• We are currently rolling out incremental alterations to the forum. Don't freak! You aren't going crazy.

Best energy/power/magic system and sources in fiction

GregSteve

Bakugou died for your lmao's
V.I.P. Member
Nen from HxH is pretty neat
Power Cosmic is op though I swear for all the hax it gives you it makes the wielder retarded and a jobber 95% of the time
 

OtherGalaxy

ยสี่สี่สี่สี่สี่สี่สี่สี่ สี่สี
V.I.P. Member
Nen is the best executed ive seen even as a Stand biased guy

what sets Nen apart from most other manga power systems is the fact that it is almost fully in the hands of the user, and the characters actively create and develop their own powers based on their own lives and experiences. Stands, Devil Fruits etc are all arbitrary, you're stuck with what you get.
 

Adamant soul

Marvelous
V.I.P. Member
Evolution from Digimon is a pretty good system, if a simple one. At least it allows any Digimon to potentially become super powerful, without locking them into a specific evolution like with Pokemon. Well except for Numemon and the other Poop Digimon but every series needs its jobbers. :maybe
 
Runes from Suikoden are pretty cool, they grant you elemental magic or physical enhancements like super speed. Just go to a Rune Shop to purchase a Rune Crystal and have an Runemaster engrave it for you on an item or onto the back of your left or right hand or forehead as a glowing tattoo. Though a character named Crowley has a hundred Runes embedded all over his body.
 

OrlandoSky

Paramount
Yeah, Nen is the clear victor here imo. It's not like Chakra or Reiatsu or Ki where everyone has the same techniques (ie flying/walking on walls, shooting beams etc.) where everything is just a power system A>B>C. In HXH anyone could have literally any kind of ability at any time and every factor is unpredictable which also perfectly suits the world of HXH where the main theme is not being the strongest but surviving. Like a realistic One Piece "Enjoy the adventure but this is the real world, anything and anyone can kill you if you drop your guard." Almost like being in the wild.
 

Paxton

One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds
V.I.P. Member
Runes from Suikoden are pretty cool, they grant you elemental magic or physical enhancements like super speed. Just go to a Rune Shop to purchase a Rune Crystal and have an Runemaster engrave it for you on an item or onto the back of your left or right hand or forehead as a glowing tattoo. Though a character named Crowley has a hundred Runes embedded all over his body.
The absolute mad lad.

British people truly are terrifying.
 

Astaro

Resplendent
V.I.P. Member
Adding on to the above, Toaru’s Idol Theory which is the basis of the Magic sides power system is a pretty creative use of Mythology but also why it’s kinda broken and easily abused

What’s also cool is the Esper power system. One power per person in most cases and it’s entirely based on chance what the power is and how strong it is for every person.

But I like how like Alchemy in Full Metal Alchemist, the power are based on real life physics and chemistry and depending on the skill of the person, can lead to all kinds of applications. Such as Misaka who can do a lot more than shoot Lightning strikes:

It’s also because of this, fights are determined less by powers and more on how well the person uses them or how resourceful they are in a lot of cases
 

Stocking Anarchy

Marvelous
V.I.P. Member
The various magic systems in TES, from magicka to Mythopoeic Forces to CHIM. It ranges from 'simple enough to understand' to 'mindboggling and makes me rethink how you see the world.'

Wakfu from Wakfu/Dofus. Esotericism meets anime explosions.

Spiral Power from Gurren Lagann. It's powered by Fighting Spirit and manifests in spirals.

Magic from Little Witch Academia. Spiral Power meets esotericism meets classical believing makes reality, and it represents achieving your dreams and goals by working hard to get them (which honestly inspires me to achieve my own dreams & goals).

The Force from Star Wars. You get to be a space wizard.

Courage from GaoGaiGar.

All of the above are quite versatile too.
 
Dungeons & Dragons - Magic/Ki: Has multiple magic systems depending on your class. Wizards learn magic through studying and writing down spells in their spellbooks. Warlocks create contracts with unknown entities like demons, celestials, eldritch abominations, etc., to be able to use magic. Sorcerers are born with magic in their blood. Clerics and Paladins devote themselves to a god or to an ideal and channel their power into themselves to use magic. Druids and Rangers draw magic from nature. Artificers invent a variety of tools to channel their magic. Monks use Ki via harnessing energy that flows in their bodies. Magic in this universe is very broken like "Power Word Spells".

You also have different types/schools of magic like Conjuration that deals with creating objects/creatures or making them disappear. Necromancy is manipulating life and death via resurrection or draining their life. Evocation is unleashing raw magical energy upon someone via creating fire, ice, or pure energy. Abjuration is creating forcefields or protecting/shielding yourself. Transmutation is manipulating the physical properties of both items and people like in Fullmetal Alchemist. Divination is for revealing or granting yourself knowledge and information about something, such as seeing invisible enemies or identifying magical items. Enchantment is basically mind manipulation like hypnotism. Illusion is manipulating people and creatures senses; this could be vision, hearing, or body temperature. Graviturgy draws bodies of matter together or drives them apart, the students of this field learn to further bend and manipulate the violent energy of gravity to their benefit. Chronurgy focuses on manipulating time, altering reality to their liking.
 

OtherGalaxy

ยสี่สี่สี่สี่สี่สี่สี่สี่ สี่สี
V.I.P. Member
magic in dark souls is pretty cool. All of it is essentially a metaphysical embodiment of "something". Miracles are literally powered by you having more faith in the gods and reading scriptures, pyromancies (sort of a mistranslation, they aren't really connected to fire only) are tied to making emotions physical. Sorcery comes from making whats in your brain real. Hexes/Dark Magics draw from negative feelings within humanity. It's not always super complex in the game itself but it fits in very well with the lore which doesn't ground itself in anything based in real life at all.

Need to learn more about Elden Ring's, I like how much more diverse it is, but the conceptual/emotional edge really made Souls' system more interesting to me.
 

Cryso Agori

V.I.P. Member
Undead Unluck: The gimmick of using adverbs is unique, + the way the characters also use their abilities is quite unique. Like Andy smashing his legs and using the regenerating force like a spring to move.

Psyren: Psyren has a pretty cool power system, but it like Bleach and JJK is very inspired by Togashi, not to say that's a bad thing. Nen is a very cool and simple-to-understand power system, with tons of uses and techs. PSI has a similar setup with Trance, Burst, and Rise types + Nova. And the ability to 'program' powers and abilities is pretty cool.
 
Back
Top