I'm looking for some discussion and thought-craft for a little project of mine which will have magic as a big part. This project may eventually develop into a game, but for now, discussion.


So what do you think when you hear the following terms when talking about users of magic and the arcane arts. Wizard, Witch, Mage, Sorcerer.

In a world where the arcane is spans from elemental to manipulation, necromancy to curses. Lots of room to develop. Personally when I hear those few terms I think of them like this:

Wizard - Focused and balanced. Spells and magic are often well calculated and often follow a pattern of some sort. Always cautious not to be consumed by their craft.

Witch - Dark and deceitful. Using slow acting curses and methods like poppets (voodoo dolls) to weaken their foe. Magic of shadow and spirit.

Mage - Masters in what they do, but always pushing the limits with what they can achieve sometimes even letting the magic get out of control only to bring it back from the brink just to show off their skills

Sorcerer - Mysterious and concealed. Keeping their power secret and enhancing the effectiveness of, for example, a blade infused with fire or summoning a creature made of ice.

But that's just me. What do you think when you hear those titles. What feel makes a mage a mage, or a sorcerer what they are. This is a VERY open topic and can be taken many ways depending on culture so I'm looking for personal thoughts.

Also, if you have any other titles or types of magic users I would like to hear them too.

Till then.

Wizard: Usually a bit older, male, tends to rely more on tools for magical feats, but once preparations are made, tends to be very powerful.

Witch: Older, female, tends to also rely on tools for magical acts, very involved with chemicals, potions, and poisons.

Mage: Robbed figure that is sort of academically driven towards studying about magic. Fairly frail and capable of great power when they try hard.

Sorcerer: A master of magic that can unleash waves of magical energy just by willing it. Usually robed, can sometimes have armor on to augment defenses. A bit of a "crazy/eccentric" tinge to them.

I'd say these are what I tend to think of.

Wizard - an immortal type, similar to that of Tolkien books. Most games I've played over the years adopted this. It is a class of magical means because the being themselves are supernatural.


Witch - usually a class taken up by females, mainly due to the mindset and ingenuity required to follow that path. Not necessarily evil, but can be. Among good aligned folks, even if neutral could be perceived as evil due to the practices. Studies both magic and physical abilities like brewing (for poisons mostly). Part summoner, part enchanter, and part herbalist. Not masterful of physical combat, but can be crafty with a staff (physical) or a dagger. Could also use magical staff or wand to aid in spellcasting and cherishes artifacts.


Mage - your typical magic user, primarily direct and AoE offensive spells. Has some buffing spells. Their biggest weapon is knowledge as they can tap into a great variety of attack spells that use elemental and physical damage. Fire Ice Lightning Earth Wind would be a basic set of elememts (add or subtract as you wish). Spells like "magic missile" are along the physical types, still magic but considered a physical attack. A staff or a spellbook would be something at their side at all times. Also like a witch likes artifacts, but not as much as they dont need them to compliment their spellcasting.


Cant remember the 4th, will edit later.

My take:


Wizard: A scholar in arcane arts. Follows the arcane by the book with elaborate spell casting, spends their lifetime perfecting their craft and has it down to a science. A wizard would study all types of magic, maybe some more than others, but they'd have a knowledge in everything from elemental spells, protection spells, curses and alchemy, though maybe not as specialized in either. If they do specialize, it'd be in only one aspect usually, but they'd still have rudimentary knowledge in the other schools and sects of magic.

So for example an enchanter would be a wizard, who specialized their life study to be an expert in enchanting, but Also know the basics of other schools. Think of a physics professor who specialized in physics, but learned basic parts of all the other maths on the way to be a physics expert.


Never reckless with casting, and very cautious of unstudied magicks. A wizard would spend years studying unknown arcane glyphs on a sealed door before attempting to open for example, rather than take a risk in unleashing something or causing harm to themselves or others.


Witch: A witch would be someone who studies the arcane, but more so in a superstitious way rather than an academic way like a wizard. Witches conventionally aren't schooled in magic the same way a wizard would be, they're more taught by their ancestors, mother or father, what have you, orally through time, rather than studying by a book.

Witches are generally more schooled in arts of alchemy, curses and illusions. They will charm people, make healing salves and potions, love potions, cursed items, etc.

Because of the passed down tradition of Witches, many Witches across the world would have different types of curses, illusions and potions from each other, and can vary greatly in power.


With that same sealed door example as the wizard, a witch would more likely do something like charm another person into opening the glyph sealed door to see the effects, and if there is a curse than the witch would be safe. Either that, or they might avoid opening the door all together if they're versed well enough in curses and geas.


Mage: A mage is more similar to a wizard, but may not necessarily be as broadly versed as a wizard. A mage would typically be someone who specializes in something like elemental magicks, while having little to no knowledge in alchemy for example. (Or vice versa. Point being the mage would be much more specialized than a wizard and could be much more powerful or well versed in a specific school, while not having the same basic knowledge of all the other schools like a wizard would).


Mages are more in tune with the reality of the world, and instead of being an academic like a wizard, they're more prone to be battle mages or in the employ of an army or mercenary crew and use their magicks for combat purposes.

Mages could be seen as more hot headed magic users who could be more arrogant and confident in their abilities (to the point of over confident).


With the sealed door scenario, a mage would be more likely to open the door if they thought the rewards on the other side were worth it, or will increase their magic power, and would be confident that they are powerful enough to deflect any dangers the glyphs.


A mage is the kind of person who would summon a demon to battle it or control it, with the possibility of the demon breaking loose and wreaking havoc on the world, but not care about the risk if they figured it was going to help in their pursuit of power.



Sorcerer: A sorcerer is someone who deals more with raw magical power than knowledge in the schools of magic. A sorcerer may never have been taught by anyone in their life how magic works or how to cast, but instead discovered this power on their own and honed that power.

A sorcerer could range from varying degrees of power and knowledge. Sometimes a sorcerer could be a barbarian tribal that is seen as a blessing or a curse to their tribe, or maybe an orphaned kid growing up in a city who discovers his power, or even a half humanoid that has demon or dragon blood in them that gives them natural affinity to magic.


Many elves would be considered sorcerers, (think of the elves from the lord of the rings movies who most of them have some sort of magical power), depending on the kind of elves and what universe they're in.

High elves from the elder scrolls could all be sorcerers by birth, as their race has an affinity with magic, while some high elves will be trained as a wizard or mage, at birth they are a sorcerer. A high elf who was orphaned in another country and never taught magic could discover his natural power and hone it the best he could without proper training.


Sorcerers are more born with the power of magic or an affinity to it, rather than being taught. Some may even call sorcerers untrained wizard or mages, but that doesn't make them weaker, just less knowledged in the magical field.

A sorcerer may even be a martial artist who discovered their magic and used it to enhance their physical capabilities (kind of like a monk)


With the sealed door example, a sorcerer is more of a wild card. They may not even think of a curse on the door and just try to open it, they may just think it's a magical lock and not a trap and just try to magically unlock it, or they may even try to distrupt the magic on the door by hurling a fireball at it.

Hmm, some good answers. Gives me some stuff to think about. Thanks.

I always thought of a wizard as some old guy in a room filled with books and strange looking devices. And he travels to other worldly planes of existence and knows of places that the common man has never heard of.


I'm on my phone so I won't go into the other ones that are listed.

Wizard: Scholarly, Academic, Older, Male. Wizard usually implies a certain amount of mastery.

Hedge Wizard: Untrained mage, one who uses atypical approaches to magic and looked down on for it.

Mage: Generic term for anyone who uses magic, or someone who doesn't fit a specific category

Magus: A grand mage or wizard. One who's truly mastered their craft.

Witch: I prefer the Pratchett variant of wise, practical woman who uses psychology and common sense but also has access to magic.

Warlock: A male witch or possibly a shaman.

Shaman: Wise man/woman. Spiritual guide who's power derives from knowledge (and relationships) with the hidden supernatural world of spirits.

Sorcerer: Gatherer of mysterious knowledge who uses a blend of ritual and know-how to achieve their goals. Secretive and anti-social.

Summoner: Mage who focuses on summoning unearthly beings to do their bidding.

Conjurer: Combo of the D&D sorcerer/wild mage shtick with a touch of summoner.

Enchanter: Mage who focuses on applying magic to items, places or people. Builds powerful things rather than being a powerful thing.

Necromancer: A mage or wizard who's interested primarily in dark, forbidden magic, especially regarding the dead.

Occultist: A pulpy general practitioner in a low fantasy setting. For a modern-ish or noir setting.

Sorcerer is a term that was extremely generic until the label got applied to a specific D&D build. I tend to think of sorcerers as the low fantasy version of wizards, mostly because I think the sorcerer label was used to to evoke a mood or feeling, usually grim, dark and mysterious.

Shaman is often depicted as a nature mage/cleric, but that mostly ignores the real world roots which are much more interesting and imaginative than the typical bland fantasy variant.

Also, in my head canon nobody gets to wear a pointy hat. Except Gandalf, because, well, he's Gandalf.

Maybe it's my Neo-Paganism kicking in, but I think of Witches as healers.

Wizard - A wizard knows his craft through study and learning. Well practised, a wizard is wise in both Magic and in the world and cultures around them. A wizard can be good or evil, and this is manifestly dangerous due to their keen intelligence. A good wizard would use his wisdom and power to gain gratification though protecting and improving the world. An evil wizard would use his wisdom and power to gain gratification through subjugation and fear. A wizard gas an affinity for magic, but it doesn't need to be great and magic can be taught. Wizards are powerful because of their knowledge. Strength for strength they come out the second weakest of the four. However, their intelligence has allowed them to devise tools such as wands and staves to concentrate their power, thus improving their abilities markedly.


Witch - A witch doesn't hold magical power within herself, but instead projects it through the use of objects. Items can be cursed or blessed. People can be cured or diseased via hex bags or voodoo dolls. The use of tools such as voodoo dolls and pentograms, hexes, potions and poisons are common.


Mage - A wizard with a stronger affinity for the arcane arts. These people have a natural talent which sees them far exceed their wizard counterparts, but they are less scholarly so their use of magic isn't as efficient and isn't as well-rounded. One on one, a Mage would defeat a wizard in a duel. However, a Mage would be hard pressed to get a wizard to duel him without the wizard being smart enough to get some form of upper hand first. My money would be on the wizard, because the wizard would have planned properly.


Sorcerer - vastly different from the others. A sorcerer is all-powerful. A sorcerer would be capable of defeating any Mage or wizard, or indeed many mages or wizards, without trouble. They are fonts of power. They understand their powers not through teaching and study but through pure intuition. A sorcerer can understand their powers the way we can understand how to walk. The greatest of wizards would never be able to master their power like the weakest of sorcerers could, and they could never hope to be so powerful. Sorcerers are rare. They can wreak havoc across entire continents, or can appear like a god to save the world from annihilation.




What about a magician?

I tend towards defining it as the confidence man of the magic world. Someone who focuses on tricks, both psychological and physical, to create illusions.

But counting it as a synonym for mage also works. My issue is that hearing that word makes me either think a generic synonym for mage, or one of the old pulpy heroes like Mandrake the Magician. Then again, anyone who walks around with a mustache, top hat, tuxedo, and red cape must by definition be extremely powerful, otherwise the gods of fashion would have given him a swift and punitive smackdown.

I think it depends on how much magic is in a fantasy setting. If magic is uncommon then i can see people calling "good" magic users things like wizards, shaman, mage, ect. And evil or secretive magic users witches, sorcerers, warlocks, ect. I would also wonder about how they use magic, or if the magic being used between them is of the same source. You could have each "type" of magic user defined by where their power comes from. Just some thoughts.

Oh and i tend to think of a mage being the default title of a magic user, like if magic is all from the same source. Wizard could be an elder mage (or archmage which sounds cooler imo).

Wizard: Master of magic, scholarly, elderly

Witch: Midwife, herbalist, wise women, a commoner, may not use magic at all

Mage: Any formally trained practitioner of magic, a witch isn't a mage, a wizard is, a sorcerer may be

Sorcerer: Deals with dark powers, secretive, sinister

Hit most of them, but missed:

Druid, nature magic)

Caster, a generic term

____mancer is a term for a mage who specializes in something

Priest(ess) and Monk can even sometimes fall into these categories, drawing their power from a higher power.

Nice adds. Can't believe I missed Druids. I think I was fuming over the "misuse" of shamans and got distracted.