[IceSC]

Sorcerers don't memorize spells or work with spell books, they improvise.


From a "how it works in character" perspective, wizards have to memorize complex formulas and magic words and stuff, and it's those formulas and words and stuff that trigger the spells and control the magical energy directly rather than relying on spells to do it for them.

[blueSC]

Wizards memorize spells: complex formulas, arcane words of power, runes, etc, and when triggered, those magical combinations of symbols manipulate the magical fields of the world around them to cause the effect of the spell.

Thus, the spell manipulates the magic and makes the spell happen. The wizard simply sets off the spell... they don't control the magical forces directly.

A sorcerer, on the other hand, can sense the magical forces of the world and manipulate them directly, bending those forces to do their will through sheer willpower. They do not need spells from spellbooks to manipulate the forces for them, because they can do it themselves.

For storyline and RP purposes, it could be assumed that because Wizards have the luxury of utilizing ancient spells that were developed with much magical research, their spells can be fairly precise and complex in their execution, because it is the magical formula that controls the magical forces. The sorcerer, on the other hand, will usually have more blunt, direct spells with less complexity, simply because they are often improvising and do not have the ancient magical background to guide their magic-making with finesse.

This does not mean to imply that either a wizard or sorcerer can cast more powerful spells - merely that their spells ought to be different in execution and effect, from a role-playing standpoint.