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Wizards Vs. Warlocks

Barsook

Minstrel
Is there a difference between wizards and warlocks (not the WoW ones)? To me, wizards are the ones who can shoot fireballs or iceballs and some other spells and warlocks are warrior mages that can do what wizards can do and they can also do chants to help them in battles. Or this is completely up to the author to make the difference between the two?
 
I always assumed a warlock was a higher powered wizard. Once a wizard gained access to greater spells, he was considered a warlock.

However, like you said, it should be up to the author to make the distinction.

Happy writing :)
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
In my opinion it's toe-may-toe vs. toe-mah-toe. Your call as the author to define as you see fit.

For my understanding, the term "Warlock" is a gender term. A female is a witch. A male is a warlock. A wizard is one who studies arcane magic.

My advice... Do as you please.
 

Barsook

Minstrel
Yeah. I was thinking the same after you guys said that those two are gender terms.

And T.Allen.Smith, I thought both of them study acrane magic based on D&D or whatever the world was.
 
Definitely means whatever you want.

Although, the original meaning of "warlock" wasn't magic-related at all, it meant simply "oathbreaker." It got associated with witches over the years, but it's still got that sinister sound to it, that's worth playing up if you want to define it that way.

(And yes, "wizard" is related to "wise." And "witch" is from the anglo-saxon term for, well, witch --spellcaster-- and it had versions for both genders.)
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
And T.Allen.Smith, I thought both of them study acrane magic based on D&D or whatever the world was.

I would say that's exactly the case & that was my point... Same thing to me, different names. Of course, in your world they could mean very different things.

I'm reading Terry Ervin's book right now (MS member). In his world, a sorcerer & wizard are 2 different things. You just have to decide if they're different in yours.
 
Mindfire, can you give examples where warlocks are evil other than WoW?

Warlocks aren't automatically evil in WoW; you can play a warlock. They just tend to end up summoning demons they can't control. ;)

Anyway, to answer the original question: Neither term has specific enough meaning that you can't use them however you like. Maybe in your world a wizard is a highly-trained professional magic user and a warlock is some dude who trained himself. Maybe a wizard is someone who uses arcane magic and a warlock is someone who uses death magic. Etc.

You literally do not have to pay attention to any preexisting terminology here; you can do whatever you want.
 
Hi,

Yeah, from my perspective you can decide how you want to write them. But in D n D, specifically Neverwinter, warlocks are dark wizards. And that would fit with oathbreaker I suppose.

My thought though, is if you want them to vie with wizards, you do need to have some distinct point of contention between them. And calling a warlock evil would have consequences, as it would automatically make wizards good (more or less). So maybe you could go for different forms of magic - warlocks summon demons and raise the dead or some such thing, while wizards play with the elements. Alternatively maybe the difference could be in the goals of each group. Maybe warlocks want to rule, wizards want to play with their spells.

But completely up to you. I don't think there's enough literature out there to jar with anything you decide.

Cheers, Greg.
 

Graylorne

Archmage
warlock
O.E. wærloga "traitor, liar, enemy," from wær "faith, a compact" (cf. O.H.G. wara "truth," O.N. varar "solemn promise, vow;" seevery; cf. also Varangian) + agent noun related to leogan "to lie" (see lie (v.1)). Original primary sense seems to have been "oath-breaker;" given special application to the devil (c.1000), but also used of giants and cannibals. Meaning "one in league with the devil" is recorded from c.1300. Ending in -ck and meaning "male equivalent of witch" (1560s) are from Scottish.

wizard
mid-15c., "philosopher, sage," from M.E. wys "wise" (see wise (adj.)) + -ard. Cf. Lith. zynyste "magic," zynys "sorcerer," zyne"witch," all from zinoti "to know." The ground sense is perhaps "to know the future." The meaning "one with magical power" did not emerge distinctly until c.1550, the distinction between philosophy and magic being blurred in the Middle Ages. As a slang word meaning "excellent" it is recorded from 1922.

Above are the descriptions the Online Etymological Dictionary give.


You see in the description of the Warlock that he had connections with the devil, i.e. black arts etc. A Witch had originally more or less the same meaning, only female. In general a warlock was therefore supposed to be connected with Black Magic, an egotistic type who worked only for his own profit.

A Wizard was more of a scientist (science and philosophy was the same thing in medieval times). He was a wise councilor, studying ancient manuscripts, perhaps an alchemist, but in any case someone working for good.


And of course, as others already said, you can use these descriptions as you see fit, these are only the historical details.
 

Queshire

Auror
I like the connection Warlocks have with being "Oathbreakers" so I plan on having that be a thing in my setting, though I'm currently debating on how exactly to do that. Either they gained powers through making a contract with some powerful entity, demons, spirits, gods, etc, but they betray that contract but somehow manage to keep ahold of their powers, or they use the power that comes from the metaphysical act of destruction and what not, and the strongest warlocks could muck around with atomic bonds to create a nuclear blast. (though naturally they tend not to survive doing that.)

Wizards on the other hand, I have a good idea of what I want to do with them for my setting. In my setting babies with high magical potential are taken to these highly secretive towers run by orders of wizards. There they undergo a combination of harsh training, medical procedures, and magical rituals all designed to strengthen their magical potential. Nobody knows how many wizard-candidates die in the process, but those that succeed are forever changed. They stop aging and every Wizard looks to be somewhere between ten to sixteen years old, though they would still have a human lifespan if they didn't each use magical rituals to extend their lives. They have a photographic memory and can perform the rituals and what not of logic magic better than anyone else, however their way of living and the stuff done to them make them extremely odd and off putting. Most people are pants-wettingly scared of Wizards and rightly so.
 

Gurkhal

Auror
In regards to warlock I am entirely sure that the meaning is a man who practices magic to harm others, as a witch is a woman who does the same thing. I think that wizard may (note: may) be a person who generally practice magic without necessary using it to harm others.
 

Mindfire

Istar
In regards to warlock I am entirely sure that the meaning is a man who practices magic to harm others, as a witch is a woman who does the same thing. I think that wizard may (note: may) be a person who generally practice magic without necessary using it to harm others.

As I understood it, a wizard is generally supposed to possess great knowledge or wisdom in addition to their abilities, whereas a witch or warlock is marked by malicious intent and driven not by a a love for anything all that honorable, but rather by a purely selfish desire for-








...Well, yeah. That's a pretty good example actually. Jedi = wizards, Sith = warlocks.
 
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Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Modern real world witches, at least, do not use the term warlock. A male witch is just a witch.

I think the going "norm" for fantasy is that warlocks draw their power from demons or evil spirits. Though, I would've thought more people would say that, so maybe it's less a norm than I thought.
 
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