Lately I've got to thinking about the various terms for practitioners of arcane magic in Warcraft. There are a bunch of them, but there is very little in the way of actually defining them. Wowpedia lists several types of arcanists, which I can only assume refers to any practitioner of arcane magic. Some of those listed are only mentioned in the non-canon RPGs and as such likely do not exist, but several others are mentioned in canonical sources; any type mentioned in these will be assumed to be an actual "thing" in Warcraft lore.
Wowpedia lists the following types of canon arcanists:
- Battlemage
- Wizard
- Sorcerer
- Mage
- Warlock
- Archmage
- Necromancer
- Necrolyte
- Warmage
- Conjuror
In addition to these, the Blood Mage comes to mind. Later on, I will be looking at the mage-wizard-sorcerer relationship, but first comes a list of general descriptions for the other arcanist types.
Battle Mage
A battle mage is an arcane spellcaster who is trained and equipped for melee combat. It's not a stretch to assume that their preferred place is in the midst of the battlefield, using both their weapons and their spells to great effect rather than the supporting role that their robe-wearing kin would have. The battle mage appears to be a largely elven phenomenon, given how twelve of the sixteen listed on Wowpedia are high elves or blood elves.
Two of these are ogres and as such highly unlikely to be related to the elven tradition. Another one, Battle-Mage Dathric, is specifically said to have been a member of the Kirin Tor prior to his death, which proves that battle mages existed within their ranks as well, quite possibly directly inspired by their high elven counterparts. Battle mages were also employed by the Scarlet Crusade in Stratholme: Prior to Cataclysm, they went by the name Crimson Battle Mage but these were replaced in Cataclysm by the undead Risen Battle Mage. Given the existence of battle mages in the Kirin Tor, it is easy to assume that the Scarlet battle mages were former members of the Kirin Tor.
That said, I personally have a difficult time picturing someone convincingly roleplaying a battle mage in World of Warcraft, given how mages can't wear armour and other classes can't do mage-y stuff.
Warlock
Warlocks need very little explanation. They are arcanists or shamans who have eschewed the usage of "traditional" arcane or natural magic in favour of fel-based arcane magic most commonly associated with demons.
Archmage
Disregarding the RPGs where archmage is a separate class, archmage appears to be a title granted to the strongest arcanists. Some notable archmagi listed on Wowpedia are Antonidas, Jaina Proudmoore, Khadgar and Medivh. The former three were all members of the Kirin Tor, whereas Medivh was in his own right a highly powerful mage. Additionally, Grand Magister Rommath was also an archmage of the Kirin Tor before he at some point left the organisation.
To make a connection to another fictional universe, archmages appear to be the Warcraft equivalent of a Jedi Master. Roleplaying an archmage would mean that your character would be on par with very powerful figures from lore. Even if you think you can pull it off... just don't.
Necromancers and Necrolytes
These two seem to be used quite interchangably. The original orc necrolytes from the First War were seemingly taught necromancy by Kil'jaeden, but beyond that there does not appear to be any real differences. Most human and forsaken necromancers will have been trained at Scholomance and have probably been members of the Cult of the Damned before somehow breaking free.
Necromancy is strictly forbidden in Dalaran and probably in other parts of the world as well. Roleplaying a necromancer is definitely possible - the best fits would probably be an Affliction Warlock or an Unholy Death Knight wearing a robe.
Warmage
In the non-canon description from the RPG, the Warmage apparently uses secret rituals called "battlemagics" as well as being proficient with simple weapons. They are however unable to wear armour because it interferes with their spellcasting. Not only is this information, as mentioned, not canon, it also directly contradicts the already mentioned battle mages who quite clearly wear armour.
There are, however, four named warmages who all are members of the Kirin Tor. Three of them are high elves and one is a human, speaking yet again for it maybe being an elven tradition, though the evidence is not quite as clear as with the battle mage. Given how all four of them wear regular purple Kirin Tor-uniforms, I believe that they are simply mages trained for the battlefield in general, serving in a more traditional support role compared to the armoured battle mages.
More in the second post.
