Movie spell casters: What Class

[Whit]

Hard to remember where I actually see a Spellcaster in a movie with a spell book handy or perhaps they have a bag of holding somewhere? List your opinions and other movies at your liesure.

Harry Potter Movie. Wizards? They do study at school
LotR. Gandolf and Saruman. Sorcerer or Warlocks No books they are aligned with higher powers.
The Craft. Warlocks. Used a book to make pact but after that.?
The Covenant. Warlocks for sure
Excalibur would Merlin and Morganna be druids or a multi class
Hocus pocus. Warlocks
Stardust can’t remember movie anymore
Sword and the sorcerer, well it does say sorcerer
Conan. Mako was he a priest or Druid
Dungeon dragon movie well we did have a cleric and I would say elf sorcerer since I didn’t see a book

[Unoriginal]

None of those expect the D&D movies were based on D&D lore.

An Harry Potter wizard isn't a D&D wizard or a LotR wizard.

[Ventruenox]

Knights of Badassdom. They have Ritual Casting from a book written in Enochian. Plus Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, and a paladin with demonic syphilis.

[suplee215]

Merlin shows a lot of similiarity to historical druids. but it is always tricky to try to fit pop culture characters into the rules of dnd.

[Karmea]

Well, technically LotR wizards are angels/lesser gods/whatever with a power limiter.

The Stardust movie was absolute hollywood horse excrement compared to the book, and I've suppressed most of my memories of it :smallyuk:. The magic in the book was fairly subtle and fairy-talesque, mostly in the surroundings and magic items, with an occasional polymorph and modify memory thrown in. Dunno how you'd translate that to DnD. The witches could be sorcerers or warlocks, I guess? The star herself would probably be a fey creature or an outsider or something.

[DracoKnight]

Honestly, I'd say that Harry Potter wizards are sorcerers. Every character has a small number of their favorite spells that they stick to/are talented with, with a bunch of at will abilities (sorcerers get the most cantrips of any spell caster), and the biggest piece of evidence that makes me think this: in universe, no matter how hard you study and try, if you aren't born with magic you can't use it. Wizards and witches are born with innate magic, due to their bloodlines.

Also how many times do the protagonists break the rules of magic in small ways because it furthers the plot (meta magic)?

[Asmotherion]

-Harry Potter has Wizards; The Wizard Class is restricted to a Variant Human who has used his Feat for Magic Initiate. There are also Sorcerers, and Warlocks, but those are mostly Dips, not full Class progressions. Voldemort is the closest thing to a Lich I can think of, when trying to describe what a Lich is to non-gamer friends, Parseltongues are Warlocks, and Animagi are Druids. Lycanthropes are self-explained. Dragons are actually Wyverns. Actual, intelligent Dragons, either blended into the Wizarding society in humanoid form, or never existed (never actually explained, I just felt the need to express this point).

-Merlin is a Dragonic Origin Sorcerer obviously. As the plot develops, he Dips Warlock, and Wizard. Since we're talking about Merlin, one could argue He's a Gestalt of the 3 combined. Morgana is an Arcana Cleric/Divination Wizard. Mordread Seems like a Druid at first, but only at first sight. In the end, he fits more into the Sorcerer/Oath of the Crown Paladin->Oathbreaker trope with a possible single level dip in Druid. King Arthur, wile not a spellcaster, could be a Fighter/Paladin multiclass with no high enough Level in Paladin to Cast any Spells.

[Aett_Thorn]

Honestly, I'd say that Harry Potter wizards are sorcerers. Every character has a small number of their favorite spells that they stick to/are talented with, with a bunch of at will abilities (sorcerers get the most cantrips of any spell caster), and the biggest piece of evidence that makes me think this: in universe, no matter how hard you study and try, if you aren't born with magic you can't use it. Wizards and witches are born with innate magic, due to their bloodlines.

Also how many times do the protagonists break the rules of magic in small ways because it furthers the plot (meta magic)?

Huh, I see Harry Potter Witches and Wizards as Wizards. They need to study for years to get even the basics, but once they do, then tend to be creative and research new spells to use. Their fairly limited "Spells Prepared" list is for their favorites that they use all the time. In-Universe, you can have Squibs (non-magical from magical parents) and Mudbloods (magical from non-magical parents - sorry for the slur), which makes me think that while it's an inherent trait, it's not always related to bloodlines. Just a bit of a predilection than a true bloodline ability.

[Angelalex242]

Yeah. LOTR wizards are Solars with power limiters.

Just like the Balrog is a Balor.

[Aett_Thorn]

The Hocus Pocus Sanderson sisters could be Warlocks (they made a pact with the Devil), but they could also be Wizards. After all, they have a spell book (booooookkk). Sarah is an Enchanter, Mary is a Diviner, and Winifred is a Transmuter.

[Asmotherion]

Yeah. LOTR wizards are Solars with power limiters.

Just like the Balrog is a Balor.

In 5e, LOTR Mages are mostly a combination of the Divine Soul Sorcerer Class and the Aasimar Race Combination. When eventually able to use True Polymorph, it indicates the Spiritual Growth they attain to enter a Higher Level of existance as actual Imortal Creatures, who keep their spell levels.

A Balor is inspired by the Balrog alright :P

[quark12000]

Harry Potter wizards are sorcerers and Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, is a wizard.

[Angelalex242]

In 5e, LOTR Mages are mostly a combination of the Divine Soul Sorcerer Class and the Aasimar Race Combination. When eventually able to use True Polymorph, it indicates the Spiritual Growth they attain to enter a Higher Level of existance as actual Imortal Creatures, who keep their spell levels.

A Balor is inspired by the Balrog alright :P

It certainly looks like that. But Gandalf and Saruman and Radagast...and Sauron himself and the Balrog, are all a class of beings called 'Maiar.' Ya know. Outsiders. So Gandalf is a power limited Solar, not just another Aasimar.

[Nettlekid]

Mechanically, Gandalf functions most like a Druid, at least from 3.5e. Moderate combat ability, Animal Companion in Shadowfax, and spells including Daylight, Animal Messenger, Fire Seeds, and potentially Summon Nature's Ally for the eagles, along with the implication that he can cast Control Weather.

[Angelalex242]

Mechanically, Gandalf functions most like a Druid, at least from 3.5e. Moderate combat ability, Animal Companion in Shadowfax, and spells including Daylight, Animal Messenger, Fire Seeds, and potentially Summon Nature's Ally for the eagles, along with the implication that he can cast Control Weather.

Well, Radagast is an even more obvious Druid, but underneath that Druid is still a Solar.

[Arkhios]

In a non-D&D lore, the term "wizard" can be (and usually is) a very broad concept.

While Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast are often referred to as wizards in the story, they possess abilities far more similar to a Cleric or a Druid (in the case of Radagast, and to some extent, even Gandalf). Before XGtE, I would've said Gandalf the Grey was a Cleric of the Knowledge Domain, Gandalf the White could've well been Cleric of the Light Domain. Saruman is squarely Cleric of the Trickery Domain, and Radagast would've been either a Druid or Cleric of the Nature Domain. Now that XGtE is out and the Divine Soul Sorcerous Origin is officially a thing, I'm not so sure about Gandalf or Saruman.

Witchcraft is quite close to what warlocks are all about. Dabbling into mysteries not intended for the eyes of the uninitiated. While that could technically apply to wizards as well, becoming a warlock has a price: the Pact with a powerful being in a bid for power for yourself.

Schooled Wizardry is very much what being a wizard is about. You study to learn magic.
Harry and Co. fits well within that spectrum.
Note: Harry is knows a very limited variety of spells as seen in the books. Those are the spells he has learned so far. While he could learn more in time, his knowledge is still very limited and he likely doesn't have more than a few levels in Wizard. Same as Hermione, even though she is depicted as far more intelligent wizard. Harry probably doesn't actually have higher than 14 Int, while Hermione could indeed have even 18. Harry's extraordinary abilities suggests that he might have external help in the form of a Boon from his mother.
Anyway, Hogwarts only prepares the students for the rest of their lives. They don't graduate as 20th level wizards. Far from it.

I would say that Merlin and Co. are either bards or druids. Or Warlocks with the Fey patron, but no other.

[Snivlem]

IMO Gandalf is an Eldritch knight in d&d