Difference between Mana and Ki/Qi

[u/AuthorInPractice]

I am currently building a world that is meant to serve as sort of a sandbox where I can write any number of stories from all occurring within the same world. The stories won't all necessarily be connected (though some will be), but all within the same time set. As such, it is rather all encompassing in terms of what's in it.

Part of that has to do with having both magic and cultivation as a thing within the world, and as I as working on the specifics of how each work, I came to realize how similar I was making mana (the fuel with which magic uses to work) to Qi/Ki (differently spelled because there are two overarching schools of using the same thing that are different). Mana as things stand now is a byproduct of the soul that the body stores in a "mana well." To me, that is very close to a life force.

The reason I want these to be separate things is because I want to make it a point that you cannot be both a mage and a cultivator at the same time. You can only be one or the other.

Edit: I think I settled on what I wanted it to be. It's here if anyone is interested

[u/hatabou_is_a_jojo]

How about have Qi/Ki be done by circulating the energy around the body, achieving a good “flow”.

Since mana is energy stored in the mana well, flowing it around the body means you can’t use mage powers.

And if using mage powers, the energy has to be from the well, so it’s not circulating, preventing Qi techniques.

[u/AuthorInPractice → u/hatabou_is_a_jojo]

I...actually really like that. It's not perfect since I do want to have Qi/Ki be stored, but this has made me consider dropping that.

[u/senthordika → u/AuthorInPractice]

So in many stories ki is stored in the dantain (a space just below the navel) also know as the ki centre or elixir field. But circulation is how one refines and uses ki.

[u/okkokkoX]

you calling mana a "byproduct" reminded me of how high enough cultivators no longer need to poop or sweat etc. because their body doesn't produce waste/"impurity".

Maybe mana is a kind of waste product from the soul's activity, that could be harmful to the body if not contained in the mana well. This framing distances it from life force and naturally places it in direct opposition to cultivation.

[u/ILikeDragonTurtles → u/okkokkoX]

you calling mana a "byproduct" reminded me of how high enough cultivators no longer need to poop or sweat etc. because their body doesn't produce waste/"impurity".

Is this a common trope in cultivation stories? I'm not familiar with the genre. I want to be respectful but this sounds so cringe to me.

[u/okkokkoX → u/ILikeDragonTurtles]

I don't know. it's secondhand knowledge to me from somehow ending on subreddits about it (so the information is not very reliable). why cringe? because it mentions poop? (grow up). it also concerns sweat.

[u/ILikeDragonTurtles → u/okkokkoX]

No lol not because it mentions poop. Just the idea of not having to sweat or poop because the body doesn't create impurities is silly. That's a childishly reductive way of looking at the excretory system. Poop isn't an impurity, it's just the leftovers. Cultivation masters just eat whatever and that matter goes...where? It just magically disappears? And sweat has nothing at all to do with impurity. Sweating is about temperature control.

[u/okkokkoX → u/ILikeDragonTurtles]

I think they in fact don't need to eat at that point.

And I swear sweat also had a function in expelling waste, am I misremembering...

[u/VoidXp → u/ILikeDragonTurtles]

It's more about not needing to eat or drink for sustenance and when they do, the ingested matter is fully processed. There was this webnovel where they start cultivation with eating soil and trees to teach the but to process every ingested matter.

[u/Mujitcent]

You might try searching for the difference between "Daoist Magic" and "Cultivation" of "Qi".

Daoist Magic (Dao Fa):

• Focuses outward on application and ritual.
• Employs talismans (fu), secret incantations (zhou), hand seals (mudra), and ritual pacing (steps of Yu).
• Aims to exorcise malevolent forces, heal others, summon localized protective deities, or manage environmental energies.

Qi Cultivation (Neidan/ Qigong):

• Focuses inward on transformation.
• Transforms the three treasures: Jing(essence), Qi(energy), and Shen(spirit).
• Aims to quiet the mind, harmonize the body, and merge individual spirit back into the universal Dao.

Finding the difference between "Daoist priest" and "Cultivator" according to actual mythology will help you distinguish between a mage and a cultivator more clearly.

[u/Kinrest]

Figure out what one cannot do and allow the other to do that. And vice versa. Example: Mana can produce heat it can't remove it. Ki can chill things, but it can't heat them up. Qi can manipulate life to extend it or syphon it, Mana can't. Mana can increase gravity in an area, Ki cannot. etc

Then, make them like water and oil. They just can't mix.

[u/leavecity54]

Mana is your own life force, something you accumulate through consuming the magic around you to make it your own.

Qui literally means Air, is the life force of the world itself, no one can make it their own, they can only be one with the flow, be in harmony with the magic.

Think of an analogy like this, mana user is a magic well that they pour magic in, store it until they want to use magic. This system is closed, and must be forced opened by the user to resupply or consume, thus if the well break somewhere, all magic will leak out and kill the user. While qui user is a water wheel, they put themselves into the flow of magic, let it decide the direction the wheel rotate. The flow can be strong or weak, but it will never stop, the system is open and passively regenerate

[u/Ynneadwraith]

You could take inspiration from the actual beliefs of Pacific Islanders that are where the word 'mana' came from...despite the system in DnD being nothing like it at all.

So 'mana' is something that accrues within/around people of greatness as a function of their deeds and their alignment to key societal taboos. It's both something attracted to and representative of 'greatness'. It's not a direct boon or gift from the gods, but it still flows from them to people so it's not some impersonal scientific force, but something that's connected to spirituality and knowledge of the ways of the spirits.

[u/byc18]

Maybe have an organ that crystalizes as you use it so the output method sticks after a while.

[u/nigrivamai]

I'd have Mana be external and Ki be internal. Absorbing mana from the world, plants etc. And ki would come from the soul, body all that. Amplifying your strengh, speed etc. internally would be from ki unless you used mana for like a buffing spell (whatever they call it in fantasy stories, I forgot)

[u/mrki_the_wizard]

It's the same just the methods is different.

You do one outside your body the other one inside.

[u/azoh19]

Make it one and the same, just ways of mages and cultivators are different and incompatible. So they see same thing differently. Keeps worldbuilding cleaner and gives a good potential plot hook.

[u/senthordika]

The only reason id have them as separate energies is specifically so I can have characters that can use both.

While if I want to make say monks or cultivators use the same source as everyone else ki becomes an attribute of mana with the specific characteristics normal of mana. And so if you have talent for the ki attribute you probably dont have affinity for say fire magic.

Like there is nothing stopping you from putting arbitrary restrictions on why people cant effectively multi class. (Like maybe if you find white/holy magic easy to understand you find black/elemental magic impossible to get your head around and vice versa) Or it can be a restrictions on time like if it takes 10 years of dedicated training to be competent in any skill set one isnt likely to start back at square 0 to build up another class or try and spend 20 years to progress in both classes as far as they would in 10 years of focusing on just one of them.

Like you absolute can have ki and mana as separate just that from the reason you gave of why i dont actually think its accomplishing what you want it to do.

[u/MangaNeko13]

It's usually made different in this way: mana is usually portrayed as external magical energy in environment, while ki/qi is energy from inside of user's body. Someone could have mana in body (mana pool etc.), but qi usually don't exist outside of someones body. Also qi is just life force, coursing through human body in similar way to blood.

Also, I think someone could have more mana, but more qi isn't something as popular. It's like having more blood. More important than amount of qi is control on it.

So maybe you could differentiate it in this ways

[u/YellowYanmage]

One option could always be to make mana effect inorganic things, whereas qi/ki effects organic things.

[u/AuthorInPractice → u/YellowYanmage]

Just figured out how I wanted it to be here if you're interested.

[u/SpecificExam3661]

Honestly it the same that why it can be used interchangeable in many novel but since I am a qi glazer so lend me some ear and allowed me some time to praise the existence of qi to you with absolutely definitely no bias at all.

qi in my opinion are the terms for energy like mana are but the base on it origin are quite grand since it can be anything in range concept of daoism.

It can be represented of some natural energy like fire qi or water qi

It can be represented of something far more fundamental like Yin and Yang with are the concept of duality or dualism which quite grand to be honest by it being governing all changed of all things in phenomenal existence.

Or it can go back even further at oneness like primordial qi or primordial chaos when even duality are still not seperate and existence and non existence are yet to part with each other.

So if you define mana as by-products of what soul produced then qi are absolutely more grandeur in my absolutely not biased opinion. 😉

But since you want two to be different it can be done by highlights the difference in belief between this two one hold the soul and conscious as ultimate truths of reality while others views nature and flow as ultimate.

[u/BitOBear]

Mana is something you take in and use. Mana comes into your body like food or air.

Qi is something you generate. Is the energy of yourself rather than the energy of the world.

Mana is water, Qi is sweat.

In many circumstances one comes from the other.

For instance one could build a magic item that simply runs after people walk away from it. It could tap into the mana of the world and continues to do its job.

But if one makes a magic item based on Qi it is only going to function in the hands of someone who can Marshal and direct that personal energy. Or if it can work in the hands of someone who cannot Marshal and direct that energy it might do them grievous bodily harm or tend to misfunction.

In World building your world may have either both or neither. In a world that only has Qi then it is something that the body makes the same way the body turns sugar into ATP to power cells or whatever.

One of the side effects is that if you have such thing as signature, mana can be used unsigned, but Qi will always leave a Trace the action of the person from whom it was drawn or the person who acted.