NaNo 4328 / 50,000
Check out Xanth for a series where magic is internal and natural to all species, including humans. Each has a "talent" which is unique and in great variety.
The connotations of "superpowers" instead of "magic" would make the work feel different, but otherwise is completely appropriate.
Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
That's not magic then that's just superpowers with Everyone Is a Super being called something else.
Well, some series do make magic being the source of someone's super powers... there are many ways magic works, just as there are many ways superpowers work. Some can even overlap.
And then there's stuff like Dr. Strange, superhero who use magic mainly.
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NaNo 4328 / 50,000
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It's called Functional Magic on our site. I'm sorry, but trying to create a distinction between superpowers and magic is like trying to create a distinction between grey and gray; without your explanation, people can't see it and might even divide them the exactly opposite method.
Lost in Space
The key difference between magic and superpowers is the distinction between something that can be trained by anyone and something that's innate to the character. Not all magic has the "can be learned by anyone" property, but even so, it certainly grants superhuman abilities — it's not like there's much difference between throwing a car with Super Strength and throwing it with a telekinesis spell in terms of how it differentiates the character from ordinary humans.
The fact is that most people cannot do those things, and so the powers are "super". What's left is more a matter of presentation and storytelling.
edited 28th Feb '17 9:55:47 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Not sure why that would be a key difference. To me, the grounding in real abilities and the specificity the core trait of a superpower. Flight is a superpower but spellcasting is magic.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Unless you have a spell that gives flight. ;)
As somebody at the top stated, some works use "magic" for innate powers as well. If we suddenly say that it's not "real magic", that would be disregarding an actual precedence of the use of the term.
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But if you can fly because of a spell you cast, it's spellcasting that is your fundamental ability, not flying.
No, the other one.
That's usually how I see magic. Spells are an application of the actual power, which is the ability to use magic. And that in turn can be a superpower, depending on the work. If you can learn how to use magic, it's not a superpower. If only a few percent of the population can use magic, it could be considered a superpower, but it depends on how the story presents it. If only one or two characters can use it in the entire work, then it's probably a superpower, but still not necessarily.
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Magic and Supernatural Martial Arts both involve "casting a spell", even if the techniques involved are very different. You can even fuel a spell with Ki or an Enhanced Punch with Mana, though it's seldom done (outside of the advanced Kanka technique, which mixes Mana into the user's Ki as a form of doping). Psychics are something entirely different - they use their powers as easily as breathing (enough to make the most skilled Simplified Spellcaster weep), but can't learn new ones (though they can potentially figure out how to use their powers in different ways).
The power source for Negima psychics isn't brought up, but just because an ability is innate doesn't mean it has to be internally powered. There's a bunch of X-Men with powers that draw energy from other dimensions, for instance. And if "mana capacity" is a physical trait for wizards, then "Super Mana Capacity" could be a superpower just as much as Super-Strength is (albeit it's rarely treated that way).
edited 4th Mar '17 8:59:10 AM by Prime32
The big difference between Magic and Superpowers is the way it is done IMO, Magic is mystical and the source of the power is not just an internal power but external or separate in some way like MP meters or well The Force. Superpowers are internal and are natural in some way.
Its the same difference as Ki / Ninjitsu vs Magic in works like Negima or A Certain Magical Index. Ki and Ninjitsu is internal and manipulated to go external while magic is The Force and magi draw on that power with their spells but can only hold so much, described as mana tanks, thus have a limited resource before they have to rest to recharge.
Also with Everyone Is a Super their powers should still be unique and in great variety, Magi are all mostly the same with some specializing in various schools and such.
edited 27th Feb '17 6:04:53 PM by Memers