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Wizards are most commonly found in works of fantasy, such as mythology, legends, folklore, fantasy-themed works of fiction, and role-playing games. In modern fantasy, a wizard is more often seen as a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources, rather than the sleight-of-hand magic used by most popular magicians.

Various terms have been used by various writers to refer to those who can practice magic (see Terminology, below), but the terms do not reflect difference in how the practioners are treated in fantasical works.

Nature

Although this may not necessarily be followed by all fantasists, magic in some stories is 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.

Terminology

People who work magic are called by many terms in works of fantasy, and the terminology differs widely from one fantasy world 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 often used as a neutral term to indicate any practitioner of magic.

"Wizard" is more often applied to a male magic-user, as in Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea; "witch" is more often female, as in Andre Norton's Witch World. Where magic is normally female, the witch-related term "warlock" is often used for a man who anomolously has magical abilities.

However, either term may be used in a unisex manner, in which case there will 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 Harry Potter, or it could indicate that the two sexes practice different types of magic, as in Discworld.

Enchanters generally practice a type of magic that produces no real effects on objects but deceives people and creates illusions. Enchantresses, in particular, practice this form of magic, often to seduce.

The term archmage may be used to indicate a powerful wizard, or even a leader of wizards.

Terms derived from more specific magics, such as voodoo, alchemy, or necromancy, generally remain closer to their real-world inspirations. Fantasy necromancers often work magic that has something to do with death, although the exact connections vary widely from work to work.

Wise Old Man

The wise old man (or "Senex") is an archetype as described by Carl Jung. It is also a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character.

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.

Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends

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• Merlin - the famous wizard from Arthurian legends and their modern retellings.
• The Telchines - four wizards of ancient Greek myths.
• Väinämöinen - the grand wizard of Kalevala
• The wizard in the fairy tale of The Wizard King.
• Fairy tales about good and bad wizards are collected in A Book of Wizards, by Ruth Manning-Sanders

Wizards in works of fiction

• The eponymous character of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard; in the 1939 movie version the wizard was also a fake. However, in later Oz stories, he studies magic with Glinda and becomes a genuine wizard.
• Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando - from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - are called Wizards, but are really supernatural beings called Maia. In Middle-earth, "wizard" is a term applied only to the five members of the Order of the Istari. 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 Ged (Sparrowhawk) from Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea book series, the most well-known of which is A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968.
• In the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, wizards are numerous, and can normally be found in the Unseen University. One of the predominant wizards in the series is Rincewind, although he only uses magic on extremely rare occasions.
• All male magic-users from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and its sequels are called wizards. (Note that female practitioners of magic are called witches.)
• Diane Duane describes wizards as emissaries of "the One" (see God), who take an oath to use powers beyond the comprehension of a non-wizard in the service of life, to keep entropy, personified as a Lone Power, under control and therefore delay the demise of the universe. They are said to still exist in the present day, but due to negative public perception, work undercover. See also: Young Wizards

Novels based on Dungeons & Dragons

The role-playing game (see below) has several settings in which novels have been written.

• Greyhawk
• Forgotten Realms
• Dragonlance

Wizards in Role Playing

Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the wizard is one of the base character classes. A wizard is an arcane magic user, and weak in mêlée 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 The Dying Earth stories and novels of Jack Vance.

• Fictional wizards
• Fantasy tropes