Who said that the minions have to be friendly to you? If you get dumb enough minions, they're not going to be able to find a way out of your dungeon. My point still stands. You're going to have CR 9 or lower minions filling your dungeon, just due to the fact that they have no way out.
The question of the thread is "Can the wizard do this", not "is this the best/most likely option for a 20th level wizard?"You know a lot of these posts assume a wizard dominating the world through power and such.
Why couldn't a 20th level wizard simply be a good leader, efficient, kind, and supported because he/she creates a much better world?
I never said anything about best/most likely option, I just noted that the vast majority of posts had the wizard ruling the world using evil or wicked means. So, I said, "Hey, folks, there are ways to do this without being evil, etc."
I completely disagree, but that is your choice so--whatever. shrug
The premise is just "take over the world", doing that without excessive amounts of evil slaughter & violence doesn't mean you don't take over. If the king answers to the wizard & asks questions like "will wizardBob approve of this action" first & foremost when acting as your puppet king that wizard has all the benefits of taking over without the day to day hasslesof keeping it running or the drawbacks of ruling over the ashes. Doing it peacefully in a way that keeps a stable civilization makes you less likely to face uprisings & such too.
It's pretty clear that this thread is supposed to use maniacal tactics to conquer the world. There's not many "nice dictators" out there, anyways.
I discussed the use of geas, cursed items, & magically binding contracts to ensure ethical/noncorrupt governance. Magical nervestapling done to volunteers who are somehow compensated are still nervestapled. Some of the most utopia societies depicted in fiction have dark sides that make the most crapack worlds look positively pleasant.
Your assumption and choice--again, just pointing out there are other ways. What happens in a fantasy world with magic, gods, etc. doesn't have to mirror what happens in real life.
. . . Did you not read the quote I posted? "Pinky and the Brain"? "Scheming Hats?" That makes it pretty clear that the thread is based on maniacal/typically evil behavior.
Even in a hellish place like darksun, the population is generally forbidden from literacy because that leads to learning arcane magic & defiling magic that destroys the world itself but the SK ruled cities have things like water food plus an oppressive military that protects the people there from raiders& each other resulting in something much better than the freedom to die of thirst/hunger, eaten by halfling, or worse outside the walls. Not only that but the K themselves are keeping the real big bad sealed away. you don't need to kick the dog to be any of those things you note
Ok, so then that is your choice and Stalker0's...?
