Tired of "Mana"

[Felon]

Dictionary.com is both careful and correct in defining mana as a force - the capacity to cause change. GURPS, and the designers who copy GURPS, misuse the word as an energy, a quantity that is expended by use. To put it another way: mana is not spell points, it is caster level.

This big distinction between "force" and "energy" that you speak of doesn't exist. Force can be expended just like energy can.

Good point.

Actually, it was nonsense.

 

[The_Universe]

Not really, since the term "sword" was developed hundreds of years ago (sweran "to hurt," from *swertha-, lit. "the cutting weapon"), and has dozens of synonyms. "Mana" (as the term for magic) was coined 30 years ago, being used out of context from the Polynesian term for powerful charisma and influence.

Do we know that the polynesian "Mana" was/is the word being referenced? I've read (and been told) that the use of "Mana" to indicate magical power refers to the old testament biblical story of Mana falling from heaven - quite literally fuel for the fleeing Israelites.

As far as I know, that's where the word originated as a synonym for "magic fuel" and thus has a much longer etymological history than 30 years...

 

[Cam Banks]

Do we know that the polynesian "Mana" was/is the word being referenced? I've read (and been told) that the use of "Mana" to indicate magical power refers to the old testament biblical story of Mana falling from heaven - quite literally fuel for the fleeing Israelites.

That would be "manna", not "mana."

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Megatron]

Just getting a big gripe off my shoulders, but I have become weary of the word Mana being used to describe "magical energy" in RPGs and card games. Larry Niven was clever to borrow it from the Polynesians, but the word has slowly become my prime buzzword for "creative sloth."

If you are a game author or DM and need a word for "magical energy," please take a few days to research a new name to describe it. Stop squeezing blood from the vultures which fed on the dead thieves who mugged The Magic Goes Away.

Completely Agree.

 

[elrobey]

How about abracadabra?

Or hocus-pocus?

Or (thank you, Bugs Bunny) ... abraca-pocus?

;-)

The problem with the term "mana" is NOT that it is being misapplied. You could just as easily say the same thing about Wisdom or Charisma, neither of which mean in a D&D sense what they mean in common speech.

The problem with the term "mana" is that to the extent it has flavor (which is a very limited extent), it has the wrong flavor. It isn't an Anglo-Saxon or English word, so in a setting derived from English history, English literature, or English-language concepts, it is out of place. And that covers a majority, or at least a plurality, of settings.

If I were a game designer, I'd choose an existing term like "sorcery" or simply "magic". I also like "uncanny", though "uncanniness" is a bit of a mouthful.

 

[Psion]

My gripe isn't the insistence (or lack thereof) of using a certain word to repesent such a concept, but the odd insistence by some that it somehow serves the game better or is more "realistic" to treat magical energy like a battery or a tank of gas.

Hmmm... how about "joules" or "gallons" since that seems to be the truth of the matter.

 

[eris404]

I'm partial to having it measured in units called "Thaums"

Literary references aside, I might have to borrow that - my D&D game is set in 19th century England and this word (like orgone) really fits. I can see the wizards of my world sort of like mad scientists experimenting with electricity. Orgone could be the raw magical energy and one thaum might be the amount of orgone a 1st level wizard would need to generate (channel?) in order to cast a 1st level spell. Thus, you might hear the party's wizard cry out:

"Do you realize the amount of orgone you have to generate to create a ball of fire that size?!? That's at least 15 thaums!!"

But on topic, I have to agree with HellHound here. I think the term "mana" in itself isn't bad and it is an easy term to describe "magical energy" but anyone who has played Magic the Gathering for any length of time might be a bit burned out at the term. I'd even go further to say that many D&D players are wary of MtG elements creeping into WotC's D&D products and so using the term "mana" in conjunction with D&D specifically might irritate some players.

 

[Philip]

If this is a big gripe to you, then you must either have a wonderful carefree life or a very limited one

 

[elrobey]

I know it was probably made somewhat in jest, but I like Gneech's idea of naming the unit after someone ... I'd probably go with 'merlin', though, not 'gandalf'. Really depends on the flavor of your setting, though.

 

[Voadam]

Do we know that the polynesian "Mana" was/is the word being referenced? I've read (and been told) that the use of "Mana" to indicate magical power refers to the old testament biblical story of Mana falling from heaven - quite literally fuel for the fleeing Israelites.

As far as I know, that's where the word originated as a synonym for "magic fuel" and thus has a much longer etymological history than 30 years...

I had thought it was the manna from heaven term as well until I looked up mana and manna in the dictionary today and noted the different spellings and definitions.

Learn something new every day.

Polynesia, wierd.