Magic Users

The Pointy Hat, Finger Wiggler
White Box is built on the back of Chainmail's Fantasy Supplement and reading both can bring to light many similarities and carry overs. Magic Users are listed as Wizards in Chainmail and many of the abilities and features of the Chainmail Wizard character can be seen reflected in White box. The Chainmail Wizard can become invisible, they are impervious to normal missiles, they can throw fire balls and lightning bolts. Chainmail Wizards can also cast a number of other "spells" including the familiar Phantasmal Force, Darkness and Light, Concealment, Protection from Evil, Moving and Hallucinatory Terrain, Slowness, Haste, Polymorph, Confusion, and Cloud Kill. They can also Summon Elemental, Levitate and create an Anti Magic Shell.
Not all Wizards in Chainmail are of equal rank. Below Wizard rank reside the Sorcerer, Warlock, Magician and Seer, all titles that reappear on the Magic User experience level table in White Box. Magic spells in Chainmail are assigned a complexity rating rather than a spell level as in White Box. A lesser Magic User such as a Seer may attempt the more complex spells, but using an optional rule, must roll for success, delay or failure of the spell. Obviously, more powerful Wizards have an easier time casting the more complex spells. This roll for success mechanic is not repeated in White Box and is replaced with the familiar Vancian spell memorization technique.
Magic Users have been described as "artillery", referring to their ability to blast enemies with powerful damage causing magic, but I have found most of my personal enjoyment playing Magic Users to be in the more subtle use of their less flashy magic. Charm Person is an excellent White Box spell. It creates a "friend" who can show the party lots of traps, secret doors and treasures. Invisibility and ESP are great for finding out secrets. Locate Object is very useful if you have any idea what kind of treasures might be near. Phantasmal Forces has gotten my Magic User out of many a scrape and helped avoid many a fight. Water breathing opens up a whole new world to explore. Knock, Dispel Magic, Levitate, Invisibility and Detect Magic can all be used in burglary. One of my favorite White Box characters was a Magic User (probably inspired by a Jack Vance story) who used his magic to burgle his way to riches.
Merlin changing the Wort into a bird or a fish, the subtle magic of Gandalph the Grey, the many magical adventures of Harold Shea and the wizard's of Jack Vance's Dying Earth - Turjan and Mazirian the Magician - all no doubt were inspiration for the designers of White Box who include the Magic User as one of the three basic character classes there-by setting the game apart from other games by allowing the player some control of in-game "magic". Playing a Magic User allows for a truly unique experience in fantastic imagining. Only the comic book superhero can compare to the Magic User's ability to fly, read thoughts, turn aside missiles and become invisible. With the ability to research and invent new spells, the Magic User can potentially accomplish most any effect that can be imagined. As a vehicle for player creativity, the Magic User is unsurpassed.