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Message: <blockquote data-quote="squibbles" data-source="post: 8418829" data-attributes="member: 6937590">I see that you responded entirely seriously.Well, let me put a little bit of distance between myself and the tongue in cheek defense of wizardly status quos which you quoted. In truth, no umbrage was taken by me. The reason I initially quoted you was for this bit:which I generally agree with and which I incorporated in my prior post via the parenthetical next to magic user: "but melt off the narrowly 'wizard' fluff/mechanics, such that the name change is accurate". Ultimately, in the process of writing, I got carried away when I re-read the surprise income inequality torpedo at the end of your post, and then failed to clearly connect those dots.So having said that in the spirit of friendly discussion, let me, as a contrarian internet pedant, reply to your serious reply in seriousness.I'm familiar with and vaguely sympathetic to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Merit-Whats-Become-Common/dp/0374289980" target="_blank">contemporary</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Meritocracy-Trap-Foundational-Inequality-Dismantles/dp/0735221995" target="_blank">criticism</a> of meritocracy. But you make an unstated assumption in the first option you present--i.e. "The harder and "more meritocratic" it is, the more a playground of rich people [becoming a wizard] is."--that hypothetical fantasy societies resemble our own.In the 21st century, wealth and education go together, the wealthy/educated invest in training/advantaging their children to succeed at tests of merit, and then said children, on attaining education and later wealth, repeat the cycle.But consider: is becoming a wizard a path to life success in the same way that becoming a lawyer/doctor/engineer is? Wizards aren't typically depicted as owning large agricultural estates--which is where wealth comes from in pre-modern economies (and that's what fantasy pastiche largely pretends to be). So if you have land and money and want increase your power, wouldn't you want your kids to join a different power elite? Maybe kid number 3 trains as a wizard after the 1st one inherits and operates the estate and the 2nd one joins the priesthood of Pelor. Mostly, for purposes of occult utility and intrigue, you would hire a wizard in the way that you hire other prestigious specialized craftspeople.And, you know, we can dream bigger--fantasy societies can be communist, anarchist, post-scarcity, paleolithic, or (fan favorite) violently bigoted against wizards. Merit in wizardry--and it's proximity to the rich--is different in each case. As an idea--rather than a 21st century socieo-economic fixture--merit isn't farcical enough that it deserves those scare quotes.Finally, to your last point about wizards being on a neverending quest of power for power's sake, that needn't be the case. Arcane power can be an instrumental goal that is pursued in service of other ends--if that is the motivation a player or DM chooses for the wizard to have. That arcane power can be proactively pursued (mechanically) isn't sufficient to conclude that wizards do so compulsively.And, moreover, couldn't I easily argue that somebody who gets their magical powers from a remote god-like being AND TALKS TO THAT BEING REGULARLY would be far more out of touch with the normal human experience (not that I am arguing that, I'm just pointing out that a case could be made pretty straightforwardly).All that is not to say that you have a bad interpretation of wizards--everyman sorcs and warlocks juxtaposed to elitist wizards could be a compelling setting convention--but there are lots of other interpretations that also make sense.</blockquote>

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