[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

The wizards in Tolkien were supernatural beings. All were far more powerful in theory than they ever showed in reality. All 5 were more or less equivalent to Saron... they all were Maiar.

Maiar encompasses an enormous range of power. Everyone from Sauron all the way down to the humblest handmaiden is a Maia if they started in the Halls of Iluvatar. You can't just say "they all were Maiar," brush off your hands, and walk away.

No mortal spell casters are shown in LotR. Even Gladriel’s direct spell casting in the movies doesn’t happen in the books. I don’t think Gandalf setting fire to the wargs happened either.

I have already pointed out a bunch of mortal spell casters in my previous post. There are more. In Tolkien a "spell caster" is not someone with a special talent or godlike power; it is simply someone who utters a spell. A spell is any incantation that affects the world. Anyone can cast a spell if they know how and if they can put enough personal will or artistic ability into it.

Indiscriminate use of powerful magic broke the world in the first Age.

Not at all. A war between godlike powers broke the world in the First Age. That was not indiscriminate.

If you’re going to do Tolkien-ish I’d suggest using inmate powers rather than learned spells. The Istari certainly are expressing their inmate power when they use magic rather than casting a traditional spell. A magically oriented being could learn new powers over time, but much more expensively than just learning a spell.

I don't think there's any distinction in Tolkien between "innate power" and "traditional spell" as sources of magic. What is a "traditional spell," exactly, according to you?