 If you're anything like me, you probably like overthinking things. And if you're a fantasy sci-fi writer, you definitely like overthinking things. You clicked on this video, you already know what it's about. Levi from Campfire and I have teamed up to explain the differences between hard and soft magic systems as well as how to decide which one to use in whatever project you're working on. If you haven't seen his then go do that because he explains what they are, what the differences are, and how to use them in ways that tie in with the themes of your work. Hey, Levi here. In my video I discuss how choosing between a hard or soft magic system can affect your audience and your ability to effectively express a theme. Make sure you come check it out. I'm here to talk about how your magic should be used to maximize the ability to problem solve and how to expand it. First off is problem solving. This is one of the biggest considerations for choosing a magic system, and if you need to solve problems with your magic then a hard system is the pretty clear choice. If your audience knows how the magic works then they won't be confused when you use it to progress the plot. Brandon Sanderson described it in his first law of magic. An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic. If your characters are going to routinely use magic to solve their problems then you should lean towards building a hard magic system as your audience learns the rules they'll be able to solve problems alongside the characters, and more importantly when the characters solve a complex problem using magic it won't feel like a cop out. The audience will be able to follow the logic of how the magic was used. Let's look at an example of a problem that a character might run into, a locked door that they need to get past. There are a million different ways they could get through it, both mundane and magical. If they wanted to just cast a spell to unlock it or if they just make a magic explosion that blows it open then that probably won't be all that satisfying. Especially if the one who cast it has never displayed that kind of ability before. At that point the magic is just being used as a crutch and it removes the stakes of the story. Now let's look at how you can solve this in a satisfying manner using both hard and soft magic. For soft magic you can simply have the character struggle to learn the proper spell for a long time and when they find they get it it's a triumphant moment. There aren't necessarily strict rules to this but it can still work as overcoming an obstacle because the obstacle in this case wasn't the door it was their own inability to use magic properly. Or you could have the character try to cast the spell but then it blows up in their face and it takes out the door. Then the obstacle will be removed but the magic will feel scarier and kind of uncontrollable so anytime it comes up the audience gets nervous. The characters can only use it as a last resort in that case. With hard magic you could still use a simple spell but the spell requires a pinch of gold dust that disappears after use so it has a high cost and they can only use it a couple of times. Or maybe the character has telekinesis and they get an idea to use their power to pick the lock. It's a clever and subtle application of their ability and the audience will see that and go oh I didn't think of that. Hard magic solutions might be more technical but if handled properly both possibilities are satisfying. The most important part is adding limitations and handicaps that the audience understands. That way they never wonder why the hero doesn't just snap his fingers to kill the dark lord. Of course sometimes problems are as simple as defeat the bad guy in which case magic either shouldn't be used or you should stick to hard magic and weirdly enough a lot of anime does this really well. In my hero academia a lot of people are born with superpowers that can vary wildly in capability but every individual only has one. When you see someone who can punch things really hard you know that they can't also summon swarms of bees and when someone appears who can unravel part of his clothes into fabric strings and manipulate them in order to restrain targets who the hell writes this stuff. You know he can't punch through concrete but the weaker powers allow for some creative applications that can put the heroes into underdog positions when they fight. In Avatar the Last Airbender benders can manipulate their elements in interesting ways but there are severe limitations to this and earthbender can't just lift an entire mountain and a waterbender can't create water out of nothing they need a source for it. There are clear rules that put in limitations, advantages and disadvantages which help the fights remain frantic and fun. I know the question of whether or not Avatar the Last Airbender counts as an anime is surprisingly contentious but I honestly don't care to me it's just it's a good show argue about it amongst yourselves nerds. You don't have to use magic to solve problems in fantasy that's not the only purpose magic can serve. It can also be a tool for evoking wonder or exploring a theme. That's for Levi's video though which you should have already watched if you haven't already go go do that. Now the next thing to consider is expansion. If you're doing a single novel or standalone movie this probably isn't a big concern for you but if you're working on a series this can be incredibly important. In hard magic systems if you want to expand the magic systems down the line you need to think ahead while soft magic systems have more room for flexibility. In a hard magic system if you all of a sudden change how they work the audience will feel cheated so if you're going to expand your magic system there needs to be a clear logic to it. If you take a hard magic system and change it rapidly without much explanation you make a sort of dissonance in the story. At first there's rules and the world makes sense changing those rules can be a betrayal of trust to your audience but that doesn't mean it can't be done. It's just if you do it poorly it's kind of like if there was a murder mystery and you bring in a killer who was never introduced at the end of the story it's like it's kind of rip off. In Mistborn Allomancy works by swallowing metals and then burning them in your stomach. We only hear about 10 different metals at first but the characters mentioned that there might be more so when a new metal with new powers appears in the story it's a cool moment rather than an asshole to try and get the heroes out of trouble. It stays within the rules that were set up earlier. However hard or soft the magic is it is susceptible to power creep. Now power creep is a term that describes the power level of a series continually growing more and more and more until it's unrecognizable by the end. The writers realize that they need to fill more time so they try to make the next villain stronger than the last one then they have to make the hero stronger to match and then the next villain and the next villain. Naruto started off with ninjas that could breathe fire and it ended with literal gods hypnotizing the planet and destroying mountains with sword swings. It didn't happen all at once though it was a result of every villain needing to be bigger and better than the last one. This is one of the glaring issues with the most recent Star Wars movie. For most of the series while the force is vague we see it behave in pretty consistent ways you know telekinesis force lightning the occasional mind trick that sort of thing but all of a sudden in the final movie they push the powers of the force in a bunch of new different directions most notably the fact that the force can give away or suck away life force from people. Okay that's never even been hinted at before so it winds up just being a clumsy reveal. The rapid expansion doesn't feel real and can break the suspension of disbelief that the audience has. Fantasy can get a bad rap for making their magic do anything the writer wants. The best way to avoid this is to establish a ceiling early on so that the audience knows the maximum extent of the magic. Let's go back to my hero academia. Just a few episodes in All Might fights a no-moo and is forced to go all out and since All Might is the strongest hero in the world we know that the heroes and the villains won't go much higher than that. It gives Deku a target to aspire towards while simultaneously preventing the story from growing more ridiculous in small steps that's why it's called Power Creep. You don't notice it until it's already on top of you. God I was not intending to talk about anime so much. I'm not a weeaboo I promise. Not a weeaboo. Going back to the rise of Skywalker the power ceiling is completely lifted with the emperor who brings the force to whole new heights and it just feels cartoonish. You can introduce changes in the magic system slowly over time but in this case things changed very suddenly. The harder your magic system is the more effort it things should take to change it. You can introduce changes in the magic system slowly over time but in this case things changed very suddenly. The harder your magic system is the more effort it should take to change. Maybe the characters discover something new or something about the world itself changes. The key is that it hollows the logic you've already established earlier in the story. That's about all I have for my half of this. It's a bit vague but when you're talking about something as broad as magic you kind of have to be vague. All advice can do is give you tools to deal with problems as they arise. Thanks for watching. Subscribe for more of my thoughts on bizarre or obscure topics and go to Campfire's channel for more writing advice. For real this is the third time I've told you. If you haven't done that go do it. Bye.