D&D General Wizards are not rational/scientists

[Blue Orange]

There's also a conflict between the meanings of 'rational' as 'acting according to reason and facts' and the more colloquial meaning (also present in economics and game theory) of 'acting in your own best interests'. Some degree of overconfidence is sometimes useful in social situations, for instance, and in cases of deception partially believing your own BS can be useful.

So if believing in untrue things gives the wizard supernatural powers (as some here have suggested), it may be rational in the second sense but not the first.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Yeah. It’s been a VERY long time since I read them, but IIRC Sturm came off more as “entitled bully” than honorable.

Which might explain some part of why Raistlin was so popular with some people at the time.

Raistlin is basically the fantasy version of a school shooter. The vengeful, toxic, incel nerd shouldnt be celebrated, but man, do people love Raistlin.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

You could go with both sorcerers and wizards needing some innate connection to magic. Like, in the Discworld setting, wizards are people who have the special ability to see and manipulate magic, which must be honed through study, whereas sorcerers (actually, sourcerers) are themselves a source of magic, and can control it directly.

If the rules reflected that, like if casters started getting spells at 2nd level, or had to pay an extra feat just to cast that might work. Unfortunately D&D just hands out magic easily. Every edition is just more plot coupons to those in robes, while scraps are given to everyone else.

Magic should be the last resort, not the default answer.

 

[Scribe]

Raistlin is basically the fantasy version of a school shooter. The vengeful, toxic, incel nerd shouldnt be celebrated, but man, do people love Raistlin.

There are a lot of kids that get bullied, and feel they are in his shoes.

(At least he didnt damn the world to oblivion? )

 

[Oofta]

If the rules reflected that, like if casters started getting spells at 2nd level, or had to pay an extra feat just to cast that might work. Unfortunately D&D just hands out magic easily. Every edition is just more plot coupons to those in robes, while scraps are given to everyone else.

Magic should be the last resort, not the default answer.

That would be a very different game. I know you can find examples of magic working like that, but there are plenty of counterexamples in fiction as well. There is certain ritual magic that is unpredictable in my campaign world, but most casters stick with the tried and true spells that work.