[Fantasy] Mages, Wizards, Sorcerers, and other Magical Nomenclature Issues

[Phantasm]

Let me describe the terms I've been using in my setting since before Thaumatology was released:

"Mage" and "magician" are synonymous (in fact, "mage" is just shorthand for "magician"), and are anyone with a Magery advantage and/or performs what I've called "arcane" magic - the standard magic system; what the Basic Set, Magic, and Thaumatology call Ritual Magic; Syntactic magic; Path/Book magic; Ritual Path Magic, etc.

"Wizard" is a mage who uses the standard Magic magic system or one of its close variants.

"Sorcerer" is someone who uses Path/Book magic. In fact, I've even gone ahead and renamed "Magery (Path/Book)" to "Sorcery" in the setting document to avoid confusion. Before Thaumatology was released, sorcerers used Ritual Magic, but that didn't quite fit how I envisioned it working; Path/Book fit it to a T. I'm also going to toss in a sidebox for sorcerers to use Ritual Path Magic, though that doesn't quite fit the way I want it to work outside of a single Book, as I use Effect Shaping rather than Energy Accumulation.

("Priest" and "cleric" are pretty synonymous for the clergy, though in the document I've been using "priest" for everyone in the priesthood and "cleric" for those in the priesthood blessed with spells or powers - in fact, the higher up you are in the Church hierarchy, the less likely you are to have spells, being political appointments. I also use "cleric" for those outside the Church hierarchy who the gods have blessed with spells - the gods have their agendas separate from the Churches', after all.)

And now... there's Thaumatology: Sorcery (and even before that with the Pyramid article), which is a good fit for my setting's wizards, but not my setting's sorcerers. Terms are getting confused, since what my setting calls "Sorcery" is not PK's Sorcery! Players are getting confused as they think I'm talking about PK's Sorcery when I'm talking Path/Book; my use of the term in the setting document predates the Pyramid article - and even Thaumatology - by a few years.

Seriously, I'm running out of terms to use.

So, could people toss out some other names that I could use for my Sorcery to help avoid this confusion?

[David Johnston2]

I refer to sanctity-based casters as "Holy Men/Women" or "Theurges when they aren't actually priests. As for a name for path/book...well witchcraft comes to mind.

[Diomedes]

Looking through the sidebar in Thuamatology, I come across warlock, witch, and conjuror. You could also use thaumaturge/thaumaturgist. There's also goety (goetist? goetician?) and theurge, though those terms have a more moral component and might be better used for religious magic.

[whswhs]

I believe the root for goetia is goes, pronounced go-ace in the original Greek or go-ease in the Received Pronunciation. The "moral" aspect of it has to do with reliance on illusion and deception; originally a goes was the opposite of a magos (mage), who dealt in true power.

Thaumaturge is a good word; etymologically it means wonder-worker. I tend to think of it as suitable for people whose magic is the focusing of an inborn power.

Necromancer is sometimes used for magic generally, but it tends to connote "black magic" or the idea that all magic is black.

One of my sourcebooks for Worminghall said that the medievals referred to magic as "the exceptive arts," so you might try "exceptivist," though the word is totally unfamiliar.

If you want to emphasize secrecy, you could say occultist, or esotericist, or arcanist, or mysterian.

[Ternas]

I tend to differentiate between Arcane and Divine spell casters as well as a few misc titles. The titles are as follows with a quick explanation behind each. Of course there is some overlap with other suggestions, but these are just my interpretation of these titles that I've come up with over the years.

►►Arcane:

Spoiler:  

•Magician
The well known sort of arcane magic user, though this is normally a title given to one that has been recruited by a kingdom or court.

•Mage
The magicians that aren't tied to a noble or Circle generally take on this title.

•Wizard/Witch
The title given to magic users in a Circle. Normally they wear the same robes as each other as a sort of uniform.

•Wizzard
A rather famous racist with horrible spell casting abilities. They only know one spell which requires Magery 16 or Ridiculous Luck to learn and it does nothing without the others.

•Necromancer
Not explicitly evil, though their activities do tend to draw in a number of pitchforks and torches. Just remember, it's not what they do to the corpses, but what they make the undead do that determines the type of necromancer you are.

•Sorcerer
While Wizards are more orderly, a sorcerer is closer to the opposite, fast spell slinging versus ceremonial or ritualistic casting styles.

•Channeler
A wizard that focuses exclusively on a single elemental college of spells.

•Hedge Wizard/Witch
Low powered arcane magic users that tend to stay in small villages and have their spells passed down from their predecessors. Limited in spells, their life goals tend to be to create a spell that they can add to the village grimoire and pass down to the next Hedge.

•Arcanist
A top tier magic user that doesn't just subscribe to just one way of doing things. Combining ritualist magic, ceremonial casting, and the sorcerer's innate talent. Now if only he could just keep the rules for the universe straight for everything.

•Warlock
While a wizard's spells come from their wealth of knowledge and talent, a Warlock gains his abilities from a pact from things beyond reckoning or unholy beings.

►►Divine:

Spoiler:  

•Avatar
A specifically chosen person by a god. They tend to have a high amount of Divine Favour and will call forth miracles with ease.

•Cleric
Your universal walking bandage.

•Paragon
A holy warrior chosen by their god and granted access to their magic or miracles.

•Paladin
A (un)holy warrior.

•Emissary
A lower powered cleric, generally one specifically sent out to increase relationships with other groups.

•Holy Man
The divine version of the Hedge Wizard/Witch. They take their disciples at an early age and teach them how the standard rituals and how to commune with the god that the village reveres. Their standard spells include Bless and Heal.

•Blessed One
Literally, one that has been blessed by multiple sources. They have two things going for them, their ridiculous luck and the ability to cast a blessing on another person.

•Zealot
The armed cannon fodder of divine religions. Lower levels of Divine Favour are granted to them.

•Exorcist
A cleric that is trained to exclusively deal with undead and restless spirits.

•Scion
The head of the church that tends to have very high power investiture and learned prayers.

►►Other:

Spoiler:  

•Shaman
An "uncultured" magic user, a shaman is one that works with spirits and has pacts with them to provide power to their spells.

•Druid
A natural magic user, neither divine nor arcane. Tends to focus mainly on plant and animal spells.

•Spiritualist
Similar to the Shaman above, the Spiritualist is one that has been recognized by a circle or noble.

•Mystic
A magic user that focuses on knowledge and protection/warning colleges of magic

•Summoner
It's a summoner. They focus on summoning and creation spells. They're close enough that a layman probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

•Cultist
Considered the lowest of the low. Revering people rather than knowledge or deities, their powers are granted only by those they travel with. The cultists are only able to aid them in casting spells and cannot generate any effect without their master.

The majority of these titles simply tell where the magic users are currently situated rather than what type of magic they utilize. Though this can always change easily. I just hope they'll help others in finding a few nice names/titles.

[Infornific]

For Ritual Magic, I'd go with calling it Witchcraft and practitioners Witches (and maybe Warlocks.) That should keep it distinct from your old school GURPS Magic wizards. So that suggests your magic users break out as follows:

Arcane Magic Users

All: Referred to as Mages or Magicians

Wizardry: Based on standard GURPS Magic, spells as skills.

Witchcraft: Ritual Path/Book Magic

Possibly adding in Sorcery using the new GURPS Powers supplement? I'm not clear whether or not you want to do that.

Divine Magic Users

All: Theurgists (esoteric, but I'm trying to come up with something generic and separate from specific type.)

Formally trained, in the hierarchy: Clerics sounds right - the word implies formal rules and scholarship. It's not clear what you use here - Power Investiture? If you're fond of the Rolemaster terminology you could also call it Channeling.

Gifted: I liked the suggestion of Thaumaturge. Mystic might work as well. I would assume Divine Favor or simply Powers. People might be uneasy with these magic users - saints tend to live short lives and end in messy deaths.

[simply Nathan]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

(in fact, "mage" is just shorthand for "magician")

Actually, they have common roots but the former variant is not a shorthand or abbreviation for the latter.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by simply Nathan

Actually, they have common roots but the former variant is not a shorthand or abbreviation for the latter.

I meant in the setting, not in RL. My bad.