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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 practitioner of ] that derives from ] or ] sources, rather than the ] magic 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 '']'').

	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 are spellcasters and alchchemists. Alchemists are people who turn stones,rocks and minerals into gold. There is a legend that says that there was once a magical stone called the philhosiphers stone, which was said to be able to grant imortality and turn any one item into gold. Wizards are not only spellcasters as we know it but are also aciently wise, and have a good knowledge of all things magic and supernatrual.

	==Wizards in works of fiction==
	{{seealso\|List of magicians in fiction\|:Category:Characters in written fantasy}}
	* The ] of ]'s '']'' is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard; in the ] the wizard was also a fake. However, in later Oz stories, he studies magic with ] and becomes a genuine wizard.
	* ], ], ], ] and ] - from ] '']'' - are called ], but are really supernatural beings called ]. In ], "wizard" is a term applied only to the five members of the ]. While other practitioners of magic exist in Middle-earth (both good ''and'' evil), they are never referred to as wizards. No purely human character has power to work magic.
	*Ogion and ] (Sparrowhawk) from ]'s '']'' book series, the most well-known of which is '']'', first published in ].
	* In the '']'' series by ], wizards are numerous, and can normally be found in the ]. One of the predominant wizards in the series is ], although he only uses magic on extremely rare occasions.
	* All male magic-users from ]'s '']'' and its sequels are called wizards. (Note that female practitioners of magic are called ].)
	* ] describes wizards as emissaries of "the One" (see ]), who take an ] to use powers beyond the comprehension of a non-wizard in the service of ], to keep ], personified as a Lone Power, under control and therefore delay the demise of the ]. They are said to still exist in the present day, but due to negative public perception, work undercover. See also: ]

	===Novels based on Dungeons & Dragons===
	{{seealso\|:Category:Fictional arcane spellcasters (Dungeons & Dragons)}}
	The role-playing game (see below) has several settings in which novels have been written.

	* ]
	* ]
	* ]

	==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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Latest revision as of 16:24, 26 August 2018

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Magician (fantasy)