Creating Magic Systems:

“Magic, like any good lie, needs a little logic to make it believable.”

Magic is the heartbeat of fantasy. It’s the sparkle in the air, the impossible made real. But as any fantasy writer will tell you, magic isn’t just about flashy spells and enchanted swords. It’s about rules. Or the lack of them. Or… something in between.

Let’s talk about magic systems — hard, soft, and the juicy hybrid in the middle.

Because if you’re writing fantasy (or romantasy), your magic system needs to feel intentional. Whether it’s rigidly structured or gloriously vague, it has to serve the story. Otherwise, it turns into glitter glue slapped over plot holes.

And trust me, readers can smell glitter glue from a mile away.

🧊 What Is a Hard Magic System?

A hard magic system has clear rules, limitations, and costs. The reader understands exactly how it works, what it can do, and what it can’t.

Think Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. The magic comes from ingesting metals, and each metal gives a specific power. The reader knows the boundaries. That makes victories satisfying and clever, because the characters can’t just pull a new spell out of thin air.

It’s basically the engineering of the magic world. Everything fits together logically. There’s a system. And some readers love systems. If you’re someone who gets excited over flowcharts or making spell spreadsheets, you’re probably a hard magic enthusiast.

Hard magic systems are great for:

• Heist stories or strategy-heavy plots
• High-stakes combat scenes
• Readers who love logic, systems, and puzzles

But here’s the catch: hard magic can become too technical. If it starts to feel like a math problem or an RPG stat sheet, you risk draining the wonder out of your world. Readers might check out emotionally if it feels like your magic is more about mechanics than meaning.

So if you’re going down the hard route, always make sure your characters are at the heart of the system. Let the rules drive emotional conflict and plot twists, not just action sequences.

🌫️ What Is a Soft Magic System?

Soft magic is mysterious. Undefined. It feels magical. The rules (if any) are vague, and the reader isn’t expected to fully understand how it works.

Think The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf is powerful, but we never get a spell list. The magic enhances the mythos. It creates awe and tension because we don’t know exactly what it can do.

Soft magic operates more on emotion and myth than logic. It works best when your story leans toward theme, atmosphere, or big philosophical ideas. It keeps things dreamy, surreal, and often terrifying because of the unknown.

Soft magic is great for:

• Building wonder and atmosphere
• Gods, ancient beings, and mysterious forces
• Symbolic or emotional storytelling

The risk? Deus ex machina. If a character suddenly pulls out a world-saving spell the reader didn’t know was possible, it can feel cheap. The stakes vanish if there are no limits. You never want your climax to feel like the narrative equivalent of “…and then the author waved a wand.”

To avoid that, even soft magic needs emotional logic. You don’t need to explain the how, but you should understand the why. Why does this character get to use magic here? What does it cost? What does it change?

🌀 Enter: The Hybrid Magic System

Most modern fantasy lands somewhere in the middle. A hybrid system gives you structure and mystery. You define some rules, but leave space for the unknown.

Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR series uses this beautifully. We learn the basic rules of different kinds of Fae magic, but there’s still plenty of mystery, hidden powers, and evolving abilities. It keeps things interesting and grounded.

Another great example? Leigh Bardugo’s GrishaVerse. The Small Science has rules, training academies, and classifications. But there are also dark, mythic forces at play that defy easy explanation. It gives readers the satisfaction of rules and the thrill of surprise.

Hybrid systems are great for:

• Character growth (magic that evolves with the user)
• Romantasy (where emotional stakes often intertwine with magical ones)
• Series that want to expand over time

It’s flexible. And flexible is good. Especially when you need the magic to serve character arcs and plot progression.

If you want a system that can grow with your protagonist, change with the world, or deepen across books, hybrid is often the sweet spot. It lets you have magical cake and eat it too.

⚙️ Building Your Own Magic System: Questions to Ask

Whether you go hard, soft, or hybrid, your system should be shaped by your world, your characters, and your themes. Here are some questions to guide you:

1. Where does the magic come from?

• Nature? The gods? Bloodlines? Ancient relics?
• Is it renewable, finite, or dangerously addictive?

2. Who can use it, and why?

• Is it inherited? Learned? Random? Does it come with a social cost?
• Is magic a privilege? A burden? A curse?

3. What does it cost?

• Physical toll? Memory? Morality?
• Does using magic make you less human? Or more powerful at a price?

4. What are the limitations?

• Can it be blocked? Drained? Turned against the user?
• Are there forbidden spells or taboos?

5. How does society react to it?

• Is it feared, revered, regulated?
• Are there magical castes, hierarchies, or systems of oppression?

6. How does it impact your protagonist personally?

• Are they learning to control it? Afraid of it? Defined by it?
• Does their magic reflect their emotional state, desires, or traumas?

7. What role does magic play in the story’s climax?

• Is it a tool, a temptation, or a test?
• Will your protagonist succeed because of magic, despite it, or by giving it up?

✨ Final Thoughts

The best magic systems do more than create cool fight scenes. They reveal character. They expose power dynamics. They deepen your world. And yes, they add sparkle — but sparkle with purpose.

Don’t be afraid to mix structure with mystery. Magic should feel like it belongs — like it grew out of your story, not like it was dropped on top.

So ask yourself: Do you want your reader to understand the rules? Or to feel the wonder? Or maybe both?

Either way, you get to decide. That’s the magic of writing fantasy.

And don’t forget: your magic system doesn’t have to impress everyone. It just has to work. For your world, your characters, and your plot.

Let it breathe. Let it evolve. Let it break the rules — but only once you know what those rules are.