I’d be interested to know if you had any thoughts on what an actual magocracy would look like, or at least how you would approach making a magocracy the setting of a game to run in instead of the typical realm of the king. Do you have any ideas about that?
Largely I think it’d depend on how the magic a) worked b) was handed down, much in the same way as military power has shaped the way our IRL power structures have worked over the centuries.
Wizards make terrible rulers, as their need to study the arcane leaves them little time to attend to affairs of state. They do however make great conquerors or political strong-men, acting as a threat of force while leaving the day-to-day administration of their realm to underlings. The Gibili Eearthsea movie has a wizard who’s served by cartell of slavers, and uses the revenue squeezed out of the people’s suffering to buy rare tomes and specialized material components.
Inherited magical power makes for a far more stabilized ruling class, as they could be relied upon to produce erstwhile practioniers generation after generation, securing their place in society. Imagine the horsetrading of heirs and bastards but with sorcerous bloodlines, or a reclusive noble family allowed to do whatever they wish because they hold the patronage of some particular edritch being.
Divine magic is it’s own kit-and-caboodle, and largely revolves around a subjective connection to one’s particular deity/ideals. Standing religious structures likely have a place of honor for their magical devotees “ living saint, godstouched and the like” that grants these folks privlages while keeping them out of the core administration. Though cults forming around these folk can also be common.
As for how a magocratic society would look? Honestly not all that much different than another civilization that lived in the same environment: people still need to be fed and trade would still be the lifeblood of a culture’s prosperity. While magic can make food, it can’t feed a village, or make everyone sustainably rich, so the day to day lives of the citizens would likely be as you’d expect.
what WOULD change is where these magocratic nobles focused their efforts on building: Laylines and other sources of power would be especially prized, leading these nobles to build temples/sanctums in strategically inadvisable places ( swamps, off the side of cliffs, high up in the mountains etc). These sites would in turn require their own support structure of fortifications and supply-roads, stretching the society out in odd ways.
Industries would also likely be devoted to exploiting specialized materials that would fuel/boost/enable these casters, which would likely prioritize these industries over more domestic trades and craftspeople, leading to a need to import more complex trade goods.
Armies of magocratic societies would likely be smaller than those of their neighbors, either contracted mercenaries or conscript forces augmented with summoned or otherwise magically created irregulars. A magocratic military would rely on its standard troops for defence, while counting on its mage-commanders and summons to settle most engagements. High level casters have access to a LOT of crowd control spells, so expect your casters to stay far, far, FAR from the fray, and rain storms and meteors down on approaching armies.
This reliance on individual casters to turn the tide of battle would also create a surfeit of assassins, either hired by neighboring cultures or by rival noble families to sway the fortunes of politics and war. This in turn would cause the magocrats to seek guards and protections, likely further isolating themselves from the common people in proportion to how powerful they are.
Culture would also likely glorify these casters, so expect works of arcane art rather than suits of armor in noble’s houses, and mage duels rather than jousting as a popular sport of the nobility.
