Gatekeepers: The System of Casting

I needed an extra post this week to fill out my Thursday slot, so I thought now as good of time as any to talk about the magic system in Gatekeepers. Specifically, the system I've decided to call casting.

I won't go too deep since some of the specific nuances are many times tied to the plot, but I will talk about some of my rationale for structuring it the way it is.

So, I always thought the usual fantasy elements of fire, earth, water, and air to be not only played out, but limited. Earth, water, and air are all matter based, but fire is a chemical reaction. Then, you need to make weird distinctions like what category do other things actually fall into; like lightning, wood, lava, steam... the list goes on. So I wondered... what if you used kinds of energy instead of "elements"?

That is the basic premise of how I came up with the standard types of casting. There are five types, as follows: Gravity, Electricity, Fire, Light, and Kinetic. Each caster can only use a single one of these types. In addition to this, each type has a polarity associated with it. This is less immediately noticeable with electricity, but for gravity, it means a gravity caster can reduce the weight of things as well as increase their weight. Fire casters, more frequently called thermal casters, can also remove thermal energy to create ice. Casters can still only use one type of energy, but I think it's a neat idea to have them able to switch their polarity in this way for some variety in abilities.

Also, I thought it important to ground the magic system in less ephemeral terms(like "inner strength/willpower"). People can expand their power over their energy type through practice, just like exercise can increase physical strength. This by it's very nature creates a different kind of standard "mage", where instead of being frail they are frequently very physically fit. At least, the really powerful ones are.

There is also a classification system for casters, but it functions a bit like power levels in DBZ; it serves as more of a ball park estimate rather than a highly accurate indicator of strength.

Class 1: Manipulation - (can manipulate energy)
Class 2: Generation - (can generate energy)
Class 3: Absorption - (can absorb energy)
Class 4: Storage - (can store a certain amount of energy)
Class 5: Fabrication - (can create energy constructs)
Class 6: Fusion - (can perform energy fusion)
Class 7: Sacred - (can create/manipulate sacred energy)

A caster is assigned a class based on the highest technique they have achieved. Most casters are in the class four/five area, with anyone below that being considered below average in terms of power. Class sixes are considered highly capable, and class sevens are veterans.

Of course, while the books mostly focus on the combat aspects of casting, the world itself uses casting just like any other skill. There are craftsmen that use kinetic casting to build things, gravity casters can move extremely heavy loads over large distances, thermal casters can cook food without a heating element and create ice boxes to preserve leftovers... there are a lot of very practical applications of this kind of energy manipulation. You would think this would make the entire world super futuristic, but that's only partially true.

When we think futuristic, we think everything is electric, wireless, AI based. But realize that this conception is mainly because we have electricity as the most consistent form of power in our own world, and everything runs on it. In this fictional world, they can make things like light bulbs with literal light energy, circumventing the conversion of electricity into light. They have never invented the light bulb because, to them, it would be incredibly redundant when a simple light is easy to make(for light casters) and inexpensive for others to purchase. This leads to much more modular systems in general, as many smaller energy constructs are able to perform the actions of larger power grids. Of course, they have their own challenges, like large concentrations of different types of energy interfering with each other and causing increasing instability, but that is where energy engineering as a science comes in. Though, in all honesty, it's more a way of nerfing the tech so someone in universe doesn't make a super suit enchanted with all types of energy that makes the wearer completely invincible. Because I find two people with such equipment just punching each other until the other runs out of power far less interesting in word format.

But I think this is plenty of detail for now. This system by itself is a large reason why I classify my Gatekeepers books as Sci-Fantasy; it's got a bit of both. I go into more about casting in the book(s), so if this system sounds interesting, maybe consider picking up a copy.