World2026-09-24

Magic or power system: costs and limits first

When to use it

Designing a power system by what it cannot do before what it can.

Fill in the variables

World and genre{{world}}Core idea{{core}}

Assembled prompt

621

Design the power system for this work.
World and genre: [World and genre]
Core idea of the power: [Core idea]
Output:
1) Cost: what is paid on each use (not stamina — memory, time, relationships or a sense)
2) Three limits: things that are impossible and will not bend for plot convenience
3) Social consequences: one job, one law and one form of discrimination the power created
4) One exploit: a way the protagonist alone uses it differently, within the rules, not breaking them
5) The first scene that shows the rules to the reader, without explanation, as a scene of paying the cost
Rules: two sentences max per item.

The instruction exceeds 500 characters; the free run applies only the beginning. Copying applies the whole prompt.

Free runs use the fast model and return a short preview (about 300 words). Only the first ~1,000 words of manuscript are read.

How to use this prompt

1
Fill in the variables
Enter your manuscript, characters or situation in the fields below. The example values are hints.
2
Check the assembled prompt
The prompt is assembled below with placeholders filled. Edit any rule to fit your work.
3
Copy it or run it
Copy it into the tool you already use, or run it in SparkLore for a short preview.
4
Revise the result into your manuscript
The output is a draft. Follow the tips and rewrite half of it by hand.

How to get the most from it

A stamina cost creates no tension. A memory cost makes the reader do arithmetic every time.
Item 4 becomes the climax's solution. Glimpse it in chapter one and pay it off at the end.

Use it in the studio with your story bible

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