Questions tagged [magic]
For questions that have to do with magic, as opposed to science/technology. Remember to explain any limits.
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Making Sand with just Pure Quartz Sand and Magical Heat Powers
Okay, I've been researching how to make Glass for a character with powers that include Sand and Heat. But, I keep getting results about soda–lime glass/soda–lime–silica glass. Along with purities of ...
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What would the consequences of a giant kaiju sleeping under a fantasy city [closed]
To summarize, the monster is called the Devourer, and the city it sleeps under is called Karflaynia.
Karflaynia is in a square shape, 2000 by 2000 thousand feet. it is located in a high fantasy world ...
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Modern era with magic that will stop gunpowder from igniting, what weapons are used instead?
One of the annoying problems with most urban fantasy series I've read is that they seem to mostly try to avoid discussing the fact that most of their fearsome magical foes could be felled with a ...
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Would a freeze ray be effective against modern military vehicles?
Similar to my previous thread. In my setting, wizards from a pre-industrial fantasy world come to real life. One of these wizards is a cryomancer recruited by the US military and tries out his talents ...
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Assuming that most of the human experience is based on the body's biological makeup, what would someone experience if they were just a soul [closed]
In my story the main character has their soul removed from their body and sealed away for a very long time. Assuming that the soul is just a carrier for someone's memories and personality what would ...
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Could I keep buildings heated during multi week long hibernation?
In the world of a story I'm writing, there is not normal night and day, nor are there seasons. Instead, the world is governed by magical lights, which occur in several week cycles - the light Dawn has ...
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What if you could shut off the pull of gravity on your body?
I have an idea for a magic system where the one wielding magical power can shut off gravity for their body. However, anything on them (clothes, accessories, etc.) will still experience regular gravity....
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How can I make the rules of my Faerie Portal free from contradiction?
On the hilltop in the field near my house, there lives a coven of witches. Or, more accurately, there is a coven of witches living in a pocket of the Faerie Realm which has recently become attached to ...
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IF you had a territorial struggle based on magic, how would it play out? [closed]
A large part of the political power in my world building for my book is based around a concept called "grinding" where a faction would gradually amass influence and natural resources by ...
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Would lightning bolts be effective against modern military vehicles?
In my setting, wizards from a pre-industrial fantasy world come to real life. One of these wizards is a destruction mage recruited by the US military and tries out her talents against modern forces. ...
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How would zombies affect trench warfare?
After thousands of years the mightiest of magic uses have finally cracked the code to revive the dead... Kind of. The resurrection spell, while restoring the body to a basic capacity, leaves them a ...
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What is a word for the arcane equivalent of a monastery? A place where magic is studied and practiced? [closed]
I'm trying to come up with the label of an isolated location on a floating island where wizards go to practice magic in peace. I've already come up with the name, Skytower, but Skytower what? Is there ...
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What would it be like for a human to maneuver while at supersonic speed?
The person is superhuman. There is both magic and sci-fi involved in the setting. They have the physical strength required to accelerate to supersonic speeds. They have the ability to latch ...
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How can I give my character purple hair without hair dye?
Basically, I have a character that I'm working on in a futuristic-fantasy type of planet. She's supposed to have purple hair that she was born with.
What is a magical explanation for this phenomenon?
...
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How should I order the categories of my magic system? [closed]
In my world where intelligence is everything, the study of magic is divided into different categories. The type of intelligence you have will affect the kind of magic you use.I’ll come up with names ...
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How to counter bulletproof plate armor with 19th Century technology? [closed]
I'm writing a timeline where the Russian Empire figured out how to make magical armor. By fully immersing plate armor in holy water, that plate armor is now fully bulletproof. No projectile will ...
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How to build a giant city in a harsh environment?
In my world, there is a magic civilization. They are on a far away continent, but it is harsh and snowy. In the current time, they have now giant cities, the main ones being a mix of both steam and ...
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Making magic into a science in a science fantasy setting? [duplicate]
Lately I've been thinking a lot about science fantasy settings, specifically the inclusion of magic within it. It feels most fitting for, in a society where technology is highly advanced and magic is ...
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How to stop water runoff on floating islands that lack an available surface
I am building a world with islands floating in air, and I'm looking for solutions to loss of water from runoff/erosion (think rivers emptying off the side of the islands). The islands vary in size, ...
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Question on gravity and its relation to weight and force
I'm working on a character for a story that has the ability to somewhat play around with gravitational forces, mainly weight reduction stuff but I'm sure there's other applications. Practically this ...
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Why is there so much unused mana flowing in my mana economy?
I asked some questions about creating a stable economy that uses mana as currency.
I'm stuck on a new problem trying to use it, why is there so much mana circulating in the economy already? I want ...
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If someone was suddenly subjected to a vacuum would they sh*t themselves?
If someone has the magical ability to make a vacuum(no or minimal matter/atmospheric pressure) on earth around someone would that person in the vacuum then sh*t their pants? If so would it have to be ...
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How does having super strength/speed but similar mass to a regular person change close combat fighting?
How does having super strength/speed but similar mass to a regular person change close combat fighting?
This world is a cultivation world. That's a world where people can cultivate abilities by using ...
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Footwear for my invisible fantasy race
My setting (urban fantasy set in 1998 America) has a variation on the classic movie monster of the "invisible man". Here this species (tentatively called the neverthere) has a physical body ...
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In a world where magic can only be used for baking, how can this be exploited to naturally lead to invention of space travel? [closed]
basically what the question says. Of course, magic must preserve the conversation of energy. Baking is defined in the normal way:
the action of cooking food by dry heat without direct exposure to a ...
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Assuming a person has water/ice magic, is it even semi-possible that they'd be able to create various light effects with their magic?
Like, forming water into ice prisms and using those to perfectly reflect the light. Limits are that the water is just normal water, the ice is normal ice, and the light itself can't be changed (...
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How could magic slowly be destroying the world? [closed]
Hypothesis: A world with magic users is (unbeknownst to them) slowly dying because of magic usage
Question: What would be the underlying cause of this slow decay?
Conditions:
The magic in this world ...
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How can a magic civilization stop their sun from dying?
Hypothesis: In application of the laws of thermodynamics (conservation of energy) it could be that the sun's energy was (almost) depleted to perform feats of magic (energy was taken from the sun).
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How Long Would It Take a Party of 3 to Get 1000 Miles With a Wagon and a Horse [duplicate]
So I need to know how long it would take a party of three or four to get 1,000 miles with a fairly heavy wagon and one or two horses. Without stops I know walking will take around 14 days. There are ...
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What is optimal for a government to encourage people to wish for to boost economic growth? [closed]
A world with a similar tech level to ours has discovered that randomly magical beings will have random encounters with magical beings who will offer wishes for some service or kindness. These wishes ...
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Objectively most efficient way to increase focus?
If resistance is how long you can go doing physically exausting stuff before you die or get overtraining fever
then focus is the analogue to magic, your ability to perform magically exhausting stuff ...
user100394
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What would be the major effects of heating wood in particular and other common materials anaerobically?
I'm essentially working on a book in which the magical system involves people converting an energy source into a mimicry of an "element", complete with most of the properties but not ...
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How would a medieval society look if food was not a factor to consider? [closed]
The Context
To give a short context of the question, my world is called Atmos, and it's a world where continents float above a layer of clouds. They aren't just floating islands, there are landmasses ...
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Exploring a Black hole sci fi possible/not possible
I'm currently creating a universe and in that universe is the human race which has been around for about 37000 years. I am currently trying to figure out what tech they would have access to what would ...
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Why would a dangerous form of magic be kept alive in a post-apocalyptical scenario? [closed]
This question is in the same universe as my last one, How to raise an army against the dark lord when everyone thinks he was already defeated?
In this universe, magic is powered by the energy of ...
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Creating an Abyss [closed]
I want to write spawn, a very tropey story about men selling their soul for one last chance either revenge or something else. However, the story I want to tell is more about regrets and Things We ...
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Debris from a ringed planet, and believability
I am writing a fantasy book, so while I am not too concerned with being completely scientifically accurate, I would at least like for aspects of my world to feel believable, so as to not take the ...
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Why would two different biological forms of magic form in the sexes? [closed]
I understand mixing magic and evolution is ... a bit of a no-no, but why would the sexes develop magic differently?
Women's magic comes from a core located near their hearts where they draw and store ...
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Would it be possible for a virus to change humans enough for them to become what we would call "superhumans"?
Recently, I read a book called "Swallowed Star". In the story, a virus changes human DNA enough for humans to have unbelievable superpowers and skills. Some even obtain the ability to have ...
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How could a misotheistic society kill belief in powered gods?
In my setting there is a religion of giants (gaians) who believe magic/the supernatural are an affront to nature and must be exterminated by any means necessary.
For magic users this isn't to much of ...
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Why might it be necessary for a nefarious secret society who kidnaps key people over a long period of time, manipulating history, to keep them alive?
In a world where there are two secret societies vying for control, one nefarious and the other altruistic, the former kidnaps key individuals throughout history (maybe by time manipulation or magic) ...
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Stable mana economy: how would mana transfer at death affect economic stability?
I've now asked some questions about the viability of a pure mana economy, and the answer is that it could work. I don't yet have a full world in mind for this, I'm mostly building up what a viable ...
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Can I use mana as currency if people are constantly generating more mana?
I want to use mana, used to fuel spells, as a sort of currency. Basically you pay for items not with a fiat currency but with your mana, which someone may later use to cast a spell. I don't have a ...
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Quantum Entanglement (FTL Comms) [closed]
I watched a great video on FTL Communication (mainly dealing with the problems with this Technology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLqk7uaENAY&t=1445s)
I am worldbuilding an empire that needs FTL ...
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What are the legal implications of murdering a necromancer? [closed]
Someone has just poisoned a Necromancer in a modern society like ours (just with mages around since a few decades). The Necromancer's body died, but he had spells in place that automatically turn his ...
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How would plant life be affected by rapid fluctuations in temperature?
In my fantasy world I'm constructing, there is not a traditional day and night. Rather, magical lights cross the sky. As soon as one sets, another rises. There are three of these lights, each ...
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Is the method of a telekinetic throwing people a probable combat technique?
My world is set in the time of the Inca's. Every 100 births, a telekinetic is born, someone who can move objects and people with their mind. The common way for a telekinetic to fight other tribes and ...
user99559
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Why have non-magic technology when there is already a magic solution?
In my world, magic and technology have a weird relationship. While they do combine and help advance growing civilizations, they can also inhibit each other. For example, if there are healing spells, ...
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How can mages conquer the world [closed]
So the socity of mages is tired of living in secret and want to transform the world into thier play ground where they can use and abuse magic in the open.
To accomplish this they must conquer the ...
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Would Iridium be a good metal for crafting muskets and cannons?
Iridium is a metal discovered in 1803 that is quite dense and is very resistant against corrosion.
Let's say that in the year 1600, every musket and cannon on Earth has their metal components ...
