I need a good name for what essentially is Gravity Magic. "Good" would mean that the names don't sound scientific, are not invented words, and have some applicability to the actual magic associated with the schools. Any help with this would be tremendously appreciated!
Gravity Magic: This lets you manipulate the weight of objects, fly, cling to surfaces, pull or push people around, root them to the ground, move incredibly fast or slow down other people, fall from any height without harm; deflect or stop incoming attacks so that you take no damage from them, climb really fast, jump really far, communicate invisibility with other Gravity-Magic users, or deliver powerful blows that completely bypass any armor.
Thanks in advance!
This sounds a lot like telekinesis with some slight variations. Psychokinesis would actually be a good descriptor for this kind of magic.
"Psychokinesis" sounds too scientific, though. Maybe Aportation, though that sounds too sciency and not very mystical, I think. Not sure . . .
[EDIT]
Running with the idea that it's about moving things, here are some ideas, maybe?
Aportation
Kineurgy
Kiniturgy
Moturgy
Any preferences or ideas?
How about Kinetotheurge (a practitioner of "Kinetotheurgy"); or Kinetomancer (a practitioner of Kinetomancy); or Kineticist (a practitioner of Kineticism).
The problem with names sounding "sciencey" is that most names of the sort we're throwing around have Greek and Latin roots, which have historically lent themselves to scientific terminology. If you want to avoid that issue you're going to have to look outside Latin/Greek.
What about "Inertiate", from the combination of inertia and initiate?
Masstery. Heh.
You're right, steerpike. That's probably what's throwing me.
Also a general note: -urgy means "workings" and -mancy refers to divination. Theurgy is magic that invokes angels while goetia is magic that invokes demons. Thaumaturgy is miracle-working. I almost went the -mancy route, anyway, but I think I'd prefer more mystical-sounding names. I might just give in, though. Not sure yet.
Lol at "Masstery!"
I think it's time to hit some online thesauruses for gravity/movement synonyms. I'll report back in a bit, hopefully. Thanks for the guidance!
Maybe something simpler. How about Well Weaving?
So the thesaurus route didn't turn up anything interesting. Looking at my list of Arcane-Only schools - Aethyr, Electricity, Gravity, Light, Planewalking, Sound, and Time - the one that really stands out as odd is Planewalking (being able to transport bodily from one material world to another).
Any particular suggestions? Comments? The naming thing always messes me up, and good names can really make a concept work.
Momentia (practicer: momentist)
Forcecraft (practicer: forcer)
The Hidden Hand (practicer: a hidden hand)
Ninja'd with some interesting ideas! Hidden Hand sounds interesting, actually. Now I'm tooooorn!
I was considering Potentate ("a person who possesses great power") for a similar kind of mage.
EDIT: being a non-native speaker it's hard for me to pinpoint what words are common and which are rare, so this might be too regular for you to use.
Forcecraft is a stroke of genius, Ghostman, for my 2cp.
"Forcecraft" is good, but I think
forcecrafter is a better name for a practitioner than
forcer.
QuoteSo the thesaurus route didn't turn up anything interesting.
Probably because we've been using the same word for a long time. Aristotle believed that objects fell because of their intrinsic quality of heaviness, or
gravitas.
Quotethe one that really stands out as odd is Planewalking (being able to transport bodily from one material world to another).
Well, if you want something like "Sound" and "Time" for planewalking you could simply go with "Space," "Dimension," or "Travel," since you don't seem to have another school that's a property of location or movement.
For what it's worth, I use Kinesis for these sort of powers in Asura.
But then I don't really object to the names sounding "science-y." :D
Thanks for all of the response, guys. This is helping a lot! My gut instinct was and still is to make the schools invoke a sense of wonder and mystery; while, their content hints at actual scientific working (excluding planewalking, of course), or at least antiquated scientific ideas (e.g., luminiferous aether, caloric theory, phlogiston theory, etc.). I am including all of the typical rennaissance science skills in the mechanics and want that entire area to feel magical in the sense that only a few genius-level people know about it. I thought making arcane magic that deals with scientific principles (I almost made a Space-Time school, but it turned out to be just too broad to be easily balanced, mechanically) would have a nice mystical flare.
Anyway, the other names were largely placeholders until I jammed more mystical names in there (I'm open to ideas for them, as well), but Gravity really has me stumped. FWIW, I'm thinking of changing Aethyr to Aethyric Conjuration. "Time" might actually end up a "Chronomancy", since so many of its powers involve getting knowledge from the future or past. Electricity, Light, and Sound still need to be addressed. I might be able to live with Luminurgy for Light, if need be, but I'd prefer to minimize the number of those types of names. Arcane magic also includes a lot of other schools, but those also belong to other power sources.
I think the best way to get around the sciency-name issue would be to forego the whole general discipline name and instead try to make names that sound like the names of schools or cabals or the like. E.g. the Hidden Hand as was suggested before or the Initiates of the Fifth Kinetic Key or what have you.
That's really the key, right there.
I've been able to get a good deal of mileage out of "schools of magic" that, if you judge them just by their powersets, are frankly not that interesting. They start to become interesting, though, when you start thinking of them in terms of what philosophies and religions are attached, what bureaucracies and hierarchies preserve and promote these techniques, what cultures and nations they grew up in, what taboos and limits govern their use, what were the personalities of their greatest practitioners.
The next time I start a design project like this (it is in the pipeline!), I'm going to do all this magic stuff backwards, and figure out organizational culture before I even start to think about what wild stuff wizzardes can do, etc.
I'm with crow and crayon on this. Don't bother with schools of magic, by definition they're schools and so they're going to sound all fancy and sciencey heh. Besides obscure orders could be awesome. The way of the pure flame for pyromancers, the unmovable mind for telekinetists, etc...
I think I misled when I use the word "school." I meant it in the sense that Abjuration is a particular school of magic in 3.x d20. Not that it's an organization. Perhaps "path" or "way" would have been a better world. Based on that, I could probably still follow the above suggestion and go with some fancy-sounding stuff.
Unique to Arcane Powers
Path of Aethyric Conjuration
Path of the Hidden Hand
Path of Arcane Fulmination
Way of the Mouthless Voice
Way of the World-Walking
Path of the Effulgent Eye
Path of Eternity
Shared with Nature and Spirit Powers
Way of the Breathless Wind
Path of Ash and Dust
Path of Dancing Flame
Way of Water-Working
Path of Winter
Any comments or suggestions? A lot of this is still shaping in my aching brain.
It would be better to name all of those as either 'way X' or 'path X' - unless there's some significant and consistent distinction between 'ways' and 'paths'.
If you simply want to put some variety into the naming conventions, then you'll need more than just two alternative patterns to pick from.
Good point.
<will expand later>