"Circle" is a common one for ranks of spell- so a Ninth Level Wizard could cast Spells of the Fifth Circle.
"Order" would work well, as would "Magnitude" or even "Iteration", if your wizards are less mystical and more scientific
edited 27th Sep '10 9:15:01 AM by MorkaisChosen
Yeah, I'd use "rank" if it weren't already used in "skill ranks".
Perhaps "grade"? LOL "Grade 5 wizard spell".
BLUH
I remember reading about one D&D game where the in-universe term for spell levels was "valence" - like an electron, each spell can only occupy one of multiple possible distinct energy states.
arbane: like, what, "a valence 1 wizard spell"?
That sounds like...an extremely cool idea that I very much want to adopt.
@ Lull: Facepalm + LOL
edited 27th Sep '10 11:11:19 AM by GlennMagusHarvey
"Circle" is a good idea. So's "valence", although it imposes setting constraints — it'd work very well for a dungeonpunk setting, not so well for high fantasy.
I will keep my soul in a place out of sight, Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
What meaning does "valence" have other than the chemistry meaning?
Most of its definitions appear to revolve around "degrees of freedom" or a similar concept.
I will keep my soul in a place out of sight, Far off, where the pulse of it is not heard.
Hmm, it seems to vaguely mean "potential". Not electrical potential, but like, "potential power magnification" or something.
DUMB
What about "9th-order wizard spells"?Wouldn't second-order spells be metamagic feats
Seems you guys are all focusing on referring to spells by something other than "level"; what about changing the term you use to describe character level?
One thing I've done in my games is have NPC spellcasters explaining their character level (read: bragging about their power) by describing themselves as an X "degree" practicioner of some tradition or another. A 14th level Dread Necromancer, for example, might describe himself as a 14th degree initiate of the Chthonian School. I started doing it just because it made dialogue sound cooler, but it seems applicable here too.
Se non è vero, è ben trovato.
BLUH
Disturbly - I like that. And it makes sense; I once got into an argument with a DM about how "in-character" levels and such are, and I pointed out that you can pretty well peg a spellcaster's level once you know what the most powerful spells they can cast are.
^ So they gain their "degrees" the way a martial artist would ("third-degree black belt" for example).
But how would you justify mages that learn spells through means other than direct schooling?
My inclination is to leave levels as an OOC abstraction, and refer to casters by the rank of spells they can cast-
"I'm a student of the 5th Circle of Wizardry" for a Level 9, or "I'm a master of 6th Iteration Sorcery" for a level 12 (Master implying they haven't just got to that Circle/Iteration/Rank/Sphere/Whatever, they've developed their knowledge of it).
^ So they gain their "degrees" the way a martial artist would ("third-degree black belt" for example).
But how would you justify mages that learn spells through means other than direct schooling?
Well, actually, the idea is based more on Gardnerian Wicca, Alexandrian Wicca, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and to a lesser extent, Freemasonry, all of which assign "degrees" of initiation to their members.
For your second question, casters who had absolutely no formal training, even a mentor who only factored into their backstory, just made up new traditions and declared themselves masters of it in bombastic and narcisstic style. This game I was running was pretty high magic; I think I estimated there was something like eight hundred thousand magical "traditions" being practiced at any one time, with more being made up every day.
I like that. And it makes sense; I once got into an argument with a DM about how "in-character" levels and such are, and I pointed out that you can pretty well peg a spellcaster's level once you know what the most powerful spells they can cast are. Yeah, everyone in my group jumps though hoops to avoid using game rule terms like "power points", "hit dice" and "reflex saves" in game. Sometimes it makes for good RP, sometimes it makes for ridiculous RP, but it's usually fun.
edited 27th Sep '10 3:03:18 PM by disturbly
Se non è vero, è ben trovato.
"Level 9 wizard" is not the same as "Level 9 wizard spells".
This bugs me. Can someone think of a better terminology?
What about "9th-order wizard spells"?
edited 27th Sep '10 9:07:43 AM by GlennMagusHarvey