Mana World: Help Me Make a Magic System

[Maragaram]

For the least couple of days I've been working on a campaign setting loosely inspired by (but not based on) Magic: the Gathering. Basically the crux of the world is that it runs on mana, a normally invisible form of energy that powers supernatural abilities and can have effects on emotions and physiology. Pure mana, which makes up the core of the world, is white (or black, depending on which scholars you're talking to). Pure mana diffuses through the matter of the world and divides itself into distinct colors which are accessible by living beings on the surface of the world. There are six colors, representing the six basic primary and secondary colors of color theory, each of which is diametrically opposed to its "complement" - the opposite color on the color wheel. In turn, adjacent colors of mana share characteristics which allow them to work together more effectively. So, orange mana and blue mana are inherently opposed to each other, but orange mana shares characteristics with red mana and yellow mana. The characteristics of each color of mana are loosely based on real-world color psychology - the psychological effects that different colors have on human minds.

Quick summary of the six colors:

Red Mana is the mana of energy and action. It stimulates physical energies, and motivates living beings to take action and bring about change. It brings out passionate emotions, such a lust and rage, and exerts an assertive, tangible force on the world. At its worst, red mana can inspire aggressive, destructive, and ruthless behavior. Red mana is associated with the characteristic of Power, and is diametrically opposed to green mana.

Orange Mana is the mana of adventure and sociability. It is a highly versatile and adaptable form of mana, and encourages living beings to be the same, stimulating the desire to sex out new opportunities and pleasurable experiences and facilitating social communication. It inspires emotional resilience, enthusiasm for life, and courage in the face of adversity. It also stimulates self-indulgent impulses, including appetite. At its worst, orange mana can be a bit overbearing, and can inspire needlessly risky or overindulgent behavior. Orange mana is associated with the characteristic of Vitality. It is diametrically opposed to blue mana.

Yellow mana is the mana of the mind and intellect. It encourages analytical, practical thinking, and stimulates creative impulses and the sharing of new ideas. It also helps living beings achieve a sense of focus and alertness, and helps with making even difficult decisions quickly. At its worst, yellow mana can be anxiety-causing, and can make living beings feel emotionless and overly critical of themselves and others. Yellow mana is associated with the characteristic of Intellect, and is diametrically opposed to purple mana.

Green mana is the mana of harmony and growth. It encourages diplomacy, agreeableness, and compromise between living beings, and stimulates protective and nurturing impulses, primarily towards nature itself. It has soothing qualities that facilitate rest and the restoration of one's energies. It has rejuvenating effects on living beings, including the power to heal both emotional and physical damages. At its worst, green mana can inspire feelings of possessiveness and isolation in the interests of self-defense, and can cause living beings to be over-cautious, avoiding taking action even when doing so might be in their best interests. Green mana is associated with the characteristic of Balance, and is diametrically opposed to red mana.

Blue mana is the mana of trust and responsibility. It inspires the qualities of loyalty and honor, and provides living beings with a sense of organization and stability in their lives. It has a calming quality that suppresses volatile emotions and impulses and quiets the mind, and providing clarity of thought. It seeks to maintain order and peace at all costs. At its worst, blue mana can cause living beings to be overly conservative and rigid in their ways, and facilitate emotional manipulation, which can in turn lead to depression. Blue mana is associated with the characteristic of Wisdom, and is diametrically opposed to orange mana.

Purple mana is the mana of spirituality and imagination. It gives living beings with a sense of empathy for others, stimulating feelings of fellowship and love. It also creates a focus on dignity and spiritual wholeness. It provides inspiration for impractical ideas, either through quiet contemplation or through dreams, and encourages idealistic thought. At its worst, purple mana can make living beings seem immature and deluded, leaving them lost in fantasy while ignoring the realities of the physical world. Purple mana is associated with the characteristic of Spirit, and is diametrically opposed to yellow mana.

...anyway, that's the basic idea. I didn't really go into much detail on how the different colors of mana oppose or bolster each other, but I hope that at least some of it should seem obvious. For example, red mana stimulates energies and encourages action (which uses energy), while green mana restores lost energies and encourages rest. Red takes the actions that green hesitates to take, and green heals the wounds that red's sometimes more ill-considered actions leave on the world. Without both types of mana acting on the world, everything would be thrown out of whack. Which is partially why I've conceived of some green mana users who think that they are what is best for the world because their magic encourages that necessary moderation and balance... but I digress.

Part of what I'm trying to do now is to conceive of the types of cultures that would develop when people become reliant on a particular source of mana. Right now I have the foggy idea of the world being divided into the three "Primary Nations" and the three "Secondary Territories." This is based on the idea that the three primary colors of mana (Yellow, Red, and Blue) stimulate impulses that by coincidence lead to faster advancement of society (yellow develops innovation ideas and technology, red asserts its dominance and takes action to maintain it, and blue creates stability and order). Meanwhile, the three secondary colors stimulate impulses that tend to undermine what we think about as societal advancement (orange is overly concerned with seeking adventure and excitement, green is focused on not upsetting what already exists and helping IT grow, and purple is overly impractical and more concerned with the spiritual world than the physical one. These cultures are just as rich as the others, but they lack the innovation, order, and drive of the primary three.

Six basic societies: (I'm still deciding whether I want this to be a human-populated world or one with unique races for each mana type, so I think of them as "cultures"or "societies" by default)

Yellow Nation - a post-industrial technocracy (rule by the educated); the most "advanced nation," constantly churning out new and ever more impressive inventions; somewhat further ahead technologically than most real first-world countries; the educated rule, but since everyone is focused on what is most practical and going forward as fast as possible, they overlook basic human needs at times (pollution is a big problem)

Red Nation - an industrial kratocracy (rule by the strong); whoever is strong enough can take power and hold onto it for as long as they can before being overthrown; the advancement of industry and technology is pushed forward by the immediate needs and wants of the growing body of people, but is somewhat slowed by the constant power shifts; around the late 1800s, early 1900s in tech level - mass-produced cars and automatic weaponry are a big deal right now

Blue Nation - a feudal timocracy (rule by the honorable) with religious elements; very stable yet stratified society where everyone has a place in the power hierarchy based on how honorable and loyal they are to the state; somewhat held back in technological advancement by their reluctance to accept new ideas and allow change (allow some ideas and invetions gradually sneak in without notice, especially among the wider population); also has some police-state/"Big Brother" elements, with people having their emotions and thinking monitored by those in the higher levels of power, just to make sure they're staying loyal and not upsetting the peace and order of society

Purple Territory - an agrarian theocracy/magocracy; the church and the state are basically the same, since everyone's primary focus is on their spiritual well-being, but religious leaders are also those who make the most use of mana (not everyone has the capability); the primary food-producing society, charitable in trade within themselves and with other nations/territories; also grow opiates for "dream-walking," an important religious activity (most adults have eyes that are always dilated from regular use); not as technologically advanced as the three "nations" because they are primarily concerned with spiritual rather than material/technological advancement;

Green Territory - a number of horticultural (gardening-based) communities that practice direct democracy; people usually live together in relatively small, isolated groups, so direct democracy actually tends to be a good ways to decide things (everyone gets and equal say); the "territory" has been prevented from developing into a real "nation" due to the fact that the decision-making process is stymied by larger numbers of people trying to consider many different possible paths and outcomes all at once; use alternative, sustainable farming/gardening methods to cause as little harm to the environment as possible; communities live around and in the larger forests, and seek to protect the natural resources from abuse by the Primary Nations; basically always in diplomatic negotiations, except when they sometimes completely cut off contact and trade completely (wood periodically becomes a very limited resource for this reason)

Orange Territory - a number of nomadic, pastoral chiefdoms with egalitarian elements; almost constantly on the move, the "territory" is really just a diffused and widely-spread area of land unclaimed by the other societies that they use for grazing cattle; freedom of choice is very important to everyone, and the biggest crime is to take away someone else's freedom of choice/consent; very hospitable to outsiders, especially other travelers; an importance cultural custom is to always take something new from encounters with outsiders - leads to different bands sometimes having widely differing customs, all adopted from other groups

So that's basically a summary of everything I've come up with so far. It's pretty vague, partially because I decided I want to figure out some of the mechanics first....

Here's the problem with that.

Right now I'm trying to come up with exactly how each color of mana can be used (i.e. what kinds of powers they each convey), and I'm kind of hitting a wall. I always have a hard time creating mechanics for abstract concepts like magic. I know what a basically what each color of mana to be capable of, based on the basic effects they each have and which characteristic/attribute each color is linked to. Like, Green obviously gets healing magic, and Red obviously gets offensive magic, and Blue obviously gets control magic... and I guess Orange gets... Communication magic? Travel magic? And Yellow and Purple get... uh... Creation magic and... empathy magic? Dream magic?

I think I need it all spelled out (haha) a bit better, because those individual effects aren't even the only things each color can do. I'm just having trouble developing the psychological effects into actual spells (or types of magic, really). I tried looking at Magic the Gathering's way of splitting up powers by color, but it's hard to. And I was thinking that D&D's disciplines for psionic powers was actually a good model, but it doesn't work quite right (like Green and Red most have aspects of Psychometabolism, and the extraplanar elements of Psychoportation fit better with Purple than with Orange). Traditional D&D spell schools are obviously equally unhelpful for this, especially because this is going to be a spell-points system based on characteristics/attributes rather than a Vancian magic system.

So... Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make this mana/color-based magic system actually workable, giving each color unique powers while still maintaining the oppositional elements?

(That's the actually question here. Probably. I'm as confused as you probably are right now.)

[Synvallius]

This seems pretty interesting (I've also been teasing around with a six color variation of the Magic the Gathering foundation as well), and I'd largely agree with you that psionics may end up working out the best. I would make it so that characters who choose to have a high mana depository (or whatever you want to call it) choose which color they have an affinity for, this would automatically bar the opposite type spells from their spell choices, but maybe you could allow them some options from the neighboring colors.
With the defining of specific spell options within color groups, some are simpler than others (red and green in particular seem like they'd be pretty obvious, for the most part), blue I would think of spells that have to do with controlling (as mentioned) and enforcing (so things like the mark of justice or geas), and maybe some types of enchantments (although altered to fit the setting, maybe something like an oath spell that gives the target certain bonuses coupled with restrictions, and so long as they do what they're supposed to do they continue to receive the benefits from the spell). Orange could get some of the spells from transmutation (certainly, not the exact spells, but inspiration wise), I'd imagine many of their spells would have to do with getting bull-like strength and owl-like wisdom, and also a few divining spells to help with adapting to new threats and whatnot. Purple would probably be closest to conjuration, with some leavening enchantments, illusions, and divinations, and would require more ritual components than the others (or so I'd assume, so that the practitioner was in the right state of mind). Altogether, there will almost certainly be some grey areas that occur, some cross-over is inevitable, but so long as you have a defining idea for what each color type is supposed to do I wouldn't foresee that being too much of a problem.
I hope some of this rambling helps you out, I've also had some difficulties designing exactly how this kind of a system would work.

[Maragaram]

Oh, it's definitely helpful! It's at least heartening in some way to know I'm not the only one bouncing these sorts of ideas off the board. I like some of your ideas, too. Transmutation definitely kinds of fits with what I had in mind for Orange mana, for example, and maybe a bit for Red mana as well (strengthening energies = strength? Maybe?). I just need to figure out a way to make spells more open-ended... and not d20 based. I'm trying to avoid that system if I can, purely for personal aesthetics.

[Zale]

I feel like one of the nice things about the MTG color wheel is that each color has a specific philosophy and goal to it. Each one wants different things, and that shapes the way it wields magic.

White wants structure and support and peace- harmonious rules that ensure that the whole survivies. Hence the healing and controlling effects of White, and how defensive many of it's abilities are.

What are your colors goals? What do they want, and what means will they use to get there?

I

[Maragaram]

The goals for these six colors are pretty much along the lines of what you'd expect. It got me thinking about how relationships between people of the same colors and differing colors would work, though.

Red is probably the color that wants the most, and yet also the least. It seeks to fulfill basic needs for survival: food, water, shelter, and companionship (in all of its forms). But it also has a desire for power (as a means to secure things to fulfill those basic needs) and things of value (which when amassed are a means to achieving power). Since red mana is also the mana of passionate emotion, people who align with red mana will feel very passionately about the things they want (they will consider these things a "need"), and will use any means available to achieve their goals. If someone else is standing in the way of them getting the things they "need" and won't back down, that person is going to suffer, unless the "red" person cares deeply about their well-being for some reason. But even then, loved ones can still easily become a target of a "red" person's short temper. Many relationships involving a person aligned with red mana are volatile and doomed not to last, and even if the best of cases, a "red" person may still demand too much of their friend or lover - which is why many "red" people seek out relationships with whomever is convenient at the time, making polyamory almost a necessity.

Orange seeks out new experiences and thrills and sensations, and relies on having the freedom to seek those things out. New experiences can be found just about anywhere, which is why people who align with orange mana are almost always on the move. They'll stand and fight just as passionately as people allied with red mana though, if it means protecting their freedom of expression and choice. The easiest way to achieve their goals, however, is simply to remain unattached from anyone other than people like themselves, which is why such people tend to group together for companionship. Difficult choices ensue when a person aligned with orange mana forms a strong bond of friendship or romantic love with a person aligned with another color of mana (especially one of the "cool" colors). When faced with the choice of staying with their loved one or remaining a free-spirit, an "orange" person will always always choose to break their attachment, even if it means hurting themselves - they are especially emotionally resilient, after all. It's equally likely that they'll attempt to cajole their loved one into abandoning their more stable life to come with them on adventures.

Yellow is primarily interested in learning new things, making new discoveries, and sharing new ideas with the world. As a group, educational and scientific advancement is very important to people aligned with yellow mana. This obsessive need to learn about the world around them (and organize that information, and then make practical use of it) can be beneficial to the community as a whole, but can harm individual relationships. "Yellow" people can easily become totally engrossed in a subject of study or a project, to the point of forgetting completely about the other people around them. This can lead to feelings of resentment in others, especially if those people aren't aligned with yellow mana themselves and don't fully understand their acquaintance/friend/lover's obsession. Most healthy, lasting relationships among "yellow" people are formed between individuals who share interest in a particular subject, and thus can spend most of their time working together. When "yellow" people are prevented from pursuing their goals of learning and inventing, they can become extremely anxious and agitated, and their critical nature can cause them to lash out unexpectedly (though not with the same level of violence as "red" people).

Green is primarily concerned with protecting and nurturing the things and relationships that are already possessed. A person aligned with green mana is very protective of their loved ones, to the point that many would sacrifice themselves without hesitation if it meant protecting their friends and family from harm. They also hold a special consideration for nature and the environment, and seek to prevent or hinder things that would harm the forests they call home, primarily uncontrolled logging and pollution. "Green" people don't quite carry the same passion that people aligned with red mana do, but they can still be incredibly possessive of the things they consider their own. This causes many outsiders to see a "green" person as selfish, asocial, or obsessive, though other "green" people will almost always sympathize with their kin. At the same time, many "green" people freely offer aid to anyone, since one of their goals as a group is to nurture and protect the living, and this causes others to see them in a more benevolent light (though some may take advantage of a "green" person's willingness to help). It's also fair to say that some "green" people seek out those they consider to be most "in need," hoping to "fix" the person by solving their problems - a kind of help that may very well be unwanted. In general though, "green" people tend to have very healthy, stable relationships with others, though they usually find the most peace when living with other "green" people.

Blue is primarily concerned with maintaining order and stability, and as a means to achieve that, honor and loyalty. People aligned with blue mana consider "honor" to be an important part of their moral code - what is good is honorable, and what is honorable is good. Therefore, those who are seen to be without honor may very well also be seen as "bad" people and as threats to society. "Blue" people are swift but fair in seeking justice for crimes against themselves and others, though they can often be overly dismissive of how a person's emotional state or desperation can affect their actions. To a "blue" person, wanting or needing something is not an excuse to achieve or secure it by dishonorable means. That said, no system is perfect, and many "blue" people will take advantage of any existing flaws to better their situation if possible, so long as they obey the letter of the law. When thrust into chaotic or wholly unfamiliar situations, a "blue" person will probably be at a loss for how to proceed, preferring to take the path of least resistance. They rely on the system of honor and stature to validate and guide them, and they flounder in its absence. Thus, anything that threatens the system, such as disloyalty or misinformation, is taken very seriously. "Blue" leaders will use any means at their disposal to root out and remove corruption in the ranks, even if it means violating the freedom and privacy and dignity of others. Many outsiders find the commonplace practices of mind-reading and -altering to be unacceptable, and thus choose to avoid "blue" cities, which suits "blue" people just fine - outsiders bring in potentially dangerous new ideas and customs, and often have morals that conflict with the tenement of "honor and loyalty before all." "Blue" people usually have very stable but completely passionless relationships (the "nuclear family" is a common sight) and often only form lasting bonds with others of their station (which means a rather lonely existence for those in the highest ranks).

Purple is primarily concerned with achieving spiritual growth and fulfillment in life, but often takes imaginative paths to achieve other goals. People aligned with purple mana like to spent a good amount of their time reflecting in quiet contemplation or else dreaming, which they view as a spiritual experience, akin to a vision quest. Mind-altering drugs are another source of spiritual inspiration. "Purple" people rely on their dreams and spiritual subconscious to guide them through life, and thus they may often have impractical or idealistic ideas about what is best for people. That said, they also highly value human dignity and bodily health, since it is more difficult to achieve spiritual wholeness without these things. They would almost never take an action to benefit themselves if it meant harming the life of another, except in the most desperate or dire of circumstances. In fact, "purple" people tend to use a minimum amount of effort to get through life, preferring to let the things they want come to them by opening themselves to opportunity. That said, magic itself is a easy means to opportunity, so many "purple" people make heavy use of mana in their daily lives and to achieve their long-term goals. "Purple" people often have very loving relationships based on empathy and mutual spiritual growth, but they may find it difficult to uphold relationships with those who are overly concerned with carnal desires or the physical world.

I hope this clears up that aspect of the six colors at least. I put a lot of though it it, but I admit that there are some parts I don't feel quite set on. I'm always rereading and revising my ideas anyway though.

On the subject of the magic system... I've been looking again at the Psionics system for D&D, and finding more and more that I like the organization of the six Disciplines for the Psion class. The main problem I keep coming back to is that the system seems to groups anything dealing with emotion and thought into the Telepathy discipline, which would be Blue Mana's domain, but some of those powers feel better fitted to other colors of mana. For example, I feel like the "Empathy" power should go to Purple Mana, since that's the color that governs empathy. But at the same time, I wonder if using the ability to read someone else's emotions would be too invasive and thus inherently show a lack of empathy for that person... Which would definitely be more fitting for Blue Mana, the most emotionally "cold" of the six colors.

I could use some additional thoughts on this, but I understanding if this kind of nitpicking isn't particularly interesting to other gamers. :P

http://http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/psionicPowerList.htm

[GorinichSerpant]

I think every color should have some ability to increase or decrease their "color" in other people. Usually for a short time, after which they return to themselves. For example a Red Mage could make someone more driven to achieve power by adding redness to him, or take away his red to have him feel less passionate for a few hours. Mages could also be able to sense the amount of their mana in people and the surroundings.

The abilitys that come to mind to me are:

Red
Shoot blasts of concentrated energy. Burn things. Improved movement(speed,super jump,teleport)to get to something you want, neigh something you need. Increased Strength. Hulk-Barbarian-Saiyan-etc rage. Getting over or thru obstacles(climb walls, run on water, ignore the thorns and the mud slowing you down).

Orange
Look threw other peoples eyes and let them do the same. Getting out of restraints(shackles,prisons,ropes,firm grips). Making Friends Magic. Sharing memories and sensations telepathically. Maybe luck magic sense taking opportunitys and risks is their shtick.

Yellow
Divination. Getting really precise measurements without effecting the thing measured. Sharing information and memories telepathically.

Green
Restoring things to a previous state(making scars vanish, make burned down trees just the way they were before the fire). Maintaining a current state of something(preventing such scars from happening in the first place). Healing. Protecting from harm.

Blue
Freezing things (as in pausing them). Slowing things down. Ice powers. Making a fort impenetrable. Stopping Time. Magical Contracts.

Purple
Leaving your body to float around as a spirit. Dream Lucidly. Go into other peoples dreams. Bring people into dreams. Bring things out of dreams. Illusions. See spirits.

This is by no means a complete list but it is a start.

[Grek]

Blue Magic: Invokation
"We offer this wayward soul unto KaLaMaRaNa, that he might find peace in the eternal stillness."
Through the magic of invokation, a name is spoken, the gods reach out and a part of the world is offered up to the timeless tranquility of the divine realms. A thunderous crack is heard, a darkness looms and that which was is no more, stranded in an empty place outside of space and time. At once a terrible weapon and a potent tool, invokation allows for the precise and instantaneous removal of anything one might wish rid of. Dirt can be banished from the streets, contaminants from water , smoke from a chimney, stone from the sculpture to be.

Though all civilized nations practice the invokation of matter, only the Blue Nation has the expertise to invoke away ephemeral emotions and insubstantial insights. Anger vanishes, fear fades and thoughts slip away, unfelt and unrecalled. Though their detractors call it brainwashing, the Monks of the Sapphire Order claim that through the careful erasure of sinful thoughts and violent emotions, even the most dishonorable of souls can be brought to a state of enlightened serenity. As a matter of public policy, the Blue Nation does not kill - not soldiers on the battlefield, nor criminals in times of peace - the soul is simply sent gently onward while the body remains behind, alive and intact. There is great honor in such displays of mercy, and so the most gifted invokers naturally rise to positions of prominence.

Red Magic: Conjuration
"My Word is Law."
The second of the fundamental magics was conjuration. Just as invokation offers objects up to the aether, conjuration calls them forth. One simply thinks the name by which the object was banished, gestures precisely to indicate where it is to appear, and in a crimson flash it appears. Shipping was revolutionized almost immediately, as both matter and energy could be made to appear on demand at any place and any time. Soon after came public utilities: one could simply invoke water by one name, fire by another, light by a third and allow the citizenry to call it forth as needed. War was next - one could drop a hundred arrows one by one from a tower, invoking them as they fell, then years later speak a word and have a volley launched.

The greatness of the Red Nation comes not from subtlety, but from scope. By taking a dozen fusion bombs and invoking them all at the instant of detonation, the Word of Fire was created. With it, one could boil lakes, turn armies into ash and reduce cities to smouldering rubble. It is the seemingly inexhaustible power source for the Nation's factories and the ultimate guarantee against both invasion and assassination. The Krator shall hold his throne for the rest of his life, simply by virtue of knowing the Word, and all below him squabble and scrap for even the most remote chance to be the heir to such insurmountable strength.

Yellow Magic: Divination
"Knowledge is Power."
Divination was the last of the fundamental magics to be discovered. It is the science by which that which rests within the void may be observed. One simply meditates upon the name, and insight is acheived. Any perspective can be employed, from the realistic to the holistic, from the infinitesimally sliced to the instantaneously examined, from the microscopic to the telescopic. One can even tell from when and where something was originally invoked. Some of the greatest advances in medicine were made when live pigs were invoked, then carefully examined in minute detail using the science of divination. Today entire libraries are preserved in the aether, accessible anywhere in the world via divination, and messages are transmitted across the globe by remotely divining microsecond laser bursts fired into sustained invokation fields.

And yet all of this would not be possible, if not for a key insight made by the early aetheric scientists of the Yellow nation: In any given instant, a name may only be invoked or conjured - never both at once. Without this discovery, and the subsequent development of sustained invokations and conjurations, it would be impossible to maintain any public record using divination. Previously, mage who knew the name by which to divine an aethereal library could simply rob it of its contents or even replace them entirely. By invoking a steady trickle of light into the aether, one can prevent all conjurations by the same name. Equally, by conjuring individual grains of sand from the aether, all additions to a name can be barred. With the integrity of the system secured, communication and communal study could proceed.

By Our Powers Combined
Invokation + Conjuration = Scrying
Perform a 1% partial invokation on an pea-sized patch of air near the target, followed by a full conjuration of the contents. You now have a faint impression of all sights, sound and smells visible from that point in space. Perfect for when your religion forbids the use of Divination in communications, citing the inherent unworthiness of mere mortals to gaze directly upon the divine realms.
Invokation + Divination = Telepathy
Perform a 1% partial thought-invokation on yourself, minutely dulling your emotions and thoughts while preserving their character. Allow someone else (at any distance) to divine them. They now have an internal perspective into your thoughts and feelings regarding whatever subject you had been focusing on at the point of invokation.
Divination + Conjuration = Archeonomy
Did you know that even ancient civilizations used to practice invokation? By attempting a divination on all words used by an ancient culture, you can potentially unearth relics of lost civilizations, be they ancient lore, vast treasures or simply the Old Roman Aethereal Reservoir. Why limit yourself to learning the ways of only modern cultures?