LogFAQs > #906070402

YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

this to me sounds like someone that works magic based on manipulating the effects of mundane objects or applying spells to them

ie working through enchantments (of items)

Depends on the setting/system.

A lot of games and settings do make "Enchantment" a type of item-based magic, involving putting magic into weapons, armor, and other artifacts in some way. Often done with some kind of runes (like in Dragon Age), or requiring the enchanter to also be something of a blacksmith who has to create the item as well as enchant it.

But D&D and a few other systems go with the alternative idea that "enchanting" is more an emotional/psychological sort of magic, mostly referring to spells that control minds or otherwise charming people.

It's worth noting that, in Marvel comics, "The Enchantress" is an Asgardian whose magic is like 90% illusions and mind control, who spends half her time trying to magically seduce Thor or otherwise control him. While DC's "Enchantress" is a more generic magic user who's pretty much able to do more or less anything the plot needs her to.



YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

but "sorceress" doesn't have any specificity to it
i don't know what distinguishes a sorceress from a witch or wizardess

Again, depends on the setting/system.

In real life, most terms for magic-users mean pretty much the exact same thing and are relatively interchangeable, especially since they're mostly being used by people who are condemning magic for being the Devil's work.

In fantasy settings, the terms usually boil down to whatever a given writer chooses to make them mean. Some are relatively similar across multiple settings (like how a "Necromancer" almost always uses some form of death-based magic), but other terms can mean pretty much anything.

In D&D, the core divisions in the current system differentiate between Wizards (who have to learn magic like a science), Sorcerers (who manifest magic instinctually without training), and Warlocks (who make a pact with some dark power to give them access to magic). Interestingly, this is also how Marvel used to break down magic in its universe - Doctor Strange explicitly uses three types of magic: Universal (energies inherent in the universe that you need to learn how to tap into), Dimensional (powers granted to a sorcerer via making pacts with powerful extra-dimensional entities), and Personal (magic that comes from a sorcerer's personal energies and which can mostly be channeled via pure will). Marvel doesn't really differentiate between named for magic users who use each method, and someone who is referred to as a sorcerer today might be called a magician tomorrow, a thaumaturgist next week, and a wizard two weeks from now.

D&D also breaks magic down by giving Wizards specifically multiple sub-classes, wherein they learn different schools of magic, and each is named after a traditional term for magic. So a Wizard who specializes in Illusion magic is an Illusionist, one who uses Enchantment spells is an Enchanter, and someone who casts Evocation spells is an Evoker. Some types might even have multiple applicable terms - for instance, a Transmutation spellcaster is a Transmuter, but they could also be referred to as an Alchemist (ie, a type of magician known for changing one type of matter into another, which is what Transmuters do), while a Divination spellcaster might be known as a Seer or Oracle or the like as well as a Diviner.

(If you're interested in all the different classifications of magic in D&D, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons )


---

"Wall of Text'D!" --- oldskoolplayr76
"POwned again." --- blight family