Oblivious Presents: Mages, Wizards and General Magic Users.

[Fightgarr]

It generally deals with the motion and gestural components of spells. Tabletop games like D&D put on arcane spell failure-chances onto all of their armors based on how restrictive it is to movement, which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, but nevertheless.

Honestly it's because all fantasy is based in tradition. In the video game version of the fantasy setting elves are always the same snooty, higher-than-thou race. Dwarves are stubborn warriors. Mages wear robes. Orcs are bastards. It's all part of the generic setting.

To ask this question is to question many of the standards of video game fantasy. I say 'video game fantasy' because I've encountered many a novel in which the case is very different.

All-in-all I think it became the standard that mages do not wear armor because traditionally in fantasy literature magic is not used as a tool to battle with. If you take magic from 10 high fantasy novels, I'm guess 6 or 7 times out of 10 magic is far more practical and less of a weapon.

 

[Zacharine]

TV-tropes warning.

In many gaming systems, Iron hinders magic. In others, any restrictive clothing hinders the apparently almost athelic limberness required to cast even simplests of spells. In others, because training to put on and take off and take care of armor requires training time better used for magic. Then there is also the Squishy Wizard [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SquishyWizard] syndrome: armor just weights too damn much in relation to their physical strenght ("Well, I'm terribly sorry I spent my extensive lifespan unlocking the means to unravel the universe and reshape it according to my will rather than, say, jogging. It has a tendency to leave one relatively fragile. ? Vaarsuvius, The Order of the Stick" )

But the best reason for wearing Robes I've seen was in Dresden files. Magic makes technology go haywire, so much so that the main character can make a fax-machine blow up from 50 paces by simply giving it a glare. Living in Chicago (this means large wood stoves are out) and electric heating would blow up after the fisrt magical sneeze within the apartment means defective heating since he can't really afford proper district heating. Or he can't afford a house where such an option is available.

So, during winter his underground, stone-walled study gets cold. And the robes happen to be his only warm clothing that he can afford to be destroyed if something goes wrong, without him actually dressing into his winter coat and heavily magicked leather duster.

Of course, in one book Dresden mentions that he's become so used to successfully fighting off magical assaults, that it never occurred to him that a sniper's bullet to the brain would do him in without so much as a saving throw.

That might be part of the problem anyways: you use what you know best to solve most problems. Wizards use magic and rely upon it on so many other things, self-protection is only a natural extension. Just as many wizard rather would spend time to learning the Fireball Of Doom instead of proper use of a greatsword.

But in general, I can see where the OP is coming from. I simply chalk it up to tradition and balance: just as Elves as aloof and handsome/beatiful and mystical, dwarves like undergrounds and are good smiths, the wizards wear robes. End of story.

Then of course, there are the exceptions: The Arcane Warriors, the Warlocks, War Mages and Magic Knights. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicKnight]

 

[Simriel]

D&D. In that Wizards wield extreme ungodly damage power at higher levels, but have a serious glass jaw. If they didn't have low Armour Class they would be unstoppable badasses that would imba the game. and since D&D is pretty much the go to for any 'Dark Fantasy Setting' this idea carried on. Besides they have spells, they can protect themselves with those.

 

[Dedtoo]

i think i heard somwhere its because the magic energies (before casting) cant go through iron and the likes. I might be wrong though.

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

Hey, sometimes a mage just needs to feel pretty.

 

[G. Alarimm]

I suppose keeping yourself standing (being that most mages probably aren't trained in combat) would take away somewhat from recalling the proper incantations and speaking them perfectly. *shrug*

 

[Dedtoo]

Hey, sometimes a mage just needs to feel pretty.

Sure, but ALL THE TIME??

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

Hey, sometimes a mage just needs to feel pretty.

Sure, but ALL THE TIME??

DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!!
Erm.
What I mean is...
Shut up!

 

[Souplex]

Casters are generally the least physically fit party members. Armor can get pretty heavy.

 

[FlyAwayAutumn]

I think it's Gandalf's fault, everyone copies off lord of the rings. Not that Gandalf doesn't look bitchin in that dress though.

 

[Dommyboy]

This makes me want to play Oblivion again with my heavy armour conjuring character.

 

[benbenthegamerman]

i have a song to adress this issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqO7zEWu0W0

also, that picture being of Jaina Proudmoore, i shall now continue gawking at her.

 

[azncutthroat]

Because wearing armor is fucking exhausting? Because it's unlikely that someone whose nose-deep in magical scrolls all day will be able to lug around half their mass in metal? Because it's hard to run away in armor? Because spell casters would be powerful enough already, and giving them unfettered access to armor would completely unbalance the game(s)? Because it's a convenient way to identify who can kill everyone in the room with a sword, and who can do it with a little concentration and a few special words?

This guy hit the nail on the head from every angle.

 

[Somthing]

Armor is a ***** to wear. To properly cast spells in that would well be hard. And i belive that people are lazy.
If you know you can block a blow with a giant block of ice why go wearing a armor weighin 0,1 tons o.o (no this is probally not teh legit weight of any armor (that i know off))

 

[The Sorrow]

For balance, I would assume. DPS specced mages can generally put out WAY more damage than a similarly specced warrior (or at least, that's what seems to be the case), so it stands to reason that they should be defensively weaker. Besides, that's why you get hybrid classes like Battlemages and Paladins.

Trust this man. He has the greatest wizard of all time in his avatar.

 

[Somthing]

i have a song to adress this issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqO7zEWu0W0

also, that picture being of Jaina Proudmoore, i shall now continue gawking at her.

(far to nerdy moment in)
3...
2...
1...
Thats not Jaina Proudmore. Jaina is a blond and usually wears blue or purple robes.
http://th06.deviantart.net/fs40/300W/f/2009/053/e/e/Lady_Jaina_Proudmoore_by_SupermanLovesAspen.jpg
or here white with a bit of purple and gold.

.... This was kinda off-topic. sorry

 

[Kasawd]

Wizards have a great deal of physical requirements which may be restricted by armour, upping the failure rate.

Alot of spells, mind you, have differing rates of difficulty(Power word: Kill versus Agonazzars Scorcher) which are also affected in differing manners according to the kind of armour you wear.

Some classes, however, like the Warmage, are allowed to wear light armour as are Warlocks and sorcerers.

Wait a second. Warlocks and Sorcerers are spellcasters, too. They wear armour.

Also, pants wouldn't whip dramatically around you as you conjre up the winds of death.

Also, Red Wizard Robes come with pants built in.