u/PUB4thewin

Exactly as the title says, but I’ll provide more details.

I am starved for a book where magic battles are the crux of the series.

Where two or more characters face off in a battle of wits, luck, creativity, etc.

Wizards, witches, sorcerers, warlocks! Magic deals with fae royalty and mind games with demons. Good vs Evil!

I don’t need a series telling me “Dark Magic is actually good,” though I absolutely do enjoy antagonists who do clearly bad things with conflicting reasons. I can totally work with pure evil antagonists though!

I do love a series where the main character is just starting out and learning how to do magic, but I also enjoy it if they’re experienced but still growing. To give you an idea of what I’m looking for, I enjoy urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or Kane Chronicles, but high fantasy like the Inheritance Cycle or Harry Potter is closer to what I’m looking for right now (if you have an urban fantasy suggestion though, please mention it).

I would prefer it if there’s a hard magic system, or even just a mix between hard and soft magic, as long as it doesn’t look like the character is pulling things completely out of thin air without consequences. Pulling things out of thin air is reserved for the old dudes rocking long beards and the main characters reaching the peaks of their magic in the series, not book 1 kids who just learned how to change their eye color only to suddenly get awesome power as the next chosen one (quick note, I’m fine with a chosen one story as long as there’s hard work, and things don’t just magically fall into place)

Still, I’ll absolutely take any suggestions. Teenager to Adult target audiences is fine by me.

I do like it when a main character fails at magic and has to learn from it.

Not greatly required, but I also enjoy magical hierarchies, ranks, etc! Apprentice, Mage, High Mage, Archmage, etc! I love a Teacher and Apprentice relationship like Will and Halt from the Ranger’s apprentice.

Romance is not what I’m looking for, so if there isn’t a romantic arc involved, that’s fine by me, but it could be a nice add on. I may get flack for this but it needs to be said, I do have a preference for straight characters as I often relate easier. Side characters can be whatever though, as long as they’re written good.

Exactly as the title says. This isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, and another DM may have different degrees on power and commonality of magic in their campaigns. But I put so much effort into this for my own sake, that I thought I might as well share it. These rankings are mostly supposed to cover Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards, but fellow DMs may have other uses for these ranks with other classes. These ranks are also supposed to represent age/experience/societal background/talent rather than specializations like Evoker or Necromancer. I often use it as a basis for powerscaling any Homebrew mages I have, and I sometimes directly mention the rank when describing a character, though I almost never mention some of the specific in-game details like spell level. My players also often get an idea of how powerful a character is without getting a guaranteed idea, and since my ranks can be a bit broad in what spells they can cast, it leaves my players guessing, and adds a bit of mystery for them. Also gives variety so that not all mages mesh into the same background of magical power.

With all that said, let’s start!

• Subcategories. if they are mentioned in a rank, they are not official ranks, but rather a way for you to gauge how powerful/experienced an individual within that rank is compared to others of the same rank.

Spellcaster ranks:

-Initiate (Cantrips; possibly knows a single 1st level spell): just starting out, likely in a group. Very basic and general magical practice. Studying for an apprenticeship if they’re not already in one as a very new member.

-Apprentice (1st-2nd level): learning under a master of superior rank. May be with fellow apprentices or by themselves under a master (E.g. Mage, High Mage, Archmage).
• Initiate Apprentice (1st-2nd level): They’ve entered into their apprenticeship for a few months or even years.
• Senior Apprentice (2nd level; possibly even one 3rd level spell): some groups of apprentices may have a senior amongst them who’s particularly more experienced or studied compared to the rest. They know the master’s hobbies and preferences, where the master keeps their magical materials, involved in the master’s projects, and may even have been allowed to glean directly into the master’s personal tomes… or they secretly looked without permission.

-Mage (3rd-5th level): Qualified mages with varying degrees of skill. Well studied; the standard expectation of what a mage should be.
They’ve completed their apprenticeship, but may have more to learn. Works locally or may work for an organization or even still under an apprenticeship with higher ranks (High Mage, Archmage). If interested, they may have one to any number of apprentices of their own. Contents of estate can be very broad, from living in a small tower and land to owning acres, servants besides their apprentices, and a 2nd-story homestead that they’ve earned themselves or were inherited by a former master.
• Senior Mage (3rd-5th level): This is where many mages cap off in their magic for any number of reasons: They’ve achieved their goals, they lack the funds or reading material to improve, they’ve hit a wall in their abilities, or they focused on other things besides their magical might. A mage of this caliber would have a lot of room to enter into the worlds of the political and militaristic alike, enough that their influence in the masses can even rival that of an Archmage.
E.g. A senior mage of a formal military or political group could be powerful enough that at a moments notice, thousands of fellow mages could be moved at the senior’s command to act in times of war, political unrest, or natural disasters. By this point in their life, some senior mages could have apprenticed a comparable size of students who have grown to become powerful mages in their own right, creating vast networks of reach for the senior mage. Some of them could secure appointments with high mages (former apprentices) by a simple request, instantly cutting through lines of red tape compared to others. With enough influence, even an archmage could be strong armed into action by the motives of a senior mage. Some of them could even have contact with beings outside of the mortal plane, with varying degrees of friendship or servitude, leading to a complicated web of connections and possible intrigue.

-High Mage (6th-8th): Extremely mastered in their skills. For every 1000 standard mages, 1-2 reached this level.
Much of the magical, political, or military power that a Senior Mage can do, a High Mage could also have achieved, and the two are very closely intertwined. By this point, power has become very nebulous, and nothing as simple as saying “A is stronger than B.” The only noticeable difference is that a High Mage’s magical prowess could give it more options and broader tactics. A High Mage could mass suggest a scared crowd to action in dire moments, have a Homonculus to help with both paperwork and spy craft, a Simulacrum as a body double, a demiplane panic room, prepare a clone jar for worst case scenarios, or travel to get resources and make deals directly on other planes of existence. Not all High Mages seek power though, mighty as they are. Some can just as easily be holed up in a tower, reading their books, teaching their apprentices, helping their local hometown, & simply enjoying life, only to help major cases when third parties make requests.

-Archmage (9th level): 1 per continent, and even that may be overestimated. So extremely rare to achieve this level, that it’s hard to even graph consistency into their existence. Would not be a stretch to assume that if they’re not running a country, they’re the golden goose of one.
Much of what has previously been established for Mages and High Mages also apply to an Archmage, just with the added effect of doing things like nuking a town with Meteors, killing a person with a single word, or polymorphing themselves into a giant dragon.
In other words, go ham, and use everything previously established into this rank. How would an Archmage affect the world? Have they grown renown? Been to other countries, worlds, or realities? Drink tea with Dragons or have brunch with Angels and Devils? Maybe they only accept one apprentice a decade that show promise to become a high mage or greater? Are they humble or arrogant with the power to back their words? Whatever you do with an Archmage, many people should know of their exploits, even if they don’t know that their local mage eating in that corner of their village bar is an Archmage themselves.

If you made it to the end of this long post, thank you. please feel free to leave a comment, say what you’d use for your campaign, and if this hierarchy was of any help to you.
P.S. I may work in a hedge mage subcategory into one of the ranks to cover that particular genre too. Feel free to comment where you think it should go & what levels it should cover, or if you have a suggestion for a subcategory yourself.