What would be a good metaphysical component for a spell?

Question

Magic varies from story to story, but in most universes there's a price to pay for magic. The RPG system D&D sums it up three very ellegant categories:

Vocal: some magic words, like Abracadabra;
Somatic: some gestures, like those required in early Naruto jutsus;
Material: some stuff, like bat wings, rat tails or fresh tears from a virgin.

I'm proposing the metaphysical component.

This type would be composed of things that can't really be touched or measured, like emotions, thoughts or even memories. Some good examples are:

Happiness;
Hope;
Dread;
A traumatic memory;
A fresh idea...

The rules for you to propose a component are simple:

State the spell you want to cast, like Expecto Patronum;
State the component this spell will need, like a happy thought;
State why is it needed. Our example works because dementors feed on happiness;
State the effect the spell has on the caster. If happinness is consumed, is the caster suddenly sad? Tired? Unable to laugh for x hours/days?
State a side-effect in case the spell backfires. Ideally, this should be a much worse cost than what you stated in item 4 (the caster gets heavily depressed. Suicidal even!) in order to keep things coherent, but feel free to make any kind of side-effect, as long as it's very bad.

You can choose any spell you can think of but if it's not a generally known spell (like casting a fireball) you have to explain how it works.

You can use as many components as you deem fit (even non-metaphysical ones), as long as you give a good explanation for them to be required by the spell.

It is not required that the component comes from the caster himself. So if you propose something like true love, the caster can use a young couple as his components. If you choose to do so, remember items 4 and 5. They apply to everyone involved in the spell but you get to decide how harsh they are for both the mage and his components.

May I recommend the Dresden Files as interesting reading for such components. — Ash, Jul 24 '18 at 17:22
Hello Magus, and welcome to Worldbuilding! You may want to edit the question and actually ask a question instead of farming out a statement of work. As it is, you seem to want to externalize your task to the community. Inventing the world is your task; what this site is about is checking whether the world is plausible enough, or helping with a particular difficulty. — AlexP, Jul 24 '18 at 17:32
Hello @AlexP. The poin't wasn't really to try and farm some stuff for a story. I just thought it would be cool to see what components people could come up with. It was more of a game-like scenario. Is that not allowed? — Magus, Jul 24 '18 at 17:38
@Magus: Stack Overflow isn’t really a forum: it’s a question and answer site. You ask one question, you get some answers, you accept one answer. Worldbuilding is a bit more free-form than most stack overflow sites, but we try our best to adhere to the question/answer format. You might want to check out the help centre for more info, but for now I’m going to vote to close (it can be revoked if the question is edited) as it’s unclear what you’re asking. You might also want to think about how broad the question is, as ‘Make me a spell with a metaphysical component’ is a bit much. — Joe Bloggs, Jul 24 '18 at 18:11
@JoeBloggs Thanks for the clarification. I will edit the question and try to make it objective. — Magus, Jul 24 '18 at 18:59
Am I missing something? This reads like a very well scoped and specific question. I'm voting to reopen unless someone can help me understand. Those 5 rules for the proposed component overcome POB entirely. — JBH, Jul 25 '18 at 02:38
I'm afraid you have changed a "Primarily Opinion Based" question into a "Too broad" question. This is not a brainstorming site, we can't provide you a spell list for your story. We aim to give "right" answers to questions. If I answer giving an example following your rules for the "Fireball" spell, and another user answers with an example of the "Invisibility" spell, which would be the right answer? — Rekesoft, Jul 25 '18 at 09:53

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 24 '18 at 17:49

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I'm not really sure I can give a good answer to this question but some of my favourite non-physical components from various stories are, in no particular order; the light of creation, a perfect sunset, a sunbeam, "value" originally in the form of crushed gems but paper money works too, age, and the old classic lifespan.

answered Jul 24 '18 at 17:49

Ash

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I like the perfect sunset as a spell component. You can only cast the spell at a certain time of the day, and only on certain days. – Tyler S. Loeper Jul 24 '18 at 18:25
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@TylerS.Loeper I seem to recall it had been captured and was it a glass bottle actually. – Ash Jul 24 '18 at 18:26
@ Ash, That is too cool. – Tyler S. Loeper Jul 24 '18 at 18:32

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 24 '18 at 18:17

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Animate an object
You need:

The object to animate (like a wooden puppet or set of armor)
A mechanical clockwork (as substitution of a heart)
The soul of an unborn child (it must have never experienced its own body in our world, so it can be transplanted into the object)

Effect if the spell fails: the unborn soul will possess the caster and take over his/her body.

answered Jul 24 '18 at 18:17

Elmy

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I imagine an 80 year old wizard failing the spell, dropping on the floor kicking legs crying for breastmilk. Genius. – Otto Abnormalverbraucher Jul 25 '18 at 16:50

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 24 '18 at 18:39

Eternal love potion
You need:

Eyeballs of eyes the target considers beautiful (you know, make beautiful eyes at her...)
A heart filled with honey and sewn shut (sweetheart...)
A set of golden rings (for obvious reasons)
Loyalty (like that of a dog or a faithful servant)

Cook all ingredients for half an hour over a flame and somehow get her to drink this concoction while you wear one of the rings.

If the spell fails, she will hate you forever.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 24 '18 at 19:14

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Lock door

This spell actually effects the hinges of an object and blocks any movement of them. Can be cast on doors, windows, treasure chests or any object with hinges.

You need:

Chalk to draw a magical sign on the inside (or indoors side) of the object
The stubbornness of a mule

To break the spell, either remove the magical sign from the inside or cast the counterspell. For the counterspell you need:

Coal to draw a magical sign on the outside of the object
The strength of a bull

If the close spell fails, the hinge disintegrates and the object falls apart. If the open spell fails, the hinges stay blocked.

answered Jul 24 '18 at 19:14

Elmy

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If the open spell fails the hinges stay blocked forever. Fail the spell on purpose and lock whoever is inside for eternity. – Otto Abnormalverbraucher Jul 25 '18 at 16:48
That's why removing the sign from the inside automatically breaks the spell. It's like a panic room, nobody comes in but you can always get out. – Elmy Jul 25 '18 at 16:54
But the spell was overriden by another spell, whose sign you cannot remove. – Otto Abnormalverbraucher Jul 26 '18 at 23:19

What would be a good metaphysical component for a spell?

4 Answers4

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