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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 8783995" data-attributes="member: 6801228">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. 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. 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.</blockquote>

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