I like to think of wizards as lone scientists like Galileo or Faraday or Tesla—dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge—where the wizard's tower is the scientist's

I like to think of wizards as lone scientists like Galileo or Faraday or Tesla—dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge—where the wizard's tower is the scientist's laboratory. It's where they conduct research into arcane phenomena and invent weird new spells and artifacts. Occasionally wizards venture out of their lab to conduct in-situ field research or collect rare materials for experiments. Adventuring wizards are kind of an oddity, like Indiana Jones is to most archeologists. Evil wizards are mad scientists: their twisted experiments may inadvertently or intentionally create undead abominations or unfeeling automatons, unleash dangerous magical effects in the nearby lands like poisoning water or blighting crops, and luring criminals to buy or steal the fruits of the wizard's research for ill ends. And yeah, the tower keeps the wizard safe from harm and distraction. No open tower floor plans please.