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<blockquote data-quote="Kurotowa" data-source="post: 8780145" data-attributes="member: 27957">What are their qualifications to rule? Bloodline inheritance and political acumen are their own qualifications, separate from and in some ways mutually exclusive with accumulating arcane power. You can devote years to assembling a network of alliances and favors that will put you on the throne, or you can spend those years studying magic. Pick one.So is it simply a question of power? Well, ascension and rule by power just makes them a warlord. And warlords only thrive when there's no nations to suppress them or heroes to topple them. A wizard warlord rules until an army marches on their tower or a Paladin with a grudge and a Spellguard Shield turns up. You might as well ask why dragons or giants don't take over the world.Do you imagine a setting where Wizards have become a keystone of society due to supplying essential magical infrastructure and then parlayed that into a political rise as the ruling body? That's ...not usually how it works. If you look at the world around us, people in essential jobs are underpaid and ill treated, not lauded and gifted with greater authority.A secret society of the wizarding world that discretely applied their magic behind the scenes to take control of world leaders? That sort of conspiracy theorizing isn't as funny as it used to be, and in a D&amp;D world it runs into all sorts of problems. Brave heroes, opposing secret societies, the fact that &quot;Is a Wizard&quot; is a pretty thin common denominator to try and build a secret society around...So I can see a specific villain, who happens to also be a Wizard, using magic for their nefarious goals of conquest. I do not see Wizards uniting as a power bloc, either public or secret, and making a bid for power.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kurotowa, post: 8780145, member: 27957"] What are their qualifications to rule? Bloodline inheritance and political acumen are their own qualifications, separate from and in some ways mutually exclusive with accumulating arcane power. You can devote years to assembling a network of alliances and favors that will put you on the throne, or you can spend those years studying magic. Pick one. So is it simply a question of power? Well, ascension and rule by power just makes them a warlord. And warlords only thrive when there's no nations to suppress them or heroes to topple them. A wizard warlord rules until an army marches on their tower or a Paladin with a grudge and a Spellguard Shield turns up. You might as well ask why dragons or giants don't take over the world. Do you imagine a setting where Wizards have become a keystone of society due to supplying essential magical infrastructure and then parlayed that into a political rise as the ruling body? That's ...not usually how it works. If you look at the world around us, people in essential jobs are underpaid and ill treated, not lauded and gifted with greater authority. A secret society of the wizarding world that discretely applied their magic behind the scenes to take control of world leaders? That sort of conspiracy theorizing isn't as funny as it used to be, and in a D&D world it runs into all sorts of problems. Brave heroes, opposing secret societies, the fact that "Is a Wizard" is a pretty thin common denominator to try and build a secret society around... So I can see a specific villain, who happens to also be a Wizard, using magic for their nefarious goals of conquest. I do not see Wizards uniting as a power bloc, either public or secret, and making a bid for power. [/QUOTE]

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