D&D style:
>Fireball, Find Traps, Cure Moderate Wounds
Tales of style:
>Crimson Flare, Delver's Eye, Healing Wind
Exalted style:
>Resplendent Heliacal Conflagration Prana, Foretelling of Future Funerals Methodology, Wholeness-Rejuvenating Chirurgery Meditation
Which is your favorite tone overall for ability names?
>Zzap Mothafucka!!
Depends. For simpler spells, I like the Tales of- style of giving them slightly flavourful names, without going overboard. For truly world-changing abilities and spells, Exalted all the way.
I love cheesy, Exalted-style ability names for things.
Because they're fun.
D&D style is best overall because the straightforward naming makes it easy for everyone to be on the same page. Find Traps finds traps, Cure [X] Wounds cures wounds of [X] severity, etc.
That being said, I would love it if players would use Tales style in-game; it's easiest if the players stick to Fireball OOC, but characters are free to use more flavorful names like Flaming Roar or Blazing Brand, and there's no need for the name to be universal either. Exalted naming conventions are a bit too wordy for most instances, but ancient spells need wordy sounds-like-its-been-translated names -- it also works if anyone's playing a Vaarsuvius-like character where being wordy is your whole schtick.
Tales of.
But I think that, in many settings, spells shouldn't have universal names and they should vary from region to region, or even from wizard to wizard. In a case like that I would prefer the rules use D&D style to make what they do very clear to the players, while also including a note saying that those are not necessarily what the spells will be known by to the people in the game world. And for many spells that are self explanatory in what they do I would say they don't even have a name. Wizards would say "This is a moderate healing spell," when pointing at Cure Moderate Wounds in their spellbook. A master teaching an apprentice wouldn't say "Cast Fireball," they would say "Conjure a fireball."
>Fira, Antitrap, Cura
There are just a few instances of D&D naming that are misleading as hell but kept for historical reasons. Turn Undead really should be called Repel Undead or something like that, because that shit does NOT turn you undead.
I remember that screencap, but I don't have it.
Isn't it called that because it originally made made undead turn 360 degrees and walk away?
>Agi, Dekunda, Diarama
I like the first with maybe the second and third if there are specific lore things.
Desktop Dungeons style:
>BURNDAYRAZ, ENDISWAL/LEMMISI*, HALPMEH
*closest equivalents
So they spun around in a full circle and then just moonwalked away?
Second one with just a dash of the third.
It's called that because turning a corpse upside-down before burying is is a traditional way to prevent things from getting p spoopy.
Only when turned by a priest of 80's ROCK!!!!!
Fuck I forgot about this game. It was tight.
Depends on the setting. But generally I agree with what people said earlier. First is good because of clarity, second and third are more flavorful. I would use second in more down to earth setting with names getting progressively flowery as they ascend in power or age (with some exceptions because not every mage is the same). Third only for settings like Exalted but even there are things like Excellent Strike or Blink.
I like 'em street.
>KABOOOM!, don't be trippin', I got you bro
My favorite part about committing to the Exalted naming scheme is that it can then be subverted to great effect.
For example, Exalted 3e has spells like "Flight of the Brilliant Raptor" and "Death of Obsidian Butterflies" and "Benediction of Archgenesis" and stuff like that.
Then it's highest level, deadliest spell is just "Death Ray". And it's a fucking death ray.
Somewhere between 2 and 3. I like the Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and generic JRPG naming conventions for abilities.
I don't really like fantasy that much, but my favorite by far is isekai-style JRPG-land. I find the notion of a capital-H Hero and capital-M Maou to be especially compelling.
On the other hand I absolutely HATE D&D-style fantasy, especially if it incorporates Vancian magic, alignment, and shitty, overly involved and overpowered pantheons.
Don't forget the chanting, man.
I call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder. Indignation!
Sacred power. Cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls. Rest in peace sinners. Judgement!
And for good measure:
Feel the pain...of those inferior beings...as you burn in hell!
>my favorite by far is isekai-style JRPG-land
Have those ever actually appeared in any JRPGs past 2000?
I'd say the majority of JRPGs even to this day use that setting, though most are not AAA titles which get translations, let alone published internationally.
Though there is a pretty big "Western JRPG" community surrounding RPGMaker.
>the player can name the spells
>end up with basically this
Fancy 3 or 4 letter names with unambiguous abbreviations. It has the flavor appeal for newcomers and streamlined use for seasoned players.
so basically
>Resplendent Heliacal Conflagration Prana, Foretelling of Future Funerals Methodology, Wholeness-Rejuvenating Chirurgery Meditation
plus
>RHCP, FFFM, WRCM
D&D names for mechanical stuff, Tales names maybe getting on to Exalted names for in character / setting stuff.
Clear and concise when it needs to be, but fun and fluffy when you want it to be. Also lets the GM somewhat obfuscate what enemies or NPCs are actually capable of if they so choose.
This guys got it.
>Feel the pain...of those inferior beings...as you burn in hell!
Symphonia a best.
I prefer to take whatever names are in the game, and change them to something fitting for my character.
first post best post
>Vita
>Mortis
>Careo
There is something brutally awful (in a good way) about some of the most powerful D&D spells having simple, factual names. "Death Spell". Fucking hell. Makes me shiver.
I think you mean 3 or 4 words, not letters, user.
I prefer
>Phandaal's Critique of the Chill
>Call to the Violent Cloud
>The Peculiar Peril
>Advantageous Aerostatic Association
Tales style, but only the older entries in the series.
Xillia 2 was particularly horrible.
What do you call a simple series of non-magical slashes that you can do from level 1?
That's right, TIME DISINTEGRATION!
i personally think it lacks a commanding of respect from the player. if a player says "i cast death spell" it doesn't have much impact when he uses it to kill an important character compared to "I cast Maw of Hades".
Indeed I do, 3-4 word names with 3-4 letter abbreviations. Thanks for correction.
It's up to preference for sure. I just think emotionless mundanity has a certain edge to it. Like "Smallpox" or "Mustard Gas".
Yes, it's supposed to mean " turn" in the sense of "turn away," but that's not what we assume when we see the word "turn" with no preposition attached.
It's even creepier if the deadly, horrifying thing has a euphemism for a name. That really tells the story of how people in the game world have tried to justify the use of it to others and to themselves. Like if Abi-Dazim's Horrid Wilting were called Abi-Dazim's Moisture Adjustment, or even just Spell 19.
>MAHALITO, LOMILWA, DIAL
>Spell 19
This one is amazing. Well done.
This was annoying as fuck to play with, but it did serve to lend a feeling of esotericism to the magic. When you, the player, have to consult your cheat sheet of incantations to find out which spell to use (and, depending on the version of the game, possibly which word to type to activate the spell) it really does feel like magic.
This desu.
Chant a poetic-sounding invocation and then end with the name of the spell.
I think it really sucks that later games in the Final Fantasy Tactics series scrapped this.
>tfw wanted to put chants like this for every spell in my game but they mostly turned out bad
The best one I came up with was:
O fanged prince clad in twilight before whom all things tremble, show thy smile! Mortal Terror!
The thing about Tales style is that it can indeed go to the point of Exalted style when you get more powerful spells, just look up all the different mystic artes.
>D&D style for low-level abilities.
>Tales style for mid-level abilities.
>Exalted style for high-level abilities.
Boom, best of all worlds
I always quite enjoyed that too. It's fun to see writers who can poke some fun at themselves.
>Not using the Mystic Arte version of the Indignation chant.
youtube.com
You done fucked up.
Martial spell-users have a much wider repertoire in the Tales games. I actually have a Mystic Arte chant for any chance of a Tales based game.
>Beneath the full moon, I dance to the umbral dirge.
>The ritual begins, beckoning for me to purge.
>DANSE MACABRE
I prefer
>I dwell amidst the abounding light of heaven...
>Come forth, lightning of the gods! INDIGNATION!
The best part of baldurs gate chants is that they all make some sense as latin prhases
Your quote means
>life and death I am without
Or something like that
...
Reminds me of the names Invoker spouts when he casts spells in Dota 2.
>Ghost Walk
hydra-media.cursecdn.com
>Sunstrike
hydra-media.cursecdn.com
World Tree style:
Creoc Pyrodor, Knowoc Locador, Healoc Corpador
Basically a system for Word Magic with skill levels for each Verb and Noun. Everyone has a general idea of what you're trying to do based on the words, with an upper limit set by skill. It's also fairly common to name certain combinations and skill requirements to make it easier to tell whether you're casting Fireball, Light Candle or calling a Fire Elemental.
>especially if it incorporates Vancian magic,
Vancian magic can do some weird things to the party's planning, but thematically it's quite nice.
>alignment,
Just having a Law/Chaos axis is (kinda) OK, but this is a silly mechanic.
>and shitty, overly involved and overpowered pantheons.
Eberron a best.
>especially if it incorporates Vancian magic,
Vancian magic can do some weird things to the party's planning, but thematically it's quite nice.
>alignment,
Just having a Law/Chaos axis is (kinda) OK, but this is a silly mechanic.
>and shitty, overly involved and overpowered pantheons.
Eberron a best.
>Vancian magic can do some weird things to the party's planning, but thematically it's quite nice.
No, it's just mind-numbingly dumb.
>there's like 12 pre-determined magical effects that can be cast at each level
>half of them are useless, nearly all of them have retarded names, every single one is a silly gimmick
>SPELLS PER DAY
>"Hoho this fellow is a master of magic, that means he's got a few well-known tricks up his sleeve!"
Vancian magic is more like a "Wacky Tricks Compendium" than anything resembling arcane power.
Furthermore, it absolutely doesn't belong in or have any basis in typical fantasy. The only reason it has any staying power is D&D's popularity.
>Just having a Law/Chaos axis is (kinda) OK, but this is a silly mechanic.
There's a reason that every game that's not D&D does not have this mechanic. It's because it's cancer with no redeeming qualities.
Personally, I like this new style I found in a game packet that tried to build on "Roll for Shoes."
All spells consist of 5 words and must contain the word "I" and any target specifiers.
>I Fire Bolt the Goblin
>May I Summon a Demon?
>Oh shit, I became invisible!
>I Make You Into Loli
>I Am Suddenly Totally Invincible
>I Successfully Become A God
>May I Summon a Demon?
>Oh shit, I became invisible!
>I Am Suddenly Totally Invincible
>I Successfully Become A God
When will these LNs receive anime adaptations?
>I am suddenly totally invincible
I think I read the synopsis for something like that at one point. Just, a high school girl wakes up one morning convinced she's invincible and can't die.
PANCAKE TIME
I prefer Inverse Style
>Dragon Slave, Wind Barrier, Healing Spell
Is it wrong I still know about half of the spells in Wizardry from my misspent youth.
>SPELLS PER DAY
Nothing else you said was intrinsically related to Vancian magic.
>it absolutely doesn't belong in or have any basis in typical fantasy
Tolkien is the undisputed foundation of modern fantasy, but Vance was definitely one of the cornerstones.
That was a really good manga.
It's name escape me. I think it was a oneshot?
>Nothing else you said was intrinsically related to Vancian magic.
Whatever you need to tell yourself. It's a perfectly accurate description of the way Vancian casting exists in RPGs.
>Tolkien is the undisputed foundation of modern fantasy
Maybe in your shitty genre fiction, but not in RPGs. The only Tolkienian trope that's actually common in fantasy is his depiction of Dwarves, which are hardly central to the genre in the first place.
>It's a perfectly accurate description of the way Vancian casting exists in RPGs.
It's a perfectly accurate description of the way general casting exists in some RPGs.
>Maybe in your shitty genre fiction, but not in RPGs.
Whatever you need to tell yourself.
>It's a perfectly accurate description of the way general casting exists in some RPGs.
Other than D&D and its derivatives, no RPG uses Vancian magic.
Like alignment, the absence of this mechanic in basically every other game should point to a problem with the mechanics.
...
Grandia had a spell line called Zap, also, Boom!
Please end yourself as soon as possible, braindead D&D apologist.
Well to be fair dnd spells are real things in setting, so someone came up with a name for them. Exalted charms don't actually exist in setting.
>No, it's just mind-numbingly dumb.
>>there's like 12 pre-determined magical effects that can be cast at each level
>>half of them are useless, nearly all of them have retarded names, every single one is a silly gimmick
>>SPELLS PER DAY
>>"Hoho this fellow is a master of magic, that means he's got a few well-known tricks up his sleeve!"
>Vancian magic is more like a "Wacky Tricks Compendium" than anything resembling arcane power.
>Furthermore, it absolutely doesn't belong in or have any basis in typical fantasy. The only reason it has any staying power is D&D's popularity.
describes Vancian magic in RPGs, but only because
>No, it's just mind-numbingly dumb.
>>there's like 12 pre-determined magical effects that can be cast at each level
>>half of them are useless, nearly all of them have retarded names, every single one is a silly gimmick
>>"Hoho this fellow is a master of magic, that means he's got a few well-known tricks up his sleeve!"
>Vancian magic is more like a "Wacky Tricks Compendium" than anything resembling arcane power.
>Furthermore, it absolutely doesn't belong in or have any basis in typical fantasy. The only reason it has any staying power is D&D's popularity.
describes magic in RPGs.
Never heard of that series before. Is the naming convention a Dragon Quest reference?
This
>Agi, Bufu, Zio, Zan, Hama, Mudo, Megido
Dragon Quest is complicated because you have the original Dragon Warrior translation style of spell names, the modern onomatopoeia style, and the original Japanese style, which shares similarities with both but isn't precisely the same as either.
In a dungeon crawler I'm developing, I'm trying to recreate the flavor of the Japanese Dragon Quest spell names, translated into English of course.
No, not at all user. Not at all.
>In a dungeon crawler I'm developing
Desire to know more
Not much to know just yet. I'm writing it in Common Lisp. Ideally I want to write an engine that lets the dungeon files be interchanged and characters carried between them, so that new levels can be released like adventure modules.
>Vancian magic is more like a "Wacky Tricks Compendium" than anything resembling arcane power.
That's actually very appropriate to Gygaxian D&D. D&D wasn't originally supposed to be serious; it was supposed to have an ironic, absurdist sense of humor to it.
Indeed, it's a disgusting meme wargame and not an RPG.
>The only Tolkienian trope that's actually common in fantasy is his depiction of Dwarves, which are hardly central to the genre in the first place.
Actually, I think you could reasonably argue that stuff like generic +1 swords would fit as well, ironically. Tolkien's magic items aren't exactly "magical" as much as they are really, really, really, really nice regular items, in that they're products of the absolute apex of craftsmanship honed over inhuman lifetimes. If you just take a sword and slide the "quality" slider all the way up, you get a sword that simply swords better, or a magical sword.
There's not too much to support this, though, and even Tolkien's better-swords-than-regular-swords were more interesting than +1 swords because they usually had slightly more specialized purposes than just swording. Sting, for example, glowed because it was specifically a sword that was really, really good at killing nasty orcs and stuff..
Something like that, anyway.
"generic +1 swords" are yet another thing that pretty much only exist in D&D.
Why do people invoke Gygax's intent as if it means anything?