Because of how magic works in my world, materials like iron and nickel are anathema to magic(the more stable the element, the more it resists magic), and lead isn't magically conductive. Which materials do you think could be used to make magic rifles and magic ammunition?

hi guys! A few hours ago I just randomly thought ”what if I made a magic system based on keys?” And I thought it was a pretty cool idea so I got to work with this. This was super fun to make, hope you guys like it!! Might actually make this into a short webnovel lol

Mechanics:

Miracle keys are made out of a special crystal that exists in all timelines simultaneously, known as Ultanium. Essentially how it works is that the keys connect to the user’s soul, and use that link to find other versions of the user across timelines. The one that is closest to the user’s ideal self is the one that’s chosen (but this can change since your ideal self might change for different reasons)

All miracle keys are inactivated until someone touches them. After that, they are connected to that person until they die. Then they become inactive until the next person comes. And it’s impossible to have two or more keys at the same time. each miracle key design is unique to the user. the keys can’t be broken. If you lose your key or if it’s stolen, it’ll come back to you in little time.

the key allows you to become this version of yourself, but only for a limited time. The sudden burst of power isn’t something your body in this timeline is used to (and on top of that the differences between both versions of you causes a clash in reality), and staying too long in this state can cause what is known as overburn. Overburn is a disease that slowly turns your body into Ultanium. But this can be sped up the more you overuse your key. 

The more you become like your ideal self, the more you can handle using your key. This can cause overburn to recede. This gets better up until you actually become just like your ideal self. This merges both of you into one person, and you’re no longer at risk of overburn.

Everyone has two elements, their conceptual element (like creation, truth, destruction, righteousness, etc), and their physical one (like water, light, air, ice, etc). Your conceptual element depends on which concept your other version embodies the most. Your physical element depends on who you are as a person and what makes all your different versions still you. 

Lore: There are these magical keys known as miracle keys. A long time ago, a rainbow meteor fell from the sky, holding magical crystals. Each individual crystal exists in all timelines simultaneously. It is said that looking into one allows you to faintly see other timelines. 

In the age the meteor fell, people were essentially coddled by gods. In fact, everyone was blessed with good health, fortune, and immortality. This continued up until two scholars by the name of Nathaniah and Solomon, came across the book of knowledge (which was forbidden by the gods). The book taught them the nature and history of gods, which caused them both to fear and hate them. 

(Basically the gods are actually from another timeline and were banished to this one because they almost destroyed humanity. So now they tried coddling the new humanity in order to use them as sacrifices to get to their original timeline and destroy it)

Nathaniah spread the truth to as many people as he could, while Solomon created countless miracle keys (which were originally known as the keys of Solomon) using magic crystals from the meteor. These were used to help Nathaniah’s army. 2/3rds of humanity went to war with the gods. Sadly, they lost and were cursed with something called original sin, losing all their divine favors and blessings. 

On the bright side, 1/3rd of all gods were killed in the war. The surviving gods were weakened as well. 

Now, the remaining gods have been trying to wipe out humanity. Their goal is to create a new, perfect humanity that won’t disobey them after killing off this one. 

I was doing some brainstorming for an urban fantasy story with magic and came up with the idea of using astral projection almost like the way modern day drones are used, that someone would send out their spirit and it would scout, fight, or drop a grenade on the enemy before fading away.

Description:

• A silverly ghost like body, same size as your real body (it can fly)
• Insperations -the movie Spectral (2016) and the Warhammer AoS Nighthaunt faction
• Performed by taking a spirit into your body and having your sense of self overwrite it so you can send part of it back out as you

Strengths

• Can become tangible and intangible at will
• most physical attacks are harmless to the projection
• the user is not directly at risk (most of the time) and can see and hear through it (touch, taste, and smell too, but in a limited capacity)
• can take on different shapes (human, animal, holding a sword, etc) within reason for your body size and the original spirit you absorbed
• with practice you can split it into multiple bodies (limited by the starting volume of your original projection)

Weaknesses

• can't use ranged weapons, or if they did, they have to hold real guns (so can't become intangible)
• range can be limited based on the user's skill and power
• Using too much or losing your projection can drain your sense of 'self', leaving you open for being possessed by other spirits
• There are ways to trap a projection, and if the user isn't able to disconnect themselves, they can become trapped too.
• there are some places warded against entry
• Real body is motionless while it happens, only dimly aware of what is going on around them
• If the spirit you absorbed was weak then your astral projection is also weak

There are other magics in this setting, all require some type of knowledge, power, and authority/willpower to cast. Some are "simple" like a pyromancer manipulating fire to move in unusual ways, where others are more extreme. You can be somewhat of a generalist when it comes to magic, but to really game power/skill you need to focus on one specific type to be your primary tool.

For this specific power, what am I missing or overlooking that could impact the story or how it is used?

My power system is Flux, which is based on the Devil Fruits from One Piece. I haven't worked on my story for a LONG time. I gave an explanation of Flux.

Flux is the internal energy generated by life itself, flowing through every living organism. Emotion, instinct, and willpower influence it, and it constantly shifts in intensity based on the user's mental and physical state.

There are four different flux types

Core Flux - A direct manifestation of internal energy used to enhance physical strength, speed, durability, and combat output. It is the most straightforward and physically oriented form of Flux.

Influenced Flux - A manipulation-based form of Flux that allows the user to affect forces, objects, or the environment through controlled energy output.

Beast Flux - A primal form of Flux that enhances or manifests animalistic traits such as heightened senses, physical transformations, and instinct-driven combat styles.

Anomaly Flux - A rare and unstable form of Flux that does not follow normal rules, often producing unpredictable or reality-bending effects unique to the user.

I do have another power system: Aether and Entheral Shards.

Aether, just like Haki from I, trying to make it different from Haki, though, I don't know how

The Entheral Shards are like the Dragon Balls. They do grant power, but at a cost

I haven't really focused on these two power systems since they're going to be revealed later in the story

If you do like it, please tell me why. If you do, like it, tell me why, too, and feel free to rate my power system

My world is Sci Fi, but magic does exist. It's a latent energy that exists in all people in the form of mana. There are three techniques used to cast it.

A: Writing in an ancient language that conjures effects based on the meaning of the written runes. This is called runecasting, or jokingly, spell casting. This is most commonly used by people with more specific effects in mind, your conjurers, transmuters, and barrier people.

B: Channeling magic energy through a focus, which is called witchsmithing. This focus can be made of any material that was once alive, as all living things can carry magic energy, regardless of if they are currently alive. The item is then configured in such a way that the mana in it will be converted into a specific material or energy upon some cue unique to the item. Alternatively, someone could have an object of their choice supercharged with magic, with the drawback being it has to be recharged every once in a while.

C: Casting with your hands, which is called impelimancy. Called so because rather than having that control that the other two have, with impelimancy you manipulate the mana within yourself and instantly output it as energy/matter with little to no shaping. It's not going to be nearly as controlled as the others, which is why it's either used by quick thinkers, so they can immediately decide the effect before launching the spell. Once a lightning bolt is headed their way, it's no longer your problem to think about.

Important notes

Keep in mind, while most casters use one form of casting, one can still use multiple types. Like a wizard could have runes written on their wand, or an impelimancer could make the image of runes, to runecast.

All spells are realistically effected by the standard laws of physics from the moment they form

Ex:a purely fire spell won't last long as fire needs something to consume to continue existing

Mana can only be controlled up until the point it is converted into matter/energy

(Opening)

This a part 2 to my Iro power system I uploaded a few days ago, originally all of this was just 1 big post however someone mention that the post was too much & I should abbreviate. I redid the first post, cutting some parts out, making it shorter & only leaving the really important parts for that post & decided to create this second post focusing on the ability of my iro power system, since I needed to do 2 polls anyway. I rearrange the post so after this section I am getting straight into my question first making it simple & straightforward for everyone, if you don't want to read past the question section of this post then you don't have too. If you read Omens & Hexes section of my first Post, then that is honestly enough to answer the poll, going past the question section to the Add On section of this post will give you more details about the other ability. however, for the sake of keeping, it simple & short it's not a 100% requirement or necessity to answer this poll, again you just need to read the Omens & Hexes part of the first section of the first. the Add On section is just me going over all the different power system that I thought of over the past year or 2 that was originally supposed to be their own thing & adding it to this power system.

(Question)

How should omen & hexes work?

• Option 1 - Originally, I had omens & hexes & their subcategories as their own separate thing, if you don’t remember or know what all of them were because the formatting of the 2 post. They were Omen, Grudge Creations, Trans-Metamorphosis, Alter ego, Monster weapons, Superpower & Dopplerganger/trauma soldier. Originally all these subbranches of hexes was going to be their own aspect of iro that a person can focus on 1 at a time & become proficient in each and every single one of them. 
• Option 2 - However, since this power system is all about emotions & hexes are awakened though trauma, I think this part will work better if I turn this into a Nen type system, where depending on your trauma & emotions will determine your ability. That is something I personally prefer not only because I tried to make my own hunter x hunter nen power system & this would fit in quite well . But also I think having all these abilities in a nen type circle where people are just inherently lean toward 1 ability make this a more balanced power system. With the way I have been talking about hexes I am sure I gave all of you that impression, however I will say that the main difference between my power system & hunter x hunter that I am leaning toward is that whatever hex you get. That is the only hex you will have, so if you're stuck with Grudge Creations then oh well better make that work, You won’t be able to dip into the other category! 

What do you guys think? Do you think I should limit what hexes a person can have or let a person use all of the potential ability. also here is a list of hexes & the trauma that will determine what hexes you will be able to use!

1. Omen - mental trauma 
2. Grudge Creations - chronic trauma
3. Trans-Metamorphosis - trauma that come from object 
4. Alter ego - trauma that come from the physical body 
5. Monster weapons - ???
6. Dopplerganger/trauma - trauma that come from a specific individual or group of people

Side note - I am thinking about combing omen & grudge creation into 1 category & also this is a rough draft so all of this talk about trauma is not supposed to be taken 100% seriously, I am not a psychologist plus this is still the rough draft always time for me to educate myself on this power system  

(Add On power system idea)

These are my other power systems that I came up with over the years that were originally going to be their own thing. They had nothing to do with this power system at all however,  I feel like these power systems will just work way better if I add them to this one & make them a part of this system. So I am just rehashing a bunch of old ideas for a power system & putting everything into this power system because it just fit.

Promised Items/Vows Items 

• Promised Items/Vows Items was inspired by JJK, specifically yuta & rika & was originally just gonna be its own power system. They are items that are possessed by a ghost, these items can be anything, Rings, weapons, a table, car, couch, and technically can be made by anyone rather they have powers or not!  The idea of how Promised Items/Vows Item are made are that 3-4 conditions that need to be met. 
  1. Very Strong emotions involving 2 people!
  2. A promise!
  3. An item to hold the promise, like a promise ring or something! 
  4. The death of one of the 2 people.
• Once all the conditions are meant the item in question will be possessed by the spirit of the deceased. Again if you see JJK, just think of Yuta & Rika, an idea I am thinking about adding is that if the spirit is stronger then the person wielding the object. That spirit can possess the holder of said object!

Banette weapon

• Inspired by these post Weapon 1 & Weapon 2 which in turn was inspired by the Pokémon banette, the idea is that you take a person who loves their weapon so much. Pour all their emotions into it then we break the weapon, which will transform it into a  banette weapon, these weapons are for all intense purposes unbreakable. They can also merge with the user & be summoned at any point & time, that is pretty much all I have for this power system. Maybe the weapon will gain some ghostly tendrils or sheets to grab opponents but that is about it, if your wondering the difference between these banette weapon & a weapon created by Trans-Metamorphosis. A) banette weapons came first, B) Trans-Metamorphosis are supposed to be living weapons, while banette weapons are supposed to be just objects. C)  banette weapons are permanent while a user of Trans-Metamorphosis might be able to revert the weapon back to it’s original state, that is about it so far. Also technique anyone can own/have a banette weapon while Trans-Metamorphosis are an iro specific ability.  

The ritual poems 

• The ritual poems are a set of poems written centuries ago; they are considered cursed artifacts. They were inspired by the Shinigami mahoraga from jjk, the basic idea is that you recite the poem out loud to summon a ghost!  Each poem will have 2 lines worth of  stanza which are apparently called couplet. To begin the ritual & end the ritual you need to say the first & last stanza within the poems. Whatever stanza you manage to recite before closing the poems will allow you to summon a certain amount of the ghost in question. So while this was an idea I didn’t give too many thoughts compared to my other power system. I believe an idea I had was for all of the poems there was an object that can create a ghost or a body.  Since spoiler alert about JJK, if you didn’t know, apparently the shikigami mahoraga's true form or body is the wheel that hovers above the monster head. I believe for the red poem it summons  a spirit called lady red, where the main body is a Katana that can cut anything within 2 attacks. 
• The way this will work is if the poem is like 5 stanza long & you’re only able to recite 3 of the 5 stanzas. Then you’ll only be able to summon the katana & not the whole spirit, the reason why I think this ability will work good for this power system. Is because all the poems were color coated to begin with, so having all of these colors it just adds up. 

Trauma crystal 

• Trauma crystals are crystals that every human has, they are located somewhere within the body. The location is different for every human, the reason why they are called trauma crystal is because they give people superpowers once a person awakens them through intense trauma. The crystals are pretty much invisible when they are deactivated & nothing short of a person getting surgery & physically locating & removing the crystal do you know is there. Not even X rays' machines can pick up on them, only when the crystals are activated can they be detected. There are 3 types of ability the crystal can give you depending on the trauma you suffer. An alter ego, a weapon monster & superpower, these crystals store a certain type of emotions. These crystals can be taken and used by other people if removed from the body. However, I believe if the crystal is stolen & forceable removed from the body then the owner will die or go into a coma, since that is basically their souls That is basically their soul! 
  • Alter ego 
    • An alter ego was the first power a person can awaken to the trauma crystal & was inspired by Devil May Cry, specifically the character Trish/gloria & Arkham/jester & yugioh zexal vectrix. The alter ego is a transformation that is created when a person goes through intense physical trauma. They gain a transformation that reflects that trauma in some way shape or form. Changing their body, voice, personality, skin color, hair color & lengths etc etc & maybe giving them a boost to their magical ability, As well as giving them super strength, agility, reflexes etc etc.
  • Monster weapons 
    • The monster weapons are the second ability the trauma crystal can bestow, they are weapons that can become monsters, inspired by yugioh zexal, specifically Yuma zexal weapon & Kite galaxy eyes & vectrix number 69 boss monster. These are weapons that have three stages or forums, the weapon stage, the monster stage & the final stage. The basic idea is that they all start out as melee weapons, no guns, by absorbing emotions through the crystal. These weapons can evolve, each weapon will be assigned a certain emotion & the more emotions they absorb the more powerful their weapon will become until it awakens to the next stage. I am not sure about the final stage though, maybe the user & the weapon combine or maybe it just become a bigger boss monster 
  • Superpower 
    • Superpowers was the third & final ability that the crystal can give a person; the idea is simple. A person who awakens to their ability can get a random superpower, think of them like quirk from my hero academia or if we go down the Hunter x Hunter hole. Then this is borderline my version of a specialist, any ability that didn't fit within the first 2 goes here!
  • Dopplerganger/trauma soldier 
    • The Dopplerganger/trauma soldier abilities are similar to Grudge Creations. a spirit is made from a person iro however instead of using it to possess or curse other. They are used to fight alongside the user like a stand from jojo, they will usually be humanoid in shape. The reason for that is because you’re manifesting the source of the person's trauma, giving it a physical forum. That is why they will appear to be humanoid, if you're skilled you can create one to look however you want. However, people who first awaken the ability, whenever they create a Dopplerganger it will usually take on the shape of the person who is the source of their trauma. My inspiration for this was Wiess from rwby & the teacher who skate around in tougen akin. While this current incarnation is something I thought of for the iro power systems. When it comes to the trauma crystal one of the potential abilities listed that I was thinking of before settling on superpowers was Dopplerganger. 
    • Which is why it’s in this section, since trauma soldiers & doppelganger are very similar I decided to just combine the two.

I'm trying to workshop ideas for mundane things that you can do with a special type of sci-fi magic that centers around using the light/photons in the area called "Photomancy", the basic idea is that people who use Photomancy are known as "Photomancers" and they use a special magi-tech bracelet (that also acts as their transformation items, cuz the story this power is used in is a mix of magical girl and superheroes) to wield the photons around the user and utilize the light in a variety of different ways (both offensive, defensive, and supplementary).

I've been trying to figure out a magic system for humanoid dragons using golden jewelry or tools made from their dragon god's blood. I've envisioned a character using black flames that consumes light and also corrupting capabilities, but only as an intentional misuse of the magics abilities.

I've thought of potentially having the powers be associated with different pieces of jewelry.

thank you in advanced for any and all suggestions.

So I’m running two D&D campaigns in the same persistent universe, and I’m beginning to think about things like the origins of Magic and even how it works in my world. Except of course D&D has a fairly well established hard magic system already. So does it even make sense to give this any thought? Should I just stick with the rules as written stuff about Magic? Part of me thinks that would make my life easier as there are plenty of other things I could spend time world building, part of me thinks that creating a magic system is a huge part of the fun of creating a world/setting.

All thoughts welcome, would especially appreciate anyone who has been in a similar quandary.

If characters have lethal abilities. The audience expects the ability to fail, Or expectats the character to miraculously survive. Lethal abilities cannot actually kill, removing suspense. However an enemy has no reason to use a non-lethal ability. So authors have the enemy use a lethal ability for it do nothing. Think fire ninjutsu in Naruto.

So the solutions are: Be prepared to kill the cast, have abilities to prevent lethal attacks or give characters instant regeneration

Instant regeneration takes care of that mid-fight meaning a lethal ability can be used to its truest extent.

Two ways I have seen this adopted

1. Potions have insta-heal but they stop working on higher levelled characters leading to specialized potions that target specific injuries. Like a Bone potion for fractures and an Organ potion for a missing eye. Therefore, the ability is tied to resource cost.
2. Choujin X has 'raise'. When used immediately heals all damage, if the person is inflicted a fatal wound, they can immediately cast raise, so they do not die. It maintains tension really well.