Wizard (creature)

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Wizard
Wizard
Wizard from Ultima IV manual
Also known as: warlocks, mages
First appearance: Ultima I
Last appearance: Ultima IX

This article is about hostile wizards. For the older wizard profession, see Older professions.


A wizard is a spellcasting enemy that can be encountered throughout throughout the Ultima universe. In some ages, wizards are common and can appear multiple times, while at other times, only a few wizards will be encountered.

Description[edit]

The occult world which surrounds wizards can open the way to temptations of power, wealth or the satisfaction of perverse curiosities – and it is not altogether uncommon for mages thus tested to fall to depravity. Such men and women often display a callous disregard for human life, seeing others as obstacles to their success or as fodder for dark experimentation. These ill-intentioned sorcerers have been a plague to numerous worlds since time immemorial.

Mondain's seeming triumph through wickedness has perhaps proven the summit to which many evil Sosarian and Britannian wizards have aspired – complete control of the world through whatever means necessary. In the early Age of Darkness, many magicians fell to the lure of Mondain's power, joining with him and taking to the roads as wandering warlocks, that they might spread terror and strife throughout the realm. Such occurrences, strangely enough, led to a lifting of legal bans upon magical practice which were in place before Mondain's rise to infamy, as it was believed that sorcery was a necessary weapon to secure the wizard's defeat.[1]

In later ages, such enchanters could still be found in various corners of the land, although their numbers appeared to dwindle over time. The capabilities and motivations of such evil wizards vary from case to case, but many have employed dark creatures such as skeletons or daemons as their servitors. Such magic users often can often be found far from civilization, such as that their dark arcane inquiries might be hidden from the eyes of the populace. Some select few even go on make the transformation into liches, abandoning life itself for the sake of their pursuits.

Evil Wizards on Serpent Isle[edit]

Many of the magicians who came to settle on Serpent Isle did so that they might escape the regulations which Lord British saddled magic with in declaring Honesty the mages' signifying virtue. As a result, illegal and dangerous magical experimentation became a common practice in the mage-ruled city of Moonshade – a trend dangerously complemented by the discovery of bloodspawn, a dangerous reagent composed of human blood and stoneheart. While few adepts took their research to truly wicked extremes in this realm, the differentiation between "good" and "evil" wizards was rendered into disconcerting shades of gray by the extreme levels of corruption which enshrouded the mystic arts.

Lore[edit]

Warlock.gif
Rogue practitioners of the magical arts, Warlocks are the evil servitors of Mondain. The Foul One hath trained them in the casting of bolts of mystic energy and sent them forth to wreak havoc among the populace. Slay them if ye can, for the arcane arts should never be used for wicked purpose.
With magical staff in hand, wizards enjoy throwing magic missiles that do tremendous damage.
Not all magic users follow the path of Good. These evil renegade Wizards make very dangerous adversaries when crossed.
A mage on the road may become a boon companion or the last man you see. Do not trifle with a man in robes, for his mind will not show its dark weapons until they are summoned. Like all men of scholarly pursuits, the mage has a great warehouse of knowledge and should be treated with respect for it. However, evil mages do travel the lands. In felling them, you can gather various items of magic.
– from Journal (Ultima IX)

Notable Examples[edit]

Wizards-ROV1.jpg

Trivia[edit]

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Albert, Dave. "The Magical Arts". Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (Ultima I). Origin Systems, Inc.: 1986. Pages 1–2.
  2. SelwynSelwyn's Last Will (Ultima VII – in-game).
  3. TeldronoMine Experiments (Ultima VII Part Two – in-game).