Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!gatech!gitpyr!ccastkv
From: ccastkv@gitpyr.gatech.EDU (Keith 'Badger' Vaglienti)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp,comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: What to call a female wizard?
Message-ID: <3563@gitpyr.gatech.EDU>
Date: Tue, 12-May-87 16:50:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: gitpyr.3563
Posted: Tue May 12 16:50:47 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 15-May-87 02:09:07 EDT
References: <273@root44.co.uk> <261@btnix.axion.bt.co.uk> <3601@udenva.UUCP>
Reply-To: ccastkv@gitpyr.UUCP (Keith 'Badger' Vaglienti)
Organization: The Banzai Institute
Lines: 54
Xref: mnetor rec.games.frp:755 comp.unix.wizards:2284

In article <3601@udenva.UUCP> agranok@udenva.UUCP (Alexander Granok) writes:
>Are you looking for an actual name for a female wizard or for the generic
>term for a female wizard?  If you're looking for the latter (which I assume
>you are since anyone can think of a name for the former), how about a...
>
>                                SORCERESS 
>
>Now, I don't want to hear from those title buffs that say, "But a wizard and
>a sorcerer are two different things!"  Only in D&D, which decided to use
>titles so that people could call their characters something other than
>"seventh level magic-user."  In my book, mage, sorcerer, wizard, warlock are
>all really just different names for the same thing.  Who cares if someone
>calls their first level character a sorcerer?  "No, you're not a sorcerer, 
>you're a prestidigitator!"  C'mon, give me a break.

This sort of thing is very campaign dependent. I am running an FH campaign
in which there are distinct differences between mages, sorcerers, wizards,
thaumaturgists, etc. Their magics tend to be based on different principles
and may use very different methods to achieve the same goal. For example;

Mages are the generalists of my world. They are interested primarily in
collecting knowledge. They are the most flexible because they are quite
willing to use any sort of magic they can learn. This can be dangerous, though,
if the Mage attempts to use a new kind of spell without having enough general
knowledge of that form of magic to know what precautions to take in spell
casting.

Sorcers draw magical energy from available sources around them, usually by
tapping into the elements themselves. They operate much as a magnifying class
does when used to start a fire. Given the tiniest ember a sorcerer could easily
create a raging bonfire but without a heat source he couldn't do anything
of the sort.

Wizards draw magical energy from within themselves. This makes them more
flexible than a sorcerer, as they do not have to rely on components, but their
magic is more tiring.

Something else that occurs in my world is that there are schools of magic
which pride themselves on the kinds of magicians they turn out. Around one of
these it can be very hazardous to call yourself something you're not as a
person from the school might challenge you to see how your magic compares to
that taught at the school.

---
"What's real estate got to do with sex, Dad?"
"Everything, son, why do you ask?"
---
Keith "Badger" Vaglienti
Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!ccastkv

In no way should my remarks be considered to reflect the opinions and/or
policies of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Put another way, its-a
not my bosses-ah fault, monkey boy!