Magic Knight: Difference between revisions

 

 

 

For the purposes of [[Competitive Balance|game]] [[PVP-Balanced|balance]], he'll either be [[Master of None|weaker at spell and sword]] than a pure fighter or mage, [[Mighty Glacier|generally slower]], somehow otherwise [[Stone Wall|limited to being defensive]], or he'll be [[The Hero]], who is expected to be the most powerful character anyway. Usually, the Magic Knight will specialize in a particular class of magic (attack or healing, for instance), effectively making him a hybrid of only two "classes", rather than being an out-and-out [[An Adventurer Is You|"Jack"]] of ''[[The Red Mage|all]]'' trades. However, being a total [[Jack of All Stats]] is also possible, depending on the game.

 

 

[[Older Than Print]], as the [[Norse Mythology|Norse god]] Odin (who also [[Trope Codifier|made]] the [[Robe and Wizard Hat]] convention), was both an accomplished wizard and a powerful warrior.

** The only exceptions (so far) are Hayate ([[Glass Cannon]]) & Shamal, both of them followed [[Squishy Wizard]] rule not having [[Beehive Barrier|defensive]] and melee skills whatsoever (except in the game).

* [[CLAMP]]'s ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' is a possible [[Trope Namer]], since the party there is entirely composed of this type.

** CLAMP uses these characters in Fuuma and Kamui in ''[[X 1999]]'' also.

* Fay of ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'', also by CLAMP, looks the part of a [[Squishy Wizard]] but is a capable fighter even when he swears off using magic.

* ''[[Rune Soldier Louie]]'' - suposedly pure mage with pathetic magical abilities but great strength.

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' the magic knight is a magical brawler who makes use of quick melee attacks, or quick magic attacks. Negi becomes this after learning martial arts from Ku Fei, and learns better magic attacks from Evangeline, and Rakan. Nagi is the best Magic Knight around.

** Kamo calls Setsuna by the trope name [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v04/c030/13.html here] after he sees her using spell tags to form a defense.

** {{spoiler|[[Military School|Ariadne]] Knight Yue is somewhere along the lines of Magic Cavalryman, since her training is based on broom riding for combat. Her sword and armor is also of more textbook appearance of this class compared to Mage Samurai Setsuna and [[Kung Fu Wizard|Mage Brawler]] Negi.}}

* While not magic in the conventional sense the use of swords and kido in ''[[Bleach]]'' could make any shinigami count as a magic knight.

** With the exception of people like [[The Hero|Ichigo]] and [[Blood Knight|Kenpachi]], who have no knowledge of kido use and no desire to learn it.

** To be specific: None of the main five cast spells that are directly offensive. They all summon weapons from [[Hammerspace]] and either strafe with [[The Archer|bows]], [[Small Girl, Big Gun|rifles and guns]], or [[Hot Chick with a Sword|fight]] [[Blade on a Stick|melee]]. [[Combat Pragmatist|Homura]] is the most triumphant example, using a [[Time Travel|magical time machine]] while unleashing an unholy payload of bullets and bombs she stole from the [[Yakuza]] and the military...

* Yuusha of [[Maoyuu Maou Yuusha]]. He's quite the swordsman, and famed as such, but he has a handy-dandy teleport spell, is a good enough magical healer that their party didn't need a dedicated one, and is shown in one of the manga adaptations blasting through multiple squads of demons at once with lightning.

== Comic Books ==

* The eponymous ''[[Spawn]]'' has a vast array of magical powers in addition to his superhuman strength and endurance. These include teleportation, necromancy, and firing blasts of necroplasmic energy.

* Really, in a way the entire superhero genre is a modernization of this trope. (Or this trope is superheroes [[Doing in the Scientist|reverse engineered]]), with exceptions being a [[Badass Normal|pedigree of their own]]

* ''Grimjack'' is primarily a warrior, but he knows somethings about magic. He's better with guns and swords though. It's stated while he has a great deal of magical power, he doesn't have a great deal of control over the power.

 

 

* In the ''[[Choose Your Own Adventure|Fighting Fantasy]]'' gamebook ''The Citadel of Chaos'', the player is a master wizard with some additional swordsmanship skills. His (or her) spell selection doesn't include anything for destroying his enemies, though: Just stab your blade to their gut and be done with it.

** The fire spell could, probably, be used to this purpose, but the book won't allow it.

 

 

== LARP ==

 

 

* Shades, Elves, and Dragon Riders tend to specialize this way in the [[Inheritance Cycle]]. Magic and swordplay are often listed as "the essential skills of a Dragon Rider."

* Lots of these throughout the [[Deryni]] works, including:

** Alaric Morgan, Duke of Corwyn is Lord General of the Armies, King's Champion, and a Deryni sorcerer. His magic has the usual limits of all Deryni powers (requiring concentration to use it, for starters), and his arcane education is limited thanks to the [[Ban on Magic|persecutions]].

** To a lesser extent, Duncan McLain, Bishop-Duke of Cassan has both military and magical training. In addition to the limitations of Deryni magic, Duncan is a cleric who spent many years at university and in [[The Church]], but he is shown both practising sword fighting and engaging in actual combat.

* Anomander Rake from the [[Malazan Book of the Fallen]] series by Steven Erikson is not only the Archmage of his 10,000+ kin the Tiste Andii, but also the only living man with both the skill and resolve to wield the Elder-God-forged sword Dragnipur. He also holds the rank of seventh following an afternoon stroll, uninvited, down the main street of a nation where social status/rank is determined by martial proficiency (normally involving duals to the death). Did I mention he only magically left the nation to slow down his heart rate from all the fighting, and in the first book of the series fends off four+ High Mages singlehandedly?

* Serroi, of Jo Clayton's ''[[Duel of Sorcery]]'' and ''Dancer'' trilogies, develops a rather powerful innate magical ability over the course of the first series, but never seems to lose her formidable (especially considering she's ''[[Waif Fu|tiny]]'') martial skills. (In the hands of an author less skilled than Clayton, Serroi would probably have been a [[God Mode Sue]].)

* The Warrior Druids from ''[[Shannara]]'', as exemplified by Risca in ''[[First King of Shannara]]''. Unlike the rest of the Druids, they channel their magic through their weapons for exceptionally destructive results.

* Pretty much all Citizens from ''[[Codex Alera]]'', as half the elements greatly bolster ability at swordfighting. Depending on the individual, they'll depend on swords or manifested furies to varying extents.

** Mages born from commoners may choose a military career as an effective but appropriately risky way to fame, fortune and possibly nobility. Those willing to become front-line mages receive excessive soldier training to yield valuable combat specialists for the army.

** Those willing to trade their future and their very possibility to bear children for revenge can become "night huntresses", gaining both magic and combat skill from a possible [[Deal with the Devil]]. As a part of his quest to prove that [[Dark Is Not Evil]], Valle makes a habit to find, hire or pardon and redeem them.

* ''Alien'' by Igor' Dravin (''Чужак'', Игорь Дравин):

** While the Rangers' Guild employs a few non-combat mages, e.g. for interrogation, those on the front-line also fit this trope.

** The Clan of the Lynx has few mages, but those combine their clan's undisputed martial skill with battle-honed magic.

** ''Complete Arcana'' also introduces the Spellsword prestige class. By sacrificing one level to fighter (or another martial based class), you could get all the nuke spells as well as a -30% to your spellcasting failure chance while wearing any armor. With the right enchantments on your armor, you could wear full plate armor and holding a heavy steel shield and have a 0% chance of spellcasting failure.

** ''Races of Stone'' had Dwarf Runemages who used a form of runic magic allowing them to cast magic in full plate-armor with no penalty.

*** And now with the Hybrid classes, it's possible to make a combination of Fighter/Wizard, Paladin/Sorcerer or even a Swordmage/Wizard.

*** In yet another expansion on available classes, we're introduced to the Hexblades, Warlocks whose pacts carry decidedly front-line ability sets, but who still retain the class' significant damage potential and continual damage buildup over the course of each battle.

** [[Dragonlance]] gives us an interesting situation. There's a semi-religious organization of Wizards of High Sorcery that [[Lampshade Hanging|actually try to avert this trope.]] They've made all sorts of laws and social stigma against a wizard wearing armor or carrying martial weapons. Wizards who do so anyway are looked down upon, such as...

*** The [[Knight in Sour Armor|Knights of Neraka]] faction, the Knights of the Thorn. They can cast arcane spells with a reduced chance of failure when using armor, and often resort to melee combat. They are referred to as Grey Robes, in a [[Take That|mockery of the aforementioned wizards of High Sorcery.]]

*** ''Al-Qadim'' has Mystics of Nog - hermit battle-monk wizards.

** Warrior Priests, many Vampires, Chaos Lords of Tzeench in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]''.

* Mage heroes in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' tend towards this due to their relatively good statline and magic item budget. Special mention, however, must go to the plate-armored Sorcerers of Chaos, the Dragon Mages of the three elven armies, and the Vampire Counts of Sylvania.

**** Or so it seems, until you realize that your magic is boosted up to a certain level (if below) when equipping those abilities. A fully-maxed Black Magic command will make the bearer's magic stat equal to what it would be if he was a Black Mage, even in a non-magical class. But lower levels of Black Magic will not boost the character's magic as much...

**** And each class you "MASTER" grants its stat bonuses to your "BARE" or "FREELANCE" class

**** Actually he only looks like he's a Magic Knight wearing armor; {{spoiler|he's actually a tree. Not a treant-a tree.}}

** Terra and Celes from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' also qualify. While being the only two characters to learn magic naturally, both were far from [[Squishy Wizard|squishy]], and could equip swords and armor, including some of the [[Infinity+1 Sword|most powerful equipment in the game]].

** ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' had a very modular (read: Materia) system of setting up abilities. Thus, there was nothing stopping you from loading [[The Big Guy]] down with enough magic-things to stop a truck by their sheer mass, while trying to groom the [[White Magician Girl]] to do more with the staff than focus healing through it.

*** Red Mages often ''try'' to be a [[An Adventurer Is You|Jack]] version of this, but the trope gets subverted: their physical capabilities tend to fall behind quickly. (In some games so does their magic, but that's another trope...)

**** In ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'', the above comment on Red Mages is is true offensively; however, Red Mages can be considered the 'Defensive Limitation' version of this trope, as they are one of the few jobs that can likely take hits from nearly any defeatable monster in the game (the true ''tanks'' being [[Knight in Shining Armor|Paladin]] and [[Fragile Speedster|Ninja]]). Not to mention that they've been known to take on Gods one-on-one and ''win''... [[Awesome but Impractical|provided you have several hours to kill, spend gil on items to use, maximum skill in the job, and they only use magic to do so.]]

** Also using sword-oriented magic effects (mostly [[Elemental Powers|elemental in nature]]) are characters given the Warrior dressphere in ''[[Final Fantasy X-2]]''.

** [[The Hero|Tidus]] and [[The Lancer|Wakka]] are physical fighters capable of [[Status Buff|buffing]] their allies or [[Standard Status Effects|debuffing]] their enemies, respectively. And if you grind enough, you can customize them into having any sort of magic you want.

** The main character of ''[[Final Fantasy Mystic Quest]]'', who eventually gets every spell in the game in addition to his arsenal of weapons. Kaeli may also qualify (as a subversion of the typical [[White Magician Girl]]), since she uses an axe as her [[Weapon of Choice]].

** Genesis from ''Crisis Core'' infuses his sword with magic in an attempt to counter Sephiroth's [[Implausible Fencing Powers]]. It works until the [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] shows that [[I Am Not Left-Handed|he was holding back]].

*** Unrelatedly, the above link should technically be "I am not ''Right'' handed", since Sephy is a lefty.

** Given the nature of ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' (namely, being a [[Mascot Fighter|massive crossover brawler]] between ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' characters), there are several who qualify as this. [[Final Fantasy I|The Warrior of Light]] and [[Final Fantasy III|the Onion Knight]] can even be considered sort of original, being vague amalgams of the generic roles from their respective games.

*** The Onion Knight is probably the purest example of this trope in the game, since his moveset is split '''perfectly''' between physical and magic attacks (in order to cater to his [[Job System|Job Class]]-based [[Super Mode|EX-Mode]], with which he changes class to Ninja with physical attacks, and to Sage with magic attacks.).

* Some characters in the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series wielded swords in the front row, and were still very proficient in using rune spells.

** The main character of each game is almost always an example, starting out as an [[Lightning Bruiser|excellent physical fighter]] and later gaining access to one of the incredibly powerful True Runes. The sole exception is Chris Lightfellow from the third game, whose magic stats are so low that she can't even use her Rune's fourth-level spell without excessive power-leveling (or farming lots of stat-increase items for her).

**** While it is true that Chris is a poor rune caster, giving her the True Fire rune has the side effect of granting Hugo the True Water rune. Hugo, mounted on Fubar, with access to almost unlimited healing, can solo (well, duo) the final boss. Not bad for an RPG with six (6) party slots.

* The Druid and Paladin classes from the ''[[Ultima]]'' series - with the Druid leaning more toward magic and the Paladin more toward physical combat. (And in the later games, the "Avatar" class that only the protagonist gets.)

* The Priest class from ''[[Heretic|Hexen]]''.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' is full of such hybrids. The Shaman is a [[Glass Cannon|Nuker]]/[[The Medic|Healer]] who can wield hefty weapons and upgrade to mail armor, and on top of that he's a Device-type [[An Adventurer Is You|Mezzer]] with his Totems. The Paladin is a Healer/[[Stone Wall|Tank]] with the most impressive and complex Mezzing ability in the game, and one of only two classes able to equip shields and plate armor.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series has a few of these classes available as standard, such as the Battlemage. The nature of the custom skill system means that the player can create their own classes fitting this basic template.

** Healers, Sorcerers, and Pilgrims also have elements of this.

** The Dragonborn in ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim|Skyrim]]'' is another example of this, as even a starting character has some basic magic skills, and mixing magic and melee/archery is a good combination regardless. The Dragonborn also has access to the [[Make Me Wanna Shout|Thu'um]], which are [[Reality Warper|reality warping shouts]] in the dragon language and one of the more potent tools at the Dragonborn's command, so even a Dragonborn who isn't using any traditional spells will likely still be using magic in some form.

* ''[[Diablo]] 2'' has a few classes of this type. The Paladin (who can use both defensive and offensive magical auras) and the Assassin (with her magical martial arts) are the closest fits. The Druid can specialize in either magic or physical combat (with his shapeshifting tree), but doesn't really count since it's hard for him to do both at once.

** Ninten in [[MOTHER 1|the prequel]]. Of course, his tank status is not as pronounced because of Teddy and {{spoiler|a leveled up Pippi}}, but considering that {{spoiler|Pippi never fights directly alongside your party again after you talk to the Podunk mayor}} and Teddy {{spoiler|can be lost permanently to heavy injuries fighting off a powerful robot, and has to be if you haven't reactivated EVE before getting him to join you, so he's not around for long}}, he can take the most punishment for most of the game.

** Lucas in ''[[Mother 3]]'' is basically this. He is [[The Medic]], and has lots of defensive stuff and is the only character who can buff parties, but at the end of the day, he generally has the highest damage output by just attacking. He is quite slow, which makes it so that you can't rely on him to save your characters from getting KO'ed.

** Most of Organization XIII count as well, since each one has their one [[Weapon of Choice]] and [[Elemental Powers]], though some specialize in one or the other to various degrees.

* ''[[Age of Conan]]'' has the Herald of Xotli, a mage which uses big weaponry and [[Kill It with Fire|fire]]to put on the pain, as well as the Dark Templar, a defensive melee class which can also [[Cast From Hit Points|transfer hitpoints to their allies]], [[Life Energy|and drain their enemies']]. The Conqueror class is also an offensive melee class that uses [[Status Buff|'auras', 'orders', 'formations', and 'commands']] to aid themselves and their allies, though these abilities are not stated to be magical.

** From the same game, Magus, despite being an awesome magician, is a hell of a physical beefcake as well-dealing out a lot of damage with his scythes and generally having some of the highest stats in the game, be it physical OR magical. He IS an optional character, however. The only field he's lacking in when it comes to combining techs, as he's only capable of being part of two unlockable [[Combination Attack|Triple Techs.]]

*** Lampshaded in this [http://www.captainsnes.com/2002/10/31/223-magus-not-so-secret-weapon-2/ Captain SNES] comic.

* ''[[Dungeon Siege]]'' uses a classless system; as a result fighter-mage builds are very easy to develop.

** The expansion to the sequel lets you mix melee and nature magic to become a [[Dishing Out Dirt|Fist of Stone]], or ranged and combat magic to become a [[Bloody Murder|Blood Assassin]].

* In [[Guild Wars 2]], the Guardian fills this role, using holy magic, being able to use both magical and melee weapons, and having heavy armor. Thieves also have a few abilities along these lines as well, though not nearly as much as original Guild Wars assassins did.

* Older RPG-style adventure games can take elements from this, too. ''[[Castle of the Winds]]'', for example, lets you clank around in heavy plate armour, swing a two-handed sword... and when you meet a dragon, chuck a ball of lightning at it.

** The xBox 360 shooter version is the same way, allowing deportation and cybercrap in the same character.

* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', biotic users are the equivalent of magic users. The Soldier class is a warrior, the Adept is a mage, and the Vanguard is a mix of the two therefore it's a Magic Knight. Also by unlocking certain achievements, the player can choose a single skill as a "bonus talent" on any class. So a soldier or infiltrator can pick up a biotic skill, or an adept might learn to wield sniper rifles or shotguns.

* [[The World Ends With You|Neku Sakuraba]] can use all the Pins in the Games, Like [[Playing with Fire|Pyrokinesis,]] Shockwave, [[Healing Hands|Cure]] Drink, Force Rounds, [[Mind Over Matter|Psychokinesis,]] [[Shock and Awe|Thunderbolt]] and More.

* Notable subversion: the main character of the old [[ZX Spectrum]] Magic Knight series (actually named Magic Knight) suffers greatly in the actual knight department, although [[Samus Is a Girl|she]] can cast lightning bolts strong enough to weld golden sundials back together in ''Knight Tyme''.

* Arthur from the original [[Shining Force]] definitely fits this trope. Even though at first he's really weak, he becomes significantly stronger than almost any other knight, magic or not. At this point his magic pretty much sucks, but he's still the only useful fighter that can use magic besides the [[Bare-Fisted Monk]].

** Max, the main character, who, on top of being a good fighter, has some use in magic. Mainly it's for the "he who fights and runs away..." spell Egress, though he can cast the spell called Supernova.

* The Shake King in ''[[Wario Land]] Shake It''. He's physically imposing, has the same brute force based attacks as Wario, mainly for the first half of the battle... and can shoot both massive laser beams and lightning bolts all over the arena.

* In ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins'', there is a [[Prestige Class|specialization]] of the basic Mage class called "Arcane Warrior" that fits this trope perfectly. It allows the character to both cast spells and melee people to death, all while wearing heavy armor. A proper Arcane Warrior build is actually more durable than anyone else in the game, being able to solo dragons. They win simply by outlasting their enemies. On the other hand, of the possible Tanks they are the worst, as they have a hard time holding the enemies on them. They lack the warrior skills for that, the magical spells are extremely expensive because all their weapons and enchantments, the [[Ao E]] spells have friendly fire. The best route would be blood magic (stuns, does a ton of damage which translates to aggro and has no friendly fire) which almost prohibits healing and is [[Cast From Hit Points]]. The benefit of having a severely stunted damage dealer who can take a beating but can't get the enemies to target him (mages and rogues will do more damage, so they will pull more aggro) is questionable.

* ''[[Wild Arms 3]]'' lets any of the 4 characters learn magic through equipping Guardians. However only two characters can get close to Magic Knight, Clive and Gallows. The other two,Virgina and Jet, have poor physical stats and poor magic stats respectively.

* [[Luminous Arc 2]] have the protagonist, Roland, becoming a Rune Knight to use one of six elemental magic in battle if the Witch he's [[It Makes Sense in Context|Engaged]] to was deployed as well. The effects of Engagement gives Roland use of magic, give a nice boost to one of his stats and an elemental [[Limit Break|Flash Drive]]. The game also have {{spoiler|Master Mattias, Bharva and late in the game, the Stinger Squad via vastly improved Runic Engines}}.

* The (now defunct) online game ''[[Tabula Rasa]]'' all-but based the game on the concept, with general ''logos'' that everyone could use, and other ones related to job specialty.

* Sacred and its sequel had several characters (i.e. classes) with this sort of potential, most notably the Wood Elf in the first game, the Inquisitor in the second, and the Seraphim in both. Oddly enough, though there is a character ''called'' a Battlemage in the first game, and who claims at creation to be good at combat too, he's very squishy and is best played as a pure magic user.

* Alex, the protagonist of the first [[Lunar]], fit this bill, particularly in the Sega CD version of the game. In every version, he gains access to the extremely powerful Dragon spells, in addition to being the strongest fighter in the game (eventually outstripping even Kyle, the team's main tank). In the Sega CD version of the game, he had access to a wide variety of Fire spells, as well as Healing magic and the occasional "Kill Every Enemy on Screen" spell.

* A good number of [[Pokémon]] fall under this category. Their defensive stats and speed vary, but they can all deal decent physical ''and'' special damage and often have a large enough move pool to take advantage of both. They find their place on the team in the form of "mixed sweepers" (unless their user raises them to specialize in one offensive type or the other.) Examples of these Pokemon include Infernape, [[Badass Adorable|Azelf]], Deoxys (particularly Deoxys-A,) Giratina in both forms, Lucario, Jirachi, and Celebi.

* The very popular and very broken Kensai/Mage class combo in [[Baldur's Gate]], utilizing the unmatched raw damage of the Kensai and the broken protection magic and haste buff of the mage. There other Magic Knight class combos but this is by far the most popular one.

* Geralt (and all witcher) from ''[[The Witcher]]''is a lightly armored swordsman with a small array of magical abilities. He's also a bit of an engineer and am alchemist, able to make things like bombs, traps, and healing potions.

* Frantz and Angela from ''[[Rusty Hearts]]''.

* In ''[[Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning]]'', a player who chooses not to focus on any of the three main skill trees of [[Fighter, Mage, Thief|Might, Sorcery and Finesse]] and instead spread their skill points between two of those disciplines will develop into a hybrid class. Might/Sorcery is a tank built to withstand both physical and elemental damage, and convert a portion of it into mana. Finesse/Sorcery is more of a [[Fragile Speedster]] who's dodge maneuver is replaced with a short-range teleport that also poisons nearby enemies. Spreading skill points equally between all three disciplines unlocks the [[Jack of All Stats|Universalist]] who lacks any class-specific techniques and takes longer to get access to mid- and top-tier skills, but makes up for it by being better than other classes at what they ''do'' have access to.

 

== Web Comics ==

** Two noteworthy examples, Black Mage managed to blow up an iceberg by hacking at it with his knive and killed an entire cult of Mindflayers with those.

{{quote|[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/01/18/episode-504-tis-a-good-question/ Black Mage: Why would it explode?!]}}

 

== Web Original ==

* Derek the Bard, of [[Warning! Readers' Advisory|Warning! Readers Advisory]] is both a wizard and a swordsman.

* In the [[Whateley Universe]], Fey is currently turning herself from a [[Squishy Wizard]] into this. She's learning Tai Chi and swordfighting. Considering who she's up against, this is a good thing.