Functional Magic - Television Tropes & Idioms

alt title(s): Inherent Gift; Magic

Garden flowering in winter? That's magic, all right.

"You can't ask questions, it's magic. It doesn't explain anything, it's magic. You don't know where it comes from, it's magic! That's what I don't like about magic, it does everything by magic!"

— Commander Vimes, Thud!

Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science!

— Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius

Any magical system that allows standardized spells that do the same thing every time you cast them. This style of phlebotinum is sometimes subject to its own flavor of technobabble.

Some (but not all) possible flavors of Functional Magic:

Inherent Gift: along the lines of Piers Anthony's Xanth books, in which characters are born with abilities that are quite specifically defined, in addition to their superhuman ability to survive puns. This also can happen in Magic Realism.
Theurgy: where the magic is done entirely by spirits and gods with whom the caster makes deals; the "caster" in this case knows nothing more than a glorified phone number. Wiccan magic — both as practiced in the "real" world and as depicted in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and, to a lesser extent, Charmed — is mostly Theurgy. When Magic itself is a kind of entity with which casters make bargains and cut deals, this becomes a variety of Wild Magic (below).
- The highest level of this type of magic is Summon Magic, in which the caster summons the entity itself to wherever he is and bosses it around. As one might imagine, this can easily lead to the entity turning on its would-be temporary master if done wrong, especially if the entity is a demon or some other form of Always Chaotic Evil.
Rule Magic: where some underlaying magical rule system is applied, as in manipulation by "True Name" or sympathetic symbolism. Most "study spells and say words of power" magic seen in fantasy literature, films and TV shows are Rule Magic. Real world examples would be Hermeticism, Kabbalah, and Onmyodo. Vancian Magic is a completely fictional example. A strong contender for both categories is the Law of Contagion — ie, if you have a piece of the target, you can affect it from afar (since it's still part of a "whole", even if it's miles or kilometers distant). This is, however, usually just one rule in a larger system.
- Alchemy: Magical chemistry. Effectively a variety of Rule Magic, but it is limited to creating magical substances rather than the direct application of power/energy by force of will.
- Magic Music: Another form of rule magic where music is the key to activating it. Used in settings where bards have magical abilities. As one might guess, it is rarely used to be outright offensive and tends to focus more on healing friends and befuddling or beguiling enemies.
Force Magic: Practitioners of magic tap into and control or weave together one or more magical forces. Often invokes a Background Magic Field. Magic which waxes and wanes according to how close the manipulator is to a "Ley Line" falls into this category. See also The Force, Minovsky Particle, Mana, Magic A Is Magic A.
Device Magic: Magic performed with some form of mystical device or relic. This is the magic packaged for use by non-casters, as are alchemical potions. Making new devices is sometimes a trade in magic-heavy worlds. Some settings reveal pre-existing artifacts to be Imported Alien Phlebotinum or Lost Technology. See also Magic Wand, Magitek, Green Rocks, Green Lantern Ring, Magic From Technology.
Wild Magic: No one has any control over what happens and when, although sometimes it can be influenced. The magic is basically alive. It has its own will and its own agenda and will only help you if it feels like it. Finagles Law often applies. Usually Magic Realism permits only this and Inherent Gift.

While some magical systems allow it to do practically anything, restricted only by the user's power and imagination, in other systems the magic user is restricted to variations on a theme. Classic styles are:

Divination: Seeing the future or the immediately relevant. These are the people who produce the prophecies, though they may also be able to see things far away.
Elemental Magic: The magic users typically work with only one element, which reflects their personality. They might be able to create a volcano with a snap of their fingers but not to levitate a single pebble, or vice versa.
Necromancy: Power over the dead and The Undead. Mediums, who can only talk to the dead, get classed with diviners, but those who raise the dead are almost always villains. Still, even then, this is not always Black Magic.
Transmutation: Transforming something into something else. Likely to involve Equivalent Exchange, as noted below (you can't turn nothing into something). Most forms of alchemy involve transmutation, as seen in the classical 'turning lead into gold' trick. At its most extreme, this form of magic may also involve Shape Shifting (either of the caster or of someone else), when it's not an innate ability of the caster's race.
Mentalism: Power over the minds and emotions of others. Quite often involves Mind Control and abilities that mimic Psychic Powers in a magical context.
Nature magic: Power over all things living. Quite often includes turning themselves into animals or a Green Thumb.
Summon Magic: Summoning spirits, or at least animals, to provide assistance. May overlap with nature magic, but not always.
White Magic: "Holiness." Blessing, healing, protecting... all of the most benevolent of effects. Half of the time includes ways to inflict major pain on deserving targets because Revive Kills Zombie... or at least supposedly deserving targets. Often the power used by a Staff Chick, Paladin or High Priest(ess) of a benevolent god.
Black Magic: "Unholiness." Cursing, killing, tormenting... all of the nastiest sorts of stuff. Often includes Necromancy as a matter of course.
Equivalent Exchange: Not usually a type of magic, unless the series has "Wish Magic" of a sort. This is when a spell or magical effect requires a sacrifice of equal value to work. This is often a feature of theurgic or wild magic systems, where the books must be balanced for every magical effect performed.

These styles of magic crosscut the list of ways of doing magic above. While divining is often an inherent gift, there are also examples of pure diviners, unable to do any other style of magic, who see the future through theurgy, rule magic, device magic, or wild magic (or a combination). Whatevermancy is a common naming convention for fantasy magical styles. See Magic A Is Magic A. With all this wonderful diversity, you can expect some snobbish magicians to consider there are Un Equal Rites.