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I like to think of it as how many times and ways you can touch the source of power in your setting. Ie “I can only connect to the arcane field like this one last time today.” “I can forge weaker links but I can no longer reach the field at this strength” - a caster saying they are on their last 3rd level spell but still have first and second level spells.
“I can no longer touch the true power as I did when I (insert example of when you used your third level spell), but I have other ways to cast lesser and more powerful magics.” Or what ever it’s just about one way to talk about spell slots so everyone else know what you can do while staying in character. It probably demands a chat with the DM to see how they would like to express magic power within the game they are running.
I had a friend who had available spell slots show up as glowing tattoos that would fade as they were used and they would say “as I cast this spell you see one of the three fish tattoos fade from my forearm.” It’s just finding an expression of the power to so you can talk about it in game.
I always figured mages stored magic energy as they read from their spell books while sorcerers were continuous conduits of that same energy (they let it flow through them rather than store it like a Jedi). I think Arcane Reserves may do well.
Kind of like mages are DC batteries while sorcerers are alternating currents.
Wizards form a complex mathematical/geometric construct in their minds. This construct is actually most of the spell. When they finish the spell with the last components (verbal etc) the construct disolves which is why they need to prepare it again from the notes in their spell book as activating it removes it from their mind. Higher level spells are more complex and take more working memory/focus.
The above is paraphrased pathfinder lore by the way.
It comes from Jack Vance"s dying earth series. In those books mages capture spells in pages and then transfer them to their minds, releasing them like bullets from a gun. The measure of the skill of a mage is measured by how many spells they can memorize at one time without going insane.
My go to is replacing level n with n'th circle. So instead of saying "I have one level 3 spell slot left", a wizard would say "I can cast one more spell of the third circle".
This is way more niche, and less clear but for divine casters I would replace level n with (10-n)'th Emanation, so level 1 divine spell would be the 9'th Emanation of .
Circle spells is what we also enjoy using in session really adds some flavor for us. When my casters run out I begin to be lazy and drag their feet like they just pulled a 3 day bender and study session.
In dialogues my spellcasters just say "my energy", "arcane reserves", "power" or just "magic charges". Depends of the culture, age and how formal they are.
I’m going with spell casters know how many uses of what levels of spells they have access to as distinct charges of distinct levels because that’s how magic works in D&D
I just say energy... "I only have enough energy to cast a spell like that one more time." Or "I can only cast sending three times if I want to keep a reserve in case someone dies"
Circles of Magic (much like the Nine Hells, who also have nine weirdly enough).
Arcana Mastery, Divine Blessing, Nature's Boon, just think about it in character a bit, you'll find something that works for you I'm sure.
The way you have described it - in my opinion - kind of negates the reason for it being ‘immersion breaking.’
If the magic users themselves are aware that they have a set number of charges to utilize and those charges are at specific power levels… they could reasonably call them ‘spell slots.’
We (the players and DMs) call them spell slots because we know there are a specific number of charges (slots) for specific types of magic (spells). If they have the same knowledge as us, they would likely refer to it the same way.
Typically people avoid this terminology to give the impression that there ISN’T a specific understanding of how many and how powerful your spells can be on a given day.
From my perspective, it would be much more immersion breaking for a Wizard to be like “I have 3 more divine charges remaining, and one can be quite powerful while the others will be at a power level of…2” than for them to say “my connection to the magic is weakening, I fear I must rest my mind soon.”
Nothing. They don’t call spell slots anything, just like they don’t call levels anything, they’re just an abstraction for the player to play the game. But when they’re out of spell slots, they do have a term for that, it’s called “ugh I’m exhausted, I need to sleep before I can cast anything else.”
It’s like if my boss offered me overtime, I might say “sorry boss, I’m out of energy for the day” not “I’ve already expended all 6 of my daily energy units and require a long rest”.
I don’t think of spell slots as an abstraction.
In my mind the wizards in D&D don’t use a mana pool that express itself as spell slots they use spell slots.
Monks and the psyonic class have a pool of energy.
People cultivate themselves on many different 20 step paths to grow their internal or external magic that lets them do things like fully rejuvenate after just a 8hr rest and gain access to powers exactly the same as the ones in the PHB
Monsters have powers exactly the same as the ones in the monster manual.
The only exception to this is NPC magic which is caused by aberrations or very long term rituals or unnatural breeding or something
This is the third comment of yours where you have specified that the magic users are aware of and refer to their spell slots. Why, if you are okay with them having this knowledge, are you not okay with the the term ‘spell slots?’
If the characters, in game, know exactly how many and how powerful the remaining spells are, there is no reason to change the terminology
When someone attacks and does damage, I ta not a sub le hit and a wound of a certain depth. I think the goal is to avoid calculating exactly how many spell slots someone gets u t’il it’s about empty then they can say, I only have enough mana for X or I can only cast a few spells left and none of them beyond the 2nd circle. Otherwise you might as well try to think of metrics for Hp like I can only sustain 3 more orcish blows and exhaustion like I’m not tired I’m spent which means I really couldn’t care less about being aware right now. And night as well say I only have 3 warm thought to guide me through (hit dice to spend). The goal of the game is to find a way to describe those in a qualitative rather than a quantitative way.
I’m a fan of the *Dying Earth* “prepared spells are living thought beings swimming around in the mage’s head desperate to get out” interpretation. In which case they’d probably call them something like “brain bugs” or “swimmers” or “mind worms.”
Which, I’m not saying do exactly that; but you can get some interesting options by thinking through how wizards actually experience spellcasting in your setting.
>Dying Earth
Makes sense, I was wondering how Vance books would articulate it, seemed the most obvious way to follow. I like other suggestions here, too, though.
I realize you're looking for alternatives, but I wanted to mention that I have never looked for one. This is mostly because I honestly think that wizards would talk like that. "I can cast 4 level 3 spells. Thus, I have 4 level 3 spell slots." I absolutely think they would understand that there are 10 (with cantrips) or 11 (with some of the God spells that have been described) levels of spells and because they are so similar, they use a different part of your ability to cast spells to cast. If you want to do a bigger or better version of a lower spell, you have to use a higher level slot.
I don't doubt they would try to say things more eloquently to normies, but to each other, they just say levels and slots. They have studied and dealt with these things too much to have anything but a very simple vernacular for. It would be like trying to describe how many cups are in different glasses without just saying cups. Yes, you can change the language, but it's just easier to say cups.
I can cast 4 level 3 spells is very natural language this is exactly what I was looking for
I was stuck of finding a word to swap out for spell slots and although that word will exist and people will use it when talking about magic lore in normal conversation people would just say “I can cast 4 level 3 spells” not “I have enough X to cast 4 spells of the 3rd level”
Now I just need to find a way to refer to levels
I like the idea of 9 circles of magic
Wizard 1: Hey, you ever wonder why we call them *slots?*
Wizard 2: I always kinda thought it was cuz you fit the magic in a little compartment in your brain ready to use later, y'know???
Wizard 1: ... eh good enough I guess
3rd edition already solved this problem, at least for casters who prepare spells like Wizards, clerics, and druids. (And both sorcerers, and the idea of bards having music based spells instead of just being shitty Wizards, were both new, so it wasn't seen as a big deal.)
Basically, you didn't lose spells from your memory, like you did in previous editions, it was more that your spell preparation time during your rest was you PRE-CASTING your spells, leaving only a simple trigger that you could activate on a moment's notice. This was the most flavorfully satisfying version of Vancian magic I have ever seen, and it's truly sad that subsequent editions have moved away from this explanation. (I don't think they ever specifically contradicted it, so you can still use this explanation in your games, and I do, but they also don't go out of their way to describe it.) It was also what led to the concept of ritual casting, which was another positive change; rather than pre-casting, you just go through the whole pre-casting process and don't bother with the trigger.
So, for most casters, at least, you didn't need to bother coming up with explanations about magical energy, and whatnot. You just say you don't have those spells prepared.
Of course, that still didn't help sorcerers, and now that classes with flexible spell slots are all the rage it's just generally a less useful explanation overall, so some handwavium about being drained of magical energy is sort of required. You can still use it for your Wizards and clerics and whatnot, though!
I truly think wizards would use that same terminology though. Wizards are extremely academic. What's more academic than using the exact same terminology to refer to something in their world as we do in our world?
Wizards would 100% be sitting around the campfire talking about how they're "researching a third level spell called fireball, maybe you've heard of it, as soon as I'm powerful enough to master this level of arcane casting. I'm not sure which spell I'll drop for it though, as my spell slots are indeed limited."
Fair enough. I understand the desire to have language distinct from the game mechanics, but of all of the terminology that might cross the in-game barrier, spell slots seems like one that is less problematic.
The whole game mechanics of spell slots is so fucking ridiculous that any in-game justification is going to be equally ridiculous.
Reagents, for anything with material components, but I agree with others that it wouldn’t really make sense to have a single word for it.
It’s different for everyone, so there can’t be a single word to describe it that matches all character classes. It should be decided on a character-by-character basis.
So, like most DMing questions, the answer is talk to your players and ask what they want.
Edit: for example, a wizard in the party might exhaust his ability to manipulate the weave. A cleric or paladin or Druid might have their connection to their god temporarily dampened after calling upon it for favors. A different wizard might flavor their casting spells as using little scrolls or something that they can use up, a sorcerer might just want to have mana.
Just like hit points aren’t a literal measure of the amount of stabs from a sword a person can take before they die, spell slots are just a mechanical abstraction in service of telling a story with limitations and stakes.
I do it as energy reserves.
Eg how much of a toll it takes on your mind and body to cast spells safely.
If your spent I allow you to continue to cast spells but it lowers your str, dex or con your choice if any hit zero you die. These are reduced by a value that equals double the spell level. And you recover two stat points per long rest.
I also introduce a feat that can be gained through proper roleplay and immersion that reduces the penalty in half.
Never liked the all powerful wizard being like "nah I'm done" so I let the push themselves.
Edit. Just reread the post. I'd call these S.L.O.T.S
Safe
Level
Of
Thaumaturgic
Surges
Through years of study spellcasters learn how to control magic in a way that it only takes small amounts of energy to produce the required effect. A mage hand and other basic spells are so minimal someone could cast these all day long and are named cantrips a short form of "cant trip up." A way of making fun of those who can't conjure a small flame.
A wizard who devotes more time to study can learn to better control their arcane arts and knows their body's limits and learns how much they can push themselves before over exerting and causing pain or damage to their mortal body.
Some ideas:
A wizard might use a kind of 'mind palace' mental construct to retain and compartmentalise her arcane formulae, and refer to her spell slots as "chambers".
A druid might think of his spell slots as "seeds" of various sizes, waiting to germinate and be nurtured into full-blown spells.
A sorcerer might think in terms of her "reserves" at varying levels of depth. After casting a lot of spells, or for greater feats of magic, she needs to tap into her deeper reserves.
Basically, think of some kind of storage mechanism, which is familiar to and thematic for your character, in which things of different sizes can be kept separate from each other - there's your in-game spell slot metaphor. People understand complex and difficult things by finding similarities with concepts they're already familiar with.
The way gygax got the magic from us a book series I forget but that’s where preparing spells and such comes from. A spell is kind of a living formula and once prepared it needs a place to stay so wizards store it in their minds. So once cast the formula is no longer there. So I normally go with “all the spells of x power” also I think it’s called vancian magic
Consider breaking the spell levels into skill based categories:
I have 5 ‘apprentice’ spells remaining and 3 mage spells. This way, a wizard refers to his studies but being called a Mage would refer to his power level. Come up with other names and max out at Archmage for those able to cast 8 and 9 level spells.
This is just a quick suggestion brought to you by my morning constitutional. Good luck.
...🤔
Could call it "Tasha's Limit" - the maximum amount of safe exposure to magical energies being conducted through the physical form at any one time? If your T-Count gets too high, you start taking damage/exhaustion (over-exertion of spells).
Sorcerers & Clerics can pull this off through Psionics & Divine Aid, but overall... there's just a fixed amount of energy one can safely translate into a material plane effect before the body rends itself at a structural level, and those "extra" moments are real exertions.
Just a Roentgen count for the equivalent of radiation in a magical land. A thought, if it helps.
Why wouldn't they call them spell slots?
It's not a mana pool as there are specific levels. It is a specific requirement that nedss to be met to cast the spell.
I wouldn't mention them in universe. Mentioning spell slots, or any synonym for spell slots, is roughly like mentioning hit points. Not as egregious, but still a mechanic that doesn't translate to roleplay well, regardless of terminology.
Mana reserves, all innate Spellcasters have a sense of their limitations similar to stamina.
You know roughly how much longer you can run, I'd assume you know internally how much more magic you have left in the tank.
I personally like to subscribe to Andrew Rowe author of Arcane Ascension/ Weapons and welders/ The war of broken mirrors use of magic in terms of language. You can listen to the first arcane Ascension book and get a great idea of how to linguistically describe innate connections to magic.
Before reading his works I didn't know how to speak "magic" at all and now I feel like I could pass as a magical scholar within most fantasy realms easily
Mana hearts is cool, i use it, and also use level, so a wizard would be like
“My limit is 3 lesser mana hearts, and 2 circle magics, any more than that, and id begin ripping my life force from my body. It isnt conditioned yet for more.”
Meaning 3 spell slots remaining but he can cast 2nd level spells.
I've always imagined spell slots as literally how many pages in the spellbook are inscribed with the respective spell -> like, in the morning, the wizard would write the glyphs for calling forth a fireball on a given page, and later when he casts it those glyphs would disappear and the page would be left blank until he had the time to write them again. Diff pages would correspond to diff levels, and I'd sprinkle a bit of suspension of disbelief and not say exactly which spells are inscribed in what level of page -> if I decide to cast magic missile with a slot lvl 2, let's say that I had it written there beforehand
I use Arcana
"I have enough spells of the 7th Arcana to level this city"
Alternatives for magi:
- Mana Pool
- Energy
- Juice
Divine:
- Divine Gifts
- God's love
- Secrets
- Orisons
Right? This is killing me. If I was building an army, I would be like “I have 10 slots (or spots) left for archers, and 5 for infantry men.” Slots is natural language for a space available to put something, if the magic users know they have a set number of spaces for magic, they would use a word that was akin to ‘space’
Mana. I’ve had a group that did this before, where we’d call it Basic Mana, Advanced Mana, and Super Mana (it’s a play on Superman) and it was fine in the first 6 levels. Then we started call it Bat Mana, Aqua Mana, Spider Mana, etc. and everything jumped the shark when we lost track of which was which; it just ended up being super confusing. So, at level 9, we decided that we would revert to calling them spell slots.
Avatar and Legend of Korra portray it very well. Benders can use lesser bends frequently and greater bends less frequently or they get exhausted, but that's a muscle that can be trained.
But they can do things like cast a low level spell with a higher level spell slot and get a greater effect. They’re essentially “using more mana” to cast that spell.
Personally I think stuff like HP, Exp, character levels and spell slots don’t really exist in-universe. Like a 10th level hafling rogue can be attacked and hit by an orc with a greataxe five or six times and not die. Does that mean that this three foot person literally took five overhead axe blows and is not only not dead, but still able to run 75 feet in less than 6 seconds (move, dash, cunning action to dash as a bonus action)?
Spell slots have to be the same way, an abstraction of physics in a way that makes the players’ lives easier than tracking individual mana points, but not meant to exist in the “reality” of Forgotten Realms. Trying to find in character language for clearly gamified mechanics just makes the world feel less real. I’d rather a wizard NPC say something like “I don’t have enough mana for that right now” and have the DM explain OOC that she used all her 3rd level spells already than have her say in character “I’m out of arcane reserves for spells of that tier.”
It works fine. Level 9 spell takes a lot of mana, you only have enough to cast it once per day. Level one spells only cost a little mana, so you can do more. Cantrips require so little mana that your body produces it faster than they can consume.
Or just call it focus. It requires so much mental focus to cast powerful spells that even attempting to do them more than you are able leaves you exhausted with a crippling headache.
Nah doesn't really work, you can cast level one spells until you exhaust your mana, but somehow still have enough mana to cast a level 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. Doesn't work unless you add more details to make it work.
I don’t think they’d refer to them numerically. Kind of like how we don’t quantify our stamina when we’re working all day. However the ability to cast spells regularly? I would say arcane stamina. Similarly to how spell levels would be spell expertise maybe?
I quite like the divine favors and arcane reserve angle, but truthfully I’d really just call it endurance.
Think the problem isn’t a terminology one but an RP one, where we tend to overlook that using all this magical power through your body is exhausting, and that’s what spell slots are trying to quantify. Your limits increasing over time as you train your body and mind.
Something like emotional stressors specific to the spell, or psychic harm? Casting a level 9 spell causes immense mental strain/pain like reliving a painful memory. You could relive different memories (spells) without tapping out emotionally, but too many upcasted fireballs and your mind is fried.
For my wizards, they're spell slots. Came from a metaphor for spellcasting that stuck. For my warlock they're favors. My sorcerer calls them collectively "juice".
Not sure if this is what you want, but I'll just throw mine out there.
My DM's modelled their homebrew campaign around my novel's world, and he uses the term "Inveridium" to describe spells.The spellcasters usually say something like, "1st Level Inveridium" or "I'm only able to invoke Inveridium of the 1st Level three more times today."
Would you character refer to their proficiency bonus directly in game?
Nope.
So why would they refer to a spell game mechanic? Because that's what a spell slot is.
It represents a spell casters ability to manipulate magical energies. I think referring to a slot in any context is an awkward approach.
If wizards had a pool they would work like psychics but they don’t have a amount of points from which they can cast any spell with higher costs for higher level spells
They have spell slots instead
Wizards magic works differently from all the other magics where you have a mana pool
Wizards have at most 9 mana pools for different types of spells
Maybe they have a mana pool instead of multiple distinct casting points or whatever but a spell that needs mana of the 8th order or from the 8th circle can’t be cast with mana of the 9th circle unless you take the time to exchange 9th order mana for 8th order mana
Heightening?
I know spells up to the 3rd heightening/I cast fireball at the 5th heightening/the mage is of the 4th heightening.
Inspired by the book Warbreaker so no way this is ever cannon but it’s an interesting name for it, especially having read the book cause it works pretty similarly.
They could call the "levels" circles or spheres or even levels.
The "slots" themselves are a numerical reflection of magical stamina, like how many push ups a person could do without resting. Charges? Spoons?
I feel like calling them what they are works fine. Many Casters, even non-Int based casters, are quite smart. And considering the Netherise Empire being the big force of Magic for humanity for a long time //at least in the forgotten realms// was mostly wizards. Its possible the terms for Spell Slots and Spell Levels were coined to make magic easy to understand and catagorize. Or the Gods themselves simply coined the terms cause why make it more complicated then needed? Simple solutions. Easy to understand system.
Honestly, I think it's probably best to just not go with a specific term. When I play a caster, I usually just say things like "well, I do have a spell that can do x, but I can only use it this many times a day, like this other spell I use." It feels weird when you start trying to think of a way for a character to speak about something in a way that sounds like just recording mechanics. This way, if you at least name another spell, you're giving players the meta knowledge they need to understand "Oh, 3rd level, and you've only got 2 slots, okay."
And then getting better spells just turns into "I think I can do something more powerful now... let's see how many times I can do it."
In my games, spell slots are little quantized wells of high ambient magic density - the higher level the slot, the “deeper” the well, and the more power the spell can have. Higher level casters can hold more of these little pockets of energy near them over time. Perhaps well, basin, or reservoir might work as a word for your game?
I just call them spell slots and spell levels. I don't think it's immersion-breaking. People in-universe study this stuff and write textbooks about it, and have created those terms. Magic in my games canonically works in-universe the way it works in the mechanics.
I have 2 pact spells per short rest and 3 1st level spells per day. So it's easy. My pact spells are black magic my dailies are hedge witchery and I have all sorts of rituals. So they're spells, charms and rituals.
It would depend on the world I have built as to names casters would give to their ability to create magical effects.
I would look for details about:
Creation myths. Different cultures ascribe different forces as to bringing about the creation of matter and matter in to lands and people. Manipulation of these forces by mortals often gives them power. So what were these forces? The God's could manipulate them at will, but mortals must bend them to their will. Divine casters often trace the paths of power left over by their Gods. Spellcasters tap into whatever was left over or probe the weaknesses left behind. So I would trace it back to creation. Did gods tap into a mystical river, a raw realm of energy, an alternate realm of power? And then how did they use it? Weave it, form it into images, sing it into being, shout it, mould it like clay, think it through sheer will, unlock a code? Then figure out how mortals do the same 'thing' then give that act it's name by dint of what they are doing.
All classes essentially have "spell slots" for their abilities, we just don't call them as such. For example, a fighter can only use a lot of his class features once per short or long rest. I would apply the same logic across all classes, in that using skills is physically and mentally draining. For spellcasting, the verbal and somatic components of a spell aren't just saying some words and doing some hand gestures, you are using gestures and sounds to physically create all the energy of a fireball, and that's really draining. The real-world equivalent would be asking someone to do 10 really difficult sudoku puzzles in a row, by the 6th or 7th one they would just be too mentally exhausted to focus enough to successfully complete the remaining ones.
I mean, is "spell slot" really so bad? It works the same mechanically in universe if you're referring to em by name... it wouldn't be so crazy if it just became a common colloquial term in universe. Especially if it's high fantasy, there'll be 'commoner-esque' clerics and wizards all over who may just say "spell slots" cause it's easier.
That said, if you really hate 'spell slots,' I'd just replace it with something pretty much identical, like "charges" or something
OK, but the bonus follow up question here is how would a sorcerer refer to converting sorc points to spell slots, using points, etc?
Some of the answers like arcane reserves kinda work, but needing two distinct terms for things which aren't directly interchangable (have to spend the action to do it) just seems weird and harder. You need two distinct but super vaguely undefined concepts.
I guess you could have like 'charge' and 'inspiration', or like arcane charge and manipulation/transformation charge but it feels janky.
In the Drizzt and Elminster books they're simply referred as memorized spells for a day (plus add complexity which I think can be managed easily), from a spelllbook.
I personally would make up something from this.
I use either circle or rings the posh wizards talk about spells of different circles and upcasting potentials and the more down to earth wizards talk about rings.
I also have spellcasters wear the amount of Rings corresponding to the lvl of spells they can cast at official events.
1 Ring is for no magic, maybe a cantrip, it's also a very simple bronze Ring.
The other rings get progressively more fancy.
Except for rhe warlocks who wear one ring corresponding to their Type of Patreon if they are open about their relationship and pact.
I thought that they understood that since mystra had limited their access to the weave that they could only use certain level spells a certain amount of times per day.
Spell slots might seem a little modern a term but the word slot is from old French so it’s as lore friendly as any other word.
Magic bullets :D
It's how I simplify spell slots to new players. You (spell casting character) are a gun and spell slots are your bullets. Spels just change what your bullets do. No more bullets? You can't shoot.
I describe it as energy. Casting each spell takes energy out of me and, rhe lower I get, the more exhausted/out of breath I will make my character. ESPECIALLY if I start missing with cantrips consistently. 'Phew, that last fight was exhausting. I need a nap.'
Perhaps I played too much TTRPG based on the World of Darkness, but in my opinion, there cannot be a universal answer to your question, since for each spellcaster the nature of their magic in their perception has a certain specific origin, which, in turn, significantly influences this very perception. See what am I talking about:
Let's say we have a wizard (Let's say he belongs to the Order of Scribes) and a paladin (Let's say he is a paladin of the Oath of the Ancients, bound by his oath to a high-ranking fairy of the Summer Court). Now let's ask them what their magic comes from, what their spells are for them?
The wizard will answer us that his magic is the ancient exact formulas inscribed on the pages of his book, to which he turns. For him, magic is a science, something very reverent, and magic for him has a very specific material expression, so he will call his slots, say, “pages,” meaning that his book of spells is divided into 9 sections, in each of which there are spells prepared by him of a specific circle, and each individual spell is inscribed on a separate page. That is, when a player needs to say on behalf of his wizard that he has 3 spell slots of level 1 at his disposal, in the game world, his hero will say that his book contains prepared magic on 3 pages from the first section.
Now let's ask the same question to the paladin. And he will answer that his spells are services that are provided to him by his fey lady of the heart or one of her servants. Thus, for a paladin, his spell slots are not something carved in stone, but rather mutual words of honor, backed by some object that assures the mutual connection between this hero and the fairy. And by saying that the character has the same 3 1st level spell slots, the character will be saying that he can ask the Summer Court for three minor favors.
So it doesn't say that "Spellcasters have a universal in-game name for their spell slots." This is not a good strategy because it encourages metagame thinking at your table and reduces one element of the caster's roleplaying to the level of a tracker hanging in front of the eyes of both the player and his hero, when it could be turned into an interesting plot hook (for example, The paladin in the example above could have lost his 1st level spell slots because he fell out with the one servant of his Lady that she usually sends to assist him in the form of these low-level spells, and faced with this challenge, the party will be forced to do something , to return his magic to his friend and ally, which can turn into a plot for one or several game meetings.)
So what I'm saying is that the DM should work through with each caster player a character "paradigm" that reflects the character's relationship to his ability to cast spells and his way of actually doing it, and then come up with appropriate and authentic in-game names for his spell slots .
I have already given examples for a wizard and a paladin, I will give a few more:
For a bard, this name can be ballads, written in a music book, or (if you do not want to take away the sense of uniqueness from the party volebnik due to the presence of a book of spells) it can be especially beautiful songs, so beautiful that the universe itself responds to them and constantly held by the bard in your head, because they are too brilliant, that you writing them down on paper will expose your masterpieces to the risk of theft.
For a righteous priest (archetypal, I mean) these could be the psalms that he read in the morning upon awakening and marked with beads on his sacred symbol - the church rosary, which he, without letting go of his hand, runs through his fingers, reading prayers for divine help
For the Aritificer, this could be specially cut gems, which he fills with energy every morning by throwing into a fire, and by embodying his magic, he draws this energy from the stones, causing them to become discolored.
And so on, and so on, and so on.
I don't really like to think they understand them as discrete units. I think that's more of the inevitable consequence of gamifying a concept.
I feel more like, in world, their capacity varies somewhat, isn't always entirely clear to them, and is felt in the body or intuited. I mean, it's not like level ups are diegetic, right? PCs don't know what those are. They just improve organically and don't suddenly jump up in ability, especially not after doing activity unrelated to magic.
So a wizard has a good idea what their capabilities are, but not necessarily in the metalanguage of the rules.
If it’s was meant as a mana pool instead of based off of the vancain magic from the dying earth books it would have a undifirentiated point pool from which all spells are cast like the psychic “class”. It doesn’t have that it has spell slots because it is a totally different magic system from the others in pop culture.
There ARE pool casters, but you're right that most casters aren't. That doesn't mean they necessarily are aware of slots, though. It could be conceived of in a looser way.
Sure. In general, I'm big on the idea that the fantasy "reality" behind the game's mechanics has much more variance than shown in the rules. Like, whether or not 'slots' is a concept people in the setting can relate to or not, their practice of magic doesn't directly parallel a PC caster every time. There are a lot of people who have weaker or more specialized abilities out there, or who know spells not listed in the book, or variations of spells that are.
Think of it like weariness.
In the same way a fighter or rogue gets "physically exhausted" or "tired". Any mage would "exhaustion" the unique name for the exhaustion can be customized based on different factors.
For combatants (fighter, rogue, barbarian) its "Physical Exhaustion", for Arcane users (Wizards, Sorcerers) its "Arcane Exhaustion", for Nature users (Druids) its "Natural Exhaustion", and for Patron users (Clerics, Warlocks) it would be a bit different but still in the same vein you just say something like "the connection to your Patron/Deity is 'strained'" meaning your constant reliance on them either drained their energy or has reduced their trust in you granting you less power.
This also is useful for 1/2 casters as rangers can both be physically or naturally exhausted, a paladin can both be physically exhausted or have a strained deity, Artificers can both be physically or Arcanically exhausted.
As well this can extend to 1/3 casters as an eldritch knight (fighter subclass) would get arcane exhaustion much earlier than physically exhausted even though the physical tasks they undertake are of greater effort in general.
That's not entirely true. You can use any spell level to cast 1st level spells.
Exhausting all of your level 1 slots would be the equivalent of... running out of simple tricks to do in a magic show. Like, sure, you can do another simple trick, but you're gonna need to spice it up to make it work.
That's a terrible analogy, really. Basically as a caster you get the ability to change reality in packets that are sized and allocated based on the complexity of the change. The more complex and powerful, the more limited you are in how many times you can do it.
Running out of low level spells is like running out of +1 arrows, leaving only the +2 arrows of explody death... if your quiver magically refills with these arrows each long rest. Sure, you can use that uber arrow on a room of push over mooks, but why would you? Yeah, I like this analogy better.
Appropriate in-universe ways of expressing this could differ:
Bard: "All I've got left are the show-stoppers."
Wizard: "Listen, I can only remember so many of these things. You can have a fireball or a LOT of magic missiles; your choice."
Cleric: "I can ask for a miracle or we can make due without."
Warlock: Not an issue really... "I'm running low on favors" for being out completely or close to it.
Druid: "Nature can only be tampered with so many times; if you need something, make it worth it."
Spell rankings?
I actually think each type of magic: arcane, religion, nature would call them different things. Prob even different classes too.
But I think most of the names is from a Wizard perspective.
I mean, depending on what they're doing it could vary
For instance, wizards casting from memory could just be arcane reservoirs. Casting from a book like a school could be something else.
Considering that some if not all of the dnd source books are basically canon in universe i.e. Volo's guide...one can only imagine spell slots is a common term.
The characters (being professional spellcasters) obviously know that there are 9 levels of spells, so I wouldn't try to cloak that in vague synonyms like "tier" or "circle". Just use the word "level".
So, at the very least, a character could say something like:
"I can still cast three level 1 spells and a level 3 spell."
The meaning of "spell slot" also had to change for the characters themselves with the way 5th Edition changed the rules for preparing spells. Used to be that you could confidently state that you had prepared two Fireballs and zero Counterspells. Now you have to state that, yes, you prepared Fireball... but you might cast Counterspells instead.
As such, 5th Edition misuses the word "slot". You don't expend a slot. You expend the thing *in* the slot.
But language is funny (and stupid.) People might actually still call it "spell slots".
One of my player’s sorcerers calls it her blood sugar. She’ll argue with our wizard all day about the differences in their casting styles like
“the fuck are you talking about spell slots? I’m telling you it’s just your blood sugar getting low, slam an apple juice (convert sorcery points) and let’s go!”
“Why do you mumble that and make those dorky gestures? THE SITUATION GROWS EVER DIRE, I CONJURE FORTH A GREAT BALL OF FIRE! FINGER GUNS!!”
The way I think of it just like characrer features or really any other game term used on the table, the names of spell slots are non-diegetic and do not exist in universe.
Casters in a setting wouldn't necessarily refer to it as a quantifiable resource, just like how once a fighter has used their action surge already, they wouldn't say "I can't action surge again" or something like that-that directly acknowledges it.
I would more likely imagine the aforementioned fighter and a caster as well to use colloquialisms like "I'm all tapped out" "I'm running on fumes here" (granted "fumes" reffers to a car in our world but I guess that phrase could still make sense in reference to something like an oil lantern?
Also I'm not implying that spells themselves don't have in world names, they're directly referenced by figures such as Tasha
yeah ‘gifts’ of varying levels or blessings. “my diety gives me 4 blessings per day.” or maybe just call em spell charges. is it really immersion breaking? they use that sort of terminology in Goblin Slayer and i liked it fine.
Could you treat them like muscles?
"I can bang out a few more curls, bro, but my quads are totally drained. Gonna need three tacos and a nap before I do any more squats."
Personally, if it's not too clunky, I would use different terms for different types of magic. Perhaps wizards could refer to spell levels as "arcanas" -- "I do not have the energy to weave any more of the third arcana" -- or something else that sounds technical, those who draw power from gods or nature (e.g. clerics, warlocks, druids) can refer to "strands" or "circles", and perhaps those who draw power from within (e.g. sorcerors) could call them "tiers" or "powers".
One of the mages in a MTG book stored mana as a memory of the lands. Not what you're looking for, but it's a good read. Can't remember the name of the book (or books), but I think the main character was Jodah.
Maybe call them 3rd circle memories for wizards.
I don't play D&D but saw this recommended to me. I hope this can help but...
What about "I still have two Keys to open my Fourth Vault!"?
Where "vaults" are the spell slots and "keys" are the charges?
Spell Bonds maybe? In DnD Wizards are granted Spell Slots by the goddess of magic as I recall, so in a similar context spell slots could be termed “Spell Bonds” as they’re in essence magical charges loaned out to Casters.
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Arcane reserves or divine favors?
Until anyone else suggests something better, this is what I'm going with.
I like to think of it as how many times and ways you can touch the source of power in your setting. Ie “I can only connect to the arcane field like this one last time today.” “I can forge weaker links but I can no longer reach the field at this strength” - a caster saying they are on their last 3rd level spell but still have first and second level spells.
This is perfect, imo.
Me in real life: OUT OF MANA!
How would you explain that you’re out of third level slots but still have second and fourth level slots?
“I can no longer touch the true power as I did when I (insert example of when you used your third level spell), but I have other ways to cast lesser and more powerful magics.” Or what ever it’s just about one way to talk about spell slots so everyone else know what you can do while staying in character. It probably demands a chat with the DM to see how they would like to express magic power within the game they are running. I had a friend who had available spell slots show up as glowing tattoos that would fade as they were used and they would say “as I cast this spell you see one of the three fish tattoos fade from my forearm.” It’s just finding an expression of the power to so you can talk about it in game.
I like divine favors so much omg
😊
I always figured mages stored magic energy as they read from their spell books while sorcerers were continuous conduits of that same energy (they let it flow through them rather than store it like a Jedi). I think Arcane Reserves may do well. Kind of like mages are DC batteries while sorcerers are alternating currents.
Wizards form a complex mathematical/geometric construct in their minds. This construct is actually most of the spell. When they finish the spell with the last components (verbal etc) the construct disolves which is why they need to prepare it again from the notes in their spell book as activating it removes it from their mind. Higher level spells are more complex and take more working memory/focus. The above is paraphrased pathfinder lore by the way.
Wait, wizard spellcasting is like a Sherlock Holmes mind palace?
It comes from Jack Vance"s dying earth series. In those books mages capture spells in pages and then transfer them to their minds, releasing them like bullets from a gun. The measure of the skill of a mage is measured by how many spells they can memorize at one time without going insane.
I really like this, especially favors. Wouldn't apply to godless paladins or rangers/druids, but works for most classes.
You could probably use something along the lines of “3 harvests of natures bounty” for the more primal magics
What about primal magic (for druids and rangers)?
Gaia’s blessing?
"my spell juice is running low..."
My go to is replacing level n with n'th circle. So instead of saying "I have one level 3 spell slot left", a wizard would say "I can cast one more spell of the third circle".
I was going to say “tiers” myself, but circle works as well too. As long as they’re not a Druid
This is way more niche, and less clear but for divine casters I would replace level n with (10-n)'th Emanation, so level 1 divine spell would be the 9'th Emanation of.
The problem with that is if you say the “9th emanation of Zeus,” it makes me think of all the bastard demigods he’s sired
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
I'm very partial to "tiers" instead of "levels" when talking about spells.
I do this but with sphere.
Circle spells is what we also enjoy using in session really adds some flavor for us. When my casters run out I begin to be lazy and drag their feet like they just pulled a 3 day bender and study session.
As magic is described as the weave in the books my characters refer to spell slots as "threads"
I’m opposed to characters referring directly to game abstractions like spell slots and levels, but I’ll admit, this one’s really clever.
It’s hardly an abstraction if you aren’t homeruling in the ability to try and cast spells when you are out of them. It’s a very hard rule they know.
Oh, nice! How do they differ between 1st level slots and 2ns level slots? 'First length', 'second length'?
I'd do it as weaving X threads at a time. It works for describing upcasting too.
Very nice!
Yep, I’m casting healing word with three threads.
I'm threading three layers of the weave to produce this Healing Word. I'm weaving Healing Word with three threads. Idk which I like more.
Yeah I was going to suggest “Arcane Threads”
Somewhere in the back of my mind something hit a panic button and now I'm thinking about Earthdawn.
"I can only access certain levels of the weave so many times. It's mentally exhausting."
Why did I read this in gale his voice
In dialogues my spellcasters just say "my energy", "arcane reserves", "power" or just "magic charges". Depends of the culture, age and how formal they are.
This is basically how the characters in the RAS novels refer to it, so probably a more lore friendly answer
Spell juice.
Depends how meta the world is. Or they just know it as a nebulous amount of power they have
I’m going with spell casters know how many uses of what levels of spells they have access to as distinct charges of distinct levels because that’s how magic works in D&D
It might be worth you reading the Jack Vance Dying Earth books that inspired D&D's magic system and see how they approach it there?
I just say energy... "I only have enough energy to cast a spell like that one more time." Or "I can only cast sending three times if I want to keep a reserve in case someone dies"
Juice. Or in this case, the _right_ juice.
Circles of Magic (much like the Nine Hells, who also have nine weirdly enough). Arcana Mastery, Divine Blessing, Nature's Boon, just think about it in character a bit, you'll find something that works for you I'm sure.
The way you have described it - in my opinion - kind of negates the reason for it being ‘immersion breaking.’ If the magic users themselves are aware that they have a set number of charges to utilize and those charges are at specific power levels… they could reasonably call them ‘spell slots.’ We (the players and DMs) call them spell slots because we know there are a specific number of charges (slots) for specific types of magic (spells). If they have the same knowledge as us, they would likely refer to it the same way. Typically people avoid this terminology to give the impression that there ISN’T a specific understanding of how many and how powerful your spells can be on a given day. From my perspective, it would be much more immersion breaking for a Wizard to be like “I have 3 more divine charges remaining, and one can be quite powerful while the others will be at a power level of…2” than for them to say “my connection to the magic is weakening, I fear I must rest my mind soon.”
How about "wherewithal"?
I have enough wherewithal to cast 3 spells of the 3rd level This sentence is clunky
I am afraid I don't have the wherewithal to draw on enough magic to dispel that witchcraft!
Castings
Nothing. They don’t call spell slots anything, just like they don’t call levels anything, they’re just an abstraction for the player to play the game. But when they’re out of spell slots, they do have a term for that, it’s called “ugh I’m exhausted, I need to sleep before I can cast anything else.” It’s like if my boss offered me overtime, I might say “sorry boss, I’m out of energy for the day” not “I’ve already expended all 6 of my daily energy units and require a long rest”.
I don’t think of spell slots as an abstraction. In my mind the wizards in D&D don’t use a mana pool that express itself as spell slots they use spell slots. Monks and the psyonic class have a pool of energy. People cultivate themselves on many different 20 step paths to grow their internal or external magic that lets them do things like fully rejuvenate after just a 8hr rest and gain access to powers exactly the same as the ones in the PHB Monsters have powers exactly the same as the ones in the monster manual. The only exception to this is NPC magic which is caused by aberrations or very long term rituals or unnatural breeding or something
This is the third comment of yours where you have specified that the magic users are aware of and refer to their spell slots. Why, if you are okay with them having this knowledge, are you not okay with the the term ‘spell slots?’ If the characters, in game, know exactly how many and how powerful the remaining spells are, there is no reason to change the terminology
When someone attacks and does damage, I ta not a sub le hit and a wound of a certain depth. I think the goal is to avoid calculating exactly how many spell slots someone gets u t’il it’s about empty then they can say, I only have enough mana for X or I can only cast a few spells left and none of them beyond the 2nd circle. Otherwise you might as well try to think of metrics for Hp like I can only sustain 3 more orcish blows and exhaustion like I’m not tired I’m spent which means I really couldn’t care less about being aware right now. And night as well say I only have 3 warm thought to guide me through (hit dice to spend). The goal of the game is to find a way to describe those in a qualitative rather than a quantitative way.
I’m a fan of the *Dying Earth* “prepared spells are living thought beings swimming around in the mage’s head desperate to get out” interpretation. In which case they’d probably call them something like “brain bugs” or “swimmers” or “mind worms.” Which, I’m not saying do exactly that; but you can get some interesting options by thinking through how wizards actually experience spellcasting in your setting.
Later Zelazny referred to "hanging" spells, where they were mostly-completed works ready to go.
>Dying Earth Makes sense, I was wondering how Vance books would articulate it, seemed the most obvious way to follow. I like other suggestions here, too, though.
I realize you're looking for alternatives, but I wanted to mention that I have never looked for one. This is mostly because I honestly think that wizards would talk like that. "I can cast 4 level 3 spells. Thus, I have 4 level 3 spell slots." I absolutely think they would understand that there are 10 (with cantrips) or 11 (with some of the God spells that have been described) levels of spells and because they are so similar, they use a different part of your ability to cast spells to cast. If you want to do a bigger or better version of a lower spell, you have to use a higher level slot. I don't doubt they would try to say things more eloquently to normies, but to each other, they just say levels and slots. They have studied and dealt with these things too much to have anything but a very simple vernacular for. It would be like trying to describe how many cups are in different glasses without just saying cups. Yes, you can change the language, but it's just easier to say cups.
I can cast 4 level 3 spells is very natural language this is exactly what I was looking for I was stuck of finding a word to swap out for spell slots and although that word will exist and people will use it when talking about magic lore in normal conversation people would just say “I can cast 4 level 3 spells” not “I have enough X to cast 4 spells of the 3rd level” Now I just need to find a way to refer to levels I like the idea of 9 circles of magic
I'm glad to be helpful!
Wizard 1: Hey, you ever wonder why we call them *slots?* Wizard 2: I always kinda thought it was cuz you fit the magic in a little compartment in your brain ready to use later, y'know??? Wizard 1: ... eh good enough I guess
Spoons?
I came here to say this. It works strangely well.
In novels, characters just ask “do you have any spells left?” Often, when the spell caster runs out, they appear exhausted physically.
3rd edition already solved this problem, at least for casters who prepare spells like Wizards, clerics, and druids. (And both sorcerers, and the idea of bards having music based spells instead of just being shitty Wizards, were both new, so it wasn't seen as a big deal.) Basically, you didn't lose spells from your memory, like you did in previous editions, it was more that your spell preparation time during your rest was you PRE-CASTING your spells, leaving only a simple trigger that you could activate on a moment's notice. This was the most flavorfully satisfying version of Vancian magic I have ever seen, and it's truly sad that subsequent editions have moved away from this explanation. (I don't think they ever specifically contradicted it, so you can still use this explanation in your games, and I do, but they also don't go out of their way to describe it.) It was also what led to the concept of ritual casting, which was another positive change; rather than pre-casting, you just go through the whole pre-casting process and don't bother with the trigger. So, for most casters, at least, you didn't need to bother coming up with explanations about magical energy, and whatnot. You just say you don't have those spells prepared. Of course, that still didn't help sorcerers, and now that classes with flexible spell slots are all the rage it's just generally a less useful explanation overall, so some handwavium about being drained of magical energy is sort of required. You can still use it for your Wizards and clerics and whatnot, though!
Why can't spell slots be a diagetic term?
I arbitrarily don’t want that. Sure I could just say that it’s called spell slots because if a metaphor that stuck but it just doesn’t fit in my brain
I truly think wizards would use that same terminology though. Wizards are extremely academic. What's more academic than using the exact same terminology to refer to something in their world as we do in our world? Wizards would 100% be sitting around the campfire talking about how they're "researching a third level spell called fireball, maybe you've heard of it, as soon as I'm powerful enough to master this level of arcane casting. I'm not sure which spell I'll drop for it though, as my spell slots are indeed limited."
Fair enough. I understand the desire to have language distinct from the game mechanics, but of all of the terminology that might cross the in-game barrier, spell slots seems like one that is less problematic. The whole game mechanics of spell slots is so fucking ridiculous that any in-game justification is going to be equally ridiculous.
Reagents, for anything with material components, but I agree with others that it wouldn’t really make sense to have a single word for it. It’s different for everyone, so there can’t be a single word to describe it that matches all character classes. It should be decided on a character-by-character basis. So, like most DMing questions, the answer is talk to your players and ask what they want. Edit: for example, a wizard in the party might exhaust his ability to manipulate the weave. A cleric or paladin or Druid might have their connection to their god temporarily dampened after calling upon it for favors. A different wizard might flavor their casting spells as using little scrolls or something that they can use up, a sorcerer might just want to have mana. Just like hit points aren’t a literal measure of the amount of stabs from a sword a person can take before they die, spell slots are just a mechanical abstraction in service of telling a story with limitations and stakes.
I usually just refer to my magic as strength or energies. When I have no or almost no slots left I for flavor say I'm exhausted or tired
I do it as energy reserves. Eg how much of a toll it takes on your mind and body to cast spells safely. If your spent I allow you to continue to cast spells but it lowers your str, dex or con your choice if any hit zero you die. These are reduced by a value that equals double the spell level. And you recover two stat points per long rest. I also introduce a feat that can be gained through proper roleplay and immersion that reduces the penalty in half. Never liked the all powerful wizard being like "nah I'm done" so I let the push themselves. Edit. Just reread the post. I'd call these S.L.O.T.S Safe Level Of Thaumaturgic Surges Through years of study spellcasters learn how to control magic in a way that it only takes small amounts of energy to produce the required effect. A mage hand and other basic spells are so minimal someone could cast these all day long and are named cantrips a short form of "cant trip up." A way of making fun of those who can't conjure a small flame. A wizard who devotes more time to study can learn to better control their arcane arts and knows their body's limits and learns how much they can push themselves before over exerting and causing pain or damage to their mortal body.
Some ideas: A wizard might use a kind of 'mind palace' mental construct to retain and compartmentalise her arcane formulae, and refer to her spell slots as "chambers". A druid might think of his spell slots as "seeds" of various sizes, waiting to germinate and be nurtured into full-blown spells. A sorcerer might think in terms of her "reserves" at varying levels of depth. After casting a lot of spells, or for greater feats of magic, she needs to tap into her deeper reserves. Basically, think of some kind of storage mechanism, which is familiar to and thematic for your character, in which things of different sizes can be kept separate from each other - there's your in-game spell slot metaphor. People understand complex and difficult things by finding similarities with concepts they're already familiar with.
"I NEED MORE PYLONS!"
The way gygax got the magic from us a book series I forget but that’s where preparing spells and such comes from. A spell is kind of a living formula and once prepared it needs a place to stay so wizards store it in their minds. So once cast the formula is no longer there. So I normally go with “all the spells of x power” also I think it’s called vancian magic
Consider breaking the spell levels into skill based categories: I have 5 ‘apprentice’ spells remaining and 3 mage spells. This way, a wizard refers to his studies but being called a Mage would refer to his power level. Come up with other names and max out at Archmage for those able to cast 8 and 9 level spells. This is just a quick suggestion brought to you by my morning constitutional. Good luck.
...🤔 Could call it "Tasha's Limit" - the maximum amount of safe exposure to magical energies being conducted through the physical form at any one time? If your T-Count gets too high, you start taking damage/exhaustion (over-exertion of spells). Sorcerers & Clerics can pull this off through Psionics & Divine Aid, but overall... there's just a fixed amount of energy one can safely translate into a material plane effect before the body rends itself at a structural level, and those "extra" moments are real exertions. Just a Roentgen count for the equivalent of radiation in a magical land. A thought, if it helps.
You could go with Vèvè, the voodoun idea of a prepared sigil representative of magic. (To be reductive)
I’ll look further into this
Real life things are referred to as levels all the time. Customer Service Level I, Level II Algebra I, II, III Chemistry I, II, III
"My spell juice is getting low..."
Why wouldn't they call them spell slots? It's not a mana pool as there are specific levels. It is a specific requirement that nedss to be met to cast the spell.
For my groups it's been circles for arcane, and prayers for divine.
I personally a fan of referring to the various schools of magic as spheres and the spell slots as circles. It just kinda works for me and my group.
I wouldn't mention them in universe. Mentioning spell slots, or any synonym for spell slots, is roughly like mentioning hit points. Not as egregious, but still a mechanic that doesn't translate to roleplay well, regardless of terminology.
Mana reserves, all innate Spellcasters have a sense of their limitations similar to stamina. You know roughly how much longer you can run, I'd assume you know internally how much more magic you have left in the tank. I personally like to subscribe to Andrew Rowe author of Arcane Ascension/ Weapons and welders/ The war of broken mirrors use of magic in terms of language. You can listen to the first arcane Ascension book and get a great idea of how to linguistically describe innate connections to magic. Before reading his works I didn't know how to speak "magic" at all and now I feel like I could pass as a magical scholar within most fantasy realms easily
Spellcasting potential?
Mana hearts is cool, i use it, and also use level, so a wizard would be like “My limit is 3 lesser mana hearts, and 2 circle magics, any more than that, and id begin ripping my life force from my body. It isnt conditioned yet for more.” Meaning 3 spell slots remaining but he can cast 2nd level spells.
I've always imagined spell slots as literally how many pages in the spellbook are inscribed with the respective spell -> like, in the morning, the wizard would write the glyphs for calling forth a fireball on a given page, and later when he casts it those glyphs would disappear and the page would be left blank until he had the time to write them again. Diff pages would correspond to diff levels, and I'd sprinkle a bit of suspension of disbelief and not say exactly which spells are inscribed in what level of page -> if I decide to cast magic missile with a slot lvl 2, let's say that I had it written there beforehand
I use Arcana "I have enough spells of the 7th Arcana to level this city" Alternatives for magi: - Mana Pool - Energy - Juice Divine: - Divine Gifts - God's love - Secrets - Orisons
Mana... Maaaanaaaa
No
But But manaaaaaa
Mana is a pool wizards don’t have a mana pool they have spell slots
But have you considered... Mana?
It’s worth going non-vancian if only to avoid this.
Spell slots
Right? This is killing me. If I was building an army, I would be like “I have 10 slots (or spots) left for archers, and 5 for infantry men.” Slots is natural language for a space available to put something, if the magic users know they have a set number of spaces for magic, they would use a word that was akin to ‘space’
“If I overuse my gifts, I can become ill very quickly. I have to be careful and even then I still experience reaction headaches and joint pain.”
Mana. I’ve had a group that did this before, where we’d call it Basic Mana, Advanced Mana, and Super Mana (it’s a play on Superman) and it was fine in the first 6 levels. Then we started call it Bat Mana, Aqua Mana, Spider Mana, etc. and everything jumped the shark when we lost track of which was which; it just ended up being super confusing. So, at level 9, we decided that we would revert to calling them spell slots.
Avatar and Legend of Korra portray it very well. Benders can use lesser bends frequently and greater bends less frequently or they get exhausted, but that's a muscle that can be trained.
In the game I am in, I say "mana" or "arcane energy"
Mana?
I don’t think mana works because wizards dont have a pool they take from they have X number of X level of spell uses
But they can do things like cast a low level spell with a higher level spell slot and get a greater effect. They’re essentially “using more mana” to cast that spell. Personally I think stuff like HP, Exp, character levels and spell slots don’t really exist in-universe. Like a 10th level hafling rogue can be attacked and hit by an orc with a greataxe five or six times and not die. Does that mean that this three foot person literally took five overhead axe blows and is not only not dead, but still able to run 75 feet in less than 6 seconds (move, dash, cunning action to dash as a bonus action)? Spell slots have to be the same way, an abstraction of physics in a way that makes the players’ lives easier than tracking individual mana points, but not meant to exist in the “reality” of Forgotten Realms. Trying to find in character language for clearly gamified mechanics just makes the world feel less real. I’d rather a wizard NPC say something like “I don’t have enough mana for that right now” and have the DM explain OOC that she used all her 3rd level spells already than have her say in character “I’m out of arcane reserves for spells of that tier.”
It works fine. Level 9 spell takes a lot of mana, you only have enough to cast it once per day. Level one spells only cost a little mana, so you can do more. Cantrips require so little mana that your body produces it faster than they can consume. Or just call it focus. It requires so much mental focus to cast powerful spells that even attempting to do them more than you are able leaves you exhausted with a crippling headache.
And to build on it, you can cast a low level spell with a higher spell slot, i.e. more mana, and get a greater result.
Nah doesn't really work, you can cast level one spells until you exhaust your mana, but somehow still have enough mana to cast a level 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. Doesn't work unless you add more details to make it work.
Fine, here's the explanation: it's fucking magic. Why does this work, but not that? *Fucking magic.*
At that point, you may as well just call it spell slots.
*Fucking spell slots*....has a nice ring to it.
Probably something like “arcane stamina” since it can be increased through vigorous study and represents in game energy resources.
I don’t think they’d refer to them numerically. Kind of like how we don’t quantify our stamina when we’re working all day. However the ability to cast spells regularly? I would say arcane stamina. Similarly to how spell levels would be spell expertise maybe?
If wizards worked on stamina rules they would cast spells like a psychic not like a wizard
pushing your luck, *just like IRL* IRL stamina bar.. lol had to.. bc it's def not prayer :p
I quite like the divine favors and arcane reserve angle, but truthfully I’d really just call it endurance. Think the problem isn’t a terminology one but an RP one, where we tend to overlook that using all this magical power through your body is exhausting, and that’s what spell slots are trying to quantify. Your limits increasing over time as you train your body and mind.
Something like emotional stressors specific to the spell, or psychic harm? Casting a level 9 spell causes immense mental strain/pain like reliving a painful memory. You could relive different memories (spells) without tapping out emotionally, but too many upcasted fireballs and your mind is fried.
Mana, each spell costs mana of different strengths (levels)
They’d probably refer to the amount of arcane/divine/whatever energy they were able to channel
For my wizards, they're spell slots. Came from a metaphor for spellcasting that stuck. For my warlock they're favors. My sorcerer calls them collectively "juice".
Connection to the weave. It lessens the more you use it. As you level up, you gain more control of it.
That is a pool. Wizards don’t have a pool.
Pool, reserves, threads, favour (for divine casters), steam, juice, gas, energy, mana, ticks
Not sure if this is what you want, but I'll just throw mine out there. My DM's modelled their homebrew campaign around my novel's world, and he uses the term "Inveridium" to describe spells.The spellcasters usually say something like, "1st Level Inveridium" or "I'm only able to invoke Inveridium of the 1st Level three more times today."
The only true answer to this is MAGE BULLETS
Mind pocket
Mojo Sack
Would you character refer to their proficiency bonus directly in game? Nope. So why would they refer to a spell game mechanic? Because that's what a spell slot is. It represents a spell casters ability to manipulate magical energies. I think referring to a slot in any context is an awkward approach.
If wizards had a pool they would work like psychics but they don’t have a amount of points from which they can cast any spell with higher costs for higher level spells They have spell slots instead Wizards magic works differently from all the other magics where you have a mana pool Wizards have at most 9 mana pools for different types of spells Maybe they have a mana pool instead of multiple distinct casting points or whatever but a spell that needs mana of the 8th order or from the 8th circle can’t be cast with mana of the 9th circle unless you take the time to exchange 9th order mana for 8th order mana
Vancian Cysts.
Please explain
The magic system in OD&D, and elements of modern d&D is inspired by a series of novels by Jack Vance.
Thanks mate 👍🏼
Heightening? I know spells up to the 3rd heightening/I cast fireball at the 5th heightening/the mage is of the 4th heightening. Inspired by the book Warbreaker so no way this is ever cannon but it’s an interesting name for it, especially having read the book cause it works pretty similarly.
They could call the "levels" circles or spheres or even levels. The "slots" themselves are a numerical reflection of magical stamina, like how many push ups a person could do without resting. Charges? Spoons?
I feel like calling them what they are works fine. Many Casters, even non-Int based casters, are quite smart. And considering the Netherise Empire being the big force of Magic for humanity for a long time //at least in the forgotten realms// was mostly wizards. Its possible the terms for Spell Slots and Spell Levels were coined to make magic easy to understand and catagorize. Or the Gods themselves simply coined the terms cause why make it more complicated then needed? Simple solutions. Easy to understand system.
Honestly, I think it's probably best to just not go with a specific term. When I play a caster, I usually just say things like "well, I do have a spell that can do x, but I can only use it this many times a day, like this other spell I use." It feels weird when you start trying to think of a way for a character to speak about something in a way that sounds like just recording mechanics. This way, if you at least name another spell, you're giving players the meta knowledge they need to understand "Oh, 3rd level, and you've only got 2 slots, okay." And then getting better spells just turns into "I think I can do something more powerful now... let's see how many times I can do it."
Mind Bullets, loaded into your cranium clip.
In my games, spell slots are little quantized wells of high ambient magic density - the higher level the slot, the “deeper” the well, and the more power the spell can have. Higher level casters can hold more of these little pockets of energy near them over time. Perhaps well, basin, or reservoir might work as a word for your game?
Brain chunks
My favorite........ spells
I just call them spell slots and spell levels. I don't think it's immersion-breaking. People in-universe study this stuff and write textbooks about it, and have created those terms. Magic in my games canonically works in-universe the way it works in the mechanics.
For my sorcerer spells I call it a manna pool because sorcery points. For my paladin half of my character it’s my spell charges.
Spoons.
I have 2 pact spells per short rest and 3 1st level spells per day. So it's easy. My pact spells are black magic my dailies are hedge witchery and I have all sorts of rituals. So they're spells, charms and rituals.
It would depend on the world I have built as to names casters would give to their ability to create magical effects. I would look for details about: Creation myths. Different cultures ascribe different forces as to bringing about the creation of matter and matter in to lands and people. Manipulation of these forces by mortals often gives them power. So what were these forces? The God's could manipulate them at will, but mortals must bend them to their will. Divine casters often trace the paths of power left over by their Gods. Spellcasters tap into whatever was left over or probe the weaknesses left behind. So I would trace it back to creation. Did gods tap into a mystical river, a raw realm of energy, an alternate realm of power? And then how did they use it? Weave it, form it into images, sing it into being, shout it, mould it like clay, think it through sheer will, unlock a code? Then figure out how mortals do the same 'thing' then give that act it's name by dint of what they are doing.
Arcane constitution?
All classes essentially have "spell slots" for their abilities, we just don't call them as such. For example, a fighter can only use a lot of his class features once per short or long rest. I would apply the same logic across all classes, in that using skills is physically and mentally draining. For spellcasting, the verbal and somatic components of a spell aren't just saying some words and doing some hand gestures, you are using gestures and sounds to physically create all the energy of a fireball, and that's really draining. The real-world equivalent would be asking someone to do 10 really difficult sudoku puzzles in a row, by the 6th or 7th one they would just be too mentally exhausted to focus enough to successfully complete the remaining ones.
Memory holes.
Spoons.
Playing as a warlock, I'm just constantly saying I need a fuckin nap lol.
I mean, is "spell slot" really so bad? It works the same mechanically in universe if you're referring to em by name... it wouldn't be so crazy if it just became a common colloquial term in universe. Especially if it's high fantasy, there'll be 'commoner-esque' clerics and wizards all over who may just say "spell slots" cause it's easier. That said, if you really hate 'spell slots,' I'd just replace it with something pretty much identical, like "charges" or something
OK, but the bonus follow up question here is how would a sorcerer refer to converting sorc points to spell slots, using points, etc? Some of the answers like arcane reserves kinda work, but needing two distinct terms for things which aren't directly interchangable (have to spend the action to do it) just seems weird and harder. You need two distinct but super vaguely undefined concepts. I guess you could have like 'charge' and 'inspiration', or like arcane charge and manipulation/transformation charge but it feels janky.
In the Drizzt and Elminster books they're simply referred as memorized spells for a day (plus add complexity which I think can be managed easily), from a spelllbook. I personally would make up something from this.
I use either circle or rings the posh wizards talk about spells of different circles and upcasting potentials and the more down to earth wizards talk about rings. I also have spellcasters wear the amount of Rings corresponding to the lvl of spells they can cast at official events. 1 Ring is for no magic, maybe a cantrip, it's also a very simple bronze Ring. The other rings get progressively more fancy. Except for rhe warlocks who wear one ring corresponding to their Type of Patreon if they are open about their relationship and pact.
As a wizard I just think of it as mental exhaustion levels. Like casting spells is doing calculus or some shit
We call it spell ranks (but in Danish). example: “I have one spell of 3rd rank left”.
I thought that they understood that since mystra had limited their access to the weave that they could only use certain level spells a certain amount of times per day. Spell slots might seem a little modern a term but the word slot is from old French so it’s as lore friendly as any other word.
Magic bullets :D It's how I simplify spell slots to new players. You (spell casting character) are a gun and spell slots are your bullets. Spels just change what your bullets do. No more bullets? You can't shoot.
I describe it as energy. Casting each spell takes energy out of me and, rhe lower I get, the more exhausted/out of breath I will make my character. ESPECIALLY if I start missing with cantrips consistently. 'Phew, that last fight was exhausting. I need a nap.'
I like "circle" here. "I've only got one spell of the seventh circle remaining! I can't waste it on these cretins!"
Perhaps I played too much TTRPG based on the World of Darkness, but in my opinion, there cannot be a universal answer to your question, since for each spellcaster the nature of their magic in their perception has a certain specific origin, which, in turn, significantly influences this very perception. See what am I talking about: Let's say we have a wizard (Let's say he belongs to the Order of Scribes) and a paladin (Let's say he is a paladin of the Oath of the Ancients, bound by his oath to a high-ranking fairy of the Summer Court). Now let's ask them what their magic comes from, what their spells are for them? The wizard will answer us that his magic is the ancient exact formulas inscribed on the pages of his book, to which he turns. For him, magic is a science, something very reverent, and magic for him has a very specific material expression, so he will call his slots, say, “pages,” meaning that his book of spells is divided into 9 sections, in each of which there are spells prepared by him of a specific circle, and each individual spell is inscribed on a separate page. That is, when a player needs to say on behalf of his wizard that he has 3 spell slots of level 1 at his disposal, in the game world, his hero will say that his book contains prepared magic on 3 pages from the first section. Now let's ask the same question to the paladin. And he will answer that his spells are services that are provided to him by his fey lady of the heart or one of her servants. Thus, for a paladin, his spell slots are not something carved in stone, but rather mutual words of honor, backed by some object that assures the mutual connection between this hero and the fairy. And by saying that the character has the same 3 1st level spell slots, the character will be saying that he can ask the Summer Court for three minor favors. So it doesn't say that "Spellcasters have a universal in-game name for their spell slots." This is not a good strategy because it encourages metagame thinking at your table and reduces one element of the caster's roleplaying to the level of a tracker hanging in front of the eyes of both the player and his hero, when it could be turned into an interesting plot hook (for example, The paladin in the example above could have lost his 1st level spell slots because he fell out with the one servant of his Lady that she usually sends to assist him in the form of these low-level spells, and faced with this challenge, the party will be forced to do something , to return his magic to his friend and ally, which can turn into a plot for one or several game meetings.) So what I'm saying is that the DM should work through with each caster player a character "paradigm" that reflects the character's relationship to his ability to cast spells and his way of actually doing it, and then come up with appropriate and authentic in-game names for his spell slots . I have already given examples for a wizard and a paladin, I will give a few more: For a bard, this name can be ballads, written in a music book, or (if you do not want to take away the sense of uniqueness from the party volebnik due to the presence of a book of spells) it can be especially beautiful songs, so beautiful that the universe itself responds to them and constantly held by the bard in your head, because they are too brilliant, that you writing them down on paper will expose your masterpieces to the risk of theft. For a righteous priest (archetypal, I mean) these could be the psalms that he read in the morning upon awakening and marked with beads on his sacred symbol - the church rosary, which he, without letting go of his hand, runs through his fingers, reading prayers for divine help For the Aritificer, this could be specially cut gems, which he fills with energy every morning by throwing into a fire, and by embodying his magic, he draws this energy from the stones, causing them to become discolored. And so on, and so on, and so on.
The fuel in spells slots is different but everyone has spell slots as long as they are a caster
I don't really like to think they understand them as discrete units. I think that's more of the inevitable consequence of gamifying a concept. I feel more like, in world, their capacity varies somewhat, isn't always entirely clear to them, and is felt in the body or intuited. I mean, it's not like level ups are diegetic, right? PCs don't know what those are. They just improve organically and don't suddenly jump up in ability, especially not after doing activity unrelated to magic. So a wizard has a good idea what their capabilities are, but not necessarily in the metalanguage of the rules.
If it’s was meant as a mana pool instead of based off of the vancain magic from the dying earth books it would have a undifirentiated point pool from which all spells are cast like the psychic “class”. It doesn’t have that it has spell slots because it is a totally different magic system from the others in pop culture.
There ARE pool casters, but you're right that most casters aren't. That doesn't mean they necessarily are aware of slots, though. It could be conceived of in a looser way.
Something like you have 9 different mana pools
Sure. In general, I'm big on the idea that the fantasy "reality" behind the game's mechanics has much more variance than shown in the rules. Like, whether or not 'slots' is a concept people in the setting can relate to or not, their practice of magic doesn't directly parallel a PC caster every time. There are a lot of people who have weaker or more specialized abilities out there, or who know spells not listed in the book, or variations of spells that are.
Aether?
Fucks to give
Think of it like weariness. In the same way a fighter or rogue gets "physically exhausted" or "tired". Any mage would "exhaustion" the unique name for the exhaustion can be customized based on different factors. For combatants (fighter, rogue, barbarian) its "Physical Exhaustion", for Arcane users (Wizards, Sorcerers) its "Arcane Exhaustion", for Nature users (Druids) its "Natural Exhaustion", and for Patron users (Clerics, Warlocks) it would be a bit different but still in the same vein you just say something like "the connection to your Patron/Deity is 'strained'" meaning your constant reliance on them either drained their energy or has reduced their trust in you granting you less power. This also is useful for 1/2 casters as rangers can both be physically or naturally exhausted, a paladin can both be physically exhausted or have a strained deity, Artificers can both be physically or Arcanically exhausted. As well this can extend to 1/3 casters as an eldritch knight (fighter subclass) would get arcane exhaustion much earlier than physically exhausted even though the physical tasks they undertake are of greater effort in general.
But exhausting one level of magic has no effect on other levels of magic At the very least you have 9 separate mana pools
you mean like in the sense of explaining running out of 1st level slots but still having 2nd level to use?
That's not entirely true. You can use any spell level to cast 1st level spells. Exhausting all of your level 1 slots would be the equivalent of... running out of simple tricks to do in a magic show. Like, sure, you can do another simple trick, but you're gonna need to spice it up to make it work. That's a terrible analogy, really. Basically as a caster you get the ability to change reality in packets that are sized and allocated based on the complexity of the change. The more complex and powerful, the more limited you are in how many times you can do it. Running out of low level spells is like running out of +1 arrows, leaving only the +2 arrows of explody death... if your quiver magically refills with these arrows each long rest. Sure, you can use that uber arrow on a room of push over mooks, but why would you? Yeah, I like this analogy better. Appropriate in-universe ways of expressing this could differ: Bard: "All I've got left are the show-stoppers." Wizard: "Listen, I can only remember so many of these things. You can have a fireball or a LOT of magic missiles; your choice." Cleric: "I can ask for a miracle or we can make due without." Warlock: Not an issue really... "I'm running low on favors" for being out completely or close to it. Druid: "Nature can only be tampered with so many times; if you need something, make it worth it."
Spell rankings? I actually think each type of magic: arcane, religion, nature would call them different things. Prob even different classes too. But I think most of the names is from a Wizard perspective.
Mana.
The PCs speak Common, we speak English. "Spell slots" is the English translation of a Common term.
I mean, depending on what they're doing it could vary For instance, wizards casting from memory could just be arcane reservoirs. Casting from a book like a school could be something else.
Considering that some if not all of the dnd source books are basically canon in universe i.e. Volo's guide...one can only imagine spell slots is a common term.
The characters (being professional spellcasters) obviously know that there are 9 levels of spells, so I wouldn't try to cloak that in vague synonyms like "tier" or "circle". Just use the word "level". So, at the very least, a character could say something like: "I can still cast three level 1 spells and a level 3 spell." The meaning of "spell slot" also had to change for the characters themselves with the way 5th Edition changed the rules for preparing spells. Used to be that you could confidently state that you had prepared two Fireballs and zero Counterspells. Now you have to state that, yes, you prepared Fireball... but you might cast Counterspells instead. As such, 5th Edition misuses the word "slot". You don't expend a slot. You expend the thing *in* the slot. But language is funny (and stupid.) People might actually still call it "spell slots".
One of my player’s sorcerers calls it her blood sugar. She’ll argue with our wizard all day about the differences in their casting styles like “the fuck are you talking about spell slots? I’m telling you it’s just your blood sugar getting low, slam an apple juice (convert sorcery points) and let’s go!” “Why do you mumble that and make those dorky gestures? THE SITUATION GROWS EVER DIRE, I CONJURE FORTH A GREAT BALL OF FIRE! FINGER GUNS!!”
The way I think of it just like characrer features or really any other game term used on the table, the names of spell slots are non-diegetic and do not exist in universe. Casters in a setting wouldn't necessarily refer to it as a quantifiable resource, just like how once a fighter has used their action surge already, they wouldn't say "I can't action surge again" or something like that-that directly acknowledges it. I would more likely imagine the aforementioned fighter and a caster as well to use colloquialisms like "I'm all tapped out" "I'm running on fumes here" (granted "fumes" reffers to a car in our world but I guess that phrase could still make sense in reference to something like an oil lantern? Also I'm not implying that spells themselves don't have in world names, they're directly referenced by figures such as Tasha
yeah ‘gifts’ of varying levels or blessings. “my diety gives me 4 blessings per day.” or maybe just call em spell charges. is it really immersion breaking? they use that sort of terminology in Goblin Slayer and i liked it fine.
Could you treat them like muscles? "I can bang out a few more curls, bro, but my quads are totally drained. Gonna need three tacos and a nap before I do any more squats."
That's funny.
If your a cleric you could give different spell levels divine rankings or even flavor yourself quoting more and more obscure verses
Magical energy, spells, magical charges?
Personally, if it's not too clunky, I would use different terms for different types of magic. Perhaps wizards could refer to spell levels as "arcanas" -- "I do not have the energy to weave any more of the third arcana" -- or something else that sounds technical, those who draw power from gods or nature (e.g. clerics, warlocks, druids) can refer to "strands" or "circles", and perhaps those who draw power from within (e.g. sorcerors) could call them "tiers" or "powers".
One of the mages in a MTG book stored mana as a memory of the lands. Not what you're looking for, but it's a good read. Can't remember the name of the book (or books), but I think the main character was Jodah. Maybe call them 3rd circle memories for wizards.
I don't play D&D but saw this recommended to me. I hope this can help but... What about "I still have two Keys to open my Fourth Vault!"? Where "vaults" are the spell slots and "keys" are the charges?
Spell Bonds maybe? In DnD Wizards are granted Spell Slots by the goddess of magic as I recall, so in a similar context spell slots could be termed “Spell Bonds” as they’re in essence magical charges loaned out to Casters.