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Wizard (fantasy)

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A wizard (from 'wise') is a practitioner of paranormal magic, especially in folklore, fantasy fiction, and fantasy role-playing games (FRPGs). The word does not generally apply to Neopagans or stage magicians like David Copperfield, Paul Daniels, or James Randi.

Related terms

In most cases there is little to differentiate a wizard from similar fictional and folkloric practicioners of magic such as an enchanter, a magician, a sorcerer, or a thaumaturgist; however specific fantasy authors and FRPGs use the names with narrower meanings. When such distinctions are made, sorcerers are more often evil, "black magicians" (i.e., practitioners of black magic), and there may be variations on level and type of power associated with each name.

For example, Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition (D&D3E), distinguishes between sorcerers and wizards:

  • "Sorcerers create magic the way poets create poems, with inborn talent honed by practice."
  • "Wizards depend on intensive study to create their magic. ... For a wizard, magic is not a talent but a deliberate rewarding art."

Another example: "The difference between a wizard and a sorcerer is comparable to that between, say, a lion and a tiger, but wizards are acutely status-conscious, and to them, it's more like the difference between a lion and a dead kitten." (Steve Pemberton, The Life & Times of Lucifer Jones)

Lyndon Hardy's Master of the Five Magics suggests ascending ranks of thaumaturgist, alchemist, magician, sorcerer, and wizard.

Fiction

Famous wizards in folklore and fantasy fiction (sometimes both) include:

The eponymous character of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard.

In some fictional and game settings, wizard or a similar term is the name for a "race" or species, not just a job description. For example:

Software development

A wizard is an interface that leads an user through some dialog steps.

Games

Wizard is a slang term for an expert Pinball player.

Music

Wizzard were a 1970s British glam rock band led by Roy Wood (formerly of The Move and the Electric Light Orchestra).

See also

External links