I am currently doing outlining and worldbuilding for my novel and I am wondering if the idea I have for the magic system is good enough and whether or not you would count it as a hard or soft magic system. I have read up on soft and hard magic system, but it is still a bit unclear to me where my idea would fit in. Overview of the magic system: Magic is cast using words of power Words of power can only be taught and learned through long periods of meditation where one takes in the full meaning and purpose behind the word. While a simple spell like lighting a single candle may take a week of meditating, a spell like casting a ball of fire could take you a year of meditation. To cast spells you need to have complete focus and a clear mind. Distress, pain, or anger would inhibit your ability to cast. Mages are rare because of the long time it takes to train them. Words of power can be combined to create new spells, but long periods of meditation would still be needed to learn and then use these spells. Single words are easy and can be cast quickly, yet they are often weak spells. Longer words or sentences (chanting) takes a long time to cast but are more powerful. The caster suffers no physical cost to casting magic, but casting many spells in succession can lead to headaches or in some cases permanent psychological damage. This would make casting impossible either temporarily or permanently. Words of power are derived from the archaic demon and elven language that was spoken long before any humans appeared in the world. Mages are seen as respected members of society in the south while people are more skeptical of them in the north because of wars fought against elven spellcasters. Magic is seen as an elven trait in the north and therefore mages are sometimes referred to as Elf sympathizers. I threw in some societal aspects of the magic as well, but I think this is the foundation of my idea. I would appreciate it if you could give me some feedback on the idea. Thank you for taking your time reading this post.
I like the sound of this, However, you say there is no cost associated to the mage, but then you say that long use or multiple castings at once can cause headaches or some sort of lasting damage, this is a cost in my mind. Another thing which you may have overlooked that could be an interesting add on to your magic system is how intensity of the spell is controlled. If the power word is uttered in a soft quiet prayer like fashion, the candle will light a dim or soft light, if the power word was bellowed with passion, then the candle might burn like a fire, filling the room with incandescent light. I like the society impact on the magic. you have a north south divide, you are from Sweden, I recommend researching the north-south divide in the UK and the war of the roses as this might give you some ideas as well. Also some societal aspects could be borrowed unashamingly from the "A song of Ice and Fire" Collection by G RR Martin which gives an analogous outline of the north south divide in the UK and the war of the roses.
Sounds like a hard system to me, but it really depends on how you implement it in your story. If your narrative clearly defines these rules and limitations, it's hard. If you keep them more mysterious, it's soft.
I would say it is hard as well although this is the first time I have heard of the term. Having done a bit of digging I would expect this to be hard magic system. But like @X Equestris said it depends how you implement it in your story. Examples of soft magic I would say would be in Lord of the Rings, Magic isn't really explained, it just exists. Examples of hard magic for a lazy example would be harry potter. although magic in itself isn't explained, you know that it is implemented by incantations, you need a wand, not everyone has magic, you have to learn magic to use it. etc.
Thank you for the feedback and I like the idea behind the intensity of a spell. I may use that. What I meant was that there would be no cost to your body. Like, a mage doesn't get tired like he ran a marathon from casting spells. I also thank you for recommending things for me to research. I'll go find out more about this war.
So far I am certain I'll delve into most of these aspects since one of my POV characters will be taught magic.
In my book, The Pappy, I have characters who join this guild, allied by the United States government called the Sky-Titans are armed with mythical Badges that allows people to transform into mythical monsters based on the Badge they are assigned with. Al Badges are named after the Greek Alphabet. They are powered up by raw emotion and the affinity of the soul of the user. Oh and it takes place in the 1880s.
If a Badge is broken, their powers go with it. If they die while powered up, their soul is trapped in that Badge. Badges are only activated by those who have the affinity. It is emotionally and spiritually draining and needs a lot of training to to control it. Anyone cannot just pick up, lets say the Zeta Badge, and transform into the designated assigned animal (werewolf). To obtain the Zeta Badge, or perhaps any Badge, you must have a strong soul. https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Strong_Soul
