Basic Information
Force Magic is a form of magic where practitioners tap into and control or weave together one or more magical forces.
Magic which waxes and wanes according to how close the manipulator is to a Ley Line falls into this category.
In some settings, Force Magic is related to Rule Magic, in which the force is just the Phlebotinum which the rules utilize or modify.
In other settings, Force Magic is improvisational magic. Rather than being codified powers or spells, you just kinda feel your way around and the force follows your cues and whims.
In Dungeons & Dragons "Force" is a sort of fifth element, capable of being used in walls, bolts and similar things and thus force magic becomes a (somewhat limited) branch of elemental magic.
And in yet other settings, Force Magic is akin to scientific Fundamental Forces. Being able to use this form of magic is like being able to manipulate gravity or time - it's very loosely defined, especially if you're creative, but there's a general category of effects it can reasonably accomplish, and a few others if you really push it.
See also Background Magic Field, The Force and Mana.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Force magic is really flexible, and works well for rules-lite RPGs.
- The vaguer / sketchier versions may hit trouble for long-term play, but well-defined Laws of Magic will help.
- One possible weakness is the notion that it might be able to separate the character from their force. There were those little anti-force worm thingees in some of the Star Wars novels, for example. Separating a Gravity Master from all Gravity might be a little more difficult, though.