Brandon Sanderson ‘s rules for magic systems
- Sanderson’s Zeroth Law - Always err on the side of awesome.
- Sanderson’s First Law - Your ability to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.
- Deus Ex Machina is not very satisfying
- A law about foreshadowing properly
- Rules vs Mystery in a magic system
- Think of a sliding scale of: Problem Solving with Magic (Magic as Science) vs A Sense of Wonder
- Hard vs Soft Magic
- Soft Magic - you don’t know the consequences or even the cost of the magic
- Monkey’s Paw
- Gandalf - we’re not really sure what he can and can’t do at least in the Lord of the Rings
- Hard Magic - you know the costs and effects of the magic in general
- The One Ring - turns you invisible, expands your life, but Sauron can see you and you turn into Golem
- Soft Magic - you don’t know the consequences or even the cost of the magic
- Using Lord of the Rings Helm’s Deep as an example Gandalf says “Look for me on the fifth day.” So the setup is that they need to survive five days and they’ll be saved. Vs Minas Tirith the setup is not quite done as well.
- Sanderson’s Second Law - Flaws, limitations, and costs are more interesting than powers
- Sanderson’s Third Law - Before adding new magic see what you can do to expand what you already have