Fantasy spell ideas

Hem / Hobby, Spel & Fritid / Fantasy spell ideas

These names should feel grounded (pun intended) and timeless.

  • Earthen Bulwark – Stone defensive wall or barrier
  • Root Entanglement – Plant magic restraining enemies
  • Tectonic Shift – Ground-moving earthquake magic
  • Verdant Surge – Rapid plant growth spell
  • Stone Skin – Defensive petrification of the caster
  • Thornwhip Lash – Offensive plant magic with whip-like vines
  • Petrifying Gaze – Spell turning targets to stone
  • Mudslide Cascade – Earth and water combination attack
  • Bramble Barrier – Thorny defensive plant wall
  • Seismic Slam – Ground-pounding shockwave magic
  • Moss Cloak – Camouflage using natural vegetation
  • Boulder Barrage – Multiple stone projectile attack
  • Photosynthesis – Healing magic drawing power from light
  • Quicksand Trap – Earth magic creating unstable ground
  • Crystal Growth – Mineral formation for barriers or attacks
  • Nature’s Wrath – Primal plant and animal fury
  • Landslide – Massive earth movement attack
  • Bark Armor – Wood-based defensive enhancement
  • Pollen Cloud – Obscuring or toxic plant spore magic
  • Stalagmite Spike – Upward-thrusting stone attack
  • Gaia’s Embrace – Healing earth magic
  • Fossilization – Long-term petrification spell
  • Chlorophyll Burst – Plant energy explosive release
  • Sandstorm Shroud – Earth and wind combination for concealment
  • Mountain’s Resolve – Immovability spell resisting forced movement
  • Seed Scattershot – Plant magic creating multiple growth points
  • Magnet Pull – Metallic earth magic for manipulation
  • Decomposition – Accelerated decay earth magic
  • Earthmeld – Merging with stone for hiding or traveling
  • Primal Regrowth – Ancient druidic regeneration magic

Water & Healing Spells

Tides, Life & Purification

Water represents adaptability and life.

Mix and match elements. Some use it early and find themselves struggling the rest of their lives. Carpenters can use wood to craft magical weapons, or bend nature to their whim. Kids’ books use this technique because it genuinely helps memory retention, and it works for adults too.

Contrast creates interest. Pairing opposite concepts makes spells more memorable: “Frozen Flame,” “Holy Darkness,” “Chaos Order,” “Living Death.” That cognitive dissonance makes brains pay attention.

Rhythm matters more than you’d think. Spells with natural cadence feel better to say.

Food Magic 

Magic that interacts with the foods your characters eat. They must save it for opportune moments. Match syllable count to spell power – Cantrips and low-level spells work best with 2-4 syllables: “Fire Bolt,” “Mage Hand,” “Light.” Epic magic demands 5-8 syllables: “Prismatic Sphere of Eternal Radiance.”

5.

The foreshadowing is built in.

Instead of having a specific spell list, the spellcaster usually produces a range of effects according to the rules. Military cultures might favor direct names: “Fireball,” “Shield,” “Blast.” Academic wizards prefer descriptive Latin: “Pyrotechnic Sphere,” “Aegis Manifestation,” “Kinetic Detonation.” Primal druids use nature imagery: “Wildfire,” “Earthshield,” “Windblast.”

Making Spell Names Memorable

Trust me on this—I learned this lesson the hard way during that campaign I mentioned.

These systems use religion and worship as a vehicle for magic. Each of these ideas cost something, varying from resources to life itself. Realistically, it would encourage eugenics and creepy magic breeding programs. You can even make magical creatures like dragons and unicorns a central feature.

Divine

Are you drawn in by heroes who are chosen?

Test pronunciation – Say the spell name out loud three times fast. For instance, what monarch wouldn’t want their soldiers wielding magic on the battlefield?

So while you can certainly add educational requirements to your magic, it’s not usually a good way to shrink the mage population.

It’s Unlocked or Gifted

If you’d like your magical hero to be super special without inheritance, perhaps they acquired magic powers by being exceptional in some way.

For more tips, see my article on creating a system of this type.

Factional Powers

Instead of scratching your head over what each person can do, you can put people into groups and then assign spells and abilities to each group. However, it’s also easy for magic to get more and more powerful as the story goes on, creating plot holes.

Soft magic is more likely to be arbitrary than not.

fantasy spell ideas

This something can be big or small. But in most settings, this investment would easily pay off because magic is so economically valuable. The audience will also better understand why the hero wins or loses, making it feel more believable and less contrived.

Soft Magic

The opposite of hard magic, we call magic “soft” when the audience doesn’t know how magic works and is left to imagine what it can do.

This type of magic system is drawn from the different elements: fire, earth, air, water, but how can you make your world more unique? Maybe they must write a spell on a piece of paper, and the paper disintegrates after use.