Cost of Magic in Your System

By Guest Author Joan McNulty-Pulver

In my article, How to Start Building a Mystical Magic System, we learned that all magic must have rules. What many people don't stop to realize is that magic also has a cost (just like the technology of today). Computers, cars, and any other energy dependent products we buy cost money to run. It also costs in energy used, the depletion of oil, coal, wood, or whatever fuel is consumed to power our tools or toys.

Costs are not always defined by financial terms, but includes consequences consisting of anything from simple physical weakness or exhaustion if overused on a personal level, to something more drastic the depletion of ley lines (power sources beneath the earth), nodes (where two or more ley-lines meet) or Heart Stones (built-up sources of energy and power that control and protect the Vale by the Tayledras Clan in the Mage Winds trilogy of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey) to the complete destruction of a country, planet or entire universe. Many times dark magic requires the use of blood sacrifice - either the wielders or someone else's.

In the early years of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, matrix workers using psi powers became tired and had to eat fruit or some other sweet in order to restore energy lost while working in the "Matrix Circles." They also had to refrain from sexual activities and sleep for many hours after working.

Assign Appropriate Cost

While designing a magical system, be careful to assign an appropriate cost to the type and strength of magic performed. A simple love spell cast into a stone or potion should not equal the cost of a mage throwing lightening bolts at the enemy or someone mentally controlling the weather.

Let's look at available levels of magic to employ in your story.

One of the least costly levels of magic is mind speech or mind magic (the ability to speak mind-to-mind with another humanoid being with out infringing on their right to privacy). If this is normal to the world it would take a little more energy than having a conversation orally. Things like magical charms or amulets, simple potions, gems with magical properties or even cursed or enchanted weapons come into play. These take a little energy just like physical labor does to non-magical beings so it may not be worth even mentioning.

In some magic systems healing is part of the magic. I have read books where the healer, while curing the ills of another comes down with a mild form of the illness. In other stories Healers actually enter the sick person's body through the mind and follow neural paths in the body to repair broken bones or other sicknesses. The cost to exercise this magic is usually extreme tiredness to the point of exhaustion.

Examples of the Cost of Using Magic

In Windwalker by Donna Sundblad, the Augur (a seer) is always born with a bumblefoot and has problems walking except when they "walk on the wind." Queen Riona, the antagonist, must hold the mage stone in her hands when she leaves her body to travel as a serpent or other animal form. If someone were to shatter that rock or hold it from her while she is not in human form, she could die. To give up the power of the stone will take away the spell of youth and change her to the old mortal woman she really is.

The harder the magic is to perform the higher the cost to the magician, except in blood magic where the cost is someone else's blood. I just finished reading For King and Country by Robert Aspirin and Linda Evans, in which Lady Covinia Le is one of the antagonists. She is the person who gave Arthur his blade Excalibur. No one but the reader knows until the end that she is evil. She forged Excalibur and tempered it in the blood of Arthur's cousin. Even if he didn't know it, that blade cost him a loved one.

Just remember, that no matter what happens magically, there has to be some type of cost to the wielder or to another person or animal.

About the Author
Joan McNulty Pulver, mother of five and grandmother of five, works as an Administrative Secretary for the State of Florida but considers writing and editing to be her vocation. She is a course developer and facilitator at Writers' Village University and the Personnel Coordinator/Editor for ePress-online. Joan's published works include fictional short stories, several articles and true-life stories. She is currently working on a non-fiction book and a fantasy novel.