Creating Cost-Based Magic Systems: A Worldbuilding How To 

Another great video! Super helpful and very well timed for me! I'm currently at the cost step of the magic system for my current world! Thank you for all the amazing content!

Your videos on the AALC building system are amazing, you've clarified and streamlined the process of building all these different types a lot for me - a big thank you for that! I would be really interested in learning how to use the system for building creatures and monsters, as you mention at the end.

Great analysis. Thanks.

Oooo my magic system has cost to the user and environment around them

good job! so for your materials you can use labor hours instead of $!! so harry potter might be able to pick up a unicorn horn for $400 but what if their is no shop to buy the unicorn horn in? how much work should he go threw to get that unicorn horn? well ron is a bit of tosser so he is only payed $5 per hour, harry is average joe so he is payed $10 per hour, and Hermione is a professional $15 per hour. so Harry spends 10 hours making cold calls to all his connections to see if they know what he needs he found out it's unicorn horn. $300 left to do. hermione spends 10 hours in the library researching unicorns to learn about the unicorn graveyard. $150 left. the 3 of them spend 4 hours traveling to the unicorn grave yard, $30 left Ron spends 6 hours digging up a dead unicorn. $400 spent

Well in real life there is often a solution that give high results with little risk, in which then that ability becomes the go-to and is always used constantly. Same with the opposite.

Wait, did you said Orson Wells coined the term Macguffin? I would have understood if you had said Alfred Hitchcock, since he made that term popular, but it would have been Angus MacPhail. How can you look that up and still get it wrong?

The book link doesn't work in mobile !!!!

I created a magic system that has cost, Theo it's complicated. It's not the binary of "can you do magic or not" See in my world it is very high magic. Every race is apart of this magic and it's in them. However it may affect them all differently. Some just can't do magic at all. But they have a very high resistance to magic. And Theo healing magic may not work on them that magic in side of them heals them faster then anyone else naturally. Think Wolverines healing factor and on top of that is immune to 2 elemental type damage. Some maybe immune to a weapon type damage perching, slashing or blunt damage. Then there in internalized magic. Meaning they can't cast spell like mages or sorcerers/sorceress. But they can channel that magic in to making things. Then there are the normal people. They are not born with innate magical ability but can learn it. However it's timed. Meaning some spells you can use again in a few seconds and some might take hrs, days, weeks months or years before your can use it again. Then there is the innate magic user's that can easily cast spell as people blink. Then there is the internal and external high magic innate. Extremely powerful. With a cost. The internal high magic innate is like the other internalized magic just taken to a new level. See magic is always building up in them for the regular innate it isn't as much or so fast they have to worry about it However they still do have to worry about it because if that magic build up to much it can kill them. With the internal high magic innate it is much faster they almost always have to be constantly using it. And there is either one of 2 way they can do it. (1) they have to build something very powerful. Which takes a lot of magical energy being careful not to go to low because that can kill them too. Or (2) create things they can power it with their magic. Think iron man how he has that power cell to power his his power armor. They do it with their own bodies. Other consequences also exist. Slavers can sell them for a lot other then their internal magic as long as they don't have their creations they would be pretty much helpless unless they know how to do other things. The external innate hight magic is pretty much the exact opposite of their problem they have to creat magic that is constantly running or cast or create very powerful things. If they overload a lot of people will die. Some may say the the Nutrually magical the Normals is the best way to go. Maybe but you are limited. Can you creat Extremely powerful spells yes but either it takes forever to recharge or it will cone at a price. Or other people helping, or resources sometimes Extremely expensive if it's very power everything comes at a price even extreme power. Because even the Extremely powerful needs to do or make things to keep their power in check all the time. It's not like they're unkillable. They would just be a Raid boss fight lol. The safest ones I think is the ones that can't cast spells sure healing magic doesn't work on them and they can die if injuries is that bad and they would have to heal naturally. But they don't have to worry about dieing from the magic in them. Oh what is especially deadly would me a special metal I created and dispel magic. Why? Because if a dispel magic was cast apon them it's not like their magic goes away think of more as a temporary lock on casting spells or creating magical things. If they can release some of that magical energy either they will die or many people will die. A body can only hold so much magic. The steel I created comes from someplace else where there is no magic and can harm any that has magic. It deal twice as much damage, in them including the ones who can't cast spell. If they are immune to that weapon type not with this steel. Plus it stops your healing factor. Meaning you have to heal the old fashion way any bonuse armor you get from that magic is gone. At lest until you heal if you live threw it. For other magic user is the same get hit by ti not only it causes extra damage it works like a dispel only ending if you heal naturally anyone spell caster that is hit by this steel they can't cast any healing both on themselves or on others until they heal.