So, like half-the universe, I'm working on a personal D&D variant. For the "mental stats" I'm leaning towards having a Willpower and Perception stat, but not having Int, Wis, or Chr ones.
But then I'm imagining characteristics that wouldn't be one of the six stats, but would be important for the different types of "magic" users or dabblers and I'm stuck on coming up with names for them.
(1) Wizardy - Something indicating how much capacity someone had for storing the really complicated, high-dimensional, thought processes that underlay traditional Wizard type spells. If you want to be a classic studying type caster, you want some of this.
"Psyche" feels good to me... except I wonder if it sounds too much like psionic.
Has "Talent" been used in enough fantasy/sci-fi literature that it's use to something like magic would be appropriate? Is the problem that it might be appropriate for everything?
Does "Aptitude" work without "Magic" in front of it?
Just "Arcane"?
(2) Sorcerery/Shamany- Something indicating connection to the neighboring supernatural plane(s) that combines the spirit realms, lands of the djinn, feywild, shadowfell, etc... If you're getting bloodline powers as a sorcerer, a shaman communing with spirits, warlock getting fed powers by something living there, or doing druid or ranger or wuxia elemental things (by pulling over what could be done in the spirit world to the prime material) then you need this.
"Affinity"?
(3) Bardy/Ki-y - Something indicating exceptional harnessing of mental processes that don't relate to (1) or (2) above. Things that might key off of this are some manifestations of: bard's charm/manipulation type effects, monk's Ki, barbarian's rage, empathic and maybe even telepathic (but not telekentic) psychic things, druid or rangers animal friendship, maybe a "danger sense" that comes from reading what the nearby animal life is feeling as a whole.
"Attunement" except attune is used for magic items.
"Rapport"?
"Presence" (to fit with the VtM suite of powers that I can see feeding off of this - but not really going with the Ki type things...)
"Psyche"?
(4) Clericy - Something indicating to one of the raw elemental planes - like channeling fire or positive energy or negative energy directly. A paladin or clerics classic channel positive or negative energy would be an example of this. Lightning bolt or fireball might? Some of the comic book mutant powers would probably be here if they were more boring (ice-man, human torch).
"Channel"? "Conduit"?
Thanks for any thoughts!
But then I'm imagining characteristics that wouldn't be one of the six stats, but would be important for the different types of "magic" users or dabblers and I'm stuck on coming up with names for them.
(1) Wizardy - Something indicating how much capacity someone had for storing the really complicated, high-dimensional, thought processes that underlay traditional Wizard type spells. If you want to be a classic studying type caster, you want some of this.
"Psyche" feels good to me... except I wonder if it sounds too much like psionic.
Has "Talent" been used in enough fantasy/sci-fi literature that it's use to something like magic would be appropriate? Is the problem that it might be appropriate for everything?
Does "Aptitude" work without "Magic" in front of it?
Just "Arcane"?
(2) Sorcerery/Shamany- Something indicating connection to the neighboring supernatural plane(s) that combines the spirit realms, lands of the djinn, feywild, shadowfell, etc... If you're getting bloodline powers as a sorcerer, a shaman communing with spirits, warlock getting fed powers by something living there, or doing druid or ranger or wuxia elemental things (by pulling over what could be done in the spirit world to the prime material) then you need this.
"Affinity"?
(3) Bardy/Ki-y - Something indicating exceptional harnessing of mental processes that don't relate to (1) or (2) above. Things that might key off of this are some manifestations of: bard's charm/manipulation type effects, monk's Ki, barbarian's rage, empathic and maybe even telepathic (but not telekentic) psychic things, druid or rangers animal friendship, maybe a "danger sense" that comes from reading what the nearby animal life is feeling as a whole.
"Attunement" except attune is used for magic items.
"Rapport"?
"Presence" (to fit with the VtM suite of powers that I can see feeding off of this - but not really going with the Ki type things...)
"Psyche"?
(4) Clericy - Something indicating to one of the raw elemental planes - like channeling fire or positive energy or negative energy directly. A paladin or clerics classic channel positive or negative energy would be an example of this. Lightning bolt or fireball might? Some of the comic book mutant powers would probably be here if they were more boring (ice-man, human torch).
"Channel"? "Conduit"?
Thanks for any thoughts!
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