I'm trying to take a serious look at a highly magical, yet medieval world, as is generally accepted as the average D&D world. I imagine such a world actually has a quite modern standard of living and that education levels throughout the "average" civilized land will soar above those of any real-world medieval society. Spells such as Create Water and Unseen Servant are ubiquitous in the average D&D world, not to mention other incredibly valuable low-level spells.
But what might a genius, non-adventuring Wizard provide the world? Imagine if our world's greatest minds were not scientists, but Wizards. Plato and Aristotle, Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Issac Newton, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein. They were all brilliant minds and if magic were as accessible they wouldn't have wasted their time with lesser sciences; they would have been using magic spells to shape their fortunes and the destiny of all mankind.
So, if we accept the popular notion that a given real-world figure is no more than a 5th level character, if these historical figures were Wizards or even Adepts, how might we optimize a 5th level spellcaster, not for adventuring or combat, but for the general advancement and betterment of the human race? What can such a character provide to the world, especially in terms of lasting impact or effects that can be maintained and expanded upon beyond their time?
