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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Al" data-source="post: 112844" data-attributes="member: 2486">Morale and Mage-SquadsOne element that has been overlooked is the effect on morale.  Now, the clerical troops may have better morale than the wizards because of x,y and z, but on the field these will matter relatively little.  What WILL matter is field morale: and if anything is going to get you down, it a fireball whamming into the squad next door, eliminating it (perhaps the sergeant not dying) and half your friends being barbecued.  This will cause you to run, no matter how nice your leaders are.The clerics don't use the same whizzbang type magic (flamestrike is unlikely to be cast en masse to the high-level) and hence cannot devastate enemy morale in the same way.The other aspect being ignored in the devastating effect of 'mage-squads': small groups of low-level magi how just pick off the enemy commanders.  A 1st level wizard is probably not a rarity, and if you give them specialist evocation training and some tactics, then you could form small units of (say) 50 wizards.  Now get each wizard to cast a magic missile at the enemy general.  He's down.  Repeat and replicate.  Clerics cannot do this: there first long-range offensive spell in sound burst, which has only a range of Close.So more justification for the Magocracy.Answering the point about lawful good restrictions: perhaps, but who says the wizards are evil?  Lawful neutral wizards could easily keep their populace happy and even evil leaders realise that a happy population is a good fighting force: the Germans under the Nazis enjoyed the highest living standard in the war of any European power (although the conquered lands may be different).  And of course there is more than just alignment to use as a tool: populist proganda and religious satire sates the masses and elites respectively, and can be dispensed by bards.Ridcully: Interesting point about individuals, but I believe you underestimate them.  On the field, effective commanders can make a huge difference.  Wellington once said of Napoleon (despite being enemies): 'his presence on the field made the difference of 40,000 men'</blockquote>

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