Tired of "Mana"

[jmucchiello]

Can I ask if you also have a problem with magic itself? I mean "magic" is a term for unexplained phenomenon. In a word with "real magic" (an oxymoron, I know, but bare with me), the phenominon is natural and explainable. Why not chastize the designers for using a better term than magic as well?

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

Or someone just decide to spell it differently to avoid the divine connotation. That person perhaps being Niven, but that doesn't mean the meaning doesn't derive from an older source, aka the bible. The real word is a Hebrew word and not "manna" at all. (A short websearch found man-hu and manan as the phonetic Hebrew but I'm no authority for that.)

 

[Klaus]

African tradition has the "axé" ("ash-EH").

 

[heirodule]

Call it vis, like Ars Magica (latin for power)

 

[The_Gneech]

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.

Yeah, but how silly a word is "millimerlin?"

-The Gneech

 

[Gez]

I use leï (ley).

 

[Numion]

Call it vis, like Ars Magica (latin for power)

Whats the plural?

Vises?
Visae?
Viss?
Vis?

As in I've got 50 vises left .. or are those vis points?

 

[Desdichado]

While it's true that mana comes from Polynesian mythology,

Well, it comes from Polynesian vocabulary, but not really mythology. And it's use in Hawaiian and Maori doesn't seem to have much to do with magic either.

 

[Desdichado]

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...

That's a different word altogether--manna. Mana is not for sure of Polynesian descent; as someone already pointed out something more like your typical fantasy mana existed in Norse mythology already. Mana in Polynesia wasn't really magical either.

 

[Krypter]

I use the terms Spirit and Soul in my (custom rules) games. Everybody seems to understand the meaning and the words are different from magic points or mana.

Prana or pneuma would be good too. Storyteller has quintessence, or tass for short.

 

[SpiralBound]

This thread is quite interesting. So much so that I've compiled most of the suggested words here, plus a few I found myself online. I was surprised to see how many we currently have gathered! Granted, not everyone will want to use all of them. Some of them don't carry the desired connotation or are simply too hard to pronounce, but none the less, here they are. Keep 'em coming and I'll keep gathering them!

Words for magical energies

Axé (African. pron. "ash-EH")
Baraka (Berber)
Chakra (20th cent. mysticism) **
Chi (Chinese)
Elan
Espirit
Essence
FX
Force
Gandalfs (named after the famous wizard. units of magical energy, milligandalfs, kilogandalfs, etc.)
Heka (anc. Egyptian)
Hoodoo
Leï (ley)
Lleri (Swedish) *
MP ("magic points")
Magi (Swedish)
Magic
Magikos energeia (Greek trans: "magical energy")
Man-hu (Hebrew)
Mana
Manan (Hebrew)
Merlins (See "Gandalfs")
Mojo
Nerdowatts #
Olodumare (Yoruba)
Orgone (20th cent. occultism)
Power
Prana (India)
Quintessence (alchemy)
SP "spell points"
Sekhem (Egypt)
Sila (Inuit)
Sorcery
Thaums (in reference to "Thaumaturgy")
Uchawi (Swahili)
Uncanny
Varáz (Hungarian)
Veneficus Navitas (latin trans: "magical energy")
Verve
Vis (Latin: "power")
Vneuma - (Greek)
Vraja (Romanian: "magic")
Vril (20th cent. occultism)
Zoroastra - (literally, "of Zoroaster")


---

* May not actually be a Swedish word.

** Actually has multiple sources, plus is also used in reference to psychic energies.

# I know that it was a joke, but I couldn't resist adding it!