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Description
"Magic is the ultimate ego-trip. Magic is fundamentally the notion that the individual can shape the universe to his desires; it is the ultimate narcissism. The instinct for magic is a direct offshoot of our inbuilt desire to be God. It includes the notion that individuals can manipulate or bargain with the supernatural world (after all, gods should be able to cut deals with their equals)." --- Prof. Steven Dutch (Retired), Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay.

Made another character using HeroMachine 3. Did it within a half-hour time-frame in the early morning when I couldn't sleep.

The sorcerer interests me as a character because of the similarities the archetype has with the sort of person I desire to become - an intellectual who pursues knowledge and applies it to great, meaningful effect.

But whereas my forte is the pursuit of empirical, scientific knowledge in real life, the sorcerer is fundamentally a diametric opposite in that he or she pursues knowledge of the mystical kind, dabbling with phenomenal cosmic powers that superficially defies any form of empirical, logical analysis, which is anathema to science.

As mentioned by Steven Dutch, the idea of magic stems from peoples' desires to play God, and magical thinking had been prevalent throughout history as people sought to control their destinies and the world around them through mystical arts. Ridiculous as it may be to our minds today, to be fair, I assume that is an inevitable mindset people would develop out of hope to escape from their hard and difficult lives, in this hostile world filled with predators, natural disasters, diseases and other nasty things, before the advent of science and the benefits it brings to civilization.

That said, that hasn't prevent some writers from trying to make sorcerers fulfill the role of scientists in a fantasy world. After all, it is not fundamentally inconceivable that magic merely appears mystical, but given that it could greatly affect nature is ultimately just another fundamental force of nature that could eventually be understood given enough time and effort, using something akin to the scientific method. I know I had tried doing that in some of my stories painting 'magic' as a little-understood fifth fundamental force, in contrast to the more conventional depictions, giving my stories a science-fantasy feel (Making the impossible plausible to sci-fi's making the implausible possible) instead of the average high fantasy feel.

Anyways, the sorcerer is likely to remain a staple of fantasy characters in years to come. Strangely I never tried playing that role in any fantasy video-games I played, at least not fully. Probably because I much prefer the thrill of bloody, CQC combat.

The sorcerer here has his stereotypical hood to cover his face with and staff to focus his powers. Notice, however, I had him wearing armor and helmet beneath that cloak. Why, you ask? Common sense - any sorcerer with enough wits should realize that there are situations or problems that cannot be solved by magic, and if it is dangerous, it is better to have some sort of non-magical protection as insurance (Also wanted to add a melee weapon, but don't know where to put it. Assume he has a dagger or something). Those who think magic could solve anything won't last very long, that I'm sure.

Again, Made using HeroMachine 3. www.heromachine.com/heromachin…

Description
"Magic is the ultimate ego-trip. Magic is fundamentally the notion that the individual can shape the universe to his desires; it is the ultimate narcissism. The instinct for magic is a direct offshoot of our inbuilt desire to be God. It includes the notion that individuals can manipulate or bargain with the supernatural world (after all, gods should be able to cut deals with their equals)." --- Prof. Steven Dutch (Retired), Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay.

Made another character using HeroMachine 3. Did it within a half-hour time-frame in the early morning when I couldn't sleep.

The sorcerer interests me as a character because of the similarities the archetype has with the sort of person I desire to become - an intellectual who pursues knowledge and applies it to great, meaningful effect.

But whereas my forte is the pursuit of empirical, scientific knowledge in real life, the sorcerer is fundamentally a diametric opposite in that he or she pursues knowledge of the mystical kind, dabbling with phenomenal cosmic powers that superficially defies any form of empirical, logical analysis, which is anathema to science.

As mentioned by Steven Dutch, the idea of magic stems from peoples' desires to play God, and magical thinking had been prevalent throughout history as people sought to control their destinies and the world around them through mystical arts. Ridiculous as it may be to our minds today, to be fair, I assume that is an inevitable mindset people would develop out of hope to escape from their hard and difficult lives, in this hostile world filled with predators, natural disasters, diseases and other nasty things, before the advent of science and the benefits it brings to civilization.

That said, that hasn't prevent some writers from trying to make sorcerers fulfill the role of scientists in a fantasy world. After all, it is not fundamentally inconceivable that magic merely appears mystical, but given that it could greatly affect nature is ultimately just another fundamental force of nature that could eventually be understood given enough time and effort, using something akin to the scientific method. I know I had tried doing that in some of my stories painting 'magic' as a little-understood fifth fundamental force, in contrast to the more conventional depictions, giving my stories a science-fantasy feel (Making the impossible plausible to sci-fi's making the implausible possible) instead of the average high fantasy feel.

Anyways, the sorcerer is likely to remain a staple of fantasy characters in years to come. Strangely I never tried playing that role in any fantasy video-games I played, at least not fully. Probably because I much prefer the thrill of bloody, CQC combat.

The sorcerer here has his stereotypical hood to cover his face with and staff to focus his powers. Notice, however, I had him wearing armor and helmet beneath that cloak. Why, you ask? Common sense - any sorcerer with enough wits should realize that there are situations or problems that cannot be solved by magic, and if it is dangerous, it is better to have some sort of non-magical protection as insurance (Also wanted to add a melee weapon, but don't know where to put it. Assume he has a dagger or something). Those who think magic could solve anything won't last very long, that I'm sure.

Again, Made using HeroMachine 3. www.heromachine.com/heromachin…