McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
To wand or not to wand...?
Serack:
If you haven't yet, I highly recommend you read Sanderson's First and Second Law of Magic (actually of writing magic in fiction)
First Law
Second Law
These are pretty good guidelines on the do's and dont's of what to do with your magic.
Madd:
--- Quote from: belial.1980 on March 21, 2012, 01:44:56 PM ---Maybe, maybe not...This could make a nice "wand." After all, it's essentially the same thing as your typical wizard's wand: a wooden stick. This one's just a bit bigger. And it has the added bonus of being useful for adjusting unwelcome attitudes. ;)
--- End quote ---
Shalala? I can never remember the name of the thing, but thats what Pikel calls it in the Drizzt novels! ;D
Shillelagh?
--- Quote from: Serack on April 17, 2012, 05:40:37 PM ---If you haven't yet, I highly recommend you read Sanderson's First and Second Law of Magic (actually of writing magic in fiction)
First Law
Second Law
These are pretty good guidelines on the do's and dont's of what to do with your magic.
--- End quote ---
Excellent advice, those articles really helped me polish up my own notes for how my magic system will work.
Serack:
Honestly, I'd say the only person who's done a better job than Sanderson of writing a magic system for his books is Patrick Rothfuss.
And that is using "better" loosely. Sanderson's magic systems are intricate and are practically a character in and of themselves in how he reveals it in onion layers. And they are usually incredibly internally consistent and creative.
Patrick Rothfuss's magic system is all that (not quite as innovative maybe) plus it's incredibly poetic which wins.
Of course I've only seen one by Rothfuss, and nearly half a dozen by Sanderson, so if you add em up...
Quantus:
I agree that a wand specifically may not need to be the end-all of the form of focuses in your world, but i also agree with those saying don't broaden the system too quickly. If the story took shape in your head with everyone using wand, see if you can make it. So you obviously seem to like the idea of a focus requirement for the magic (it gives us something to send skittering waaay across the floor when we need to, after all ;-))
So Why would a system need a wand shaped Focus?
Maybe casting requires an external conductor for the energies, and it needs a point to focus it; then a wand is the typical for ease of use and transport, but a spear or sword would to it too (but maybe the bulk makes them unprecise), and even a good fountain pen, drumstick, or radio antenna would do it too, and most practitioners simply prefer something custom made to something scrounged.
Or maybe the casting is a gesture-based magic, something that has been studied and accumulated in secret for generations, and so using a wand is literally the only way they know how to do magic, though the most experienced might be able to pull it with just a finger.
I read a story once (cycle of fire) where the magicians bound energies into object to cast spells ward-style. It could be any old object, though some held different energies better than others. But the cool thing was that each needed a primary focus (traditionally a staff, but the MC made his in a sword with sentimental value) that was sort of a storage battery for their energy. The idea was that they gave off energy naturally, but needed to channel it into a sort of capacitor, so that it would be lost and that large amounts could be called up at short notice.
That could work with your idea of a mantle: maybe the Mantle isnt passed from generation to generation, maybe its something that has been /accumulated/ over the generations. Maybe the wand itself isnt whats important, but it is the current storage container for a Bloodline cache of power.
0.02
arianne:
It comes as no surprise to anyone that I'm just now discovering I should have thought it through before I decided to wand up my characters. Like Quantus said, the idea of something that rolls away or breaks or whatever just when you need to use it.
I did consider using a cell phone or something as a similar focus, but it sounds a bit oxymoronic for this universe, though I'm liking the idea enough that I might use it for another story.
I did kind of change the wand from “any old stick” to a stick made with special material that is useful for focusing power, although as of now the wands don't have an owner user issue, meaning that anyone who's a wizard can use anyone's wand.
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