it comes from a god or the spirits of the land. If magical strength is based on the target's belief rather than the caster then understanding a side skill like theatricality maybe useful. Discworld for example uses psychology and narrative understanding as understanding that can enhance or fight magic. Sometimes magic can even be an incidental result of understanding something else, such as Neo's powers in The Matrix or the time vision in Arrival.

[@MysticGohanVegeta]

Please take all the criticism and audio quality comments with a mountain of salt, lots of realism, and keep going. Good video.

[@renatoramos8834]

Sounds like HunterxHunter in a nutshell.

[@blinkingeyetheatre]

This is a great video. Broken down so well. Excited to see what other topics you tackle. I definitely also made the mistake of talking into the Yeti mic like that when I first got it for longer than I'd like to admit 😅

[@phixidelta]

2:52 BUT MOON THIS SCENE WAS A W E S O M E AND I N C R E D I B L E !