Wizard Fights

How do you describe magic in your games? How do you keep players feeling powerful compared to the average dude after the 900th fireball?

Also my players have forced a wizard battle in my campaign. Anyone got any caster fights from movies/books I can look to for inspiration?

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>Anyone got any caster fights from movies/books I can look to for inspiration?
there was one from ancient Egyptian mythology I always think of in these situations

"The Ethiopian waved the sealed roll as if it had been a wand, and pointed to the floor in front of Pharaoh, muttering a great word of power.

At once there reared up a mighty serpent hissing loudly, its forked tongue flickering evilly and its poisoned fangs bared to kill.

Pharaoh cowered back with a cry. But Se-Osiris laughed merrily, and as he raised his hand the giant cobra dwindled into a little white worm which he picked up between his thumb and first finger and cast out of the window.

The Ethiopian uttered a howl of rage and waved his arms, spitting curses mingled with incantations as he did. At once a cloud of darkness descended upon the great hall, as black as midnight in a tomb and as dense as the smoke of burning bodies.

But Se-Osiris laughed again. Then he took the darkness in his hands, crushed it together until it was no bigger than a ball such as children make of the dark clay beside the Nile, and tossed it out of the window.

A third time the Ethiopian waved his arms, and this time he yelled as if the jaws of Apep had already closed upon him. At once a great sheet of fierce flame leapt up from the floor and moved forward as if to consume Pharaoh and all who stood beside him on the royal dais.

But Se-Osiris laughed for the third time. Then he blew upon the sheet of flame, and it drew back and wrapped itself about the Ethiopian. There was one great cry, and then the flame dwindled and went out like a candle when all the wax is burnt away."

I recommend reading the Eragon/Inheritance books. I also recommend you stop playing dnd

Gr8 B8 M8
Why would I stop playing D&D?

>read Eragon
Why would I read a poorly written dragonlance knockoff?

You asked for good wizard battles and the book's got it. You should stop being Dnd if you're looking for wizard that aren't simple human artillery pieces.

Dr. strange. I've never been a fan of wizards DBZ-fighting with energy blasts. I prefer more kinetic magic fights.

I would recommend The Black Company, it has magic users on a scale from "hey where did he get that knife?" to "I think to call him a god is giving to much credit to the gods."

>also it has a 3.5 ish RPG that no one loves but me.

I thought a really comical perspective on this was the "wizard battle" episode of Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time. The episode is 11 minutes long, and has a variety of situations. You bring up a really good question though and I hope we get some good answers.

The Adventure Time wizards are just great, kinda wish I had a system for that kind of churazy wacky magic user.

That is good look for Gandalf, few wear pink well but Gandalf does great job here.

Subterfuge stuff. Make weird bets and tip scales without getting caught.

games.ravenblack.net/rules/1/intro.html
One of my favorite iterations of "wizards battle", I always have a game of this with my friends going on the background since it's basically play by email/post. Randoms is fucking dead thought. I do recommend a few anons come check it out.

Incantations and dramatic movement is a must for any suitably kickass wizard duel. Can you fill us in on the finer details OP?

I think he's absolutely fabulous.

...

this is great but what in the fuck am i looking at

>wizards
>fight
If two wizards were fighting, it would be the furthest from a direct conflict you could get. Pranked letters, comically-dressed homunculi being sent to the other's tower to spill glue everywhere, the occasional murder of crows at 10 am (when a wizard sleeps), etc

this
a wizard's wrath is slow and petty as fuck. if you want cool light show battles, stat a sorceror

IIRC, the Witch King of Angmar sent many angry letters to the editor before EƤrnur, King of Gondor, would 1v1 him.

here to post best wizard battle ever filmed

youtu.be/GKm7NloL8bA

Thanks for that.

I'm guessing a couple of Goetia demons. Those critters were weird.

I know Harry Potter is a meme here, but Wizard duels in it are pretty cool.

youtube.com/watch?v=6Tbffj_04cI

Yep, them thar wizards sure do like their symbolism...

This looks like a soviet movie

unironically, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. love how they portrayed magic here: largely an unseen force that manifested supernaturally in the real world (possessed dogs, bird familiar, HASTE, etc.) really appreciated the lack of visual fx, and I think this has positive ramifications at the table too: magic gains something by not being fully bright and flashy and "seen", at least past its effects on the real world

this is the best duel in that series because it's the only one where they're not just blasting coloured lights at each other

I feel like wizard duels should basically be about who has the greater understanding of magic, so they'd be more like a debate than a fight

>two shit recommendations in one post
What did he mean by this?

Go on, try to justify your bad taste

youtu.be/5qqgPa33mXU