In the Cog I’m makeing magic is very a major part in it and wanted to know what y’all think.
Well you’ll really need to be more specific, for example what do want from the magic?
Alchemy, blood magic, chaos magic, wild magic, theurgy, enlightenment, inherent gift, force magic, rule magic, necromancy, elemental magic, transmutation, equivalent exchange, summon magic, mentalism, white magic, black magic, mutually exclusive magic, combining magic, magic from technology, magic as a science, ritual magic, supernatural martial art, there are a whole lot of elements to magic design.
Yeah as @stsword says magic can come in many types. You also need to understand the rules of magic within your world.
Well in my world only Witch’s can use magic and a few humans can the magic the Witch’s can use is Elemental magic,voodoo(also includes raising/speaking to the dead) illusion magic,alchemy, transmutation, and some people can see the past/future, have healing power, and are empaths.
Okay so to summarize the magic and its rules.
There are Witches (Wizards? or females only or is witch the general term regardless of their gender. Their magic consists of Elemental Magic, Necromancy (Voodoo), Illusions, alchemy, transmutation. - can all witches use magic? can they use all types or do they only have one? (i.e can a witch do all of the above, or can they do a few or only one type?
Next you have a few “lucky” humans who can use magic (is there a term for the humans who can use it?) Their magic consists of Precognition, healing and empathy. - again can a human user wield all types or are they only able to use one?
Now about the magic in general is there a limit to how much a witch/human can use do different types of magic require more power than others? Can a user run out of magic and if so how do they replenish it?
Witch is a gender neutral term for both male and female magic user’s Witch’s can use one elemental magic an.d they can use one of the "general " magic types. Humans that can use magic are called outcast since they don’t fit with either group and yea like Witch’s they are born with their power and can only use that one power. And for the last part you have to train your magic to be able to control it if you try and use a strong spell and you haven’t trianed in that area things could go very bad and yes theirs a lint to your magic use you use the engery inside your self to cast spell if you over use it you could use your life force to keep going but you could die in some cases Witch’s can pull the engery from the world around them to keep fighting but you also have to train to do that and to replinesh their magic you can sleep or eat.
The problem with specific spells in CYOA games is this: what if the player gets to a moment where he has to use a certain spell, and yet he never learned that one? Does that mean game over? And if not, then that means that the player’s decisions didn’t matter. But maybe you force the player to learn that spell? But then the problem is, you’re taking away the decision-making from the player.
Magic systems have to be designed with these considerations in mind.
Thats true for multiple types of magic you have to make sure there is multiple ways of progressing.
@jasonstevanhill thanks for the input I will take that into consideration.
Also for elemental magic all you have to do is train in it their no spell casting you just will your element to do what you want.
Okay, it sounds like its inherent gift, force magic, with some mutually exclusive magic since people have to specialize, and witches can be “red mages” since they can learn two different types of magic.
Is it rule magic, does the witch or outcast have to know something about what they are doing magically, or learn specific spells, or can they just intuitively throw energy anyway they want in their chosen specialties?
Do they need to use magic words/chant/sing, do they need to use gestures, and if so what kind of gestures? Like a sign language of magic, or do they have to do basically a full body martial art? Does it just require meditation, self hypnosis?
How does one become a witch or outcast? Does a spirit/god/angel/demon bestow it upon you? Is it genetic?
Can the magics be combined? Can a fire elementalist necromancer make fire zombies?@jasonstevanhill Couldn’t that be easily avoided by adding proficiency values to the different types, and counting that as having learned spells? Of course I suppose this takes away from the player’s choices in much the same way, though. Of course game overs for having taken a path your character was not prepared for are justified, but if you’re doing it based on having learned a spell it would be wise to add a few chances to earn it.
In regards to forcing a player to learn a spell, this made me think about The Fleet and how you automatically gain the different weapon abilities by playing through, and I must agree, that lack of choice was a bit disheartening.
I did some research when making up the magic system for my own game. Here’s a list of resources that I found useful: http://clevergirlhelps.tumblr.com/post/86497591168/hi-i-was-wondering-if-you-knew-of-any-master-lists-or
Like everyone else is saying, you need to remember that this is a choice game. You need to find a balance between letting a player choose how they use the magic so they feel like their choices matter, while still keeping things practical and sensible. There need to be rules, you know?
That said, I’m also really interested in how people want their CYOA magic to work in game? It would be very helpful to know, since my entire game revolves around magic haha.
@parade You may want to make use of some sort of magic energy system. Again referring to The Fleet, that story had an energy level that you had to keep track of in order to avoid being unable to do most actions.
@Swarm421 I was thinking of putting a “Will” bar in the spellbook section. I figured it would create more challenge, and also force a player to think about which magic they’re going to specialize in.
For example: Kinetics is useful and has instant gratification, but it is will intensive. If you were to major in kinetics, then your second best ability shouldn’t be rituals or warding, which also requires will, but rather enchanting and alchemy, which are easy but time consuming.
Do you think that makes more sense? Or do you have some other suggestions? This is my first choice script game and I want to make it enjoyable for everyone 
@parade Hm, do you mean that will is consumed based on what you know, rather than how intensely or often you use it? I would call that something more like “Memory” that would diminish the more you try to learn. If I’m wrong and you meant will is similar to how energy works, then I think that’s a good name for it, though I often think of will as one’s ability to push their limits. There really should be some way to keep a player from using magic intensely for every choice, though, unless they’ve somehow specialized in it, which is why I’m suggesting some kind of energy system.
I’m just starting my game and don’t have much experience either, so don’t feel obligated to go with what I’m suggesting.
@Swarm421 No, the Will bar would be based on how intensely you use it. It would reset after you rest (my game goes by one a sort of day to day basis-- for now, at least). Specializing might make some things less intensive, though. Limits are always good (:
I’m excited to see your game. Or is it already out yet…? Haha.
@parade, certainly not out yet.
@Parade Yeah, that’s pretty much what I meant, haha. Alright, your system sounds good to me. No, the game isn’t out yet, barely started. I do have the general ideas and world-building mostly complete, but I’m not sure how exactly I want the story to go. I plan on making the game very “bushy” rather than tree-like, or maybe more like one of those tall hedge plants, if that makes sense. 
In the next few days I’ll probably be making a post with the introduction to the story. It’s set in Agartha, the hollow earth, and I’ll be making my own mythos up involving the Children of Mu, Lemurians, Atlanteans, Agarthans, and regular humans. It’s set in 2051 after economic and ecological collapse have forced the emigration of many humans to the new world, and the tensions this causes.
Yes their is a short demo of my game if you were asking.