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Cluedrew
2015-06-27, 05:50 PM
Magic, perhaps more than any other word, can mean very different things in different stories and settings. Essentially the author(s) get(s) to fill in what magic is as they write, because it isn't defined and other people have always been changing what it is, so it is not jarring when it is changed again. I'm sure there is a old professor who could go on about that better than I, my point is just that magic has many different forms. Here I have put together a list of what I consider to be the most significant. Comment on, add to or even use the list if you find it useful for something.

Old Magic:
I call this old magic because I tend to associate it with old stories. It is usually hidden, powerful, rare and most of all unexplained. The Merlin or Gandalf types spring to mind, their power has no real explanation beyond, usually, it is in their nature. Gods and mythology also meet this criteria, although if you look at just the mythological tales it isn't rare anymore.
Another newer group of tales with old magic are superhero comics. Not all super hero comics, but many do have that concentration of power, the hidden explanations that are usually convenient one off set ups. The source, if not the effects, of the magic is also usually hidden from the public view and it is often simply part of the superhero in some way (such as Super-Man's genes).

Granted Magic:
Magic given to the end user by some higher entity. Prime example is divine magic in D&D. In this case the higher entity has to have its own type of magic in order to grant more, but that is usually old magic because the granter is a supernatural being.

Learned Magic:
Magic obtained through study, usually of complex formal and true names. Although it doesn't have to be magic of this sort is often institutionalized in schools, colleges or universities. The Wizard of Earthsea, Harry Potter and D&D Wizards all fall into this group.
Importantly, there being schools that teach people magical skills is not enough to make it, the knowledge itself (plus maybe an innate ability) must be the core of magic power and ability in order for it to be a true member of this group.

Science + Magic:
Similar to learned magic although there are several important differences. The first is a stronger trend to be able to make magical objects, learned magic has a lot of this already but it comes up even more here. The second and more important is experimentation, the element that really makes it like science in nature but of a different aesthetic. If you change the aesthetic as well then you get science, or hand-wave science at least.

Psychic:
Magic of the mind using thought, will and focus to shape the world. Telepathy is the classic example, followed by telekinesis. More than any classic psychic the best example are actually Star Wars Jedi. Despite its connection to imagination, it tends to be dolled out in packaged abilities.

Trained Magic:
Practice is rarely something you seem much of in wizards, trained magic usually has quite the emphasis on it which is why I call it that. Training usually involves some sort of marshal component, in fact if you follow this out far enough you leave magic and get to Kung Fu (or some other marshal art).
The main reason I include this is because of its use in video games to create hybrid fighter-casters or to give the sword people special abilities.

Natural Magic:
It is similar to granted magic in that the source is not from within the caster, but instead of coming from above (or below) it comes from all around, the plants, animals and sometimes the land itself. Herbs and potions come up a lot, as to various speak with ____ skills. Practitioners are often hermits and when they are not the groups they form often live away from civilization, although there are exceptions to that all well.

noob
2015-06-27, 06:05 PM
Unknown science:
Magic might be a name for what you still do not understand for example suddenly there is a explosion of light and a chicken turned into a brick you might not understand why it did happened while there is probably a reason you would know if you knew better the physics of the universe.

Cluedrew
2015-06-27, 07:26 PM
There is a scale of course, stretching from typical magic through Science Magic then Unknown Science and eventually typical science. Some might say that hand-wave science is the same as hand-wave magic. It is a good point, if that is the point you were trying to make.

It also occurs to me that every type of magic has a real analogue that you can reach if you follow it out far enough. Old magic is almost the "Divine Right to Rule" or less pompously natural talent. There is science as above, focus and self discipline for psychics, higher study for learned magic and so on. I'm not sure where I'm going with this side note, it actually just occurred to me while writing.

noob
2015-06-28, 07:27 AM
I was not thinking to complex stuff I was just adding one element to your list.
It was only a reference to the fact some people have a lot the tendency of attributing personalities and of saying it is magic when there is things they does not understand(in some populations it is the case)

Lord Raziere
2015-06-28, 01:08 PM
Emotion Magic:
sometimes, magical things just happen because people feel certain emotions very strongly. however this often accompanies more reliable systems of magic in a setting. see: any hot-blooded anime, as well as certain western shows involving magic.

noob
2015-06-28, 03:40 PM
Generally Emotion Magic is included in the blob of psionic.

Cealocanth
2015-06-28, 10:33 PM
What about this?

Ritual Magic:
In a lot of fantasy stories and some real life legends magic is not granted, but taken. The spells can range from cantrips to gigantic, world-ending spells, but they always involve long, tedious hours performing some kind of ritual. It might include dancing and chanting, perhaps making an animal or human sacrifice, perhaps painting complex symbols on the self or the surroundings, but it is always long-winded and heavily taxing. Only through putting a great personal time and energy investment does the magic occur, and even then it may only work at certain times, using certain artifacts, under certain conditions, or with certain materials. Oftentimes it only works once.

Telonius
2015-06-29, 11:41 AM
I'd add, "Stolen Magic" or "coerced magic." It overlaps with some of the other kinds (particularly Granted Magic), but the key thing is that it's magic obtained by force, not granted freely. This might be anything from forcing the demon you've summoned to serve you, to leeching off the energy of another plane, to using human sacrifice to power your fiendish plan (a la Fullmetal Alchemist), to stealing divine energy direct from the gods (like an Ur Priest in 3rd edition D&D).

Reltzik
2015-06-29, 12:15 PM
Earned Magic: Magic derived from a person's present state of virtue. This is the "only the worthy" type of magic that isn't acquired through knowledge, training, or learning, but rather through character growth and evolving as a person. Someone whose healing abilities are linked to their ability to feel compassion for all people or their willingness to help them, and who lose or gain those abilities because they come to hate or forgive the villain, would be an example of this. So would Thor (comic books and movies) being able to wield his hammer.

... er, her hammer?

Cluedrew
2015-06-29, 08:27 PM
Some good additions.

I actually think that Emotion Magic plays a very good counterpoint to your usual Psychic variety. Even though they have the same source they "emerge" in completely different ways. Almost opposite ways because they vary from source to source.

Similar argument with Stolen vs. Granted magic, same source (external being) but then it ... is bestowed in a sort of opposite manner.

I like Earned Magic itself, although in a lot of ways it seems to be another variant of Granted magic where the patron is not really a definable entity, which is worth drawing a line for I suppose. It also seems very paladin-y.

Maglubiyet
2015-06-29, 08:58 PM
Community magic: The spellcaster gains his abilities through his position within the community, such as a clan, tribe, or village. He may bear titles like witch doctor, medicine man, healer, or shaman. This position may be appointed by community leader(s) or predecessor, inherited from family, or earned by virtue of specialized knowledge. The magic he wields is not innate, but derived from the tacit consent and approval of the members of the society. Through their belief and support he can use beneficial and harmful magic on behalf of the members of the community. Should he lose his position in society, he also loses his magic.

I think something like this is more in line with the earlier uses of magic in human civilizations.

Cealocanth
2015-06-29, 11:45 PM
Community magic: The spellcaster gains his abilities through his position within the community, such as a clan, tribe, or village. He may bear titles like witch doctor, medicine man, healer, or shaman. This position may be appointed by community leader(s) or predecessor, inherited from family, or earned by virtue of specialized knowledge. The magic he wields is not innate, but derived from the tacit consent and approval of the members of the society. Through their belief and support he can use beneficial and harmful magic on behalf of the members of the community. Should he lose his position in society, he also loses his magic.

I think something like this is more in line with the earlier uses of magic in human civilizations.

This is an interesting concept, but I'm not entirely sure you're going about describing it in some way. Usually people are given these titles because of the skills and training they have, and it is those skills that give them access to magic, which makes this another form of trained magic.

Also, was playing some Deadlands and realized another form:

Innate Magic

When a certain abstract state creates magical effects without anyone channeling the power. When general emotional states of an area such as fear, faith, or anger make drastic and very real changes to the surroundings without anything being the cause besides that state. Fear may warp the world into a haunted state, faith may create order from chaos, hope may bring about prosperity. Whatever it is, this magic comes innately with the world in which it exists, and is just as much a world-affecting force as gravity. This power may be tapped into and fed off of, but it is never directed nor driven.

Thrathgnar
2015-07-02, 05:14 PM
I wrote up a "dissertation" on the way magic works in my campaign setting. An interesting read for anyone who enjoys exploring the nature of magic.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vch3mMGWz1D78txZDrlwNIur6Ut0-_FbRb-Z9MkAcxc/edit?usp=sharing