Okay, so maybe the topic title is a bit confusing, but in any case, I was wondering if anyone could give me an opinion on one of the systems that may or may not be implemented into the game I'm working on.
The concept is a sort of survival game similar to haven and hearth, but with a focus on developing new technologies and advancing the world as a whole. The purpose of this topic was to find out what people think about putting a magic system into the game.
Now, first I should clarify. The magic system will be similar to the tech advancement system in the sense that the power and complexity of the spells will advance slowly and wont start out as powerful as they can become. The issue is that normally magic requires nothing to use, (well, nothing physical, usually it uses mana or something to that effect,) so if would automatically be preferable to technology because there are no material requirements.
So, I have though of a few types of systems that I think may work, I would just like some opinions on which one is the best idea. Also, feel free to suggest a new system or to suggest not having magic at all.
First: Magic is rare, basically this means that there will be locations in the world where a mana like substance can be harvested, but otherwise is impossible to get. You can fill your body with mana at these places, and then use it as you please, it will just be difficult to get to the places that you can harvest mana from. Perhaps a way to expand on this would be to make something that can store mana like a potion, so that selling and producing mana potions could be something like an industry.
Second: Magic is draining, basically this means that using a spell will not only sap you of your magic energy, but also your physical stamina and perhaps even health. This would make it much less useful in the long term, but could help in dire situations. This seems to me to be the most minimal option, in that it would make magic the least useful.
Third: Magic is slow to produce, this is similar to the first option, in that mana must be harvested from a kind of node, but instead, the nodes can be built and improved upon. They do produce mana at a much slower rate though, and the materials used to create the generators will be uncommon, so magic generators will be something only the rich and powerful can afford.
Fourth: Magic is unstable, using magic will have a high chance of failure, but it is abundant and more versatile. The issue with it here is that there is a large chance when casting a spell that it will fail, and a mid to high chance that a continuous spell will fail (like a shield or fly spell.) This system would discourage non-ballsy players from using magic, as it could have a high chance of death. (And death isn't something meaningless like it is in most games.)
Fifth: Magic is abundant, but requires some special thing to use, this would make use of the exploration system, perhaps some ancient ruins contain a potion or artifact like a staff or wand that will allow you to use magic. This would make magic rare and special something that would encourage exploration and taking risks. This system also make it so that if you have one of these artifacts, you can always use magic with little side effects. And perhaps there could be different quality artifacts that would change how easy it is to control and use magic, and the lower quality artifacts could be created at some point.
So, I would just like to get some opinions on these systems, which ones the best and all that. And as I said before, if you have a suggestion as to how magic should work (if at all) feel free to post it.
Poll