My Life As A Gamer: The Master Of The Secret Knowledge Of Creation

The Magic-User is one of the four core classes in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition. Like the Fighter, the Magic-User--being the second of the four original classes in D&D's development--is simply, yet broadly, defined.

In particular, the Magic-User is first and foremost defined as the mirror opposite of the Fighter: the expert in the craft of compelling supernatural power for worldly ends, at the expense of acumen at war, command, and combat.

The key feature of the Magic-User is his spellbook. This is tied to the class's focus on Intelligence, as that Ability is what determines a Magic-User's ability to learn spells in all ways.

The Magic-User As A Character

The core objective of any Magic-User is to make the most of this fact; he seeks to raise his Intelligence score because it expands his spell-casting capacity, he seeks to add new spells at every opportunity, and he seeks to make use of what he knows as often as is practical. He seeks items that replicate spell-casting to let him use routine spells without needing to do so himself; in time he makes those items instead of hoping that this expedition will result in finding them.

The Magic-User, in seeking to master his craft, becomes by necessity a loreseeker and riddle-solver. He masters the tongues of men and monsters so that he can widen his search. He parleys with powerful parties in the pursuit of his mission, trading what he can to attain yet more magic. (This means that--as with Fighters--Charisma is not a dump stat!)

He must be a risk-taker because what he needs to do forces him to seek out danger to seize yet more magics to bend to his will. If not the spells, then the items that produce those effects. If not the items, then the lore to find or create them. If not the lore, then the gold to purchase what he cannot take from those who would deny him. The pursuit of the secrets of the supernatural DEFINES HIS LIFE!

In the pursuit of this core ambition, many Magic-Users reveal their degraded character and succumb to the temptations that abound- dangers in their own right. Those of Good Alignment show their quality by both how they acquired their power and what they do with it, and the same is true of those of Lawful Alignment; a Lawful Good Magic-User of power is, as a result, one of the most frightening figures that walk the land.

Conversely, it is no surprise that Chaotic and Evil Magic-Users are as feared as they are- with Chaotic Evil ones being most feared and despised, such that they alone can prompt outright purges of magic of all sorts when their depredations get severe enough.

Regardless of the morality or the ethics of the Magic-User, what cannot be ignored is that they have impact on a realm as they rise to power. By the time one reaches Name Level and can get away with calling himself "Wizard", he will have the substance in both power and acumen to back up that title. That makes any later attempt to make himself ruler of a Domain credible.

The Magic-User As A Patron

Once he gains access to enchant an item, which happens at Name Level, the cornerstone of the Patron Wizard also manifests: to seek out Places Of Power to control, and to procure special components to fuel his item creation and spell research projects.

This is because the Magic-User defines himself by his faculty with magic, and being ruler of a Domain merely opens up new avenues to do just that.

Using magic to improve his Domain is him demonstrating his mastery in practical terms, such as taking the time to create sufficient magical light to reduce night time predation in his settlements akin to what you see in well-governed city centers in real lif, is one such action he can do.

The other is tendering contracts to adventurers to procure what he, his Henchmen, and his Hirelings cannot due to needing to address other matters at that same time.

The Magic-User will often become a figure that others come to for aide, be it consultations or assistance, and many learn to take these events as opportunities to foster long-term relationships with the aim of creating a network that will aide his own pursuits; the princess he aides today becomes the queen that warns him of trouble tomorrow.

Conversely, predatory Magic-Users turn their Domains into manifestations of otherworldly horror. The ones who deal in undeath are the worst of this, followed by those who strike pacts with evil powers--demons, devils, evil gods (all seperate parties in AD&D)--and so on.

The Magic-User In The Campaign

The Magic-User in particular has plenty of room to push the boundaries of the rules of AD&D1e due to his pursuit of magic. Through spell research and item creation he has a big incentive to seek the boundaries of what the game can allow, as well as what the Referee will permit. Does he seek to exploit a potential location to create a Place Of Power? If so, what does he do and how does he do it?

Is the Magic-User a multi-/dual-classed character? Does he use magic to bridge the gaps created by pursuing two different classes? If so, how? If this is a thing, then it can define a particular race, religion, or other faction in the campaign. (e.g. Elves creating unique magics to create synergies for their multi-classed Magic-users.)

The player-created expansions to the baseline spells and items in the rules are practical expressions of creativity aimed to solve issues that arise through play. Referees, in turn, are welcome to join the party by creating unique spells and items (and lore) as treasure for players to seek out and struggle for. (e.g. a manual that describes the entire process to create a pilotable construct)

Conclusion

The Magic-User captures the classic tension of the sorcery in Sword & Sorcery, the struggle to maintain one's self against a yearning for secret knowledge and the power that it offers to those able to wield it- be it from calling up what one cannot put down, or the loss of sanity to obsession in pursuit of otherworldly power to use for worldly ends (and yes, those ends include beneficial ones).

This is not necessarily so for others that fall into this broad category, as we shall see tomorrow.