The title pretty much says it! I’d like to explore that idea a little and would love to hear y’all’s recommendations. This thought was originally inspired by lord of the rings, but I’m also currently on a little nostalgia trip by reading The Sea of Trolls and the soft magic system in that is pretty fun
How are you defining “soft” in this case? It seems you and I have very different ideas of what that term means, and I’m curious about your perspective.
Haha! My definitions are arbitrary now that I think about it. Tons of gray area, since it’s all fiction to begin with.
My definition of ‘soft’ would be any magic system that lacks exact rules or a concrete cause and effect relationship with scale. Flexible power from a vague connection to a god, planet of origin, or elemental source would be soft. Even softer if there are dozens or hundreds of vague sources with unpredictable effects.
Specific, quantifiable effects from a concrete source (a specific spell, ritual, or x amount of a substance) would be hard.