Access methods for magic systems with a Higher Being as the source [closed]
Closed by System on Apr 6, 2018 at 12:16
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I'm creating a magic system where the "magic" comes from "Higher Beings" as a source. Besides the "obvious praying to the gods," can anyone tell me of any other methods for accessing magic from a "God" or higher being?
Sorry if this falls under worldbuilding.
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I think it is a world building question, but I'll answer it here because I'll be sleeping by the time the site police move it over to the worldbuilding SE.
How you communicate with your Higher Being will depend largely on the role which that particular deity plays in your pantheon.
If you need magic from the Trickster God, make him laugh. Set up a truly preposterous joke with utter faith that the punch line will come true. If the God thinks that it is funny, it doesn't matter that the punch line is impossible. The magic will pull off the joke.
If you need magic from a War God, demonstrate tremendous courage and savagery on the battle field. If your God respects you as a fellow warrior, She will help you survive no matter how desperate the odds; or failing that, will at least make sure that you die a hero's death.
For a Minstrel God, play music. For a Healer God, give care to those in need.
Earn your God's attention by excelling in Their areas of expertise. Forget praying with words unless your God is a poet, in which case, pray beautifully.
Communicate with your God through your actions. Let your faith be demonstrated by your fearless charge toward the absolute pinnacle of your craft, to an extreme which would require a miracle to accomplish. If your faith is solid and your craft is worthy, your God will reward you with the miracle of their magic.
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If your "higher beings" are something that you can talk with, you could form contracts with the beings in exchange for power. Great power needs often a great price. The higher the being is, the more it takes from the contractor.
That is the first example that popped in my mind, but there are many others.
The best way to figure something out for yourself would be to research the pre-christian magic. Ancient Magic from Egypt or Babylonia. Old Irish and Scottish Magic. Persian Magic, something like that. There are often magics, related to some god, Dschinn or Spirit that could help you with the building of this system.
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Don't forget that you have magic so you can use magical items; perhaps at some price exacted by the Gods.
So an example system would be that your amulet or ring or bracelet is a contract with a particular God that controls a particular kind of magic, you cannot have a contract with more than one God at a time, and every time you use it, you owe the God something s/he covets, and the bigger the magic, the bigger the debt.
Perhaps the Gods are in competition with each other for acolytes. If your God Pako brings down the walls of a castle, you must kill an adherent of the God Hargrave. If Pako just unlocks your chains, you must spend a day building him a flower altar, that gets Pako prestige points amongst the other Gods. The prices are high so you don't use magic too much.
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