Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
The wizard is one of the standard character class
in the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.
literature, particularly as portrayed in Jack Vance
's The Dying Earth
short stories, and John Bellairs
's novel "The Face in the Frost
." Gandalf
and Saruman
from Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
and Merlin
of King Arthur fame also influenced this class.
of the game, magic-user was one of the base character classes
. Magic-User was one of the three original classes, the other two being Fighting Man (renamed Fighter
in later editions
) and Cleric
.
The Magic-User was physically weak and vulnerable, but compensated for this with the potential to develop powerful spellcasting abilities. In practice a mid- to high-level Magic-User was a combination intelligence gatherer and walking artillery
, gathering information about possible dangers not yet seen and augmenting the physical combat abilities of the other classes with potentially devastating long range and area attacks.
The term "Magic-User" was invented for the original Dungeons & Dragons rules developed by Gary Gygax
and Dave Arneson
(in order to avoid cultural connotations of terms such as "wizard" or "warlock").
. "Magic-User" continued to be used in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules.
The 1st Edition of AD&D also included a subclass of the magic-user called the illusionist, which had different spell lists, different experience level tables, and slightly fewer maximum hit dice (10 instead of 11). Gnomes were also able to become illusionists, even though only human, elves, and half-elves could become magic-users. Magic-user spells and illusionist spells were for the most part separated and had little overlap. Of all the AD&D classes, only the magic-user had spells of the 8th and 9th levels; all other spell-casting classes were limited to spells of up to 7th level.
. The second edition of AD&D discarded the term "Magic-User" in favor of "mage".
The second edition Player's Handbook gives a few examples of mages from legend and myth: Merlin
, Circe
and Medea
.
In 2nd Edition AD&D, the magic-user (now called "mage") became an all-purpose wizard who could cast any wizardly spell, including many of the 1st-edition illusionist-only spells, such as color spray or chromatic orb. Instead of their own spell lists, illusionists became one of many specialist wizard types who could cast only a part of the full list of wizard spells (though with various bonuses). The other specialists were: abjurers, conjurers, diviners, enchanters, invokers, necromancers, and transmuters, each representing a "school" of magical study. Since each specialist wizard type now used the same basic spell lists, all wizards could use up to 9th level spells, if they had the required intelligence.
A similar paradigm of spell schools was retained for the 3rd edition of D&D as well. Despite removing the restrictions on race/class combinations, D&D 3.0 edition retained the gnomish affinity for becoming illusionists by making illusionist (not wizard) the gnome's favored class. This was dropped in the 3.5 edition in favor of bard.
s, studying a system of natural laws that are for the most part unknown and undiscovered. Once the 3rd edition introduced skills to D&D, wizards' best skills became those that involved either magic or other scholarly or applied knowledge as history, nature, and geography.
Resting: Wizards need to rest prior to spell casting. This may be in the form of sleep or meditation. A wizard who refuses to sleep and then goes on a spell casting binge (which is not entirely impossible, but rare due to temporal allowances) will grow weary - possibly delusional - and may experience many negative health effects.
Memorization / Preparation (1st through 3.5 editions): In order to prepare spells from their spellbooks, wizards need comfortable quiet areas to study. The spell is read, spoken, or memorized up until the trigger. This is the easiest and most efficient way to cast arcane magic as a wizard because it means the wizard needs only to perform the trigger element of the spell when the need arises to cast it. There may be a temporal limit in spell casting and this could be the reason why wizards can only cast a certain number of spells of various degrees in one day.
A weakness of wizards is that they cannot cast an arcane spell that they have not prepared, so they are extremely vulnerable if caught in a situation they did not expect. To minimize this, wizards often develop their problem-solving ability to anticipate which spells may be most useful, and some may enhance this with abilities such as foresight
.
Unprepared and Daily spells, and Rituals (4th edition): In the 4th edition, wizards only need to prepare their most powerful attack spells, those which can be used only once a day, and their utility spells, generally, a wizard has two spells to choose from for each daily and utility power slot, however the Expanded Spellbook and the "Remembered Wizardry" feats increase this number to three or four with both, and non-wizard spells, including those from wizard-exclusive feats, paragon paths and epic destinies, cannot be swapped out in this way. Their less powerful spells can be used per encounter or at will, without preparation or selection beforehand. In addition, wizards perform most noncombat magics (such as opening locks, specialized healing, or transportation) through extended rituals requiring many minutes of work though no particular preparation. Although rituals are not exclusive to Wizards, they are one of the two PHB classes who gain Ritual Caster feat automatically as a class feature, and are the only one of the eight classes which learns free rituals as they increase in level.
Casting: When the need calls for a certain spell to be cast, wizards will allow their thoughts to retreat back into their consciousness in order to obtain it, and it often appears that wizards are in trances while they are casting. While there is some credence to that, they are not so much entranced that they cannot recognize the immediate perils surrounding them.
When they find the spell they want, wizards will then complete the trigger sequence. This is the common view of a wizard casting: voicing several strange words, utilizing some arcane component, like tossing pixie dust, and perhaps making some sort of quirky hand movement. In actuality every part of the sequence must be exact or else the wizard may miscast, misfire, cast an entirely different spell, or cast nothing at all.
For example to trigger the spell Ignite Wood, a wizard would need to first speak the final words of the spell and then spread shavings of brimstone and sulphuric ash reagents onto the desired piece of wood to ignite.
The eight schools of magic are:
Some few spells do not fall into these schools, and are called universal spells. These spells are available to all wizards, and this "school" cannot be be taken as a specialty school or given up for another specialty.
in the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
.
The Complete Necromancer's Handbook was published for 2nd edition AD&D.
The necromancer has also been featured as a character class for Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Necromancer, also known as Pale Master, is a negative caster, and available as a "prestige" sub-class of the Wizard.
----
Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...
in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.
Creative origins
The Magic-User class was inspired by the spell-casting magicians common in folklore and modern fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
literature, particularly as portrayed in Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
's The Dying Earth
The Dying Earth
The Dying Earth is a 1950 collection of fantasy short stories by author Jack Vance. It is the first book in the Dying Earth series. It was nominated for the Retro Hugo in 2001.-Stories:*Turjan of Miir*Mazirian the Magician*T'sais...
short stories, and John Bellairs
John Bellairs
John Anthony Bellairs was an American author, best known for his well-respected fantasy novel The Face in the Frost as well as many gothic mystery novels for young adults featuring Lewis Barnavelt, Anthony Monday, and Johnny Dixon.-Biography:After earning degrees at University of Notre Dame and...
's novel "The Face in the Frost
The Face in the Frost
The Face in the Frost is a short 1969 fantasy novel by author John Bellairs. Unlike most of his later works, this book is meant for adult readers. It centers on two accomplished wizards, Prospero and Roger Bacon, tracking down the source of a great magical evil. The subject matter prompted Ursula K...
." Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
and Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
from Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
of King Arthur fame also influenced this class.
Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)
In the original versionDungeons & Dragons (1974)
The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. It initially included the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
of the game, magic-user was one of the base character classes
Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...
. Magic-User was one of the three original classes, the other two being Fighting Man (renamed Fighter
Fighter (Dungeons & Dragons)
The fighter is one of the standard playable character classes in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics....
in later editions
Editions of Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of Dungeons & Dragons , Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game...
) and Cleric
Cleric (Dungeons & Dragons)
The cleric is one of the standard playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In the game, clerics are versatile figures, both capable in combat and skilled in the use of divine magic. Clerics are powerful healers due to the large number of healing and curative...
.
The Magic-User was physically weak and vulnerable, but compensated for this with the potential to develop powerful spellcasting abilities. In practice a mid- to high-level Magic-User was a combination intelligence gatherer and walking artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, gathering information about possible dangers not yet seen and augmenting the physical combat abilities of the other classes with potentially devastating long range and area attacks.
The term "Magic-User" was invented for the original Dungeons & Dragons rules developed by Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
and Dave Arneson
Dave Arneson
David Lance "Dave" Arneson was an American game designer best known for co-developing the first published role-playing game , Dungeons & Dragons, with Gary Gygax, in the early 1970s...
(in order to avoid cultural connotations of terms such as "wizard" or "warlock").
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The magic-user was one of the standard character classes available in the original Player's HandbookPlayer's Handbook
The Player's Handbook is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons . It does not contain the complete set of rules, but only those for use by players of the game...
. "Magic-User" continued to be used in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules.
The 1st Edition of AD&D also included a subclass of the magic-user called the illusionist, which had different spell lists, different experience level tables, and slightly fewer maximum hit dice (10 instead of 11). Gnomes were also able to become illusionists, even though only human, elves, and half-elves could become magic-users. Magic-user spells and illusionist spells were for the most part separated and had little overlap. Of all the AD&D classes, only the magic-user had spells of the 8th and 9th levels; all other spell-casting classes were limited to spells of up to 7th level.
Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)
"Magic-User" continued to be used in the simplified Dungeons & Dragons rules set.Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The mage, as part of the "wizard" group, was one of the standard character classes available in the second edition Player's HandbookPlayer's Handbook
The Player's Handbook is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons . It does not contain the complete set of rules, but only those for use by players of the game...
. The second edition of AD&D discarded the term "Magic-User" in favor of "mage".
The second edition Player's Handbook gives a few examples of mages from legend and myth: Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
, Circe
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...
and Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
.
In 2nd Edition AD&D, the magic-user (now called "mage") became an all-purpose wizard who could cast any wizardly spell, including many of the 1st-edition illusionist-only spells, such as color spray or chromatic orb. Instead of their own spell lists, illusionists became one of many specialist wizard types who could cast only a part of the full list of wizard spells (though with various bonuses). The other specialists were: abjurers, conjurers, diviners, enchanters, invokers, necromancers, and transmuters, each representing a "school" of magical study. Since each specialist wizard type now used the same basic spell lists, all wizards could use up to 9th level spells, if they had the required intelligence.
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (2000-2007)
The third edition of the game (dropping the word Advanced and now just called Dungeons & Dragons) renamed the mage to "Wizard". The term "magic user" is rarely used in the current edition of the game, and when it is used it is usually a synonym for an arcane spellcaster or for an arcane spellcasting character class.A similar paradigm of spell schools was retained for the 3rd edition of D&D as well. Despite removing the restrictions on race/class combinations, D&D 3.0 edition retained the gnomish affinity for becoming illusionists by making illusionist (not wizard) the gnome's favored class. This was dropped in the 3.5 edition in favor of bard.
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The wizard is available as a character class in the game's fourth edition. The wizard utilizes the Arcane power source and is a Controller, which means the wizard focuses on multi-target damage spells, as well as debuffing foes and altering the battlefield's terrain.Wizard spell preparation and casting
Wizards cast their spells by using their acquired magical knowledge (augmented by their Intelligence score) and experience. In particular, they learn most new spells by seeking out magical writings and copying them into their spellbooks, a method that allows them (unlike sorcerers) to master any number of permissible spells once they find them, assembling a broad and versatile arsenal of power. Many wizards see themselves not only as spell casters but as philosophers, inventors, and scientistScientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s, studying a system of natural laws that are for the most part unknown and undiscovered. Once the 3rd edition introduced skills to D&D, wizards' best skills became those that involved either magic or other scholarly or applied knowledge as history, nature, and geography.
Resting: Wizards need to rest prior to spell casting. This may be in the form of sleep or meditation. A wizard who refuses to sleep and then goes on a spell casting binge (which is not entirely impossible, but rare due to temporal allowances) will grow weary - possibly delusional - and may experience many negative health effects.
Memorization / Preparation (1st through 3.5 editions): In order to prepare spells from their spellbooks, wizards need comfortable quiet areas to study. The spell is read, spoken, or memorized up until the trigger. This is the easiest and most efficient way to cast arcane magic as a wizard because it means the wizard needs only to perform the trigger element of the spell when the need arises to cast it. There may be a temporal limit in spell casting and this could be the reason why wizards can only cast a certain number of spells of various degrees in one day.
A weakness of wizards is that they cannot cast an arcane spell that they have not prepared, so they are extremely vulnerable if caught in a situation they did not expect. To minimize this, wizards often develop their problem-solving ability to anticipate which spells may be most useful, and some may enhance this with abilities such as foresight
Foresight
Foresight or forethought may refer to:* Foresight , ability to predict or plan for the future* Foresight , management planning principle* Foresight , European planning mechanism for public policy...
.
Unprepared and Daily spells, and Rituals (4th edition): In the 4th edition, wizards only need to prepare their most powerful attack spells, those which can be used only once a day, and their utility spells, generally, a wizard has two spells to choose from for each daily and utility power slot, however the Expanded Spellbook and the "Remembered Wizardry" feats increase this number to three or four with both, and non-wizard spells, including those from wizard-exclusive feats, paragon paths and epic destinies, cannot be swapped out in this way. Their less powerful spells can be used per encounter or at will, without preparation or selection beforehand. In addition, wizards perform most noncombat magics (such as opening locks, specialized healing, or transportation) through extended rituals requiring many minutes of work though no particular preparation. Although rituals are not exclusive to Wizards, they are one of the two PHB classes who gain Ritual Caster feat automatically as a class feature, and are the only one of the eight classes which learns free rituals as they increase in level.
Casting: When the need calls for a certain spell to be cast, wizards will allow their thoughts to retreat back into their consciousness in order to obtain it, and it often appears that wizards are in trances while they are casting. While there is some credence to that, they are not so much entranced that they cannot recognize the immediate perils surrounding them.
When they find the spell they want, wizards will then complete the trigger sequence. This is the common view of a wizard casting: voicing several strange words, utilizing some arcane component, like tossing pixie dust, and perhaps making some sort of quirky hand movement. In actuality every part of the sequence must be exact or else the wizard may miscast, misfire, cast an entirely different spell, or cast nothing at all.
For example to trigger the spell Ignite Wood, a wizard would need to first speak the final words of the spell and then spread shavings of brimstone and sulphuric ash reagents onto the desired piece of wood to ignite.
School specialization
Wizards may specialize in one or more of eight schools of magic, choosing their specialty at 1st level. Specialization was introduced in the 2nd Edition of D&D (although the 1st Edition included the Illusionist as a separate class similar to wizards). In Edition 3.5, specialist wizards can prepare one extra spell from their chosen school per spell level each day, while as a consequence of their more focused studies, they also give up the use of two schools of magic other than Divination (note: specialists in Divination only give up one school). There is the "Master Specialist" that allows a wizard even greater power in one school, but it also further reduces their range of spells to choose from.The eight schools of magic are:
- Abjuration: spells of protection, blocking, and banishing. Specialists are called abjurers.
- Conjuration: spells that bring creatures or materials. Specialists are called conjurers.
- Divination: spells that reveal information. Specialists are called diviners.
- Enchantment: spells that magically imbue the target or give the caster power over the target. Specialists are called enchanters.
- Evocation: spells that manipulate energy or create something from nothing. Specialists are called evokers.
- Illusion: spells that alter perception or create false images. Specialists are called illusionists.
- Necromancy: spells that manipulate life or life force. Specialists are called necromancers.
- Transmutation: spells that transform the target. Specialists are called transmuters.
Some few spells do not fall into these schools, and are called universal spells. These spells are available to all wizards, and this "school" cannot be be taken as a specialty school or given up for another specialty.
Necromancer (Necromancy/Divination)
The Necromancer is a playable character classCharacter class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...
in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
.
Publication history
The Complete Necromancer's Handbook was published for 2nd edition AD&D.
Other media
The necromancer has also been featured as a character class for Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Necromancer, also known as Pale Master, is a negative caster, and available as a "prestige" sub-class of the Wizard.
----
See also
- Magic of Dungeons & Dragons
- Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)Sorcerer (Dungeons & Dragons)The sorcerer is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A sorcerer is weak in melee combat, but a master of arcane magic, the most generally powerful form of D&D magic. Sorcerers' magical ability is innate rather than studied...
- Warlock (Dungeons & Dragons)Warlock (Dungeons & Dragons)The warlock is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was introduced as a non-core base class in the supplemental book Complete Arcane for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
- The Complete Wizard's Handbook
External links
- The D&D Wiki include version 3.5 statistics for all the classes in the System Reference DocumentSystem Reference DocumentThe System Reference Document, or SRD, is a set of reference role playing game mechanics licensed under the Open Game License by Wizards of the Coast and based upon their Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. The SRD forms the basis of WotC's various d20 System role-playing games, including the...
, including the Wizard.