Spellfueled

Spellfueled is a term used in fantasy fiction and game design to describe a magic system in which spells draw on and generate a form of energy called spellfuel. In these settings, casting magic can leave behind or create fuel that powers other spells, rituals, or magical effects. This creates a resource economy within magic, where power is not unlimited but rather regulateable through generation, storage, and expenditure of spellfuel.

Mechanics commonly associated with spellfueled systems involve collecting energy through spellcasting, ritual components, or focused devices. Spellfuel may be stored in vessels, crystals, wards, or the caster’s own aura. Spells that consume fuel often have tradeoffs such as higher costs, longer casting times, reduced accuracy, or increased risk of backlash. Some implementations allow spillover or chain reactions when fuel is overcharged, while others impose penalties for depletion or overuse. Resource management and timing become central to tactical decision making.

Origins and usage: the term is a compound of spell and fuel and is not tied to a single canonical source. It has appeared across various works to describe a broad class of magic systems where energy is generated by spellcasting and then expended to empower additional effects. It gained traction in indie role-playing game design and web fiction during the 2010s and 2020s as a way to model scalable magic.

See also: mana, magic systems, resource management in games.