High Level Characters, Psychology and their impact on Society

[Altalazar]

Aside from the intervention of the gods, it seems to me that the D&D assumptions lead to Mageocratic Fuedal States. The Wizards, Sorcerors, Clerics, and Druids of D&D are not only the strongest classes but also control the means of production of the tools of warfare and are the best at projecting power. Divinations, Summon/Ally Spells, Charm/Domination Spells,Teleport, mass AOE spells, the control over the "technology" of the world (magic items), and usually really damn high mental stats, make it hard to imagine that casters wouldn't rise to the top of their world. The slow pace of state affairs and non-mage assisted travel means the Spells/Day limitations don't really apply, even without breaking out the charged items that any self-respecting Wizard has for emergencies.

Something I think that people are missing when considering the effect of high-level characters, is that you cannot be protected in the D&D world like you can be in the real world. A high-level Wizard CAN reach you no matter what and you better be capable of defending yourself when one does. No matter how wise he is or how many high-level characters the king has working for him, his 6th level Noble/Expert self is a dead man when the wannabe tyrant 12th level Wizard teleports into his bedroom. So, contrary to the real world or common sense, it always does matter how good a fighter the king is because it's laughably easy for any number of creatures/classes to bypass any obstacle or protection he throws up and go directly after him.

I think that boils down to how hard it is to find someone magically, and what you can do to prevent it. To use a real-world analogy (aaaaaaah, real world analogy with magic... aaaahahahaha - Ahem): The United States is by far the most powerful nation in the world. If we want someone in some foreign country dead, there is nothing they can physically do to stop us from killing them - assuming, that is, we know where they are. Saddam and Bin Laden are doing just fine, despite all the high level "wizards" like Rumsfeld who are out to get them with their "magical" flying attacks. So I think it ultimately is less about raw power and more about the ability to "hide." I wonder if wizards are considered WMD, and if they are heavily regulated as a result...