Wizards or Sorcerers?

[Laicamir]

Greetings!

I am trying to chose what class I should play as in skyrim and I have a question to ask to help me decide. Are magic users in the elder scrolls games more akin to wizards or sorcerers? By this I mean can anybody learn magic with enough study or is it something you either have or do not have. I realise that some races have more magicka and such but I don't think that rules out the possibility that magic is an acquired skill which comes easier to them.

 

Thank you for your assistance!

[EnaiSiaion]

More and more people are capable of using magic in later games. In Skyrim, every viable character includes restoration (in fact everyone starts with a fire spell regardless of race). But go all the way back and you find games where non-mages can cast a single spell and it has 5% chance to work.

 

I find Skyrim trivialises magic to the point where it breaks immersion. Any noob can cast a healing spell. It may not be a very good one, but that doesn't matter outside combat - not a concern in the game, but this is now officially a world where everyone can heal themselves in a few hours from the brink of death.

 

Likewise, untrained individuals can summon spirit wolves and shoot lightning bolts.

 

Meh.

 

 

 

If you're concerned about racial bonuses, take a look at Resplendent Racials. Altmer in RR are obviously a more "magical" race, but this manifests as a low health and high stamina/magicka playstyle because they can tap their stats to heal themselves. Orcs are more "physical", but they get rewarded for not taking much damage, which in turn benefits mages. The end result is that every race is reasonably adept at every build even if it doesn't look like it. This is on purpose.

[Lachdonin]

From a lore perspective, the answer would be; Wizards. Everyone in The Elder Scrolls is capable of wielding Magic, given sufficient training, though as with any skill some people are more inclined to it than others.

[Laicamir]

I see. That is both good and bad, I much prefer sorcerers but this means I can play other classes now. Thank You both very much!

[Lachdonin]

Well, there ARE Sorcerers in The Elder Scrolls, but they are conceptually different than in D&D (which is the basis I assume you are using). On Tamriel, a Sorcerer is a magic user who is largely dependant on summoned minions and enchanted materials, be they weapons and armour, or scrolls and staves. They differ from Conjurors mostly in the fact that Sorcerers are physically powerful enough to wear heavier armours.

 

There is a fundamental difference in the way the world in TES works, and that in traditional fantasy settings, mind you, and this explains the 'wizard' characteristic. Without getting too deep into it... Magic isn't just a force to be harnessed, it's the basic building blocks of their universe. Mastering magic, in TES, is like mastering Science in the real world.

[Laicamir]

I see. Yes that was the kind of meaning I was placing on the terms, I am sorry if it is confusing but I am not very good at communicating what I mean to say. Could you say that a Tamrielic wizard is similar to a Discoworld wizard in the way their magic works?

[Lachdonin]

Similar on the surface, yes. Magica is a form of Creatia, and is as such one of the fundamental forces in the Aubris (universe). Understanding and exploring Magic is likened to understanding the nature of the universe its self.

 

Unfortunately, there are a lot more layers and complexities to The Elder Scrolls than just that. For one, understanding the nature of the universe is kind of irrelevant then the universe doesn't actually exist... something people have a tendency to discover if they pry too deep.

[MidevalGuy]

More and more people are capable of using magic in later games. In Skyrim, every viable character includes restoration (in fact everyone starts with a fire spell regardless of race). But go all the way back and you find games where non-mages can cast a single spell and it has 5% chance to work.

 

I find Skyrim trivialises magic to the point where it breaks immersion. Any noob can cast a healing spell. It may not be a very good one, but that doesn't matter outside combat - not a concern in the game, but this is now officially a world where everyone can heal themselves in a few hours from the brink of death.

 

Likewise, untrained individuals can summon spirit wolves and shoot lightning bolts.

 

Meh.

 

Bethesda tried to balance out "Magic for everybody" by making spells cost less at higher levels, but also do less damage as a result. Thus, all the mods that reverse this and give you increased magnitude of spells vs. reduced casting costs the higher you go.

 

It's an interesting approach, but it's main purpose is to try and break out of the D&D fixed class mold, for better or for worse.

[Laicamir]

I see thank you all for your assistance!

I have one more question, does this mean that anybody aspiring to transcend beyond mortality would best serve that purpose using magic? Is magic the weapon all divines and daedra would use?

[Lachdonin]

Daedra and the Divines are, inherently, magical, and many mortals have used Magic as a means of trying to transcend mortality. None of them have ever actually succeeded (the Dwemer kinda got close) and those who have transcended mortality tend to do so through radically different means... The whole transcendence thing is touching on some of the weirder concepts in The Elder Scrolls.

 

But yes, Mortals to try to use magic to attain immortality.