: Re: Can I plug a loophole in my magic rules without rewriting the whole novel? I've gotten feedback for a complete draft of my WIP fantasy novel. Overall it's looking good, but a couple of friends

@Goswami879

Vote Up Vote Down

Consequences.

That something is possible within a system doesn't mean it's a good idea. You can drive your car 180MPH on public roads (if the speedometer labeling is accurate), but if you do you'll soon be getting used to a bicycle. You can subsist on nothing but Big Macs and Coke for a year, but you may face medical problems. You can make a deal with the devil for great reward in this world, but you'll probably find yourself on the receiving end of an exploit and you'll be handing your soul over much sooner than you planned.

In the case of your magic system, then, the following could be used to prevent use of the loophole (or make for interesting stories when people do it anyway):

an authority that will do something bad to you if you try it
a great personal cost (health, sanity, related magical powers, a curse, whatever)
a correction factor in the magic system itself; magical forces will compensate for the loophole exploit in a way that will make the exploiter unhappy

(0)

Login to post a comment!