Wizard vs. Sorcerer
Sorcerers are rock stars. Sometimes literally. They’ve got big personalities, flashy spells, and pure uncut Columbian grade magic running through their veins. People are drawn to that, and no amount of Knowledge (arcana) can make up for it. It sure as shit won’t make you any fun at parties.
Wizards, on the other hand, are bookish nerds. They still remember how they got that wedgie from the party meat shield way back at level 1, and they resent it. Once they acquire their standard-issue phenomenal cosmic power they’re only too eager to show all those bullies the power of their huge, throbbing brains. This tends to make them pedantic know-it-alls. It also makes them resent those smarmy-smug jerks over in the sorcery camp. What with their good looks, silver tongues, and natural aptitude, everything seems to come easy to them. Did they work for any of it? Did they study? Or did those sorcerous slackers stay up drinking with the girls from Bard House the night before finals? And then, insult upon injury, they somehow manage to scrape an A- anyway!? Unforgivable!
All of the above is to say that sorcerers and wizards are natural enemies. It’s like Yankees fans and Red Sox fans. Paladins and Rogues. Your mom and deodorant. The two just don’t mix. And any second now, that poor beleaguered bar maid is going to have to run and fetch ye olde fire hose, because mage duels and wooden structures also don’t mix.
So what about you kids? Are you more of a wizard or a sorcerer? Which one would you rather play, and which would you rather be?
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I enjoy playing both types. Rather depends on the specifics of the system and the style of character you’re going for. Oddly in 5th edition I find myself irritated at the amount of being crammed down a niche or specialized road no matter what kind of spellslinger I want to take. And I still think it’s the best edition of D&D. *shrug*
As for what I’d rather BE? Sorcerer, definitely. It’s not even about the charisma or the horrid long hours of study (though that doesn’t sound great either). It’s about just BEING magical and having that really true ability to mess around with it and cast the spells I want to when I want to how I want to and that being a part of me, not some weird combination maths-linguistics-hacking I’m doing to the universe that makes you wonder deep down if you’re annoying some greater power or playing right into their hands and maybe making everything worse for everyone.
This turned out to be a tough one to write. The joke was easy, but when I got down to the write-up I realized that vancian casting was no longer the defining difference between the classes. A lot has changed since we first met the sorcerer in 3.0, but at their core these guys are still “I’m a magic rock star” vs. the wizard’s “I’m a super powered book worm.” Insofar as I write esoteric jokes about RPGs on the internet, you get no points for guessing which camp I fall into.
Personally, it’s Sorcerer hands down for both. For playing, there’s really two reasons I go Sorc. For one, I flat out SUCK at Prepped Casting. Can’t plan ahead to save my life. Not a good trait to have as a Wizard. Beside that though, Wizards are, well, BORING. Even with Pathfinder spicing up all the classes, what does Wizard have? An item no one takes because of the crazy drawback or a pet that everyone and their grandmother gets, a few of the most notoriously weak class abilities out there, a (very) small number of limited bonus feats or marginally better class features, and their spells. Nothing against the Sorc/Wiz spell list, but spells themselves, while powerful, are boring. On the other hand, Sorcerers. Now, in 3.5 Sorcs weren’t that much better than Wizards (main draw then was Spont Casting) but hoo boy Pathfinder. Bloodlines are amazing. Yeah they’re not always that strong, but they are awesome and flavorful and just generally amazing.
As for what I’d rather be, I would want to be a Sorc. To be specific, I would want to be a Draconic Sorc, and for one reason: Wings are Sexy. Beside that, the scales would be super sexy too, flying is AWESOME, and of course with the spont casting I could just kick ass whenever.
All that said, according to the personality tests I’ve taken, I do not have the stats to be a Sorc, and when I’m not being a Rogue I usually actually wind up a Wizard. Turns out being a computer geek professional student makes you predisposed for the magic geek Int-based Know-focused class.
If we’re looking at Pathfinder, I feel like the archetypes make a lot of difference. Nothing says “wizard” quite like a siege mage necromancer with a skeleton crew to carry his ballista around the dungeon.
But no lie. Wings are sexy.
I personally enjoy the Arcanist in this situation. You have the Wizards Spellbook, but you have “Prepared Spontaneous Spellcasting”. You pick spells at the beginning of the day, and can use your Daily Spell Slots on any spells you prepared for that day. So if you had three 3rd level spells, you just have to say “I have Fireball today”, and can use any of those slots on Fireball – or a different 3rd level spell if you prefer.
I still say the “Wizard” is a “Sorcerer” – considering his background is spontanious casting. That poor cupcake….
Where are you getting “spontaneous casting” from? I’m not sure how spontaneous and prepared casting look different in practice.
I have an Elven Necromancer in Pathfinder with a 14 Charisma. He’s a pretty likable guy, all things considered, he even has ranks in Diplomacy. He’s a little unhinged, though.
If I had to choose between the two? I’d…. still try and wriggle my way into Summoner. It has that magical personality, and Eidolons are just so dang fun to customize with a wide range of mechanical and roleplaying opportunities. Assuming I can’t default to my favorite class, I’d have to settle on Wizard. I’m sorry, Sorcerers. Your spells are nice and your bloodlines are fun, but 2 skill points per level on a non-Int class is a big pet peeve of mine.
Necromancer: “I don’t understand it! I’ve got a 14 Charisma! Why aren’t the ladies hanging all over me?”
Rotting Cadaver: *shrug*
Paladin: *glare*
GM: *facepalm*
Oh yeah, sorcery is cool and all, but come on. Marlin is a wizard. Gandalf is a wizard. Harry Dresden is a wizard. Wizards are cool!
Plus, roll-play I just can’t get into something like a sorcerer. “I’m magic because I’m special.” just doesn’t jibe with me, you know? I love the aesthetic of someone who has worked tirelessly to gain power to transcend their mortal limits and understand the world in its most fundamental level.
If you’re into the idea of “hard work=wizardry,” you should check out Grossman:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magicians_(Grossman_novel)
So THAT’S where that comes from.
Definitely wizard. It demands a thick relationship with the DM, because the moment you start trying to compete against each other rather than play with each other, preparation casters lose their merit.
However, if the DM knows that he can throw you into a situation after you’ve made a couple of Knowledge (What Have You) checks, and he knows that you’ll make use of those checks to come up with an optimal spell list, and then you go through the path with your team and you finish at the end of the day without a single spell going unused or a single situation lacking your sharp wit and grasp of the power of the cosmos?
Imagine the best moment of your life. Multiply that by ten thousand.
You will never know the joy I feel.
-Wizards (and also Dunkmaster Darius)
—
In a crunch kind of way, though, Wizards get their spells a level ahead of sorcs, and there’s no limitations to what you can learn. Historically, these have kept me alive.
In Pathfinder Specific crunch, Arcane Schools are the counterpart to Bloodlines, and being able to make a key out of a potato by smushing the potato into a mold and then ‘poof, now it’s covered in metal sprung from the aether’ with the Conjuration (Creation) 3+int power is -damned- useful.
My own Pathfinder wizard was an evocationist, which means that I agree: school powers are hilarious. Always having wall of fire at the ready means your forceful hand type spells (and your friendly local brobarian) always have something dangerous to push enemies into. And that’s just good times.
I absolutely despise Vancian casting. Mostly because I suck at it. Give me a list of spells known and a buttload of spell slots and I’m your girl!
Now see, I’m down for Vancian casting. The guessing game is an interesting challenge to me, and I feel like a freaking champ when I guess right.
That said, I’m running an Occultist at the moment. Pathfinder’s cool, refreshing brand of diet Sorcerer is an absolute blast to play.
Was this Witch’s first appearance?
It sure is! I modified her design a little for her ‘official’ debut, but I had sketches for her all the way back at the beginning of the comic!
I tried making a wizard once. My brain fried. But I do have a Sorcerer. He’s a gestalt with Scaled Fist Monk. He’s got the Stormborn Bloodline and is a homebrew race that’s a bit like the Dragonborn. Only with wings. I used a third party Pathfinder race for the base and made adjustments. His brother is a Barbarian that switches out the wings for a +20 base speed and immunity to magical sleep and paralysis.
You can run gestalt no problem, but the Vancian magic still gets you? Funny old world. I’m just the opposite. 🙂
Just goes to show that complexity looks different for different gamers.
To be fair, I made the gestalt character nearly 2 years later than the wizard. And it was school selection, opposition schools, and spells in the spellbook that I couldn’t figure out. I kept getting different advice and couldn’t make sense of it all. Oddly enough, the Barbarian is a cleric gestalt and I didn’t have any trouble there. Domains were easier to figure out, though that was mostly because I knew exactly what god he was worshipping.
My first dude was a rogue. I went with “pistols while mounted on dog” as a riding style. It was a long time before I figured out how any of that was supposed to work.
lol I’m assuming a halfling or gnome if you were riding on a dog.
I used the mini on the right.
https://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/goblin%20pirate/latest/03211
Cool. I don’t have a goblin character myself. Maybe I should make one.
At the end of the day the Wizard and the Sorcerer can at least shake hands and agree “At least you’re not a Warlock”
Somewhere from the shadowy depths of the darkest corner of the tavern, tucked into the furthest of back corners, you can hear a mysterious figure mutter the word, “Hex.” You spill your drink on yourself.
Just remember: You HAVE to roleplay it correctly, or it doesn’t count!
https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/gather-information
In the same way that “some lies are so improbable that it is impossible to convince anyone that they are true (subject to GM discretion),” some behavior is so boorish that it is impossible to get anyone to like you (subject to GM discretion).
In less extreme cases, circumstance bonuses/penalties do apply depending on your approach to flirting. Same as any other skill check.
My problem with the wizard as a class is that the mechanics don’t focus into characterization mechanically or roleplay-ly very well. Give someone say Smite Evil or Wildshape and they’ll have a really good starting point on how to build and roleplay a character. Giving someone a vanilla (or most archetypes of) wizard is like dumping four rulebooks on someone’s lap and asking them to find a character backstory and motivation using only the Spells chapters. 😛
I think that wizard comes with more cultural context than paladin or druid. People know Gandalf. People know arrogant academics. You put ’em together and you get “default wizard.” In that sense, I think that the game gets away without more characterful rules because it’s less necessary than for a paladin or a warlock.
I probably actually am a wizard, I’m very much a nerd and not particularly strong of personality, but I would definitely rather be a sorcerer. It’s not about the Charisma for me, exactly, it’s the idea of magic that is mine, that is inherent in my blood and bone. I birching love that concept, use it everywhere when I’m trying to build fantasy characters. Incidentally, that’s why I’ve never really understood the idea that there is a general prejudice against sorcerers. It’s always felt to me like it should be the opposite, that wizards should be seen as the shoddy imitation of sorcerers, people who don’t have magic as their birthright using ritual and trickery to imitate the powers of those born to magic. Sort of the position Jadis takes in “The Magician’s Nephew”.
I think it’s the Intelligence thing. People want to feel VERY SMART, and the wizard serves that need with its caster stat.
More charitably though, I think that there’s a feeling that wizards earn their magic while sorcs get it handed to them.
Also, there’s the fact that sorcerous powers are explicitly inheritable by bloodline, so nobility and royalty have a very strong incentive to try and find sorcerous spouses for their children to try and get that power in their bloodline. Over time, that would mean that the majority of sorcerers would be nobility, and so there would be a strong association between possessing sorcerous powers and high social rank.
That would be the most fashionable possible royal court.