Alternate Mana Level Names

[Rolando]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Restricting acceptable vocabulary is a recipe for some things not getting talked about.

...

I don't think it is about restricting vocabulary, I think it is about using the terms as they are defined in GURPS.

Anyone can talk about anything but if people start using "low magic" as anything, then confusion crops in, if we agree to use the term "low magic" as defined in GURPS Fantasy we can start there and keep defining whatever is intended to be defined with as much words as needed, no restriction, but definition.

[shawnhcorey]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Rare, occasional, common, and very common?

very common = ubiquitous, widespread, pervasive, omnipresent

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Rolando

I don't think it is about restricting vocabulary, I think it is about using the terms as they are defined in GURPS.

Anyone can talk about anything but if people start using "low magic" as anything, then confusion crops in, if we agree to use the term "low magic" as defined in GURPS Fantasy we can start there and keep defining whatever is intended to be defined with as much words as needed, no restriction, but definition.

Right. For example, "Wizard" in GURPS has two meanings: 25+ skill in Classic and any type of spell caster. In D&D it relates to one class even though by GURPS terms other classes (Cleric and Druid) would be "wizards".

Though there are terms that are so FUBARed that you need to be very specific as to what you are talking about. For example, the "Power" of a Magic item has at least three meanings in GURPS — the skill level of the spells in the item, if the item has a Powerstone, or as per DF rules (effectively charges).

[David Johnston2]

1. Static
2. Ordered
3. Balanced
4. Liberated
5. Unstable

[maximara]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

1. Static
2. Ordered
3. Balanced
4. Liberated
5. Unstable

That IMHO is more confusing. Static doesn't really equate to None or Very Low. And Order for Low is kind of a non sequitur for me.

[Kage2020]

I'm rather fond of the Shadowrun ones, though I would personally never use them as standard mana zone per GURPS.

Void (no Mana)
Ebb (some mana)
Standard (err...)
Domain (positive version of Ebb)
Warp (positive version of Void)

My preference is to use these as more of a discrete scale but, whelp. My description doesn't help, but it's basically a +12 to -12 to scale. Ish.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by maximara

That IMHO is more confusing. Static doesn't really equate to None or Very Low. And Order for Low is kind of a non sequitur for me.

It's a gradation for a setting that assumes that in the "Order versus Chaos" alignment scheme, "Order" is the side that wants to reduce mana while "Chaos" is the side that wants to increase mana. No Mana means magic simply can't be used to interfere with the "laws of physics" or alter anything while Very High means a large number of critical failures for magic. There is also an assumption in there that things like weather and breeding true become very predictable in no mana, while Very High mana produces routine mutant monsters and weird weather.

[TGLS]

Well why not just call it "Moderate Mana" or "Medium Mana"? Though I think naming mana levels after music tempos could be fun:

"The mana is quite largo for now, but when the moon comes out I expect the mana to become vivace."

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by whswhs

The definition is that high fantasy is closer to myth, and low fantasy is closer to history or to realistic fiction.

This -- the traditional use in F&SF as far as I know. RPGs in particular more recently started using the terms to refers to the prevalence of use or ease of obtaining magic items, so "high" would be D&D-esque magic shops on every corner.

For clarity, it would probably be better to retain the word "magic" in the second usage to clearly identify the meaning, so "high magic fantasy" and "low magic fantasy", not just "high fantasy" and "low fantasy", which phrases already had a meaning well before RPGs came along.

The OP goes off course in assuming that the terms in GURPS books are those used in the game world. Hence, their preference for "Normal Magic" to mean "the most commonly occurring type of mana level in the setting". But the word isn't describing the setting. It's describing the state of mana relative to the other rules. "Normal" mana means the normal, default, base case of the rules apply, while other names mean some different, special rule applies. None of those terms need be used by characters in the setting -- what they're used to, what's "normal" to them, isn't the same as the meta usage of the word in the rules. Nor are the words confined just to describing settings. Specific, colorful names like the Shadowrun example are well and good, but they're setting-specific, not words that should be used in the generic rules. And there's certainly no sense in Kromm having to take a survey every quarter or so to determine the popularity of mana zone levels in settings in use in the GURPS community and adjust the rules so that "Normal" is always the level most commonly used in settings.