Why are mages always rich?

>>46531081
They transmute shit into Gold/Gems/etc.
They scry on nobility and blackmail them.
Extortion money.
Tuition from academies.
Occasional merc/expert worl.

Wrong way.

Rich people are mages because they can afford higher education, don't have to work and can dedicate to study.

>>46531081
In my experience the average Mage is some late-teen to early/mid twenties Human who's desperately trying to contain their own volatile, magical nature, sometimes under the vigil of some order or another and sometimes fearing for the crippling debt that comes afterwards. Them wizards and archmages, though, they're rolling in the gold, mostly due to their unique talents and the fact that they're all supremely educated in a time where literacy isn't even that common.

>>46531192
How would a mage be rich in the present day Earth?

>>46531211
Well, part of it is that they don't need to buy anything. Food? Spell for that. Tower? Spell for that. Clothes? Illusion spell plus endure elements.

>>46531238
>Clothes? Illusion spell
Lol.

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>>46531081
Not always

>>46531271
I guess what I should have asked is "How do mages always seem to get rich?"

>>46531152
I'm not sure if this is accurate or

>>46531141
This is or both.

>>46531307
>Accurate

>Made up shit
>Accurate

>>46531271

Dresden is only poor because his magic is mostly for blowing shit up and he's a do-gooder.

They have reality-bending abilities that 99.9% of the populace don't. You're the only person in a 50-mile radius with a particular set of sought-after skills, seems like you can always find gainful employment.

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>>46531081
They can extract money from ATMs with magic.

Because there are people who will pay them a lot of money to use their magic.

There are also a lot of people who will pay them to not do any magic in their vicinity.

>>46531211

Check out GURPS Technomancer. It's a 1980's era gameworld where magic was discovered in the first atomic explosion at Trinity. Robert Oppenheimer says his famous quote "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds" and it accidentally completes a powerful necromantic ritual that turns the whole planet magical.

It also includes detailed information on standard of living for mages and how they make that money and why, along with different magical careers. The short answer is that mages are in short supply but can replace entire industry supply chains with a quick incantation and half an hour's rest. So the supply/demand curves leave mages very well off.

If you're the only mage on earth, obviously, it's even better because at that point you can write your own ticket economically whether you keep the secret of your powers (better) or not (still pretty good). If *everyone's* a mage, then things change considerably and start to tilt against mages again, but global standards of living still go up by a lot.

>>46531081
Says who?

>>46531081
First you get the money
Then you get the power
Then you get the liches.