forum I know it's been done before, sort of, but does my magic system sound interesting?
Started by @hollow-boned
tune

people_alt 43 followers

@hollow-boned

I thought of a modern-day world where people all over the world have different powers, and they are usually triggered by an extremely traumatic event (one of my main characters has an arsonist father and he burned their house down, killing his mother, and got jailed). The powers vary wildly and since it's a relatively new event and most people hide theirs, there are no studies done on it, therefore no official scientific explanation.

I literally thought about it like 10 minutes ago so it's waay underdeveloped but as a general idea, is it good?

@Mindful_Bison

That sounds really interesting! It reminds me of Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners series where an Epic's (a person with superpowers) weakness is tied to important things from their past, but in reverse. I like your idea because you can hint at a character's backstory through the effects of their powers, without ever explicitly explaining their past.

@hollow-boned

Can I get some examples?

ok, ummm
the main character, Declan, had an arsonist father who burned their house down when he was 16. He managed to get out of the house with only one scar on his back, but his mom died in her sleep. His dad got jailed and he was sent to an orphanage. About a month later, he accidentally sets his pants on fire during a particularly bad nightmare. The powers aren't necessarily related to the traumatic event itself, but his is, and he finds it really ironic.

his ex, who is also an orphan (and the villain), has a power that makes other people feel very intense pain that is entirely fake. he drags his hand on parts of his own body and the person in front of him feels pain in their own body part. it's bad enough to make someone pass out. the pain is simply a trick, something to do with the nervous system. not sure what the guy went through yet, i'll figure it out.