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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jürgen Hubert" data-source="post: 1129442" data-attributes="member: 7177">Well, powerful wizards would certainly be very influential, but they aren't neccessarily the actual rulers - just as in the real world the military doesn't neccessarily run the country.Running a country requires lots of specialized skills - a firm grasp of economics, buerocracy, political intrigue, etc.. While most powerful wizards would certainly have the neccessary intelligence to acquire such skills, they became such powerful wizards precisely because they focused their powerful intellect on matters of magic.So, unless the wizard in question is a mere figurehead, the actual rulers will be other people. They will treat powerful wizards just as another powerful special interest group (like the military or really big companies in our world) - they pander to them and give them all sorts of perks and tax breaks.This benefits both sides. The wizards don't need to involve themselves with all that political work and intrigue, and can focus on their magical studies - thus becoming more powerful. And they still gain enough money and gifts from various "advisor's fees" and the like that they won't need to worry about money.On the other hand, the wizards have an interest in maintaining the status quo - after all, if the status quo changes, their perks might vanish! Thus they will help out the ruler if it becomes neccessary...Of course, all this won't stop a really determined archmage who wants to rule his own country. But he will learn that either he will have to leave running the country to others - thus becoming a mere figurehead - or he will gain levels in classes like aristocrat or expert as he learns about this "ruling stuff". This means he will slip behind against rival wizards, which makes him vulnerable to them. Or he stays ignorant of politics and economy, but tries to micro-manage everything nonetheless. And in this case, the country will soon go broke or be wrecked by civil unrest...</blockquote>

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