It’s Levi-O-sah, Not Levio-SAH: On Systems of Magic

You Dare Use My Own Spells Against Me, Potter?

Magic is fun, dear reader.

It allows for badass moments and kickass power fantasies in equal measure but did you know it comes in different flavors?

No, really!

Regardless of its source, the arcane falls into one of two categories: Hard or Soft magic.

What, pray tell, is the difference?

So happy you asked.

Hard Magic possesses a set of consistent rules and limitations that operate at near scientific levels. There are established pros and cons, technical limits that cannot be broken (or at least there are critically dire consequences if they are). The magic is almost a formula: x goes in, multiply by focus of y, and magical result of z comes out.

Soft Magic, meanwhile is more abstract, vague. The magical system is left as a general unknown, leaving its implementation a mystery, but one that preserves the wonder of magic as a concept. Magical events simply appear which, so long as the appearance remains consistent, brings a sense of ethereal scale to the arcane that a reader’s imagination can run wild with.  

So when should you use one over the other in your story?

Well, Hard Magic can be better if magic is prevalently featured in your story and especially if its used by the main character on a consistent basis. This allows you to flesh out the system over time and give your reader something really fun and complex to chew on. For a masterful example of Hard Magic look no further than Brandon Sanderson. Love him or hate him the man lives for this shit. The Stormlight Archive clearly defines the origin, use, and limits of Stormlight (the story’s magical source) so that even when character are flying through the air and summoning weapons out of thin air you know the cost of those actions, which helps increase the stakes.  

Soft magic is better used when magic has a tangential relationship with the main story and/or protagonist. Side characters shine with soft magic systems and for an example look no further than Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. Yes if you are a High Nerd you technically know the source of his magic but even then you don’t know the limits. Gandalf can do things but there’s always a reason for him NOT to do more. Gandalf’s character comes with mysterious self set limitations that lets the reader know he can perform magic but not exactly what the limits of that magic may be.

Now there are of course exceptions to these rules. You can have a main character use a soft magic system and a side character use a hard magic system. The only difficulty there is that your readers may interpret your main character’s powers as being overly vague while the side character gets way too much screen time devoted to explaining theirs.

At the end of the day deciding which to run with in your story should largely come down to the characters in it. Magic should reflect character and vice versa. Approach your magic system as a silent protagonist of its own and then you can begin threading it through your narrative to better emphasize traits of your other characters.

It's a delicate dance but one that can be most entertaining to watch.

And if you care to mix up the steps?

Well, you may fall flat on your face, true, but maybe (just maybe) you might end up with something truly special.