Like other core classes, the wizard suffers from undue overlap with later additions to the D&D-inspired RPG roster, but additionally must contend with the proper division of magic in whatever setting he happens to inhabit. D&D at least established the basic arcane / divine split early on (even if that line often lacks clear definition) but in other game universes like for example The Elder Scrolls where everyone's an all-purpose greatsword-swingin' battlemage, discerning schools of magic inevitably ends up as inconsequential fluff.
Let's reiterate that magic should not be demeaned by using it to punch stuff. Punchin' stuff is what actual punching is for. Also maces, axes and a dagger up your strap. Magic missiles water down both magic and missiles. By extension, the distinction between elemental magic (fire bolt, frost bolt, lightning bolt... rock... bolt? Rock.) used by so many games should really be done away with, as should basing magic around elemental resistances. It's been done to death, separating ice from fire never made much physics sense to begin with, and calling different colored magic missiles different spells shows about as much roleplaying depth as food coloring on a saltine would culinary depth. I'm not saying a big flashy nuke every once in a while doesn't have its place, but wizards should not be primary damage dealers. Move from "fireball" more toward "heat metal" - but then how should the various magic schools look?
Sure, in 1975 the wizard definition could be "all of the magicses" but now not only many spell but core class features overlap with later additions.
If you have witches, they're the ones who should be conjuring familiars.
If you have warlocks, they're the ones who should be conjuring demons.
If you have druids/shamans, they're the ones who should be conjuring animals.
If wizards are the nerds, shift them more toward animated suits of armour, alchemy, magical inscriptions, tomes and scrolls and general Saruman craftiness. "Fireball" should be a barrel of black powder, a flask of greek fire or a dragon's tonsils, and subject to ingredient availability.
So downplay or maybe conflate Evocation, Conjuration, and to a lesser extent Enchantment/Transmutation since they're witch/warlock/shaman fable staples.
Necromancy, on the other hand, is a pretty classic mad scientist field, though of course it depends on the setting's interpretation of life/death divine magic. Golems, homunculi, Frankensteiny creations in general remain sorely underexplored as playable gimmicks at least in video games so far.
Illusion so obviously links real-world "magic" stage acts to fantasy for-realsies magic that it should remain a wizardly staple (see Gandalf throwing his voice in The Hobbit) but for the love of crap, downplay the mind control! If it were up to me I wouldn't keep sorcerers in the game at all, but if you do, then the charisma-based spellcasting class should more heavily emphasize hypnosis. For wizards, think smoke and mirrors, holograms and ventriloquism instead!
Abjuration's an interesting case, and suits my support caster preference, but the more defensive a wizard's spellcasting gets, the more he starts looking like a cheap knock-off unarmored cleric who can't heal and thinks "mace" is a can of pepper spray. Specific effects like protection from arrows or stone to flesh fall within the precept of wizardly erudition, but the more generic AC/HP boosts should mostly be left to more combat-oriented casters. Planar binding and its like see very litle use in cRPGs, but largely for poor campaign writing. As a basic observation, letting wizards buff up their base stats and equipment with magic (as exemplified by Dragon Age: Origins' arcane warrior) is every bit as fraught a proposition as a fighter with dragon breath.
Divination though takes the cake for potentially amazing yet unused effects. Why not put various spins on predicting enemy moves, whether it's spells, called shots, AoE locations, dodges, incoming adds, terrain changes, really, anything? For a bonus, pair this with some limited form of quickened or reactive spells for any specifically interacting effect: if you divine a fireball, you get a reaction on protection from energy; if you divine an incoming crit, get a reactive flare or displacement. Why not tie divination to seeing enemy stats? Why not divine quest objectives via chicken entrails? Why not a spell to hear conversations in other rooms (clairaudience, they have that in tabletop) or magical radar (claivoyance, auspex, anyone?) with dialogue bonuses from that information going forward, or a substitute spell for barbarian/ranger tracking (which is also ignored in cRPGs, see #5 in this series) or discovering extra crafting ingredients, or sharing divining power with an ally to alter one dice roll a round at will, or predicting which way enemies will walk or turn to help a thief while sneaking, or fuck it, anything at all beyond Deckard Cain the Elder identifyin' geegaws!
Then you still must address confusion as to the types of magic in any particular setting. Does your fantasy world have divine and arcane and maybe natural magic? Does a certain type of magic (e.g. raising a zombie) require communion with otherworldly entities or is it merely manipulating inert matter? Is disease microbial or a curse? Does traveling between worlds require a pact with the fairies and a mushroom ring? Is magic inherent in all life or all matter in animist fashion, or is it a force pulled from a source or is it a property of a select few gifted individuals? Can spirits come back from the dead? Do they reincarnate or merely wander the halls of Mandos (or Elysian fields) until the end of time?
Any character might stumble into such quandaries in a fantasy world, but when designing a class centered on deliberately, consciously and quantitatively manipulating the laws of the natural and supernatural, those questions become prerequisites. Questions like "does Melf's acid arrow contain actual, liquid acid I can catch in a pickle jar?" are not mere trivialities to a wizard, but the very essence of his trade.
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