History Main / MasterOfOneMagic

** Lina herself is top of the field at black and chaos magic, and is actually the only practitioner of chaos magic in the world and intends to stay that way. This is not a result of her greediness, but of her moral character; since the only two chaos spells she's invented are the Ragna Blade, which exhausts her within seconds of being cast, and the Giga Slave, which will ''destroy the world if she loses control for an instant''. She's somewhat less competent in shamanic magic and inept in white magic. Zelgadiss is the master of shamanism.

* Rincewind the Wizzerd from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' could be considered a comical version of this: as a student in the Unseen Academy, he read a forbidden spell book and one single, very powerful spell lodged itself in his mind. The spell is so powerful that it's semi-sentient, crowding out his ability to learn any new spells. He's very much ''not'' the master of it, rather it's the cause of a lot of his misery in the early books.

* Louise François [=LeBlanc=] de la Vallière of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' fame seems to be the poster girl for this. In the [=ZnT=] world, mages have elemental alignments that can be stacked (a single-element mage is a Point Mage, one who can use two elements is a Line Mage, three elements give a Triangle Mage, and so on). Louise is constantly mocked for her absolute inability at producing a single spell of any element... Until it's discovered she's aligned to the legendary [[GameBreaker Void]] element, and she's ridiculously and '''''scarily''''' skilled in using its Explosion spell.

* Megumin from ''LightNovel/{{Konosuba}}'' takes this trope to the extreme in that she can only cast ''one'' spell: Explosion, [[FantasticNuke an enormously powerful offensive spell that summons a massive fireball]]. Unfortunately, this spell is incredibly AwesomeButImpractical, combining the worst attributes of a Fireball and a Disintegrate spell from TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons; it has a massive radius and doesn't discriminate between friends or foes, meaning it can't be used safely in confined spaces, and anything killed by it is reduced to ashes... meaning that any valuable bodyparts or other loot is lost. On top of that, it has such a high mana cost that even the most powerful archwizards can only cast it once per day. Megumin, on the other hand, flies past this trope into PowerfulButIncompetent in that she has focused all of her skill points on maxing out her proficiency with Explosion, completely forgoing expanding her mana pool ''or'' learning other spells, so she literally only cast this one spell, once per day. It's true that she can cast literally the most powerful iteration of Explosion ever seen in her world, but even the base damage from Explosion is so high that her version is usually massive overkill. Note that Megumin ''could'' learn other spells, she just '''[[WillfullyWeak refuses to do so]]''', because she thinks no other spell is as cool as Explosion.
* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':
** Sylphiel is a master of healing and protective white magic (she can cast such powerful healing spells as Resurrection), and almost completely inept in other kinds of magic. In the first season, Lina tries to make her cast Flare Arrow, a simple shamanic attack spell, and the spell comes out as a harmless carrot. Later, however, Sylphiel surprises everyone and learns to cast [[UnholyNuke the Dragon Slave]].
** Lina herself is top of the field at black magic, and is actually the only practitioner of chaos magic in the world and intends to stay that way. This is not a result of her greediness, but of her moral character; since the only two chaos spells she's invented are the Ragna Blade, which exhausts her within seconds of being cast, and the Giga Slave, which will ''destroy the world if she loses control for an instant''. She's somewhat less competent in shamanic magic and inept in white magic. Zelgadiss is the master of shamanism.

* Louise François [=LeBlanc=] de la Vallière of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' fame seems to be the poster girl for this. In the [=ZnT=] world, mages have elemental alignments that can be stacked (a single-element mage is a Point Mage, one who can use two elements is a Line Mage, three elements give a Triangle Mage, and so on). Louise is constantly mocked for her absolute inability at producing a single spell of any element... Until it's discovered she's aligned to the legendary [[GameBreaker Void]] element, and she's ridiculously and '''''scarily''''' skilled in using its Explosion spell.
* Megumin from ''LightNovel/KonoSuba'' seems to be becoming one of these, if she is not one already. Her chosen spell is Explosion and she refuses to learn any others, preferring instead to maximise the power of her Explosion magic. Unfortunately though, due to being young and low levelled, she doesn't have the [[RequiredSecondaryPowers reserves of mana]] needed to use it more than once a day. [[spoiler:And then it turns out that she was saving points, which she asks Kazuma to spend for her to make her a more well-rounded mage...but then he realises that the best way to make her happy is to dump them back into Explosion again.]]
* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Archer has the unique ability to analyze, reproduce, and modify any weapon he sees. Their quality is so high, they're nearly indistinguishable from the originals, but they're slightly weaker than the originals due to the rules of magic. He makes up for the difference in quality with quantity, being able to make as many weapons as he likes for as long as he has magical energy. He's used this technique to stock numerous [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Swords]] in his HyperspaceArsenal.
** This also applies to the protagonist, Shirou Emiya. Which only makes sense, since [[spoiler:Archer is his future self.]]

If there's any magic-user organization that specializes in one type of magic, you can expect the Master of One Magic to be the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking head of the group]]. They're often subject to CripplingOverspecialization, especially if they [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer only rely on the magic they excel at]] when they can generalize their abilities. Also keep in mind that "magic" [[MagicByAnyOtherName doesn't always have to go by that name]] when adding examples. EnlightenmentSuperpowers, KiManipulation, PsychicPowers, and the like can be counted as well.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' introduced the concept of "Specialist Wizards" in ''TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsSecondEdition'', which invoke but play with this trope in various ways.

[[folder:Light Novels]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]

* Louise François [=LeBlanc=] de la Vallière of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' fame seems to be the poster girl for this. In the [=ZnT=] world, mages have elemental alignments that can be stacked (a single-element mage is a Point Mage, one who can use two elements is a Line Mage, three elements give a Triangle Mage, and so on). Louise is constantly mocked for her absolute inability at producing a single spell of any element... Until it's discovered she's aligned to the legendary [[GameBreaker Void]] element, and she's ridiculously and '''''scarily''''' skilled in using its Explosion spell.
* Zigzagged in ''Manga/BlackClover''. Most mages are capable of using only one element, and all known exceptions are instances of experimented mages, hybrids, and powerful devil hosts. TheProtagonist Asta can only use AntiMagic, Magna can only use [[PlayingWithFire fire magic]], Julian can only use [[TimeMaster time magic]], etc. However, they quickly learn how to use their magic types to do many different things, with the most skilled mages able to do [[SwissArmySuperpower near anything they want]] with their designated types.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Roy Mustang is ''theoretically'' a fully qualified alchemist who should, by rights, be able to do all the stuff Edward Elric can, only slower (since he would have to draw a transmutation circle). In practice, he barely uses anything other than [[KillItWithFire flame alchemy]], an art of which he is the only practitioner, leading to a RunningGag that as soon as his gloves get wet, preventing him from igniting the explosions he's preparing, he's useless. The flipside is that he is [[TheDreaded very, VERY good at it]] when circumstances line up to let him show it off: just ask the charred remains of [[spoiler:Lust]], for example.
* Megumin from ''LightNovel/{{Konosuba}}'' takes this trope to the extreme in that she can only cast ''one'' spell: Explosion, [[FantasticNuke an enormously powerful offensive spell that summons a massive fireball]]. Unfortunately, this spell is incredibly AwesomeButImpractical, combining the worst attributes of a Fireball and a Disintegrate spell from TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons; it has a massive radius and doesn't discriminate between friends or foes, meaning it can't be used safely in confined spaces, and anything killed by it is reduced to ashes... meaning that any valuable bodyparts or other loot is lost. On top of that, it has such a high mana cost that even the most powerful archwizards can only cast it once per day. Megumin, on the other hand, flies past this trope into PowerfulButIncompetent in that she has focused all of her skill points on maxing out her proficiency with Explosion, completely forgoing expanding her mana pool ''or'' learning other spells, so she literally only cast this one spell, once per day. It's true that she can cast literally the most powerful iteration of Explosion ever seen in her world, but even the base damage from Explosion is so high that her version is usually massive overkill. Note that Megumin ''could'' learn other spells, she just '''[[WillfullyWeak refuses to do so]]''', because she thinks no other spell is as cool as Explosion.

* Louise François [=LeBlanc=] de la Vallière of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' fame seems to be the poster girl for this. In the [=ZnT=] world, mages have elemental alignments that can be stacked (a single-element mage is a Point Mage, one who can use two elements is a Line Mage, three elements give a Triangle Mage, and so on). Louise is constantly mocked for her absolute inability at producing a single spell of any element... Until it's discovered she's aligned to the legendary [[GameBreaker Void]] element, and she's ridiculously and '''''scarily''''' skilled in using its Explosion spell.
* Megumin from ''LightNovel/KonoSuba'' seems to be becoming one of these, if she is not one already. Her chosen spell is Explosion and she refuses to learn any others, preferring instead to maximise the power of her Explosion magic. Unfortunately though, due to being young and low levelled, she doesn't have the [[RequiredSecondaryPowers reserves of mana]] needed to use it more than once a day. [[spoiler:And then it turns out that she was saving points, which she asks Kazuma to spend for her to make her a more well-rounded mage...but then he realises that the best way to make her happy is to dump them back into Explosion again.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'', each of the Mistings in Kelsier's crew is a master of their particular Allomantic power: Breeze in [[ManipulativeBastard Soothing]], Marsh in [[ScarilyCompetentTracker Seeking]], Ham in being a [[SuperStrength Thug]], Spook in being a [[SuperSenses Tineye]], Clubs in [[BeneathNotice Smoking]], and Kelsier himself in [[ExtraOreDinary Pushing and Pulling]]. Mistings in general are this; since they have only one of the sixteen allomantic powers (as opposed to a Mistborn, who has all of them), Mistings who take their abilities seriously tend to get very good with them. Full Mistborn, by contrast, are much more powerful and versatile, but generally have less finesse in any given power because they're spread thinner.
** Taking it to extreme are the "metal savants," single-metal allomancers who have flared their metal for so long that it's physically changed them. Spook becomes a tin savant in ''The Hero of Ages'', giving the reader an example of how much you can accomplish with nothing but SuperSenses if that's all you have to work with.
* In the ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' novels by Piers Anthony, everyone can only do one form of magic; basically, everyone just has one innate magic "trick" they can do. Some have the gift stronger than others, however, and the very strongest person in the land is usually made king. One king was a guy who was able to manipulate the weather; he used horrible storms to kill his nation's enemies, and nobody could pull up a tornado like he could. His successor, Trent, was a master of transformation magic. Humphrey was the best there was at information-gathering magic; if you wanted an answer, you went to him, and so on.

* In ''[[Literature/TheActsOfCaine Heroes Die]]'', Lamorak is a crappy mage overall, but his Dominate is really good.

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Androl is an asha'man with very weak overall power but an enormous skill for portals and travelling weaves.
* In ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'', nearly all mages are born aligned to one of the four elements, and attempting to access any element beyond the one you are born with is impossible. The only exception are the unaligned mages of the royal house, who are born able to use all four elements. [[spoiler: And the [[WhiteMagic orahs]] and [[BlackMagic hosheks]]. [[BlatantLies But they don't exist]].]]
** An extra on the author's website tells the tale of Kaltin [[MeaningfulName the Fool]]. Born aligned to fire, he attempted to master water as well and succeeded...for about two seconds. After that, the conflict between the two elements essentially caused him to explode.

* In Creator/SergeyLukyanenko and Creator/NickPerumov's ''Literature/WrongTimeForDragons'', all members of [[ElementalPowers Elemental clans]] can only control their particular element. It's not clear if anyone has ever tried to learn to control another element. Presumably, this is not looked upon favorably, as learning someone else's magic means you're not honing your skills in your area. So, Ritor may be the best Air mage in the Middle World, but he knows nothing about Earth, Water, or Fire magic. Ditto for Torn (Water), Anjey (Earth), and Navajo (Fire). The same is true for any members of any of the [[AnimalMotifs Totem clans]]. Totem magic is largely limited to enhancing physical combat qualities, although the status of a first-rank Totem mage is, technically, equal to that of a first-rank Elemental mage. When a third-rank Water mage forgets this and treats Loy Iver (the leader of the Cat Clan and a first-rank Totem mage herself) as someone of lower stature, she quickly reminds him by temporarily putting him under her control with some Cat magic. Averted with Victor, who is supposed to become the master of all four Elemental magics in order to become TheDragonslayer. However, it's implied that his mastery will disappear after his task is fulfilled (Ritor was once a Dragonslayer himself).

* Rincewind the Wizzerd from Literature/{{Discworld}} could be considered a comical version of this: as a student in the Unseen Academy, he read a forbidden spell book and one single, very powerful spell lodged itself in his mind. The spell is so powerful that it's semi-sentient, crowding out his ability to learn any new spells. He's very much ''not'' the master of it, rather it's the cause of a lot of his misery in the early books.
* ''Literature/TheLegendsOfEthshar''
** Tobas of Telven from ''With a Single Spell'' spent months learning ''Thrindle's Combustion'' (a spell which uses a pinch of brimstone to ignite anything flammable no matter how wet it is or what the conditions around it are and makes existing fires explode with incredible force) because his master was a crabby old man who was reluctant to teach him anything else. After all that practice, though he's got it down cold, and it proves remarkably useful (a well-timed casting puts paid to a fire-breathing dragon, for example). He does learn other spells later, though.
** The Frog Wizard is a man who easily and masterfully learned one incredibly complex and difficult spell--turning people into frogs--and nothing else. He uses sleight of hand to get by otherwise.

* In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'', the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions is an alliance of nine groups of wizards with different philosophies, which all have an affinity with a specific aspect of magic. The master of each tradition is supposed to be the ultimate authority on that particular branch of magic (although they are all extremely powerful mages in general too, and most of them are masters of at least two or three other spheres of magic in addition to their specific area of expertise).
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' also has schools of magic, similar to the D&D ones. Since ''GURPS'' treats magic in the same way as other learned skills, it is also possible to create a "Johnny One-Spell"; a character who only knows a single spell, but is ''very, very'' good at it.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Invisible Sun}}'' has Zelats, spellcasters who specialize in a specific type of magic, almost always to the point of mastering only a single spell. A few may be able to manipulate a particular facet of magic in a couple of different ways, but even then with a highly specific focus (i.e. magic to manipulate only plastic or wood).

* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', this is the case for all magic users; they specialize in one elemental damage type or healing.

* Amadeus from ''VideoGame/{{Trine}}'' is adept at creating objects and controlling them. However, he can't cast fireball, an extremely basic spell in the game, which has held him back in his academy throughout his entire life.
* Mages from the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series tend to focus on the type of magic they are named after, from the famous {{Black Mage}}s, {{White Mage}}s and {{Summon|Magic}}ers to the adherents of more esoteric disciplines such as [[PowerCopying Blue Magic]] and [[TimeMaster Time Magic]].
* Elementalists in ''Videogame/GuildWars'' can use Fire, Water, Air, or Earth magic, but because of the limit in skill slots and skill points it's best if the player specializes in only one element (often Fire, which does the most damage to multiple enemies). This does not hold true in its sequel, ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', where the most powerful Elementalists will switch their attunements in combat for a given situation, usually to make use of their combo fields.

* Kyros of ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' is a PlayerCharacter in a tabletop campaign with the rule that you can only spend XP on talents that you used in a session. This has led to something of a feedback loop surrounding the spell Fireball, which tends to be the only thing he uses in any given encounter, meaning it gets all the XP, meaning it gets more powerful and more tempting to use. He does eventually pick up ''some'' other forms of elemental magic, but his default reaction to most problems remains his fireball, which to the [[RunningGag eternal irritation]] of the Death of Extremely Overpowered Fireballs somehow never seems to kill any of his party members no matter how irresponsible he is with it.

* On ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Toph and Bumi are the best [[DishingOutDirt Earthbenders]].