LogFAQs > #936494064

Generally speaking, I don't see "inventing a new (magical) element" to really be a thing that happens outside of a new god or similar being coming to the world and granting power to their followers (in most cases, the new element in this case is dark, evil, or chaos, as the interloper deity/etc is usually not the good guy).

As science progresses though, understanding of the way the world works can naturally allow spellweavers to create spells with effects that were not thought possible before. For instance, once the techy race figures out radio waves, a spell could be developed which emits radio waves in some manner (like, for instance, a "transmit what I say into radio waves of X frequence" spell that could be used to communicate across an army... or by DJs). Advancements in understanding may allow for new spells that were previously too unstable due to lack of understanding (a "plasma shot" spell for instance might require the spell's inventors to understand electromagnitism enough to combine the heat and electrical elements in a way that stays contained long enough to get shot at a target).

Time-space magic can potentially be something that gets invented (or at least rediscovered) mid-setting, but many settings seem to already have it present in some way (i.e. warps, portals, bags of holding, etc).

Healing magic is one that would make the most sense in terms of inventing a non-divine healing spell. Healing spells granted by deities in settings are "extra magic" in that you, the healer, does not need to actually know much about what it is you are healing. However, a non-divine/prayer/etc healing spell (or likely, set of spells) would require both its inventors and its users to have medical knowledge. And if you don't have healing spells already in a setting, then this would be an interesting one to go with. It would be a set of them though, not just one spell, so hopefully its NOT a D&D style setting where you have a rather low limit on spells each day, even if only casting the weakest ones. Examples of spells used by these first healers can include: a spell that clears all non-target microscopic life from a small area (anti-bacterial spell), a spell that projects a small temporary force field tube and another that accelerates cell growth in an area greatly (together these two can be used to heal a severed artery), a spell that is cast using a reagent which detects and removes/breaks down said re-agent if its present in the target (i.e. an anti-poison spell that works on removing any poison as long as you have a sample of the poison, including things like what bacteria can produce, in the event you were able to acquire a sample of it)... and so forth. That last one would actually be very useful outside of medicine too, if used right.
.


---

I am the Hunter of Topics. My post never fails to kill its prey.
*pounces* Nyaa!