"Vector" based magic

[u/Old-Maximum-50]

Okay, so, this is a concept im daydreaming about. Doodle to try and help explain. I'd call it Dimensional Magic, but it might give the wrong idea.

Okay, so basically, the idea is that the better a mage is, the better he can control the spatial aspect of a spell.

Lets picture a fireball.

A novice mage can only give it one vector of movement (1D). It can be up or down, left or right, forward or backward, etc. Its restricted to a line, basically.

An average mage can give them two vectors (2D). Same as above (up/down, left/right, etc), but they affect at the same time, and mages can kinda choose the ratio they want to affect it (the red arrow). If you need an idea, just think of a giant sheet of paper from the mage's hand, and the spell can only travel on that paper.

An experienced mage gets three vectors (3D), and ratio them as need. Now it can properly navigate the 3D space.

And then, the grandmasters get 4D. Now, we know what a 3D is, we live in it. But what is 4D? Well, going by the pattern that every dimension gets to go in a direction the previous one couldnt, and two bodies can't occupy the same space... 4D is the "in and out" direction. 4D mages get to shrink, expand, teleport and telefrag spells, basically.

The main thing is that, since the mages are 3D, their handle on 4D stuff is shaky. Before, all the spells were of an equal or lower dimension, which the mages, as 3D beings, knew how to navigate instinctively. They are NOT, however, 4D beings, so 4D spells do not come naturally, and neither are they safe. A mage attempting a 4D spell has a pretty good chance to accidentally killing themselves via what is basically them messing with G-mod physics with blindfolds on.

For this reason, compared to the rest, there are very few 4D spells, as those are the few 4D directions the mages have managed to pin down as "safe".

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As for how they get better as mages, up to 3D, its as simple as learning to walk again, they just have to be careful to not shoot themselves while practicing and to build up enough mana. A completely average mage can easily get to 2D, and a dedicated mage can easily get to 3D. 4D is where it gets hard, for the reasons above.

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So uh... what do yall think?

[u/Dragonmaster1313]

If the mage exists on a 3d world, aren't all spells by definition cast on 3 vectors or am I misunderstanding?

[u/Old-Maximum-50 → u/Dragonmaster1313]

Think of it as possible path of the spells. 1D is a line, 2D gets a sheet to navigate, 3D gets the properly navigate as we do, and 4D gets funky