So ... nobles aren't all identical but they use the same stat block because that's the default entry? So every male in the U.S. is 5'9" and 197.9 pounds (thanks google) because that's the average? You were the one making the claim that nobles would be easier to kill because your wizard has 22 HP and the noble only has 9, not me.
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No, I was responding to the claim that noble wizards are more easily stabbed than muggle nobles.
But yes, you seem to have grasped the basic concept of what an average is and what a stereotype is. I didn't think this had to be a lesson on what "representative" meant, but here we are.
Nobles were rarely assassinated because personal combat capability of any individual is not particularly relevant when it comes to the functioning of a nation. Either every noble is the same or they are not. Either individual prowess at combat matters for most nobles or it does not. Choose a lane. Local warlords may need fighting prowess (whether martial or arcane), rulers of larger nations do not.
I've picked a lane.
Magic is useful to a ruler. I've noticed no one jumping up to tell me how the muggle rulers can unspoil grain or unpoison a well. Combat magic is still useful, even if far less so, because it makes you safer. Sure, only 1% of all nobles are killed violently, but the magical noble will not be part of that 1%. And over generations and generations of time, that selection pressure is likely to make a difference.
This isn't a bold claim, I'm not vacilating, I'm just responding to people's counter-arguments. Most of which have been "But the wizard would get stabbed! Because they can't fight!" Which, as you point out, is a non-issue, because personal combat ability doesn't really apply most of the time in the running of a state.
As far as the rest, I have no idea where you're coming from. If we assume that the individual combat expertise of a noble matters, there's no reason to believe that any PC class has a particular advantage. Back when leaders did go to battle*, they were there primarily as moral support and to inspire the soldiers. I think in many cases the soldier is going to be more motivated seeing a leader that's a fighter than someone running around twiddling their fingers.
But it's not particularly relevant. The power of the state does not lie in an individual except for the fact that an individual is a figurehead and symbol. People lined up for blocks to see Queen Elizabeth's coffin because she stood for something greater than the woman. She was a symbol, an idealized embodiment of national pride. She was beloved and, last I checked, she had nothing that would qualify her for combat duty even if she did join the armed forces for a period of time.
P.S. I was, again, using champion as a generic term as in the subclass of fighters and an off the top of my head example of a fighter not trying to one-up your wizard example. You're picking on minutiae instead of the content of the posting.
*Which died out by around 1500ish. Even before then most were never truly on the front lines, or if they were they were surrounded by the best troops available.
Situation 1: "Look boys, see that armored figure? That's our king, using his ancestral sword and fighting beside us. How inspiring!"
Situation 2: "Look in the sky, you see that? That's our King, he's watching over us, risking the arrows of the enemy. And when we charge, hes going to throw an orb of elemental flame at our enemies to break their formation. Look at him up there, and remember, he is fighting for us just as we fight for him."
See, the problem with "twiddling their fingers" is that it is usually followed by "and flies into the air like a bird" or "and kills six men in an explosion of flames" or "And brings back the dead". DnD magic isn't small and subtle. It isn't an old man muttering in the corner and causing a slight chill in the air. It is flashy. It is noticeable.
Additionally, why can't magic-using rulers be symbols? Why can't "they have mastered secrets beyond our understanding, and they have a plan" not be inspiring? Why can't they be embodiment of national pride? You keep making this claim that rulers are more than combat ability, but then you don't expain how being a magic-user cuts you off from those qualities of a ruler.
