Another Word for Magicka? Spells? Into a Modern Setting RPG

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

I'm an advocate of mutations, especially in a setting where they're natural and limited. Let's face it, it isn't magic if everyone has it in abundance. Magic isn't a normal thing, or it hasn't appeared to be, therefore it's safe to assume that should someone arise with magical powers it would be labelled a mutation, rather than a power. It may be evolution, but evolution is mutation.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

Magic in a modern setting? Call it 'SCIENCE' and be done with this discussion.

This made me laugh, for very little reason. I'm not even drunk!

How about 'world warping' or 'warp' for shorter. People who use it are warpers.
Sound good?

 

[Ironic]

Shenanigans. Definitely Shenanigans.

 

[DracoSuave]

Call it what it is.

Is it sorcery? Call it sorcery. Is it psychic power? Call it psychic power.

Is it technology that's too advanced to be distinguished from magic? Call it technology.

Sometimes, it's more effective to just call it what it is than to make up some other name just to prove that your thing that is the same as everything else, is magically different.

 

[RThaiRThai]

I'm an advocate of mutations, especially in a setting where they're natural and limited. Let's face it, it isn't magic if everyone has it in abundance. Magic isn't a normal thing, or it hasn't appeared to be, therefore it's safe to assume that should someone arise with magical powers it would be labelled a mutation, rather than a power. It may be evolution, but evolution is mutation.

Ooo. I personally don't like this at all. It just gives such a misunderstanding of how mutations actually work. X-Men portrays all these people with super powers, and don't get me wrong I do like X-Men, but most people with mutations aren't like that at all. Just about everybody has a couple mutations! And in most extreme cases, it's a bad thing.

Though it depends on the implementation, I guess. If the mutation is done on purpose using some crazy futuristic technology, that would be enough justification for me. Or if people with bad mutations were also shown, and people with varying degrees of mutation.

I know my suggestion of programs altering the real world is also quite out there, but I would imagine it being extreme enough that it's obvious that real programs don't work that way, or it being in some alternate dimension or far in the future such that it makes some sense.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Ooo. I personally don't like this at all. It just gives such a misunderstanding of how mutations actually work. X-Men portrays all these people with super powers, and don't get me wrong I do like X-Men, but most people with mutations aren't like that at all. Just about everybody has a couple mutations! And in most extreme cases, it's a bad thing.

Fiction and reality are entirely different from each other. A mutation in fiction is not like a mutation in reality, mainly because real mutations are boring or they're left for dramatic works when they're extreme cases. Fictitious mutations create a lot of what the plot revolves around and are key to the plot, so they need to be something very extravagant, unless it's the dramatic work mentioned earlier.

 

[RThaiRThai]

Fiction and reality are entirely different from each other. A mutation in fiction is not like a mutation in reality, mainly because real mutations are boring or they're left for dramatic works when they're extreme cases. Fictitious mutations create a lot of what the plot revolves around and are key to the plot, so they need to be something very extravagant, unless it's the dramatic work mentioned earlier.

I get that, but the problem I have is when a story implies that *all* mutations are dramatic. I'd like to see some acknowledgement that other than these people with mutant superpowers, there are people with bad mutations or minor mutations.

 

[WorldFree55]

JNA17, is there a specific reason you're asking? Thinking of a game idea? What exactly is the context for these spells?

I know *I* don't have any spells. Where did these urban characters get their powers?

As a programmer, I'm going to imagine that technology permeated the real world so much that programs are capable of influencing it in ways that resemble magic, as suggest programming related terms.

Programs is an obvious name.
Functions.
Methods.
Subroutines seems to have become popular in media somehow, but nobody actually uses subroutines anymore. Well, they do, but not in the popular programming languages.
Scripts.
Commands.
Classes.
Instances.
Modules are still kind of around.

thinking of a game idea? Me? Ha! Please don't be ridicules. Why would i do something like that in my spare time when i can just...eh...well...maybe. ...DON'T JUDGE ME!

But I'm just mostly curious on what name we could call "magicka" if an urban modern day RPG took place in the current time. But i thought just like it would be in a futuristic scfi setting, the name "magicka" would be a little too alien for it so i thought maybe a name good enough to mean basically the same thing but different wording would fit the surroundings well.

But for programming (as I'm looking to pursue myself) names are concerned, pretty interesting names as well.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

Shenanigans. Definitely Shenanigans.

"I swear to God I'll pistol whip the next guy who says shenanigans."

ON TOPIC: Not sure. I've always liked something like "the gift." Or "the edge."

 

[WorldFree55]

Shenanigans. Definitely Shenanigans.

"I swear to God I'll pistol whip the next guy who says shenanigans."

Your pistol whip when? Right meow? XD

 

[A-D.]

depends on the type of Ability. So yeah by default i'd all group them under Ability and then branch out into specific Types. Kinda how Heroes (the TV Series) did it combined with the general D&D Idea of it.

Elemental, Mental or Mutation for one, to define how the Ability works, i.e. its basic Type. Everything that refers to a elemental force for attacking/defending is grouped up under Elemental, so Fire, Water the whole thing.
Mental would be everything which is done with the Mind, Teleportation, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Sensory Manipulation and so forth would be grouped under that.
Mutation basicly is everything which is based on the Body, Super Strength, Super Speed and so forth go under that one.

So its all about how you group them up, but i refer to them collectively as a Ability rather than Magic, since even Magic is limited and not entirely encompasing the whole field of things one might be capable of. As for the most part Magic tends to refer specifically to "magical" Abilities such as generating Fire or Ice or something like that yet doesnt include other abilities like Telepathy and so forth or Powers which are purely physical, like Speed and such.

 

[EricKei]

Dangit, most of the good responses were taken already

Could always come up with variants on real words, both actual and fictional:

Thaumaturgy/Thauma
Incantus/Incantica/Incarion
Ener (as in energy)
etc...

Or...Try just looking up "magio" or similar words for the same general concept in Google Translate or something like that -- a foreign language might have a term that sounds exotic enough to stand out, while still being memorable and interesting for your players.

ex:
Japanese - Mahou
Filipino - Salamangka
etc...(I did look up a few, the vast majority are really close to "magic" anyway)

 

[WorldFree55]

Some of the names i like a lot. So far what stands out for me the most seems to be Will. But Thauma is not bad either XD.

Making up a name sounds fun too as well. I have a lot of Kira! (I know it means death in Japanese) lol.

 

[Fishtie]

A lot of it depends on what 'flavor' you want this magic to have.

Activated Reality Perception Alteration. (A.R.P.A.)

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Whats wrong with the word magic? I'm pretty sure most people who saw supernatural displays akin to magic would probably jump to that word first before things like "psychic powers"

 

[2xDouble]

Have a few hundred words [http://thesaurus.com/browse/magic].

You're welcome.

heh.

Some less than real words:
Psionics
Ethers/Etherics
Kinesthetics

Some used in other games:
Symbology
Force(s)
Alchemy
Materia
Psynergy

 

[SageRuffin]

How about just "power" or "energy", like in DBZ?

Ooh, "super meter!" That might work.

 

[The Lugz]

Sleight

as in sleight of hand, in this case sleight of the mind.

it is used to describe the techniques used by a magician to manipulate objects to his advantage

i think that could easily be applied to magical spells in a modern rpg
let's face it there are many mechanics that make less sense

 

[WorldFree55]

Have a few hundred words [http://thesaurus.com/browse/magic].

You're welcome.

heh.

Some less than real words:
Psionics
Ethers/Etherics
Kinesthetics

Some used in other games:
Symbology
Force(s)
Alchemy
Materia
Psynergy

That long list definitly helps out a lot haha. Good names on here as well .