Wizard's Tower (Promptober 2025 #19)

Arcane Forces Gather

Why do wizards build towers? Do they need thinner air to interact less with their experiments? Are they concerned about explosions and hope to minimize the area of damage? Do they want to be closer to heaven and further from the mud and dust of earth? Or does tradition simply demand that wizards must occupy a tall, unstable structure?

Maybe wizards think a few steps ahead about the third dimension.

Consider the magic circle spell. It creates a 10-foot radius effect with a 20-foot height. If we assume a standard modern floor height of 10 feet, we end up with two floors of the tower completely within the circle. So instead of casting one circle on every floor to ward an area and contain summoned creatures as a safeguard for experimentation, the wizard can conserve spell slots and cover more of the tower in a single casting.

Efficiency!

Is the efficiency of verticality with arcane area effect spells the only reason to build a tower? Absolutely not.

Defensively, the stairs provide a god choke point at every level, so a smaller force (namely the wizard and a couple of apprentices or henchfolk) can effectively repel a larger invading army. The height raises a rooftop observatory above the ground fog in the mornings, so that's a plus. Every room has access to a least one outside window for increased ventilation and cross-breezes in case of noxious odors or gasses. Height provides superior visibility at greater ranges than shorter structures, boosting the range for spells that require line of sight.

It seems like wizards inhabit towers for several good reasons. Who are we to tell them to move?

Part of the Promtober project for 2025.