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View Full Version : Wizard Towers – why. I mean, really, WHY ?!



nonsi
2010-09-18, 09:57 AM
We all know why we adventurers love them.
They have plenty of monsters to butcher for XP and treasure to loot for fame, power and status.

But why would a wizard want to make one ?
It draws too much attention and it’s a hassle to maintain (not to mention every other guy wants to invade your home and have a piece of the action).

So what would make a wizard want to build one ?
What are the gains ?
What’s the required investment for each (time/money/skills/feats/materials/personal sacrifice/other...) – if there’s more than one gain ?


Anyone cares to raise a suggestion or two ?

Oslecamo
2010-09-18, 10:20 AM
Anyone cares to raise a suggestion or two ?

Well you kinda answered your own question. It's a bait to atract foolish adventurers and oponents, then you unleash your minions and traps upon them!

Alternatively a controled testing ground for the wizard's creations.

Also the ladies love the view from above. And it's imposing on the masses. Towers are much better to work your reputation than underground dungeons.

Really, you may as well ask why real world powerfull persons build massive shiny buildings without much pratical aplications.

BRC
2010-09-18, 10:33 AM
Well, really, few wizards build them, it's just that when they do, somebody inevitable kicks down their door, storms through their minions, and kills them.
The wizard, minions, and loot go away, but the Tower, the Tower remains. It's still intact, partially furnished, perfect for wizardry, a roomy library, minion quarters, a nice big magical workshop at the top, and hey, it's priced to move!

So a new wizard takes advantage of this amazing deal. Fixes the place up, fills it with minions, and well...

DracoDei
2010-09-18, 10:48 AM
I THINK the original source of the trope might have been getting above the light, and maybe some fog so as to have a better view for the stars for purposes of conducting Astrology.

ShriekingDrake
2010-09-18, 11:18 AM
I think there are lots of reasons.

1) As said above--a better view.
2) A tactical advantage in defending the homestead
3) the ability to make better use of one's spells
4) Making a statement that my towner is bigger than yours
5) to improve the diversity of the architecture in the neighborhood.

to name just a few.

Tetrasodium
2010-09-18, 12:14 PM
To be closer to the snarl, snarl-like power source, gateway to an alternate plane, or simply some other arcane power source.

To be able to draw power from the air & sky without getting noticed by quite so many druids upset about the trees, plants, and animals having it's life sucked away if done at ground level.

If your experiment goes wrong enough, and you are at risk of having your soul destroyed somehow if things continue, you can use a more powerful pre-prepared boom to clean up without affecting the land around or being affected by the land... perhaps the unmake reality for the last 24 hours and reset the clock with a warning spell doesn't work at ground level due to interference from the ground.

Lysander
2010-09-18, 12:53 PM
Well, the general idea of towers/castles/etc. is to make a defensible building. A wizard might simply want a home that's hard to destroy, sneak up on, or break into. Sure a cottage is less conspicuous, but if the wizard prefers power over stealth the castle is a good choice. Plus a castle/tower is larger, providing more storage space and room for minions. Not to mention it being a status symbol and possibly more luxurious.

Icedaemon
2010-09-18, 01:20 PM
Indeed. If the adventurers get into your tower without casualties (or at least a very hard time), you have worthless minions and should pay the adventurers a hefty sum for disposing of the incompetent vermin. Getting into a properly built tower is not easy. Getting into vital portions of the tower of someone who can teleport or at least fly should be even more difficult.

Jota
2010-09-18, 06:07 PM
Another discourse here (http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=51416&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=), if you care to peruse it.

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-09-18, 06:17 PM
I THINK the original source of the trope might have been getting above the light, and maybe some fog so as to have a better view for the stars for purposes of conducting Astrology.
Yup, that's what in my game a high-leveled Archivist/Loremaster did.

The campaign was in a world where meteors had started falling hundreds of years before, only seeming to hit populated areas or places of magic. Folks stopped living in the light and only in deep forests, caves, or anywhere hidden from the sky.

He went out into the middle of nowhere and built a tower so as to study the sky, devoting his life to the research of what was happening.

averagejoe
2010-09-18, 06:30 PM
The Mod They Call Me: Roleplaying games seems to be more appropriate for this. Moved.

Pika...
2010-09-18, 06:34 PM
Why?

Same reason rich people love big fancy cars and such. To show off, and prove who is the better Wizard out there.


Us Psions are too well entwined with our inner true selves to have such complexes. :smallconfused:

Dust
2010-09-18, 06:36 PM
The tower of Babel complex is strong among ego-centric wizards.

Fable Wright
2010-09-18, 06:38 PM
Another possibility is the psychological impact of the tower. If an evil overlord wizard gets one, and it shoots into the sky, everyone in the village knows it's there. They're constantly being reminded of the wizard's presence, and it makes them think that they're being watched, and the power of the wizard. Not to mention, for the wizard, they get a vantage point to all of the surrounding area, and they can see, or scry, most of the area they control. In addition, the tower itself most likely the limit of the defensive structures. A clever wizard would have a key to teleport to a dungeon in an unknown location from the tower; most adventurers/people who would unseat the wizard's rule wouldn't scour the land looking for the wizard's unknown underground fortress when there's a giant tower that they know the wizard will be in. It allows the secret underground lab to remain unnoticed. Not to mention that it's not too much work to actually make one; just cast fabricate several times [if you play D&D], or some other magic that builds things, and you don't actually need to expend alot of gold to make it. All in all, it does provide a large number of benefits, and, if they have the appropriate magic, for relatively little cost.

Skeletor
2010-09-18, 06:40 PM
It's a giant penis, to show off to all your other wizard buddies, and to make the common people fear you!

Pika...
2010-09-18, 06:43 PM
It's a giant penis, to show off to all your other wizard buddies, and to make the common people fear you!


That is what I said, except I just hinted at the bigger wee-wee/ego part...

Tyrrell
2010-09-18, 06:44 PM
Depending upon your setting (for standard fiction) or system (for games) ti might be beneficial.

In Ars Magica there are defensive magics a group of wizards can place on their home that actually provide a greater benefit then the disadvantage of everyone knowing where you live. That coupled with the fact that centers of population tend to have Divine rather than magical auras and the existence of magical tower creation rituals that are a darn sight more practical than getting hundreds of workers to make you a decent house makes the Wizard's tower the abode f choice in the setting.

Also The wizards have got to live someplace. If they really want get mail and exchange their research notes and invitations to parties with their colleagues, not having an address is a problem.

Heliomance
2010-09-18, 06:46 PM
Not to mention that it's not too much work to actually make one; just cast fabricate several times [if you play D&D], or some other magic that builds things, and you don't actually need to expend alot of gold to make it.
Especially if you have a DM who is willing to play ball on such things. One game I was in, we ended up owning our own kingdom, and promptly set about a massive improvement program including a major roadbuilding initiative. Sod the Lyre of Building, we made an Alphorn of Building.

FMArthur
2010-09-18, 06:52 PM
They build them as an open challenge to would-be heroes. The size of your tower relects the sheer amount of contempt you have for those who would challenge you. This contempt should generally correspond to how powerful the wizard actually is. I suppose it's possible that a tower so tall that it is in danger of colliding with the moon will contain some preposterously wealthy low-level chump or some noncaster inheritor of an ancient relic, but you're more likely to find some kind of Beholder Mage bull**** at the top of such a tower and should be prepared for such.

Knaight
2010-09-18, 07:00 PM
Towers represent a defensible structure. In the real world, there are several ways they work as a force multiplier when defending, there is an advantage of having the higher ground, and spiral staircases can take advantage of most people being right handed, thus letting defenders expose less of their body than the attackers have to. Plus, in a narrow area its harder to use sheer numbers to ones advantage. With these realities, the defensible archetype emerged, and if you take wizards as individualist and isolated, it makes a lot of sense.

lsfreak
2010-09-18, 08:00 PM
They're stuck in the Phallic Stage.

Lolfraud. More seriously, smart ones aren't. Smart ones are either hidden, or don't go around making enemies and are comfortable hanging out at the local university.

Arbane
2010-09-18, 08:12 PM
Towers represent a defensible structure.

In a world where people can fly, teleport, or summon earthquakes, it's not _as_ good a defense, but it still keeps the riff-raff out.

Knaight
2010-09-18, 08:29 PM
In a world where people can fly, teleport, or summon earthquakes, it's not _as_ good a defense, but it still keeps the riff-raff out.

Its really a case of represent more than function as once magic beyond level 2 or so gets introduced.

Randel
2010-09-18, 08:48 PM
1). The wizard can still build a dungeon below the tower, they just put the tower there so its easier to find when flying overhead.

2). They can put someone at the top of the tower to keep an eye out for adventurers or enemies heading towards the tower. Then they set up whatever defenses they need in the meantime. Cheaper than building a bunch of magic items or using scry spells constantly.

3). Gives them a nice line of sight to anyone below them, set up a telescope and they can see even farther.

4). If enemies come then they can drop some Fog spells at the base of their tower to get anyone who moves near the base, then toss fireballs at the crowd below.

5). The tower is huge, obvious, and teaming with traps. Thats why the wizards real base of operations is elsewhere.

Rogue: You mean we spent twelve hours fighting acidic slime monsters and sacrificed three of our teammates just to find a box of some wizards old porn collection?

Bard: Well, maybe he lives in a dungeon and doesn't have a proper attic to store stuff in?

*monsters start banging on the door*

Rogue: Okay fine, but how do we get out of here now that the meat shield is dead?

Bard: *jumps out the window with the box of porn* Feather Fall!

Tequila Sunrise
2010-09-18, 08:53 PM
Saruman did it.

RebelRogue
2010-09-18, 09:15 PM
Because... a wizard did it!

But seriously, I think it's from Lord of the Rings.

Flickerdart
2010-09-18, 09:30 PM
The tower is secretly a missile silo, and aboveground because the wizard didn't want to deal with flooding and didn't need to hide it (because nobody knows what a missile silo is).

BobVosh
2010-09-18, 09:51 PM
The same reason Invader Zim's Martians upgraded Mars into a space ship. Cuz its cool.

herrhauptmann
2010-09-18, 10:32 PM
Because... a wizard did it!

But seriously, I think it's from Lord of the Rings.
The Robert E Howard stories of Conan often featured powerful wizards/priests secluded in a tower. They usually had the following for protection:
-Mundane guards, generally sucked when compared to Conan
-Exotic animals, usually serpents and lions
-Extremely exotic animals: hybrid animals, magically enlarged creatures, etc
-1 very powerful creature from other planes of existence (this usually precluded the existence of the other guardians) Often something that looked out of a HP Lovecraft story.
-The wizard. Often had time for only 1 or 2 spells before conan kills him (if bleeds like a man, then I can kill it mentality)

The publishing of Conan predated the publishing of Lord of the Rings. Though I doubt that JRR Tolkien ever read "Weird Tales" in the 1930s.

Rezby
2010-09-18, 10:34 PM
Because Freud Was Right and everyone has penis envy - even those with giant ****-homes that rule the world.

Knaight
2010-09-18, 10:53 PM
But seriously, I think it's from Lord of the Rings.

I suspect Mallory's Arthurian legend had it, but can't remember.

dextercorvia
2010-09-18, 11:18 PM
A tower also allows you to build rooms exactly 10 feet apart vertically. When a 2e teleport spell left you over or under your intended destination, you were still where you wanted to be.

Archpaladin Zousha
2010-09-19, 01:38 AM
1). The wizard can still build a dungeon below the tower, they just put the tower there so its easier to find when flying overhead.

"Why build a tower to keep the beast underground? Sometimes I think the Horadrim lacked common sense!" - Hratli, enchanter and blacksmith from Diablo II.

OracleofWuffing
2010-09-19, 01:53 AM
Because for some odd reason, some deity decided to put a macguffin up in the stratosphere that will grant whoever grabs it any of their desires and also can be used to destroy said deity. By getting closer to the Blue Crystal Rod, you increase your chances of getting your wish granted from zero to nonze-

Whoops.

I mean, uh, have you looked at real estate prices today? Simply put, it's more economical to have a building which expands upwards as opposed to outwards, just because of the extra land you won't need to buy. Sure, anybody can get a nigh-limitless supply of gold without much work these days, but it's better to spend that on magical items and the like than your silly little mundane hovel.

HunterOfJello
2010-09-19, 02:01 AM
A proper wizard tower is a status symbol for a wizard.

bloodtide
2010-09-19, 02:19 AM
In the Forgotten Realms, the idea of wizard towers comes from the elves.

In the good old days(like in -9000 DR), most elves lived in trees, in typical 'elven tree towns'. Often 'tree towns' were on the edge of an elven land or otherwise a place where non-elves could go.

So when non elves met powerful elven spell casters, they lived high up in a tree house. This spread the legend of 'wizards living up high'. And when other races learned magic themselves, the wizards built towers to 'live up high, just like the elves'.

Over the centuries it has just become the 'wizard's thing'.

Bayar
2010-09-19, 04:07 AM
Wizard towers are more practical when built in a remote location. Not only does it offer a good place to rest, relax, hang around with your party / henchmen. And when you are researching a new spell, you can always do it in your deep underground dungeon, so if the bat guano hits the fan at least it won't devastate the whole countryside.

FelixG
2010-09-19, 05:21 AM
Towers have always provided befensable locations, why build a keep? its above ground and its big and people can spy it for miles around! Same deal with a tower on a smaller scale.

Its secluded for one, you can keep your valuables in the highest part of the tower and thus prevent a good deal of robery.

if someone wants to invade they have to fight UP a staircase which can be suicidal in the best of times, many traps can be put on the stairs (oil+fire or soap can make fighting up the staircase even more suicidal)

And its just generally a good view. Who wouldn't want to be on high and see for miles around all that is theirs?

BobVosh
2010-09-19, 06:43 AM
In the Forgotten Realms, the idea of wizard towers comes from the elves.

In the good old days(like in -9000 DR), most elves lived in trees, in typical 'elven tree towns'. Often 'tree towns' were on the edge of an elven land or otherwise a place where non-elves could go.

So when non elves met powerful elven spell casters, they lived high up in a tree house. This spread the legend of 'wizards living up high'. And when other races learned magic themselves, the wizards built towers to 'live up high, just like the elves'.

Over the centuries it has just become the 'wizard's thing'.

It is the small things in FR that I really like.

Chipp Zanuff
2010-09-19, 06:54 AM
But why would a wizard want to make one ?

Wizards build towers for the same reason people play Dwarf Fortress: Cause' its fun.


It is the small things in FR that I really like.

Are you like me then, and hate everything else about it? Or is there enough small stuff to make you enjoy it?

BobVosh
2010-09-19, 07:16 AM
Are you like me then, and hate everything else about it? Or is there enough small stuff to make you enjoy it?

I'm indifferent about the realms. The little details, mainly because of how explored it is, are great. The big details that are limiting, mainly because of how explored it is, are annoying.

Overall I can go with or against it. Although 4ed compounds it, I'm not one of the ones who think it was completely ruined by the new edition. Although I haven't seen one of those threads in a long time.

Sewercop
2010-09-19, 08:11 AM
Personaly I like the idea of a wizard that sees it as a hobby.

Wizard:Have you actually looked at what the tower is made of?

Fighter:Nah, they all look the same. Its a tower...

Wizard:How dare you, I used no magic when i researched this new type of
nails.

Fighter:Wut?

Wizard:Yeah, you heard me. These nails holding the walls together are my own invention. Took me four years of research.

Fighter:Why?But but,,,can`t you just wish for one?

Wizard:You just do not see it. I did this. Not magic.

Fighter:So the weak minions that the insane murdering hobos kills every other year?

Wizard:Yeah, exstensiv breeding. Magic,well.... I kinda like to think i am able to do things without it....

Fighter:Seriously?

Wizard:You know.. I am jealous of you. All you do is you. Me... I have magic.It`s depressing not being able to do anything with just my hands. So I started researching how to construct a house... Just to make my father proud... He is a carpenter... He never liked magic...

Fighter:Stop... I have heard enough. Because you wanted to make your dad proud?

Wizard:Yeah:) And I needed a hobby too.

Shatteredtower
2010-09-19, 08:12 AM
Wizards don't build towers. The towers draw wizards to them to form a symbiotic relationship that attracts the real prey.

The drawback to this approach is that it clearly displays levels for all the metagamers to see. Some things just take the whole sympathetic magic thing too far.

Lysander
2010-09-19, 08:48 AM
A wizard doesn't NEED a tower though. Depending on their wealth they might own a mansion in the city, or a Versaille-like gorgeous but fragile palace in the country.

What kind of wizard owns a tower? One who worries about intruders or enemies. Just because they have magical defenses doesn't mean they entirely ignore mundane defenses. It's kind of like the prison forcefields in Star Trek. Why not also have steel bars, so when the forcefield turns off the prisoners can't all escape? Having a tower is a wizard smartly applying their own magical defenses onto an already existing defensible mundane structure.

Also, we're assuming the wizard has good magical defenses. Maybe they skimped on abjurations.

Caustic Soda
2010-09-19, 08:58 AM
Beyond practical reasons there's convention. Both on a meta, genre-based level, and often in-universe as well. If powerful Wizards live in towers, and Wizard X wants to proclaim his power for all to see, then he/she will want a tower. You'll note that the alternatives offered, mansions and castles, also convey the impression of power and/or are relatively easily defensible. Same reason there. Occasionally, you get the same thing with dungeons, crypts etc. Such as the demilich from tomb of Horrors, or that guy from FR who lives in a dungeon under Waterdeep.

BeholderSlayer
2010-09-19, 09:37 AM
A smart wizard builds an inverted tower into the underground. Castles, towers, etc. are all easily attacked and penetrated. You leave yourself wide open to other wizards. Underground is the way to go, until you can cast Genesis.

RebelRogue
2010-09-19, 10:36 AM
The Robert E Howard stories of Conan often featured powerful wizards/priests secluded in a tower. They usually had the following for protection:
-Mundane guards, generally sucked when compared to Conan
-Exotic animals, usually serpents and lions
-Extremely exotic animals: hybrid animals, magically enlarged creatures, etc
-1 very powerful creature from other planes of existence (this usually precluded the existence of the other guardians) Often something that looked out of a HP Lovecraft story.
-The wizard. Often had time for only 1 or 2 spells before conan kills him (if bleeds like a man, then I can kill it mentality)

The publishing of Conan predated the publishing of Lord of the Rings. Though I doubt that JRR Tolkien ever read "Weird Tales" in the 1930s.


I suspect Mallory's Arthurian legend had it, but can't remember.

Seems like I was wrong. I still think Tolkien might be the Trope Codifier to some degree, though.

MarkusWolfe
2010-09-19, 11:15 AM
1. Status symbol
2. Phallic Imagery
3. Very good from a defensive point of view
4. Great view
5. Good for studying astrology
6. Lots of floorspace for relatively little land
7. Very intimidating
8. Keeps riff raff out
9. Easy to spot when you're flying home
10. Distracts folks from what's going on in the basement

FMArthur
2010-09-19, 12:28 PM
Eh, considering the amount of miner races in the underdark and the number of races/monsters down there that can seem to burrow through stone at will, building a tower down is probably a big mistake.

Bayar
2010-09-19, 12:33 PM
A smart wizard builds an inverted tower into the underground. Castles, towers, etc. are all easily attacked and penetrated. You leave yourself wide open to other wizards. Underground is the way to go, until you can cast Genesis.

Unless some smartass decides to flood it with a decanter of endless water.

Knaight
2010-09-19, 12:41 PM
Unless some smartass decides to flood it with a decanter of endless water.

Or, for a slight twist, do some minor terraforming and build a basin above it.

Shademan
2010-09-19, 12:53 PM
TLDR.
Imma just gonna answer OP.
here we have a guy who have spent his entire life to gain IMMENSE COSMIC POWER!
and now he is building a huge tower?

one word to answer it: COMPENSATING!*



*) not neccesarly compensating for the normal, comical reason (you know what I mean) but maybe for other reasons, such as being a small weakling, or always having been picked on or whatever

oxybe
2010-09-19, 01:00 PM
why towers?

why not?

with all the crazy stuff in D&D land, a tower is no safer then any other settlement really.

if you build it up, those burrowing races could simply remove the foundation from your tower and make it fall in short time. or it could be bullrushed by huge/gargantuan pack animal. nothing says "LOL TOWER DEFENSE!" then a druid summoning an elephant, casting animal growth and then bull's strength.

if you build it going down underground there are many ways to flood it, either by water or jerk moves like spamming cloudkills to clear the floors of all mooks or weaken the rest.

if you build your tower so it floats in the sky, flight is easy enough to get so you can expect people to go up under/over your tower and start obliterating it via magic.

you build your tower in a pocket dimention and some jerk will probably lock you out of the prime material plane somehow.

you build a tower because you want a gorddarned motherfudging tower, regional zoning laws be damned.

Tiki Snakes
2010-09-19, 01:21 PM
Because everybody knows that Wizards live in Towers.
Also that a Wizard's Staff has a Knob on the End (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtLwsd3i6v0).
And no, I can't explain the Panda.

Jarawara
2010-09-19, 01:30 PM
Wolzfeng, the administrator to Carkren's school of Wizardry, sat in his viewing room. Using clairaudience, he listened into one of the classrooms as the professor was discussing the day's lesson. He recognized the voice of the professor, Julianne Narsipol, who was only recently out of wizard training herself. The administrator was curious as to how well she could manage the students.

*~*

Julianne: "OK class, today we are going to be talking about the third most important possession a wizard must have: The Tower. We already studied the most important wizard possession, his spellbook, and who here can tell me the second most important item?"

A voice calls out "His Wand!"

Julianne: "That is correct, Exeisiel. Or his Staff, or Rod. A focal point to direct his magical enegies."

Another voice is heard: "Behold my Rod of Lordly might!" Laughs and giggles cross the classroom in waves.

Julianne: "That's enough of that, Mourheim. Keep your Lordly rod in your pocket if you don't mind." Another wave of giggles, cut short by a warning from the professor.

Julianne: "Now, back to the archtypical wizard's home, the tower. A pronoucement of his or her power, the tower is both an easily defendable place of solitude as well as compartmentalized quarters for his experimentation - an important benefit when something goes awry. You can just seal off the 5th floor and install a dimension-hop in the stairway from the 4th to the 6th. Plus, the value of height for the tower-owner cannot be emphasized enough."

Another voice, full of the wonder that comes with a 1st-year student, answered with confidence: "To better view the stars and all the heavenly wonders!"

Julianne: "Ahhh... yes, that could be a good reason, thank you Muriel. But I was thinking more to the practical. Namely, to escape the smell! Humans are smelly creatures, and a city full of them can be positively... well, 'breath-taking' is the best description I can use. And with all the powers held by all the wizards throughout all of time, none of them has ever come up with a really good air-freshener spell. It's best to just get above the pale hanging over a city, up higher to where the air is cleaner."

Mourheim's voice: "Plus it's a great place to take a girl. Impress her with the size of your tower, and then dazzle her with the sights."

Julianne, with a slight tone of embarrassment: "Well, yes, it has been known to have that effect on... young, impressionable girls."

Mourheim: "Sounds like you have personal experience? Oh! You do, don't you? Is that how you 'got into' the profession of magic, teach?"

Another voice: "Ahh, if I may ask a question? Not discounting my esteemed classmate Mourheim's unique insight, is not the sheer impressiveness of the tower actually a liability? I mean, what appears as a phallic symbol of power to some is just an invitation to others, a giant neon sign saying 'rob me, I'm rich'."

A quick discussion among students: "Neon? What is that?" "I picked it up from FutureStudies, Mr. Gossak's class."

Julianne: "Well yes, you are correct, Prichard, a wizard's tower is an invitation to the foul trepidations and intrusions of the lowest forms of life, the adventurer. Found both in cityscape and in the wilderness, the adventurer is drawn to the wizard's tower like a moth to the flame. This can be, in fact, a great source of income for the wizard. Simply 'minion-up', as they say, draw in those adventurers and chew them up peicemeal. They ususally come loaded with magical goodies to sell or use as you see fit. Oh, and a tip: Make sure to remove the dimensional portal bypassing the 5th floor -- let the adventureres clean up your own mess for you. And best of all, by drawing in adventurers, you help prune the PC populations to managable levels. You're helping society and the environment and making money while doing so."

Prichard: "But isn't that a risky endeavor? Some adventurers can prove quite the challenge to wizard, especially a new one."

Julianne: "There is always risk, yes, but if one conducts the proper viewings beforehand..."

Muriel: "See, I told you, it's all about viewing the stars!"

Julianne: "....actually, I was thinking of the proper divinations spells, but yes, they sometimes can be easier from a higher place of solitude. And once you have the proper intell on the adventurers, it is a simple proceedure to find the proper 'win-button' spell, and all that wealth-by-level is yours to collect. Proper divinations is the key, so make sure to devote at least an entire level of your tower to a room of clairvoyance. Which brings us to the fourth most important item in a wizard's arsenal: the Crystal Ball..."

Julianne: "...Mourheim, stop that thought right there, or so help me you'll get a year's stasis-detention!"

*~*

Wolzfeng turned his attention to another classroom, as this new professor seemed to have all well in hand. She would be a perfect fit with the staff here, and her youthful enthusiam was a positive. Wolzfeng paused a moment, remembering fondly the day he met her. He had invited her up to his tower to 'see the sights', and, well...

That got him thinking again of her students, and one in particular. He would have to teach Julianne proper useage of Baleful Polymorph, particularly in regards to her student Mourheim...

Shademan
2010-09-19, 01:54 PM
maybe wizards like Merlin, the good guys, like to have a nice view of the land. to scout for trouble or whatnot

Knaight
2010-09-19, 02:01 PM
Stuff

And the internet is now yours. Congratulations.

Ormur
2010-09-20, 01:11 AM
I actually built (and designed and drew and modelled in 3D) a tower as a wizard with the landlord feat. It really is very fun, especially as you approach higher levels.

But yes, it's actually a huge liability, although partly because of the characteristics of our particular campaign where we're fighting against a spell-casting dragon that's much more powerful than us. Since he can scry us we've either kept to secure scry warded places or kept on the move. If I stay at home -bang-, the dragon flies in and spews acid all over my beautiful house. I've recently levelled up enough to afford wondrous architecture that blocks divinations but the enemy already knows where my home is. Since he can't see when I'm there and I haven't actually been there much I might however finally dare to actually stay overnight.

The lesson though probably isn't not to build towers but rather don't do it unless you can keep the fact that you live there secret. By that time it hardly matters whether you build up or down. It can be a nice base to teleport from until you learn genesis and can build a home on your own demiplane.

ericgrau
2010-09-20, 01:16 AM
Because after a wizard retires he becomes very, very paranoid and an inn will not do.

Aran Banks
2010-09-20, 01:52 AM
yup, no good reason. Just a fantasy trope.

However, there was a thread on another site (http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=51416&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) about fixing it. Read the first two pages. Some decent stuff, there.

Dr Gunsforhands
2010-09-20, 04:06 AM
I'm just trying to imagine the wizard that decides to have a one story ranch instead of a tower:

All those adventurers would immediately storm the white picket fence, dodging fireballs, taking cover behind garden gnomes on the well tended rock garden path. They'd immediately pillage the garage door entrance, sack the breakfast nook, then crash into the wizard's study. The wizard would already be done for. I don't know why the adventurers don't just sit outside, chuck some alchemist fires onto the roof, then watch it burn.

Malbordeus
2010-09-20, 04:18 AM
...ladies love the view from above...

hurr hurr hurr

:smalltongue:

742
2010-09-20, 04:19 AM
I mean, uh, have you looked at real estate prices today? Simply put, it's more economical to have a building which expands upwards as opposed to outwards, just because of the extra land you won't need to buy. Sure, anybody can get a nigh-limitless supply of gold without much work these days, but it's better to spend that on magical items and the like than your silly little mundane hovel.

yeah but airspace rights aint free, which is a problem if you try to build a *really* big tower, and theres still the footprint. extradimensional spaces are more cost efficient for the modern day wizard; less paperwork too.

Icedaemon
2010-09-20, 07:16 AM
Extradimensional spaces require less paperworth than where you live? Licenses to create portals between realms, licenses to spin a part of the ethereal realm into a new demiplane, licenses to alter multiversial geography with signed copies in triplicate sent to Mechanus, among other realms. This is not to mention the various transplanar entities that one might summon to this new realm - woe be to one who wishes for reliable, lawful outsiders for one's servants, for gathering proof that this new realm is a safe location for such to stay is a nightmare onto itself.

Prime32
2010-09-20, 01:08 PM
I like the Telvanni route - don't put stairs in your tower, so that magical flight is required to navigate it.

1st-level bandits may not be a threat, but they're annoying.

Oslecamo
2010-09-20, 01:41 PM
Now that I think about it, in Erfworld webcomic mancers (how casters are called there) seem to gain a sick bonus to spellcasting if they do it from a tower, but for no particular reason besides giving an incentive to put casters on towers.

Cogidubnus
2010-09-20, 02:13 PM
If I were a wizard, I'd build a tower. These are my reasons:

1) I really like towers. Like, really really like towers. If I see a house with one, it goes on the List.

2) Everyone else likes towers. So I have friends. :smalltongue:

3) It makes the whole neighbourhood cool.

4) It gives me an excellent vantage point for astonomy/weather control/frying villagers.

5) I'm a wizard, so defying the practicalities of getting a four-poster bed to the 37th floor will entertain me.

DeltaEmil
2010-09-20, 02:45 PM
Age of Wonders is a strategy game about wizards casting land-shattering spells from their wizard towers. The higher the tower is, the greater the range of their spells.
Having a high view over the entire place allows you to affect things a lot farther, without having to be there physically. I could imagine a benevolent wizard conjuring rain over a faraway dry field, making a forest grow where the horizon lies, casting good weather all the time when he sees dark clouds forming, and if necessary, shoot fireballs down to wannabe-invaders, harness the power of natural lightning to conduct abominable experimentations on his army of flesh golems, spy on his enemies and enemy troop movement with a magically enhanced telescope, and pouring down sticky and stinky fluids that immobilize marauders who try to climb the tower. Depending on his wealth, the magician could even have installed some kind of magical thingy on top of his tower that automatically scans and disintegrates unwanted intruders like lawyers and girl scouts (who were lawyers in disguise).

Also, you could still have a tower in your demiplane, which gives you the same benefit.

Narmoth
2010-09-20, 02:57 PM
Towers represent a defensible structure. In the real world, there are several ways they work as a force multiplier when defending, there is an advantage of having the higher ground, and spiral staircases can take advantage of most people being right handed, thus letting defenders expose less of their body than the attackers have to. Plus, in a narrow area its harder to use sheer numbers to ones advantage. With these realities, the defensible archetype emerged, and if you take wizards as individualist and isolated, it makes a lot of sense.

Also, in 900 A.D you'd mostly have a central tower with a wall round to call a fortress. The wizards don't need more than this, since they don't hold a court, while the king will have more buildings around, so his tower is seen as part of a castle


In the Forgotten Realms, the idea of wizard towers comes from the elves.

In the good old days(like in -9000 DR), most elves lived in trees, in typical 'elven tree towns'. Often 'tree towns' were on the edge of an elven land or otherwise a place where non-elves could go.

So when non elves met powerful elven spell casters, they lived high up in a tree house. This spread the legend of 'wizards living up high'. And when other races learned magic themselves, the wizards built towers to 'live up high, just like the elves'.

Over the centuries it has just become the 'wizard's thing'.

This is also a good explanation.

Also, building the highest structure has always been a way to show technical superiority, wealth and power

Jothki
2010-09-20, 04:48 PM
Having your enemies bash in your door, fight their way up the tower past your traps and monster, and kill you in your sanctum beats the heck out of having your enemies bash in your bedroom window and kill you while you're still waking up.

Katana_Geldar
2010-09-20, 05:57 PM
I'm planning for one of my player's teachers to have one on an earthmote in the Astral Sea simply because they're cool. :smallcool:

herrhauptmann
2010-09-20, 06:06 PM
And the internet is now yours. Congratulations.

That was a nice story, but I still think that this one won the internet a few days ago.


Hello, wizards, look at your jaunt, now back to mine, now back at your jaunt, now back to mine. Sadly, yours isn't mine, but if you stopped using silly arcane magics and switched to divine magic, you could jaunt like you're me. Look down, back up, where are you? You're on a battlefield with the man you could jaunt like. What's in your hand, back at me. I have it, it's a dorje with two charges of hustle and a metapsionic dorje sheath of repeat power. Look again, the dorje is now diamonds that you're going to need in fifteen minutes for a true resurrection spell. Anything is possible when your man jaunts with divine magic and not poncy arcane spells. I'm on a horse.

Fax Celestis
2010-09-20, 06:29 PM
D'you know why you have a wizard's tower?

The view.

http://cache.kotaku.com/images/2006/04/wizardstower2.jpg
http://images.uesp.net//1/14/OB-ICandChey.jpg

ArcanistSupreme
2010-09-20, 06:52 PM
D'you know why you have a wizard's tower?

The view.

*snip*

Is that Elder Scrolls IV?

Shadowbane
2010-09-20, 07:26 PM
They are examining the stars. How better to examine the stars than to be closer to them?

Fax Celestis
2010-09-20, 07:30 PM
Is that Elder Scrolls IV?

Yeah, it is.

WeLoveFireballs
2010-09-20, 07:46 PM
My 12th level Mystic Theruge one had plans for a magic door rimmed by immovable rods attuned only to him that was actually a magic item of Mordenkiden's Magnificent Mansion so that he (and only he) could move the door to the front of a huge solid stone tower and he and his friends could enter. He also had a huge full wall crystal ball in one room for scrying. That is a proper wizards tower.

fortesama
2010-09-20, 07:56 PM
Maybe they're compensating for something?:smallsmile:

Valameer
2010-09-20, 09:07 PM
Because they love inflicting endless stairways on those who can't fly.

So that when a 100' radius explosion goes off in their laboratory, they provide a fancy firework show instead of wiping out the neighbours.

To calculate how much damage a dropped copper piece does from various heights.

Because invisible walls of force supporting precarious looking overhangs can make the neighbours really nervous.

Hocking loogies.

Elaborate pit traps.

Easily discern what time it is during daylight hours.

So that when dragons fly high overhead looking for tasty targets, your residence appears really small.

Because princesses have this thing for towers.

And more seriously: because, traditionally, magic circles and protective pentagrams covered a circular area with no defined height limit. Not in 3.5, mind you, but in GURPS it works this way.

Knaight
2010-09-20, 09:22 PM
Plus, with just a little exterior decorating you can make a very, very precise sundial.

Alleran
2010-09-20, 09:33 PM
5) I'm a wizard, so defying the practicalities of getting a four-poster bed to the 37th floor will entertain me.
I made it to this before bursting out in laughter. I now have the other people in the office giving me odd looks, but it was worth it.

Zen Master
2010-09-21, 03:36 AM
Wizard pointy hats - why. I mean, really, WHY?

Or wands or staffs or whatever. It's tradition, that's why. Wizards, having for some reason to dress like girls, tend to overcompensate with lots of phallic references.

A better question to begin with might be: Wizard robes - why?

Heliomance
2010-09-21, 06:16 AM
Wizard pointy hats - why. I mean, really, WHY?

Or wands or staffs or whatever. It's tradition, that's why. Wizards, having for some reason to dress like girls, tend to overcompensate with lots of phallic references.

A better question to begin with might be: Wizard robes - why?

It's not by choice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z29Rk8814w)

Yora
2010-09-21, 07:15 AM
This thread reminds me of the Mage tower in Dragon Age. After fighting "the Demon" in the towers top chamber, you need to bring the archmage down to the ground floor to talk with the guards who have barricaded the front doors. Which the old man comments with "why did they have to put us in a tower?"

Asheram
2010-09-21, 07:30 AM
I like the Telvanni route - don't put stairs in your tower, so that magical flight is required to navigate it.

1st-level bandits may not be a threat, but they're annoying.

Hah.. I can see it before me.

The rogue pries open the steel door and the party charges into an empty room, blackened and charred. They barely have time to react before a small yellow pellet drops from the 10ft hole in the roof.

[Bandits]: F***!
[Maximised fireball]: BOOM!

Lysander
2010-09-21, 09:55 AM
I think you could ask the question about other fantasy tropes. For example, why magic swords? If it's magic why do you need a cutting edge? Why not enchant a spoon so it can cut through enemies without being sharp? I think it's just simpler to enhance something in its original purpose than to go out of your way making something act entirely out of its nature. So yes, a wizard could use spells to make a cozy little cottage just as impervious as a stone castle. But it's simpler and less prone to failure to just enchant a castle.

John Campbell
2010-09-21, 01:09 PM
I dunno. My last high-level wizard didn't build a tower; he built a hall under a mountain peak. But then, he was a dwarf.

As to why... well, I needed somewhere to keep my stuff, and a location that I could make practically impregnable to the mundane riff-raff and could lay down permanent or very-long-duration magical effects on seemed advisable.

That and it was fun watching people's faces when the adamantine gates closed behind them, sealing them into the narrow darkness of the entryway, and then the golem servitor drew them forward and they stepped through the shadowy wall of the Mordenkainen's private sanctum interface into the Great Hall, with the vaulted ceiling high above lit by a constellation of continual flame torches, and the black marble walls densely inscribed with runes of inlaid silver, and they realized that they were standing inside my backup spellbook.

Asheram
2010-09-21, 01:34 PM
I dunno. My last high-level wizard didn't build a tower; he built a hall under a mountain peak. But then, he was a dwarf.

As to why... well, I needed somewhere to keep my stuff, and a location that I could make practically impregnable to the mundane riff-raff and could lay down permanent or very-long-duration magical effects on seemed advisable.

That and it was fun watching people's faces when the adamantine gates closed behind them, sealing them into the narrow darkness of the entryway, and then the golem servitor drew them forward and they stepped through the shadowy wall of the Mordenkainen's private sanctum interface into the Great Hall, with the vaulted ceiling high above lit by a constellation of continual flame torches, and the black marble walls densely inscribed with runes of inlaid silver, and they realized that they were standing inside my backup spellbook.

That sounds truely beautiful, friend.
Really nice idéa you've got going there. :smallsmile:

BunnyMaster42
2010-09-21, 03:02 PM
While certainly not true of every wizard, I have a feeling that some who do make towers make them just to show off really. I mean, it's obvious in a high magic setting that a tower would be fairly useless form of defense against anyone with access to magic, unless the tower were to be suitably pimped out of course.

So there's really no reason to go and build a tower when there are so many better options available, unless you just wanted to flaunt your might by creating a large, showy piece of archetecture.

Because nothing says "I have the power to break reality at will and there's nothing you can do about it" like a massive stone phallus.

Alleran
2010-09-21, 10:14 PM
I dunno. My last high-level wizard didn't build a tower; he built a hall under a mountain peak. But then, he was a dwarf.

As to why... well, I needed somewhere to keep my stuff, and a location that I could make practically impregnable to the mundane riff-raff and could lay down permanent or very-long-duration magical effects on seemed advisable.

That and it was fun watching people's faces when the adamantine gates closed behind them, sealing them into the narrow darkness of the entryway, and then the golem servitor drew them forward and they stepped through the shadowy wall of the Mordenkainen's private sanctum interface into the Great Hall, with the vaulted ceiling high above lit by a constellation of continual flame torches, and the black marble walls densely inscribed with runes of inlaid silver, and they realized that they were standing inside my backup spellbook.
The Hall of the Mountain King. Beautiful.

DeltaEmil
2010-09-21, 11:07 PM
In a high magic setting, nothing provides any defenses at all. Not even magic, because magic cancels and defeats magic.

Archpaladin Zousha
2010-09-21, 11:27 PM
Here's what Toughpick says about Towers.


TOWERS (brooding {OMT}, dark {OMT}) stand alone in WASTE AREAS and almost always belong to WIZARDS. All are several storeys high, round, doorless, virtually windowless, and composed of smooth blocks of masonry that make them very hard to climb. The Rule is that there is also a strong, no-entry SPELL, often backed up by a guardian DEMON. In addition, Towers are subject to COLOUR CODING: black for EVIL Wizards and blue, white, or red for GOOD or neutral ones. Black Towers tend to cast a blight of Evil on the surrounding TERRAIN: days before you reach them, you will have been able to tell they are near by the dead grass and TREES.

You will have to go to a Tower and then break into it at some point towards the end of your Tour. Usually by then you will have an AMULET or TALISMAN that will act as a key, but sometimes you may have to climb the Tower and force an entry on the roof. Inside, the Tower keeps the Rule about BUILDINGS and is much bigger, with many more floors, each of which suffuses your party in acid MISTS or ILLUSION or turns you into something nasty.

You have to stop this by breaking the central Spell. Hacking it apart with SWORDS usually suffices. This brings out the Demon. When you have dealt with the Demon, the Wizard himself will appear. If Evil, he will hurl far more subtle Spells at you. You will need to know a SECRET to stop him. If Good or neutral, he is quite likely to appear in a crystal box apparently asleep, and you will have to wake him. This can take days. Towers are quite arduous matters.

{OMT} = Official Management Term

Hague
2010-09-21, 11:59 PM
Because if you didn't have a tower, where would you dock your airship?

Jarawara
2010-09-22, 10:42 AM
That was a nice story, but I still think that this one won the internet a few days ago.

Ha, that quote is great. And I agree. I am packaging up my newly-won internet and sending it directly to Fax Celestis. May it find a nice home there.

"I'm on a horse" :smallcool: