I’ve always had an odd relationship with “hard” magic systems, that is systems that seem to be… well systematic, stuff you could analyze and explain almost like a hard science.
On the one hand, as a creator it’s really fun to think of different rules and how those rules interact or how they can be worked around and manipulated.
On the other hand, as a consumer of media I never liked overly explained magic systems because they cease to feel magical. I like the feeling of unknowability about magic as a concept, like we’re chimps setting off a nuclear explosion. We see it, we feel its effects, but nothing on earth could make us understand how or why it is what it is because it involves forces far beyond our ken.
I tend to prefer hard magic in my own designs - But much like technical studies in real life, no one is a master at it, and even the very best mages still discover new things that surprise them.
This way you can have very knowledgeable mages who know many technical specifics but miss the forest for the trees, while a total amateur mage might accidentally tap into doing something that’s never been done before.
I really like how Eragon does it: magic is a manifestation of the wielder’s willpower and strength. If you overexert, you can pass out or die. However, gemstones are capable of storing mana for later use, and your capability with magic can be improved with training.
I feel like it’s be possible to accomplish both by creating a system unbelievably complex, something akin to Tolkien creating the languages for his world. You could understand it, but it’d take maybe three weeks.
To me the ideal magic system has some direct way of interacting with the narrative and themes; it’s something that is somehow meaningful (at least to the characters in the setting) beyond just its instrumental uses.
