Browsing through the various sources, I would have thought that in each of
the racial geo-graphical area, true mages would number less than 50 in each
area, and the number of magicians around 200 or less. To, me, these numbers
seem to promote the birthright/cerilia ideal of sparse magic - and magic is
power !

In my campaign, all mages are shown either fear/respect for their arcane
powers. They are mysterious beings whose powers the uninniated hold in
supernatural awe. I especially like the spell point / fatigue rules for
cerilian magic found in the PLAYERS OPTION: Spells & Magic rulebook. I also
like adding mage-flavour by using the optional rules for wizards and
mage-talents from " volo's guide to all things magical ".

I like my players to have respect for even a 1st or 3rd level wizard. They
may not be archmages at this level, but a few surprises are always cool, and
keep the PC's on their toes. I also like my mages to have a bit of
individualism and uniqueness, and not have them all as the generic (ohh, 1
magic missile and he's out of it for 24 hours !)

Sweet water and light laughter until next !
Warlock.