- This article is about the hero ability called "Sage". For a wizard retort of a similar name, see Sage Master.
Sage is one of the 14 Hero Abilities available in Master of Magic.
The Sage ability has two levels: "Basic" and "Super". A Hero possessing Basic Sage provides 
+3 Research Points to his/her employer each turn, per each of the Hero's 
Experience Levels (including the first level). A Hero possessing Super Sage provides +4.5 per level instead, rounded down.
These Research Points are applied directly to the spell currently being Researched, at the start of each turn. They are not modified by any other effect.
Only a single Hero possesses Sage by default: Zaldron the Sage. He has the "Basic" version of Sage, and cannot upgrade to the "Super" version in any way.
13 other Heroes may select Sage or even Super Sage as one of their Random Abilities.
Description[]
Students of the magical arts are often intrigued by the mechanism that powers magical spells. Instead of being content with their control over these powers, they endeavour to discover not only how spellcasting works, but also how to improve one's repertoire and discover different magical applications. Such people can contribute to any research on spellcasting.
Effect[]
The purpose of the Sage ability is to speed up the Research of new spells. The Sage Hero advances his/her employer's current Research project by a certain number of Research Points. This is done at the start of each turn, similar to Research Points from any other source.
The Research bonus depends on the Hero's level, as well as on which version of this ability the Hero possesses. "Super" Sage provides a 50% greater benefit than the "Basic" version.
The bonus points are applied as long as the Hero is alive and on the payroll. The Hero's location or condition is irrelevant, and no modifiers will ever apply to the total Research Points provided by a Sage.
Basic Sage[]
A Hero with "Basic" Sage provides exactly +3 Research Points for each Experience Level he or she has. This includes the first Experience level, so the Hero will always provide at least +3 by default.
By the time the Hero reaches Experience Level 9 ("Demi-God"), he/she provides a total of +27 from this ability.
Super Sage[]
A Hero with "Super" Sage provides +4.5 Research Points for each Experience Level he or she has. This includes the first Experience level, so the Hero will always provide at least +4.5 by default.
Note that after calculating the total bonus, any remaining 0.5 fraction is rounded down and ignored.
By the time the Hero reaches Experience Level 9 ("Demi-God"), he/she receives a total of +40.5 from this ability, which is rounded down to +40.
Improvement Table[]
The table below shows exactly how much benefit the Sage ability gives at each Experience Level. Note that bonuses from Super Sage have been rounded down as they would be in-game:
| Level Icon | Level name | EP | Basic | Super |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hero |  0 - 19
|
+3
|
+4
|
|
Myrmidon | 20 - 59
|
+6
|
+9
|
|
Captain | 60 - 119
|
+9
|
+13
|
|
Commander | 120 - 199
|
+12
|
+18
|
|
Champion | 200 - 299
|
+15
|
+22
|
|
Lord | 300 - 449
|
+18
|
+27
|
|
Grand Lord | 450 - 599
|
+21
|
+31
|
|
Super Hero | 600 - 999
|
+24
|
+36
|
|
Demi-God | 1,000
|
+27
|
+40
|
Heroes with Default Sage[]
There is exactly one Hero in the game who possesses Sage in each and every game you play:
Unfortunately, Zaldron is rather weak in any other respect, and so is usually employed only for his ability to speed up research. Also unfortunately, Zaldron may never upgrade his Sage ability into Super Sage.
Sage as a Random Ability[]
Some Heroes may occasionally acquire Sage as one of their Random Abilities. Some may even acquire Super Sage this way.
The Sage ability belongs to both the "Any" and "Mage" categories. Any Hero with at least one pick from either category may occasionally choose Sage. There are 13 Heroes in the game with access to these categories, and can gain either Sage or Super Sage as a result:
Remember that Random Abilities are determined at the start of the campaign, and will not change during the game. However, a Hero may select different Random Abilities for the next campaign.
For any Hero to gain Super Sage, he/she must spend 2 Random Ability picks. That is why some Heroes do not have access to the "Super" version - they only get 1 pick!