Wizards in Eberron?

[TwilightWhisper]

Why are wizards supposedly "scarce" or "rare" in Eberron? I must have missed that in my reading this weekend.

 

[wizardneedsfood]

Because being a wizard requires a lot more in depth study and dedication than just being a magewright. For a (bad) real world analogy, why are there so many people who can build computers, but only a smaller amount of people creating new computer technology?

 

[I'm A Banana]

They're common enough around the centers of magical learning, I'd imagine. Just like clerics are common enough around religious centers, druids common enough in the great forest, fighters common enough in the monster lands, etc.

But by "number of people who have the class in the entire world," it's not a high number. Which is, I think, refreshing.

 

[d4]

because Wizard is a PC class, and PC classes are rare in Eberron...

i like the wizard's analogy re: computer tech though. that's a good way of looking at it.

 

[Hoog]

Wizards are not any rarer than in any other game world. There are just more magic using classes, especially for npc's as most craftsmen take at least one level of Magewright to help augment there crafting ability.

 

[Hellcow]

Because being a wizard requires a lot more in depth study and dedication than just being a magewright. For a (bad) real world analogy, why are there so many people who can build computers, but only a smaller amount of people creating new computer technology?

Exactly. However, if you look at the revised Demographics article on the Wizards website, you'll see that there are actually more *low-level* wizards than you'd get using the standard DMG rules -- just very few high-level ones. The basic idea is:

* Possessing levels in a PC class represents a certain level of aptitude and genius that not everyone possesses. A magewright can learn to cast a handful of spells, but the wizard's talent for memorizing any spell he can find -- not to mention creating new spells -- is something most people don't have.

* NPCs do not follow the same experience rules as PCs. An NPC can have a plain limit to how far they can go. If you have a 3rd-level wizard, it may be that he just can't advance any further as a wizard; he's reached the limit of his talents. With that said, DMs are certainly encouraged to mix PC and NPC classes in NPCs; so you could have a 3rd-level wizard/3rd-level expert.

The demographics article discusses these points in more detail.