The Wizard is a type of magical character class in certain role-playing games, including role-playing video games. Wizards are considered to be spellcasters who wield powerful spells, but are often physically weak as a trade-off. Wizards are commonly confused with similar offensive spellcasting classes such as the Warlock and the Necromancer. However, a Wizard's power is based on the arcane and a Warlock or Necromancer's power is based on darkness or death. Wizards are primarily based on wizards from assorted fantasy literature. Other terms used to describe the classification include Mage, Magician, and Magic User.
The Dungeons & Dragons pen-and-paper franchise has three base character classes, with access to "arcane magic", that could be considered wizards:
The wizard is a "genius student" of arcane magic, who has studied the subject for years. He practices until he is able to command magic with ease. The wizard must prepare spells daily. They are normally called 'magic-users'.
A magician is a practitioner of magic who attains objectives or acquires knowledge using supernatural means.
Some modern magicians, such as Aleister Crowley and those who follow the traditions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis, describe magic in rational terms, using definitions, postulates and theorems. Aleister Crowley said "the magician of the future will use mathematical formulas".
The paranormal kind of magician (unlike the stage illusionist) can also be referred to as an enchanter, wizard, mage, magus or thaumaturgist. These overlapping terms may be distinguished by some traditions or some writers. When such distinctions are made, sorcerers are more often practitioners of evocations or black magic, and there may be variations on level and type of power associated with each name.
Some names, distinctions or aspects may have more of a negative connotation than others, depending on the setting and the context. (See also Magic and Magic and religion, for some examples.)
Mage is an American superhero comic book written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. Three volumes, each of 15 issues are planned; as of 2014, two have been published.
Volume one, The Hero Discovered, was published by Comico from February 1984 to December 1986. Despite advertisements saying that a sequel was "coming soon", The Hero Defined did not appear until 1997, published by Image Comics (Comico had gone bankrupt in 1990, and it had taken some time for Wagner to regain the rights to the series). The third and final volume, The Hero Denied, is planned, but no firm publication schedule fixed.
Wagner wrote and drew both series, with Sam Kieth as inker for part of the first, and Jeromy Cox as colourist for the second.
The Hero Discovered follows Kevin Matchstick, an alienated young man who meets a wizard called Mirth and discovers that he, among other things, possesses both a magic baseball bat and superhuman abilities. In the course of the comic, he defeats the nefarious plans of a being called the Umbra Sprite. He ultimately discovers that Mirth is Merlin, the baseball bat is Excalibur, and he is, in some ambiguous way, King Arthur. All the chapter titles are lines from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
"Voices" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Chris Young. After charting in mid-2008 on the Hot Country Songs charts, "Voices" was re-released in July 2010 following Young's first two Number one singles, "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" and "The Man I Want to Be." The song is included on his album The Man I Want to Be, as well as a digital extended play of the same title. "Voices" became Young's third-consecutive Number One hit for the chart week ending February 19, 2011. The song spent 20 weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart during its first run plus 31 more weeks in its second run during its rise to #1. The song was written by Young, Chris Tompkins and Craig Wiseman.
At the 2008 CMA Music Fest, Young offered fans the opportunity to make personal recordings of dedications to special people in their lives. These fans received e-mails containing the song and the dedications.
Young told The Boot that he wanted to re-release it because it was popular with his fans. It was accompanied by a digital extended play of the same title, comprising that song and three cover songs, "to share with fans some of the musical voices that helped make me the man I am today."
Voices is the second and final full-length album by American rock band Matchbook Romance. The album's sound leaves behind much of the characteristic pop punk sound of their debut, Stories and Alibis, opting for a darker, more foreboding tone. The album was released through Epitaph Records on February 14, accompanied by the single "Monsters", and radio only single "Surrender".
The band chose to tune the all their guitars down half a step to help with the change. Vocalist Andrew Jordan adopts a much different vocal style for this record than their previous, bringing the band closer to the second-wave emo sound. The cover of the album was designed by Shawn Harris from pop punk band The Matches.
Inside the album's packaging is a small plastic panel, with alternating black and transparent strips. This panel can be aligned with parts of the album's artwork to reveal secret messages. Hence "there are voices in the walls." Some of the lyrics to the hidden track can also be found in typos in the lyrics of the other songs.
Voices is a studio album by Murray Head. It was released in 1981.