Hybrid Magic Systems: Why They're Great and How to Write Them

[@LoreGeist]

What is your Hybrid Magic System recommendation?

[@doyga5977]

In my opinion a great approach is to use a Multidisciplinary method, understanding each "school" of magic as their own discipline and then you as the worldbuilder can decide on where on the spectrum each one falls, like having certain spells or magic types on the harder part, while having others on the softer part. In my D&D campaign i have Wizards and Priests in the Hard Magic spectrum, while Druids and Warlocks on the softer part, this makes my players have some set up and logical foreshadowing whenever one wants to multiclass.

[@dylanblack3635]

I tend to blend magic systems to the point where they seem to have rules, but when you get to more powerful casters, you learn that the rules become more suggestions.

[@TeresaBlocker-zm7bj]

Well with three different "types" of magic, there can be three different rule sets. Arcana: True names, magic circles, and words of power. Super hard, little flexibility. Holy Magic: Magic as a promise and a contract. The rules are clear, but there is room for power spikes. Dark Magic: Magic as blood, and corruption. The power is great, the cost can be equally great. There isn't any real rules save sacrifice.

[@Avarn388]

Pretty good video. I would say aesthetic of your magic matters. Will Wight of the Cradle series talks about this a lot. A series that has wizards using wands and incantations is going to be different from alchemists using formations and transmutation circles for their magic. Obviously this should ultimately still serve the plot for Magic is a way to solve problems. But one should keep that in mind. Even if you want to contrast to established, known magic with the unknown magic. I’d also say that regardless of whether your magic is a hybrid, soft or hard; strive for internal consistency. If you establish your magic user having telekinesis and they can only move small objects and larger ones give them nosebleeds, maintain consistency. Don’t have them suddenly lift larger objects without an explanation in universe and have it make sense. For example, Fourth Wing’s sequel establishes the academy( SPOILER ALERT) has a solution that can cut Dragon riders from telepathically communicating with their dragons once consumed. The context was that the candidates needed to partake in survival classes as per requirements. The problem is that it is revealed this was recently created. This raises a good question: how could they do survival lessons if this stuff didn’t exist before. The author didn’t touch on this and thus created an inconsistency. That’s why have a good editor and beta readers who are stickler for details. Thus you can avoid magical errors as I just pointed out.

[@LoreGeist]

Yeah those sort of inconsistencies you described really take you out of the story and make you lose faith in the author’s ability of sticking the landing when it happens too often

[@caecusproductions3056]

That Force potential was of the flesh and often passed down from parent to child is explained in the OT and also the other content released before TPM. This also does literally nothing to change the importance of spiritual focus, resolve, and serenity/passion for a being to use the Force. Moreover the development of Midis and especially Darth Plagueis‘s book where he studies them remains one of the most compelling plots in that franchise’s history.

[@TreyStation64]

I agree.

[@hope2dust]

The cosmic horror fantasy I'm cooking uses a good mix of softer and harder sorceries. An example of one of them is called grace. In the presence of demonic entities known as wraiths, magekin faithful to The Shaperate can call upon the divinity of their goddess to strike down malevolent spirits with golden light. A brawler character summons grace to wreathe his fists in a brilliant glittering gleam, while a battle nun wielding a war scythe uses grace to create a golden sear along the edge of her blade. The mechanics aren't fully explored, but grace isn't so over-the-top that it breaks the believability of the setting, nor does it require the need to be explained thoroughly. It's simply the channeling of a divine power to fight demons. There's no real system per se, but it can be applied in a variety of forms, there are limitations, and it doesn't handwave away problems. I feel like this is a good approach to a hybrid system. It's softer magic used in the place of hard magic. Another system that does require a bit more structure and explanation is witchstone, a naturally occurring arcane quartz that can harness magic or bind spirits. That definitely falls in the hard category. But then I've included eldritch sorcery and ritualistic blood magic that is 1000% on the soft side due to the sheer wonder and unpredictability of it. Magic is often an extremely corrosive and volatile force in my setting, and I wanted to portray it in various forms, both hard and soft, and some in-between. I think that's best for the type of story I'm telling. Because there are extreme horror elements, not knowing what the magic can achieve (or backfire horrendously) is what adds to the terror of it.

[@LoreGeist]

Soft magic work well for horror / Eldritch stuff exactly because of this element of surprise and filling in the gaps you mentioned. Specially if the cost / consequences are dangerous and corrosive, using the magic provides opportunities to enhance the horror factor

[@unofonseca2862]

I love the system from World of Darkness Mage. Where you have the Consensus and Paradox as the big set in stone rules. Essentially, it means that if ordinary people see magic being done overtly, reality pushes back against the mage, unless the person witnessing it either believes it has some other explanation or they actually believe in magic. Thus battles between mages can be epic earth shattering events, but try to manifest fire on a crowded street and either you cant, or the mage will catch on fire and everyone will think some doofus was fooling around with their lighter and lighted their coat on fire. Unless the mage lugs around something resembling a flamethrower...

[@RustBrand777]

I knew when I was making my magic system this was possible. Simply make an understandable magic system with immense power and SCOPE. Scope is key.

[@sagakan912]

Scope is quantity, ans quantity always loses to quality

[@beccaknight5763]

Yep the hybrids are the best!

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

I would add one thing. I get the feeling (but not explicit statement) from your discussion that the real difference between hard and soft magic is the degree of disclosure. In both, the author should absolutely know how each system really works. I really love your example of Rothfuss, but returning for a moment to Tolkien. Gandalf appears to be chaotic and unpredictable, but fans have laid out precise timelines of where he was at any particular moment. The god of Middle Earth was left mysterious, but presumably Tolkien had him equally mapped out and simply never told anyone. (At least I haven't heard anyone mention the reason why evil spirits were allowed to continue to sing out of harmony without suffering any immediate consequences.) The problem is that the presentation I am hearing elsewhere that soft magic systems are basically ones not thought through by the author. I love the example of Snape taking a time turner back to Riddle's days at the orphanage and solving the whole problem at the root. Thus, I would say a 'hybrid system' is the only correct way to do magic, i.e., fully thought out but only partially revealed, even by the end of the book or series. I like the concrete writing suggestions, but foreshadowing might be better defined. People generally understand it as mentioning the event/thing beforehand, like Sam's mentioning hearing of walking trees. That foreshadows Old Willow who swallows two of the hobbits, which then foreshadows the ents and really makes them scary initially. In a more obvious way, the magic skills are foreshadowed in Harry Potter through a different application, which was quite effective. To do that in writing, first think of the magic skill and imagine various ways it could be used. Then, select two, seemingly unrelated, instances and use one to foreshadow the other.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

To be more precise as to foreshadowing effects, McGonigal turning into a cat physically foreshadowed that Ron's rat was a person. The time turners, on the other hand, were only verbally foreshadowed. And that the philosopher's stone could be hidden in the mirror of Erised was not foreshadowed at all, as far as I recall. How those events affected you will give you some idea of how foreshadowing affects the reader.

[@LoreGeist]

I guess you could narrow it down to disclosure if I think about it. But Harry Potter is a good example. The fact that you need to have a wand, do a specific movement and enunciate the magic name is a structure that leans towards hard magic, even though there isn’t that much cost to it and JK Rowling can keep creating spells with no limit. On the other hand, elements such as the love of his mother being a form of ancient magic that protected him falls more into the soft magic side. Ancient magic is portrayed as not being fully understood even by Dumbledore.

[@LoreGeist]

Yeah. Also the elder wand being the reason Harry defeats Voldemort is very disappointing because they only start to establish the possession rules on Book 6. Such an important magical element, which is responsible for the defeat of the biggest boss in the franchise should probably be foreshadowed and hinted at many books before. Another good example of foreshadowing is Tom Riddle’s diary being a horcrux. It introduced the concept without a lot of explanation and later that was recontextualized, many book after. I really like stuff like that

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

@LoreGeist Agreed. I have published a text analysis of the HP 01. You would probably enjoy it.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

@LoreGeist Check your letter box.

[@duckdialectics8810]

best of all is not to think of magic in this dichotomy at all, it is limiting and impractical

[@LoreGeist]

To me it’s more of a spectrum