Is a mage's personality determined by their spec?

[JFrombaugh]

As we all know, fel magic (and to a lesser degree arcane) is the only branch of magic that can - and will, with prolonged use - cause the sanest, most level headed person to become a clinical psychopath. It's unique to this field of magic. If someone casts Warlock spells repeatedly, they will lose their moral compass. This was the magic of choice of Gul'dan, who as we've seen in WoD, was essentially the Lich King of ancient Dreneor.

But between the fact that Warlocks still use fire magic along with fel, while the Blue Dragonflight are also associated with the element of ice - as well as the difference in preference of spells between High and Blood Elves (frost and fire respectively) along with their personalities, got me thinking...

It's not very clear to what extent a Mage's psychology plays a role in spell casting, or if Arcane magic is entirely a formulaic enterprise. But I have always assumed (going by Medivh's interpretations) that Mage spells are no less "elemental" than Shaman spells, the difference is that Mages absorb elemental energies from the planes (using their own willpower) and then "shape" it into spells with ley lines, while shamans directly commune with elementals and are concerned with the balance between all four.

So going by that...
-An Arcane Mage would be the most scholarly of the three, applying the correct procedures to bring about results through formulaic manipulation of the ley lines.
-A Frost Mage would probably share these qualities, though perhaps with more of an idealistic streak.
-A Fire Mage would be the opposite of this stereotype, being violent and arrogant, ignoring the needs of others.

So do you agree? Or is arcane magic in general sufficiently science-y that there isn't truly any relationship between a mage's spec and their personality?

[Jaspias]

I wouldn't say that specs change personality, I WOULD say personality influences choice in spec, along with race. Blood Elves are more likely to be fire magi, as well as someone who likes to get stuff done faster. The Arcane Mage is the most power hungry, wanting to command as much pure power as they can. One who studies frost is most likely:
A: Studying non-combat magic, and learns to use frost spells as more of a self-defense thing.
B: Wanting to join the Horde or Alliance military, and is interested in being a more support-type
C: Student of another frost mage

[JFrombaugh]

Another example I just thought of are the Shado Pan Daily Mage NPCs ("Firecracker" and "Snow Blossom").

But anyway, I've asked this same kind of question about Priests, and it's widely considered that due to the nature of the class, Priests for the most part DO have a personality-spec restriction, as Disc and Holy Priests follow the teachings of the Holy Light and work within the church as healers and counselors, while Shadow Priest spells are horrifying and cause suffering, are associated with the Void & negative emotions, and so forth.

Although it's not clear whether or not Shadow magic is corrupting in the same way as Fel, from what I've seen, it's widely agreed amongst the RPing community that a Shadow Priest has to be either:
A. A member of the Cult of Forgotten Shadow, most likely a Forsaken
B. A pariah in their own land who is having some sort of "idealistic rebel" against their people and/or faction, seeking the Shadow for self-exploration and humanism.
C. A natural-born megalomaniac who takes delight in the suffering of their enemies.

But Divine Magic in general seems to have a lot more "rules" attached to it than arcane. So I guess what I'm trying to ask is this:
If a Mage was initially attracted to the Fire tree primarily because of its offensive power and destructive potential, do you think that in most cases learning the higher-level Fire spells like Pyroblast and Living Bomb would cause these subconscious personality traits to actually manifest in the Mage and change him/her to the point where he/she really does become aggressive and hotheaded, in contrast to Frost Mages who tend to be more coolheaded and defensively-oriented?

[Deleted]

Yeah, no magic specs changes personalities as such. The only thing that would have a remote resemblance is what kind of people are driven towards a certain type of magic. Although, in lore, mages can do anything. There are no restrictions between fire and frost as they are simply arcane magic twisted into something else.

[JFrombaugh]

I've never really fully understood how Arcane magic "works", whether it's done purely with ley line manipulation to create heat and cold, or if Mages work with actual elemental energies and then use the ley lines to control their release and "create" whatever spell they want. I've always assumed it was the latter (judging by spells like the Water Elemental and the Warcraft III Mage's lightning bolt), and by extension Fire and Frost spells COULD potentially be completely polar opposites in terms of what fuels their potency.

Arcane and Fel magic have often been described as being addictive. Here's a quote from an article I found detailing the various reasons why teenagers use drugs and alcohol:

Different rebellious teens choose different substances to use based on their personalities. Alcohol is the drug of choice for the angry teenager because it frees him to behave aggressively. Methamphetamine, or meth, also encourage aggressive, violent behavior, and can be far more dangerous and potent than alcohol.

It's confirmed in lore that fel magic is the same way. Those who "experiment" with it tend to find themselves filled with anger, bitterness, and hatred. These feelings lead to more of the same and then without really wanting to they fall.

[Wyrt]

Why would it be? Their personality might determine which spec they go for, but the spec won't change the personality.

Spec is probably more determined by what race/organization the character belongs too. Humans and high elves pretty much focused solely on frost(hence the mages in the RTS games being frost). When the Sunwell was corrupted the blood elves started using fire magic which was generally thought to be demonic in origin and was banned by the Kirin Tor.

Arcane seems to have been predominate with the draenei and the highborne night elves.

[Aquamonkey]

Humans and high elves pretty much focused solely on frost(hence the mages in the RTS games being frost).

Not really. Conjurers in WC1 used Elemental Blast (basic attack), Rain of Fire, and Water Elemental. Mages in WC2 used Lightning (basic attack), Fireball, Flame Shield, and Blizzard.

In WC3, Sorceress didn't have any elemental stuff. Archmages did only use Blizzard and Water Elemental. IDK what their basic attacks were except they're missiles. What's funny is that one of the Archmage hero names is "Tenn Flamecaster".

I know the WC3 description for Blood Mage says they abandoned the water and frost spells of the Kirin Tor.

[Grimsley]

I personally don't think it matters. Same as people who have the same real life professions vary wildly in personality, Mages will vary in personality in spite of their spec. I also think the idea of frost, fire and arcane being separate specs is more of a gameplay mechanic. Mages might choose to focus on one type of magic, but I don't think they'd go around saying "I'm a Fire Mage", I think they'd just say "I'm a Mage"