Is there a difference between a Mage and a Wizard?

I think there is and google images backs my claim.  Here is the result for a Mage

Mages tend to belong to an order, wizards tend to go solo. There's no real difference, there's just a pattern to how the terms show up in games. "Mage" is just more formal sounding.

Mages tend to belong to an order, wizards tend to go solo. There's no real difference, there's just a pattern to how the terms show up in games. "Mage" is just more formal sounding.

I would think that Mages tend to deal damage like fireballs, ice bolts, electricity, etc. Wizards are more about conjuring. That's what comes to my mind at least.

"I'm a mage, and that looks fucked up" doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well. 

"I'm a mage, and that looks fucked up" doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well. 

If you want there to be a difference, there's a difference. Usually they're used interchangeably, though I definitely imagine the two differently. As far as I know, there's no convention separating the two.

If you want there to be a difference, there's a difference. Usually they're used interchangeably, though I definitely imagine the two differently. As far as I know, there's no convention separating the two.

Wizards give us science.

All facts begin as dreams dreamt by a wizard. If the wizard crosses the path of a scorned widow, then he shares it at the town council. Now it is a hypothesis, and it's time to drown the wizard. If he floats, he is an evil wizard and must be burned alive. If he drowns, then the hypothesis is true! 

Wizards store their source of power in the pointy hats. The staff is just a distraction and a ruse against their enemies.

@crusader8463: The Wizard in our sample doesn't have a staff, backing up your claim.

I see Wizards as male, whereas Mages are male or female.

But he DOES have a pointy hat (or a hood anyway). Maybe he is a Wizard trying to pass as a mage? It's a stealth mission. He is a ninja wizard.

Wizards are just old school Mages. Now Sorcerers.. there's a whole other element! :O

 It's a stealth mission. He is a Wizinja.

Wizard = wise

-You know how and when to use your magic.

Mage = Magi

-You know a lot of spells and magic and cast them for maximum effect.

Well, this is just my thoughts on this. I could be wrong of course.

I always considered Mages to be a general term for magic users, whereas Wizards were a more specific one. I mean, in D&D Wizards and Sorcerers are all different classes, but one could clearly say they both derive their power from the same spell list. Wizards have to memorize the spells they cast in advance (showing that their magical ability comes from knowledge), whereas Sorcerers can cast whatever they know whenever they want (Showing that their powers are inherent in their blood). Both classes are mages. Then we get into more sticky classifications, like "Are Necromancers wizards?" and it all goes crazy from there.

If you're a virgin, you value the difference.

@Kyreo: What if they had a staff? See, I imagine mages with staffs, and wizards with wands. But Gandalf was a wizard, and he had a staff. Does a mage have a staff but no hat, and a wizard both? And what about robes? Or do they all have robes? I always imagine them with beards as well.

I see Wizards as male, whereas Mages are male or female.

Mages are badasses and wizards wear goofy pointy hats.

2nd and 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons.

Mages tend to belong to an order, wizards tend to go solo.

Mages are badasses and wizards wear goofy pointy hats.

2nd and 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons.

@Branthog said:

Mages are badasses and wizards wear goofy pointy hats.

I like the way you think!

@Kyreo said:

@Branthog said:

Mages are badasses and wizards wear goofy pointy hats.

I like the way you think!

But wait. Black Mages in Final Fantasy wear Wizard hats.

@Leafhopper said:

@Kyreo said:

@Branthog said:

Mages are badasses and wizards wear goofy pointy hats.

I like the way you think!

But wait. Black Mages in Final Fantasy wear Wizard hats.

Those hats don't have stars on them.  Does not count.

I always figure Mages will have a staff, and are always kinda affiliated.  A wizard is usually a loner and they don't hang out.  Typically because you only need one to point out if something is fucked up.

@Kyreo said:

@Branthog said:

Mages are badasses and wizards wear goofy pointy hats.

I like the way you think!

But wait. Black Mages in Final Fantasy wear Wizard hats.

"Mage" is a general term for arcane spell casters while "wizard" is a specific type.

A wizard turns tricks for gold. 

Only difference is a bunch of letters giving you a different score in scrabble depending on which word you use. Some RPGs like D&D might have a difference between them (as it's had a slight difference between sorcerer & wizard classes on how they learn spells) but overall you won't find that much different unless a game/book says what's different about mage or wizard.

Mages don't have pointy hats and are powered by heavy metal guitar solos.  Wizards are old hobo mages with fish soup in their beards and are no longer powered by rock.

Thank god Warlocks are not a part of this discussion.

There is no real difference. Mages are just the hipsters of the magical world.  They also refuse to spell magic with a "ck", it stifles their creativity. 

Harry Dresden = Wizard. That is all.

Mages are never alchemists.  Wizards are sometimes illusionists.

i found this online somewhere.

 The difference between the traditional types of spellcasters is minimal, although there can be specific boundaries defined in specific games (e.g. one can cast thing that another can't, they use different kinds of power or power with different sources, etc.). There's no real consensus on a division, though, even among layman's definitions:

Both "wizard" and "warlock" are sometimes referred to as the male form of "witch," but it's commonly assumed that the pairing of the two terms was invented for convenience and not part of the original definitions.

I find three possible etymologies for "warlock": oathbreaker (Scottish), caller of spirits (Norse), and man of the logs (Old English). (The last of those supposedly refers to the sticks used for reading runes, and became an insult used by Christians to speak of Pagans.)

"Wizard" comes from the Middle English for wise and, besides cross-referencing the other terms, is used to refer to someone who's good at something.

All the reliable references I can find to the word "sorcerer" either refer directly to one of the above definitions or define it only as a practitioner of magic (or both). The root seems to be in the Latin for fortune (i.e. fate, not wealth), via French and Middle English.

"Mage" is the only one that's really specific; it comes from "magus" (more specifically, from the plural "magi"), which can be traced back to Old Persian. That's used now in the same way as the above terms, but originally referred to a priest of Zoroastrianism (also called Mazdaism for its central deity). The three wise men of the New Testament were magi in this sense.

I see no difference between the two, they both use kick ass magic to freeze,burn,electrify or petrify your ass. 

A mage is a junior magician who is capable of sawing people in half as well as levitating them - using a hoola-hoop to show there are no strings involved.

A wizard on the other hand can make the statue of liberty disappear and reappear, can vanish himself in Vegas and reappear in Maui within 30 seconds, and can seduce women, saw them in half, and levitate their half-bits individually.

I hope this helps.

The only difference I can think of is:

Someone’s mom has a vee-jay-jay that looks like "the sleeve" of a wizard, not of a mage.  Nobody says, “Mage’s Sleeve”.