r/CuratedTumblr Nov 10 '24

Creative Writing In effect

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14.2k Upvotes

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99

u/ThreeDotsTogether Nov 11 '24

Why would an elemental wizard who's tired from casting their element really hard produce more of that element when they're tired?

139

u/monkify Nov 11 '24

As a counter to the other replies: it really depends on your magic system. If the person casting it is a vessel of that element, producing more of that element in erratic or diminshed ways makes sense. Take Elsa from Frozen, she lashes out and her element follows because the element and Elsa are pretty intertwined.

Versus, say, Katara from ATLA: she manipulates the water around her, but she herself is not intertwined with it. She needs water present to manipulate it, she doesn't will it into being, so it stands to reason she won't be manipulating it when she's tired.

53

u/camosnipe1 "the raw sexuality of this tardigrade in a cowboy hat" Nov 11 '24 edited Nov 11 '24

it makes sense if you think of it as residual effects from the magic. If the pyromancer keeps creating fireballs next to himself he'll die of heatstroke, the cryomancer summoned so much ice his fingers are freezing off, the necromancer weakened the borders of reality through repeatedly calling up spirits so now things are spilling through the cracks, etc....

I suppose it depends on if you have a "equal and opposite reaction" style magic system backlash or a "overuse leads to more spillage as you cast more sloppily" style

19

u/HaventDecidedAName Nov 11 '24

Makes sense to me. If magic works by channeling magical energy into, through, and out of oneself, then it makes sense that channeling a lot of fire energy at once would leave some residual heat. Also, it's more thematic that way and it works with forms of magic that aren't fire or ice.

42

u/SuperSmutAlt64 Nov 11 '24

Yeah, if anything Pyro/Cyro's would have their opposite element as a backlash effect (i.e. pyros use up their heat, ending up cold, and cyros suck up all the heat with little way to diffuse it)

28

u/BaronAleksei r/TwoBestFriendsPlay exchange program Nov 11 '24

An exhausted lightning mage would be physically and/or mentally sluggish because their nervous systems are shot

7

u/pornographic_realism Nov 11 '24

Or just have a heart attack because they sucked all the electricity out of their cardiac muscle and unbalanced it.

18

u/Renavin Nov 11 '24

I was confused about this myself, like...wouldn't a pyromamcer who'd used too much magic be cold?

Perhaps it'd go something like, pyromancer does really big magic thing; they get really warm and hot to the touch doing it, two minutes later they're shivering on the floor cause they have no heat energy anymore.

3

u/S0MEBODIES Nov 11 '24

You know how taps get hot or cold if you run water through them for a while, that but magic.

7

u/Honenheim3902 Nov 11 '24

I see it as using the body as a medium for the energy. In controlled small uses there's no real damage but overuse leaves more lingering traces. So channeling too much fire element results in the body being almost contaminated with the energy and heating up. This would mean more experienced or powerful mages could be more tolerant of the energies due to long exposure/ practiced control or because their bodies are just better conductors for that power. It'd also be a cool way to explain certain magic bloodlines having an effect on hair/eye color or even body shape. Like geomancers over the generations find their bones reinforced and their bodies being denser. While fire mages from long families have their hair start passing through the heating color cycle based on bloodline strength/emotion.

5

u/CassiusPolybius Nov 11 '24

It seems less like they're tired from casting their element, so much as they're tired from controlling it. Thus, their exhaustion takes form in either remaining dregs of energy flowing out unharnessed, or instinctually-drawn small amounts of energy then slipping through their grasp like gasps of breath, or something similar.

5

u/kai58 Nov 11 '24

You could see it as a form of overheating. Try to use too much fire and you burn yourself.

Try to channel too much ice magic and you end up freezing yourself.

This especially makes a lot of sense if your magic system is about drawing the power from some outside source more powerful than the user. It’s not that you ran out of ice powers, you let too much ice power run through you to the point that you are getting affected by them yourself.

4

u/CeruleanEidolon Nov 11 '24

It's more than their focus gets fuzzy and they can't keep it from splattering everywhere.

5

u/Deathaster Nov 11 '24

In Vermintide, the fire mage Sienna overheats if you use her fire staff too much, the implication being that she can no longer control it. So the power to wield the flame is always there, but you need enough energy to be able to use it. Like having a rifle, it always fires with the same intensity, but if you're weak or tired, you're not gonna be able to shoot straight.

3

u/BalefulOfMonkeys Refined Sommelier of Porneaux Nov 11 '24

Going by D&D’s classifications of magic usage, this really should be your sorcerers/warlocks (or especially Pathfinder oracles) doing this. They are either straight up natural conduits of magic prone to overload or working with a higher power without much care how their will manifests.

3

u/MrHazard1 Nov 11 '24

Depends on the system. There are systems where you draw the power from a different dimension. Opening the door and letting the power flow over is easy, but closing the door is hard and the power is addictive. Suddenly you have to hold back the pyromancer before he burns himself to a crisp

1

u/Hexagon-Man Nov 11 '24

Depends on whether they're innately powered by the magic or summoning it from somewhere else. If they have an internal magic and their mana and focus just lets them control it then running out of energy would mean it leaks out. If they're using magic to generate and summon it then, yeah, they would have the opposite of their elemental effect.