Which of these wacky wizards is the coolest?
booinyoureyes
Member Posts: 6,164
Plot Twist: None of them are D&D
Was checking out that topic about Gandalf on this forum, and realized I wasn't really a fan of his compared to other wizards. Then I got to thinking which wizard (outside of Baldur's Gate of course) was really my favorite. Would like to get a feel for everyone's favorites and maybe discuss why. A lot of choices, so I ended up making two polls, one for witches and one for wizards.
similar poll here for witches: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/35200/who-is-the-wickedest-witch-of-all?new=1
Was checking out that topic about Gandalf on this forum, and realized I wasn't really a fan of his compared to other wizards. Then I got to thinking which wizard (outside of Baldur's Gate of course) was really my favorite. Would like to get a feel for everyone's favorites and maybe discuss why. A lot of choices, so I ended up making two polls, one for witches and one for wizards.
similar poll here for witches: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/35200/who-is-the-wickedest-witch-of-all?new=1
- Which of these wacky wizards is the coolest?36 votes
- Merlin19.44%
- Doctor Faustus2.78%
- Gandalf the Grey/White30.56%
- Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden13.89%
- John Constantine2.78%
- Albus Dumbledore2.78%
- Doctor Stephen Strange2.78%
- Skeletor11.11%
- Harry Potter0.00%
- Just show me the results13.89%
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Comments
In the Western fantasy, I would choose Merlin. Being first mentioned in the 12th century in a book called The History of the Kings of Briton by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Merlin, I think, has become the golden standard for wizards. It can be confirmed by the fact that Gandalf was majorly built in the image of Merlin.
But being a fan of Japan, I would like to mention and vote for Abe no Seimei. Unlike Merlin, Seimei’s historical existence goes unchallenged. He served six different emperors as an omyodo, a yin-yang master. The court wizard oversaw matters of divination, protecting the Japanese emperor with rituals to banish evil spirits and illnesses.
What matters more for this thread is that legends and folktales ascribe to him all sorts of supernatural powers.
The famous kabuki play Kuzunoha says Abe no Seimei inherited his magical power from his mother, a white fox. He was said to possess second sight, which he used to identify demons. When the samurai Watanabe no Tsuna was said to cut off a demon’s arm, he brought the accursed item to Seimei to seal it away with a spell. The demon later tried to retrieve its limb but was unable to overcome Seimei’s magic. Legend says that Seimei met hosts of other demons in magical combat, defeating each of them with his vast repertoire of spells.
Abe no Seimei is sometimes described as being able to have 12 shikigami (these spirits exist to protect and serve their masters, very much like the Western concept of a familiar) under his command.
Many of his legends revolve around a series of magical battles with a rival, Ashiya Doman, who often tried to embarrass Seimei so that he could usurp his position. One noted story involved Doman and the young Seimei in a divination duel to reveal the contents of a particular box. Doman had another person put fifteen mandarin oranges into the box and "divined" that there were fifteen oranges in it. Seimei saw through the ruse, transformed the oranges into rats, and stated that fifteen rats were in the box. When the rats were revealed, Doman was shocked and defeated.
Seimei is involved in numerous other tales as well. He appears as a minor character in the Heike Monogatari and is said to be responsible for divining the location of the Shuten-dōji, a powerful oni purportedly slain by Minamoto no Yorimitsu.
Say no more!
A wizard that I like much more the Merlin is Belgrath well he is a sorcerer really but none the less he is awesome!
Whoever not read The Belgariad and The Malloreon series should read it and ofc the Belgrath and not forget Polgara
Edit - Also, if you choose to take Robert de Boron into the mix, Merlin is a Devil's son, an attempted antichrist!
@Nonnahswriter have you not been reading the 'Book Geeks Are Here' thread???????
The version from the books not the awful film version, has always been my favourite wizard
Sooooo many abortive teen fanfics!
I love the Dresden Files, and they are possibly my favorite book series along with Harry Potter (I know, I'm sooooo mainstream like that). There are so many awesome wizards in it, but I couldn't put them all on the list. I felt that only the Harry Potter series and perhaps Tolkien had the gravitas to warrant multiple options, but space was limited.
There is an obvious bias toward wizards I have been exposed to (though my experience with Skeletor is a bit limited, lol) and I apologize for leaving anyone out. I actually considered Radagast, but thought that he was more of a druid than anything else.
@Nonnahswriter Show? What show? I have heard vague rumors about a Dresden show and a Baldur's Gate trilogy of novels, but I usually dismiss them as nasty rumors spread by evil forces to sabotage wonderful franchises. They are not to be believed.
Although if I had to pick from this list it'd have to be Merlin. Particularly the incarnation from Disney's Sword in the Stone.