Usually, in most light novels, it's only "Just imagine it and pour your mana in, and some nanobot or whatever will make it reality". There are very few that have a clearly defined magic system with defined rules about what is possible and what isn't. Or they have one, but it gets muddied or retconned once the author reaches a point where it gets inconvenient.

I'm reading one good example right now with Zilbagias the Demon Prince. The bloodline magic in this series has a clear ruleset, which is consistent and still in effect 6 volumes in.

[–] wjs018@ani.social 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I tend to prefer softer magic systems like you have described in stories for this reason. Most writers aren't good at writing a hard magic system, so those stories tend to not hold together too well. I find it easier to suspend disbelief if the magic system starts loose to begin with; it makes it less jarring later on.

[–] NineSwords@ani.social 3 points 1 month ago

That's a good point. I think for light novels (where the plot more often than not isn't entirely planned out in advance), there is a sweet spot somewhere where the author has some freedom, but it still has enough of a structure to not feel arbitrary. Slime Tensei did something in that sense where there is a framework of rules at play, but with a Deus Ex Machina in the form of Raphael, the author can just break free if needed. Sadly it feels a bit inconsistent in later volumes.

Personally, I greatly prefer the planned-out, rigid magic systems as long as the author has the skill to pull it off. Even if the constraints aren't so well defined, it's always a huge hype moment when a character can overcome those limitations (ie. Bookworm).

[–] I2jgwh0hYtxrCZQ@ani.social 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I still love Nanobot magic supremacy. We will or will not do it depending on how we decide to interpret our rules.

But I understand wanting more ridged rules to stop things going crazy.

Bookworm has a good mix, you have the rules of praying to the gods, the limitation of the vessel and the favour of the gods. But you also have the magic tools with more freedoms.

Side note - I am still waiting for a RPG game where there is a set magic script and you can create your own spells like programming.

[–] NineSwords@ani.social 1 points 1 month ago

I am still waiting for a RPG game where there is a set magic script and you can create your own spells like programming.

That's a cool idea. I like games that have mechanics that teach kids programming without them noticing. Stuff like FF XII, Unicorn Overlord, or Factorio. There are also some that are more "on the nose" like Human Resource Machine, but for my taste they are too far on the teaching side and not enough on the fun side.

As for magic script, the Ultima series had an actual magic script from which you assembled your spells. It's not very complex and didn't exactly reminds one of programming, but I wonder where it could have gone if the series didn't die with such a framework.