Arcanist

"Madman? No. I prefer to think of myself as an... experimental scholar."

Yill Nivin, controversial arcanist.

Arcanist is a blanket term for anyone who studies the nature of arcane (and sometimes divine) magic, including wizards, inquisitive sorcerers, bards of the College of Lore, certain warlocks, Arcana domain clerics, artificers, and runesmiths. Not all arcane spellcasters are arcanists, though most wizards are considered to be, since they studied magic to learn it. Some arcanists are simply scientists, researchers without the ability to cast spells.   While there are gathering places for arcanists in almost every nation, without a doubt the largest is Candlekeep and its libraries, many of which are devoted to magical discoveries and techniques. Arcanists are rarely employed purely to experiment, though some strike out as inventors of sorts, selling their discoveries to governments and mage's guilds.