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Q&A Can I plug a loophole in my magic rules without rewriting the whole novel?

Consequences. That something is possible within a system doesn't mean it's a good idea. You can drive your car 180MPH on public roads (if the speedometer labeling is accurate), but if you do you'...

posted 11y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T03:13:42Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/9600
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T03:13:42Z (almost 5 years ago)
Consequences.

That something is possible within a system doesn't mean it's a good idea. You _can_ drive your car 180MPH on public roads (if the speedometer labeling is accurate), but if you do you'll soon be getting used to a bicycle. You _can_ subsist on nothing but Big Macs and Coke for a year, but you may face medical problems. You _can_ make a deal with the devil for great reward in this world, but you'll probably find yourself on the receiving end of an exploit and you'll be handing your soul over much sooner than you planned.

In the case of your magic system, then, the following could be used to prevent use of the loophole (or make for interesting stories when people do it anyway):

- an authority that will do something bad to you if you try it
- a great personal cost (health, sanity, related magical powers, a curse, whatever)
- a correction factor in the magic system itself; magical forces will compensate for the loophole exploit in a way that will make the exploiter unhappy
#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2013-12-02T02:04:05Z (almost 11 years ago)
Original score: 17