Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Wizards are not rational/scientists
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 8452993" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>One thing I have enjoyed about 5e is thinking about the link between a spellcaster's mechanism and lore. A sorcerer, a wizard and a warlock are <em>not</em> the same thing, and it changes not only how they play mechanically, but also how they roleplay. </p><p></p><p> However, I have seen several opinions/comments lately about wizards and "how they are" that felt... wrong to me; so I though I would start a thread and see if others agree, or have insight.</p><p></p><p>So basically wizards are people who get their powers through study. They have spellbooks, they can learn spells from scrolls, and they are an intelligence dependent class. This creates an impression of a very scholarly, rational type. But is this true?</p><p></p><p>Consider this: A sorcerer has magic because of an inborn ability/ancestry. A warlock makes a deal with some entity, a cleric worships a god, a druid communes with nature.<span style="font-size: 9px">1</span></p><p></p><p>But what about a wizard? A wizard has NO HELP to master magic. NOTHING but sheer determination and their wits. Think about it. They must be <em>obsessed</em> with magic, in a way most other casters don't have to be. In what strange ways do they have to warp their mind to be able to grasp magic? What ritual must they do? Trepanation? Days of meditation? "Herbs"? Magic is <em>not</em> science. The mental habits and practices scientists develop (and <em>try</em> to apply, it's hard) may be COMPLETELY DIFFERENT for wizards. There is no guarantee of rationality here.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]146426[/ATTACH]</p><p>All the other casters have "something" helping them. They don't have to devote every single moment of their lives thinking about magic. On a quest, the rogue is probably thinking about the fat loot and hmm that spot ahead looks like prime ambush spot, the fighter is also worrying about the ambush and how to keep her companions alive, the cleric is seeking guidance from their god and the wizard... probably thinking about how the conjunction of the 3 great planets last night would affect the length of web strands, and if he could sell the fighter's ears to a necromancer in exchange for a cool orb, and wondering why drawing that 5-cornered square on the ground made the children cry. These examples are not very good - I am not a wizard, after all. Their thought patterns, methods and priorities may be profoundly alien.</p><p></p><p>I mean just look at this guy. Look <em>carefully</em>. </p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]146427[/ATTACH]</p><p>(source: <a href="http://mattrhodesart.blogspot.com/2011/09/we-are-not-taking-wizard.html" target="_blank">We are NOT taking the wizard.</a> ) </p><p></p><p>So next time you play a wizard, consider the strong possibility that by the standards of mere mortal, your PC may be <em>utterly</em> bonkers. </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">1 Yes, I didn't mention bards. Why would I though? I have better things to do with my intellectual energy, like pondering the colors of boogers for example.</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ancalagon, post: 8452993, member: 23"] One thing I have enjoyed about 5e is thinking about the link between a spellcaster's mechanism and lore. A sorcerer, a wizard and a warlock are [I]not[/I] the same thing, and it changes not only how they play mechanically, but also how they roleplay. However, I have seen several opinions/comments lately about wizards and "how they are" that felt... wrong to me; so I though I would start a thread and see if others agree, or have insight. So basically wizards are people who get their powers through study. They have spellbooks, they can learn spells from scrolls, and they are an intelligence dependent class. This creates an impression of a very scholarly, rational type. But is this true? Consider this: A sorcerer has magic because of an inborn ability/ancestry. A warlock makes a deal with some entity, a cleric worships a god, a druid communes with nature.[SIZE=1]1[/SIZE] But what about a wizard? A wizard has NO HELP to master magic. NOTHING but sheer determination and their wits. Think about it. They must be [I]obsessed[/I] with magic, in a way most other casters don't have to be. In what strange ways do they have to warp their mind to be able to grasp magic? What ritual must they do? Trepanation? Days of meditation? "Herbs"? Magic is [I]not[/I] science. The mental habits and practices scientists develop (and [I]try[/I] to apply, it's hard) may be COMPLETELY DIFFERENT for wizards. There is no guarantee of rationality here. [ATTACH type="full"]146426[/ATTACH] All the other casters have "something" helping them. They don't have to devote every single moment of their lives thinking about magic. On a quest, the rogue is probably thinking about the fat loot and hmm that spot ahead looks like prime ambush spot, the fighter is also worrying about the ambush and how to keep her companions alive, the cleric is seeking guidance from their god and the wizard... probably thinking about how the conjunction of the 3 great planets last night would affect the length of web strands, and if he could sell the fighter's ears to a necromancer in exchange for a cool orb, and wondering why drawing that 5-cornered square on the ground made the children cry. These examples are not very good - I am not a wizard, after all. Their thought patterns, methods and priorities may be profoundly alien. I mean just look at this guy. Look [I]carefully[/I]. [ATTACH type="full"]146427[/ATTACH] (source: [URL="http://mattrhodesart.blogspot.com/2011/09/we-are-not-taking-wizard.html"]We are NOT taking the wizard.[/URL] ) So next time you play a wizard, consider the strong possibility that by the standards of mere mortal, your PC may be [I]utterly[/I] bonkers. [SIZE=1]1 Yes, I didn't mention bards. Why would I though? I have better things to do with my intellectual energy, like pondering the colors of boogers for example.[/SIZE] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Wizards are not rational/scientists
Top