Towers because each floor goes up a grade in your magic level low level magic users lower floors the higher you go the higher the skill level it’s to show status and power palace is good and everything but it puts everyone in equal standing tower is better also this is literally what businesses do like the ceo and shit always at top you know? Same with hotels the higher the floor the better it is
>_> Why can't it be a magic dungeon? But the nature of a dungeon is for it to be hard to reach to, either really high in the air (Oh man, sounds like a tower) or really deep underground. Deep underground has its disadvantage in that one does not have a sightline of which you can use the magic building's power to deal with the enemy while a tower has that advantage.
Cause towers are round like magic circles, so each floor can have a magic circle. Top of the tower also lets them nuke spells in all directions with no blind spots. The bigger the tower, the better! It isn't cause the wizards are overcompensating for something! They CHOOSE to be virgins okay?
I think it has something to do with the tower of babel. It's a symbol that represents the power of humans. They want to reach the heavens and be above mortals and equivalent to a god. They want to reach the heavens and maybe even surpass god, by building a structure with their own power to overlook everything on earth and pearce the heavens. It's also a smybol in the modern world. Skyscrapers can only be built and owned by rich and powerful people. We as a human race also need a lot of knowledge in f.e. structural engineering to even built a skyscraper. The higher it is, the more difficult and the more expensive it is to built.
KR: Tower JP: Dungeon CN: Pagoda (Generally). And technically those type of "tower trope" with levels is inspired by dungeons in videogames. The trope in novels was popularized because of SAO Aincrad arc. Just a fun fact.
Land prices are so high, it is cleaper to buy a small plot and build up. And mages would rather spend all there money on research material so they are alwats broke. Same reason they ware robe its cheap.
Dang! I think this is 1 of the most philosophical and intellectual takes on the magical towers trope. That is a good thing, BTW!
Why does tower have to be a tower? Hmm... In modern age I guess you can call a stone tower, a wooden horse named Kelly, coz that's what it feels like. It is a man's romance, if you are a wizard, to build a tower and call it Barad-dur.