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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/35252
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

tl;dr : I need a way to emphasise the names of special skills without it becoming annoying or it overlapping with the formatting already present in the story.

* * *

I'm writing a story in an RPG-like setting (Role Playing Game). As is a staple in the genre, characters are assigned job-classes and corresponding skills they can use. When battling against monsters or other players they use them like so

> "_Fireball!_"   
> Fire conjured itself from X's staff, enveloping the goblin and reducing him to ashes.

and

> He brought his mace down with overwhelming force, but before it could make contact the weapon was forced back with a loud metallic screech.   
> "_Stand Behind Me!_"  
> A knight appeared between the two, his shield deflecting the attack with ease.

In the second example the knight isn't actually telling the person he's protecting to stand behind him, he is calling out the name of the skill "Stand Behind Me" as an invocation of sorts. I expect the reader to pick up on this because of moments like in the first example, italics signing the use of a skill.   
  
Skills are a fairly important part in the story, since who can use which skill is set in stone. The knight isn't particularly fast, but the next time he miraculously jumps in front of someone just in time to block an attack, the reader shouldn't be surprised. The knight has a special ability that allows him to do just that, after all. In battle, however, skills tend to be used in quick succession, so rather than repeat over and over that the knight is using his special skill whenever he safes someone I found it neater and clearer to have some kind of formatting rule to sign that I'm talking about a skill.   
  
However, this poses a problem when writing sentences like

> "_Et tu?_"

or

> "_I don't care._"

In these examples italics are used to sign the words being in a foreign language or emphasising someone's speech. Like how it is normally used. Of course there aren't any skills in the story called "I Don't Care", but it's confusing nonetheless because I established using italics as skill activation already. Were you to remove the italics from the first sentence the reader might become confused at the foreign words, were you to remove it in the second sentence the phrase loses its impact.  
  
As such I've been searching for some other way to show the characters using skills. I have tried using **bold text** , but this became very annoying very fast, especially during fight scenes where one skill is used after another. Underlining it felt strange. As if I were trying to make a hyperlink.  
  
Is there a good way to do this?

Original score: 3