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	'''Wizards''' are most commonly found in works of ], such as ], ], ], ], and ]. In modern fantasy, a wizard is more often seen as a ] of ] that derives from ] or ] sources, rather than the ] ] used by most popular magicians.

	==Application of the name "wizard"==
	People who work magic are called by many terms in works of fantasy, and the terminology differs widely from one ] to another. While derived from real world vocabulary, "wizard", "witch", "warlock", "enchanter/enchantress", and "sorcerer/sorceress", have within a work of fantasy the meaning the writer invests in them. A variation on the word magic (magician, mage, magus, or even "magic-user"), is typically used as a neutral term to indicate any practitioner of magic. The term ] may be used to indicate a powerful wizard, or even a leader of wizards.

	The term "wizard" is more often applied to a male magic-user, as in ]'s '']'' (just as a "witch" is more often female, as in ]'s '']'').

	In S.Morgenstern's ] The highest level of ], beyond a master is a Wizard. Inigo reaches this level after years of training for revenge on the Six Fingered Man.

	However, either term may be used in a unisex manner, in which case there could be members of both sexes bearing that title. If both terms are used in the same setting, this could indicate a gender-based title for practicers of identical magic, such as in ], or it could indicate that the two sexes practice different types of magic, as in ], or perhaps indicating something else entirely.

	Magic in some stories may be the exclusive ability of wizards; which would mean that non-wizard characters, no matter how learned, cannot actually cast spells. In such instances, wizardry could be inherited, or perhaps it is a random ability appearing in some children, or the result of some other unique effect or situation.

	==Wise Old Man==
	{{main\|Wise old man}}
	The '''wise old man''' (or "]") is an ] as described by ]. It is also a classic ] figure, and may be seen as a ].

	This kind of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become.

	The wise old man is often seen to be in some way "foreign", that is, from a different culture, nation, or occasionally, even a different time, from those he advises.

	==Wizards in Role Playing==
	{{main\|Wizard (character class)}}

	===Dungeons & Dragons===
	{{main\|Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)}}
	In the '']'' ], the wizard is one of the base ]. A wizard is an ] user, and weak in ] combat. Wizards spend several years studying magic.

	The magic system--where wizards memorize spells which they then forget when they cast them--was heavily influenced by the '']'' stories and novels of ].

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Revision as of 16:32, 18 November 2006

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Magicians in fantasy