Discussion Magic Systems and power levels

So I'm trying to come up with a magic system but I'm having trouble define levels of power. i don't want it to be that bullshit where the MC is like 3 levels lower than bad guy A, but still. wins cause he as some special thing or can power up or the cringing plot armor. So, I wonder if you guys have any ideas?

My current magic system kind of is like cultivation with the mage absorbing mana and refining it into their specific element. in the system there are three types of mages; casters which absorb mana and refine mana before transferring it to their mana pool which they uses to cast a wide verity of spells, warriors which strengthen their bodies by transferring mana into their body after refining it creating a battle aura that can be used to cast short ranged or self-targeted spells, and lastly the Spell Knight which is a mix of the two.

the reason the Spell knights are rarer that the other two has to do with the fact that they need to refine mana to add to both their mana pool and battle aura. the reason being is that the battle aura mana and mana from a mana pool are different because the battle aura mana is refined twice and is connect to the muscles and blood of the warrior not allowing the warrior to access all of his mana as most will remain in his body to support the strengthing his body has gone through. the mana in a mana pool resides in the mages mind in a spiritual type allowing to access all of it unlike a warrior allow them to cast larger long range mana attacks, but in return is physically weaker.

so Spell Knights need to put in twice the effort as the other two and normally can only be brought up by a noble family that can support giving them lots of items that boost their absorption rate, as well as help strengthen their body and mind. not to mention learn both spells and battle arts (spells for warriors).

How the magic works is kind of simple. for caster they chant or have things like talismans that have pre-inscribed spells on them and simple supply mana, while battle arts are instant cast and expand the expend their aura. what i like is the draw back for both. the casters after using to much mana will have headaches and become dizzy even faint or death if they force themselves, while warriors lose their defensive battle aura over time and slowly become weaker as their body is forced to use the mana in their body when the battle aura is lower than 10% as a natural defense mechanism so they don't completely lose their defensive aura, that is unless the warrior consciously forces himself to use only his defensive aura. the biggest drawback for warriors is that when they use the mana in their bodies it can cause permanent damage, while for casters it can cause permanent brain damage.

I really want to make a system where the MC can be stronger than others, but not because of bullcrap power jumps and level breaking things. So, I think I'm going to make it that the level of powers are absolute its still very possible for someone to better someone of a higher level with strategy and technique.

so what do you think? and I would like to hear your own ideas on magic systems cause they are probably better than my idea. Also one last thing, i'm trying to think of the names for each level. should I give them creative names or just make them 1 ~ 10 star?

 

Level? Do you mean level in game or level in CN cultivation novel? Or is it similar to Mushoku Tensei?

 

more like cultivation, but i don't really want them to be absolutely stronger than a level below them because of bla bla bla, it just means they have more mana and usually means they have stronger spells or arts to use. doesn't mean they are better in combat.

 

There are a couple ways to cross the levels in this situation without it being plot armor.

Elemental difference: for example the mc cultivates space-time or death/necromancy. So versus some random fire bro he shits on them

Bloodline difference: hes half whatever, though that could be a little plot armory if you dont also give it disadvantages.

Cultivation technique difference: requires more mana or aura but has a stronger so-and-so.

 

shet dude you wrote gardener *sparkling eyes*
i think special blood lineages can do the trick with the right kind of buff it can give it seems sensible to me

 

right i was going with all three already actually with him have a special type of technique that allows him to use all seven elements that only his family can learn

 

were you a fan?

 

Alot were fans

Its a shame you got such bad ratings, they definitely wern't deserved

 

Just steal the D&D one..... and add a shitty mana system that works through cultivation

 

how about something like tiers broad tiers instead of levels. something like bronze, silver, gold, etc where each tier has requirements to qualify thats not like you have x mana and can cast x spells

 

Yeah that was really disheartening. that and i kind of made myself a hole which was difficult to continue with. so I've kind of been playing around with several ideas, even get one i am too passionate about though.

 

hmm that sounds pretty good, thanks!

 

how about no levels at all to make it infinitely more interesting

how about a system where the only 'levels' are the accomplishments of an individual

 

Just an idea, but taking the warrior as an example you could make it so that they strengthen one part of their body and they are at certain level and so on. That could give you 6 levels for the body (limbs, torso and head), then something similar for the casters with the mana pool (also 6 levels).

You could make the magicians have "really low" mana reserves so they can't do a bunch of op attacks. Make them like Megumin (if you have watched Konosuba you'll know), so that it becomes a battle of how well they use their mana. Like, 1st level magicians can do 100 light attacks that only draw some blood from the opponents, 10 medium attacks that can destroy one limb and 1 op attack that can kill. Defense would be something similar. But this would be leaving and forbbiding cultivation techniques differences. There may be slightly stronger techniques but there are no op ones, to take some of the plot armor away.

idk, I would see it a bit similar to martial arts in real life. There may be "stronger" ones, but it's not like if you learn one, you will be able to win against anybody in the world + having little stamina. Put that in the magicians and you have a "fair" system.

 

If you want the protagonist to be stronger than average, then one tactic is to add a unique element to his cultivation.

For example what if the mana they absorb and refine comes in different qualities, a more common lower tier mana, and a rarer high tier mana. With most people blindly absorbing a mix of the different types. The protagonist could have a special constitution so his body can only absorb high tier mana. Due to this his cultivation has been a lot slower, but unknown to him the high quality mana has made him a lot stronger.

 

Then it is similar to mushoku tensei rather than cultivation ...... anyway just think of a cool name..... it's much better than star :V ...... and it makes my chunibyou heart tremble S2

 

actually his 2 unique techniques involves is a forbidden technique that his family developed to be stronger than others.

one allows him to consume the flesh of warriors allowing him to add 10% of their mana to his own body though it must be refined again to fit his element. the other has him create various spirits that can do different things one of which is one type can act as a mana pool so he later has one for each different element. they grow by eating the souls of casters to increase their own mana. so he kind of cheats allowing him to grow really fast and it adds a darker element to the story which goes well with the dark setting

 

Hmmm, for confirmation, I wish to know where the mana pool is stored in the body. Because if you put it the way that you did, you can make it so that the MC has a broken Mana Pool in where his mana pool leaks into his body, assuming that it's somewhere in the stomach like a dantian or smth. However, the catch is that he takes a bit longer to power up, like 1.5x the norm, though you can solve that with convenient plot elements

 

Try something Skyrim Esque where someone needs a certain level of proficiency to be able to learn or use certain skills effectively. However, you can still use the super high levelled skills, it's just that it eats up waaay too much mana or they'll cause you to receive a lot of damage.

 

I get it that you dont want your MC to have a cheat like ability right? Then you can try to give your MC a unique build such as giving him cc ability, resistance ability, or movement ability so he/she can escape any dangerous situations.
The other way is to equip your MC with something Godly.