Which is one reason I side with the Adams view of politics.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President (or, by extension, any other position of power) should on no account be allowed to do the job."
What does a 10th, 15th, 20th-level spellcaster think of 1st-level commoners?
I know that such characters have no concept of levels or stats, but they DO know that their magic can kill legions of lesser people, defend against the most powerful of attacks, create new worlds, and generally manipulate reality as it is known by those of lesser power.
Surely that must have some effect on a person's psyche, whether they are good or evil.
What do you think such effects might be? Do you think that such power has any effect at all? Please discuss.
As others have said, it depends entirely on the character in question who attains this power. While one wizard may feel utterly superior to 1st level commoners, and think nothing of squashing them like bugs, another character may look upon the weaker masses as their charge, and feel responsible for protecting them. "Great power, great responsibility", and all that.
|
I think I like the idea of 'with great power comes great responsibility'.
Wrong superhero. That's Spider-Man. We're talking about Doctor Strange.
His moral is something more like "G&*++@n, my hands been crushed. Can't be a surgeon anymore. Oh well, I misht as well become one of the most powerful sorcerers ever. It IS a three-day weekend."
:P
Power corrupts because people are afraid to say no to you. So you can get away with a LOT more than your usual person on the street. We each have a personal philosophy and when there are no checks against us we could get too evil in the practice of that philosophy. For example, take a man motivated by punishing criminals, place him in a position where he is above the law, and wait. At first he abides by the system of justice. But soon after seeing guilty (some times blatantly guilty) men go free, he decides to punish them himself. When he gets away with it (remember he is above the law) then he feels more justified when he does it again. He may even convince himself he is doing a good thing. But each time gets easier, and the justification he holds himself up to for each criminal gets weaker. Let that go long enough without someone giving him a reality check and he might just execute his rude neighbor for not cleaning up after his dog's business.
Oh and GMs are NOT absolutely powerful. In the game maybe, but remember this is a social group. If his players get tired of him they will take that power away.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"It is not that power corrupts; power is intensely attractive to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."
[Bene Gesserit teachings]