Take the 2-minute tour ×  [This fits somewhere between technical
writing and user experience, so perhaps this is the wrong board]
I'm developing a modification to a popular videogame (a
Playstation One RPG), with the expressed goal of making in-game
interface text easier to understand. There's one particular
interface message, however, that I just can't reword elegantly.
Here's the situation: in the game, players may battle monster
creatures. In a battle, any participant may use certain kinds of
'special abilities' by drawing on a resource called 'MP'. Each
'special ability' has a particular MP cost associated. Creatures
and player characters choose an ability, then, a few seconds
later, the game checks their MP resources and decides if it can
be used. A character's MP may change between choosing and
executing an ability depending on other characters' / monsters'
interactions with them (in particular, one party can 'drain' the
MP of another, making their turn fail).  Should a monster or
character fail to ra