Are there any similiarity & different between Mana Based & Non Mana Based Magic System

As someone who like various speculative fiction especially Science Fantasy & Isekai Genre and make I think that there are any similarity & differences between Mana Based & Non-Mana Based Magic System, as well as example of both type of magic system since most of my novel magic system, is based on the concept where you can use the ability of that concept and also Non-Mana Magic System

It sounds like you are portraying this as a dichotomy and it really isn't. "Not mana" can still cover several possible sources of magic. So what is the other source? It's not enough to just "not mana".

Not entirely sure I'm tracking the question, but most magic systems have some sort of limitation on usage, if only because otherwise it's really hard to maintain narrative tension. Whether you've got some sort of mana system, or slot system, or something else altogether, it's usually the case that they can't 'do it all the time, at will, at no cost.'

Yeah, we need more clarification regarding what you define a "mana-based magic system" as.

Mana Based Magic System is a Magic system in which users have to extract mana to use as a medium for casting spells example is Most Isekai anime Magic System Non-Mana Based Magic System is Magic System in which users don't have to extract mana to use as a medium for casting spell example is Superpower from superhero comic

I think I see- in fact, Brandon Sanderson's entry on New Weird says that his magic has more in common with superpowers than traditional fantasy magic systems. I haven't gotten around to reading any of his works, so I can't comment on that, unfortunately, but maybe his stuff might be worth checking out.

Perhaps one way to define superpowers as compared to magic might be that they're innate to just a single unique person or relatively small group of people and can't be learned by just anyone- nobody can gain Spider-Man's spider powers through study, for instance. However... I've heard of a lot of fantasy settings where magic is very rare and the ability to use magic is restricted to a certain few bloodlines or beings or whatever. I don't think anybody in Middle-Earth can learn whatever Gandalf does through study and might specifically have to be a Maia like him, but there's nobody likening Gandalf to Superman. The more I think about this, the blurrier the line is.

Regardless, any sort of power or ability, mundane or fantastical, still needs to have a cost or limitation, even if it isn't strictly "mana" or any other sort of video game-like personal rechargeable magical energy battery, so perhaps you could explore other limitations to magic that can't be reduced to mana or a "personal battery".

Maybe it could be a bit like alchemy and require certain materials that the character has to keep on hand and can mix and match- like this spell needs materials x, y, and z and this other spell needs a, b, and c, and this other spell can be done with materials y, c, and k, limiting the user's spell repertoire. Or certain types of magic can only do things in specific situations or is dependent on time like celestial or seasonal events, like Bending in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which has waterbending be more powerful under the full moon, for instance. Or the magic is dependent on location, like a spell that's very useful and powerful in one area, but does something totally different or basically nothing in others. You could go the dark fantasy route and make magic require some kind of horrible ritual or drive the user insane, or it has a permanent and irreversible cost to the user, and thus is more in the realm of a last resort or something only the bad guys use. It could be Wild Magic or sentient magic or magic that comes from a sentient being that might or might not answer the user's call, or could potentially answer in a way that the user doesn't expect. Maybe the magic requires rituals or some kind of extensive setup, like symbols drawn on the floor and rare materials and chanting and whatever that wouldn't be of much help in combat.

Tolkien made it clear that pre-Moria Gandalph had to study to acquire his magical skills. It's implied that Saruman did as well. Beyond that, we don't know much about how magic works in Middle Earth, beyond that they are all likely channeling the Gods of Light and Darkness.

I would say that magic is magic because it's coming from somewhere beyond the material world—ie, it doesn't really belong here, and therefore it's scope of action should be limited in some way. "Mana" or a limited power source of some kind is just one way to do that.

Edited by DeMarquis on Dec 6th 2022 at 9:33:06 AM

Magic in Middle Earth is very much just a higher understanding of the world. Elves make magic stuff mostly because they're just really good crafters, and Sauron made the One Ring mostly because he was the bestest smith. The story repeatedly makes no distinction between someone being a good (mundane) crafter and a good magic crafter. If you're a good smith, what you make is pretty much inherently magical.

Similarly, the way Gandalf uses magic is very much like a Proclamation Of Truth: when he proclaims the Balrog cannot pass, it indeed cannot pass. When Gandalf tells the Witch King he will not enter Gondor, he indeed does not.

It's like fortune telling, except you're determining the future instead.

The Silmarillion describes how the Valar sung Middle-Earth into existence under Iluvatar's direction; when Gandalf makes that kind of magical declaration, he's essentially adding a few tiny harmonious notes to the chorus. His statements have the same weight as those of Tolkien's narration.

But then again, the Balrog and the Ringwraiths have the same opportunity. So it's a contest.