Just curious about the idea of sages. I've never really known how to use them, because I don't really known how to portray them. I can't recall ever seeing any rules beyond rolling for a sage's area of expertise. In your mind or campaign, what is a sage?

Is a sage just another term for a wizard? Or a retired wizard?

Is a sage a particular type of wizard, perhaps one who focuses on spells that are useful for gathering and accessing knowledge and has never gone adventuring?

Or is a sage a non-wizard who is just a professorial type who just studies history, law, religion, and arcana in general?

Or something else?

EDIT: I know what the dictionary definition of a sage is, people.

1e DMG, p 32, says a sage is a magic-user, illusionist, cleric, or druid of 3rd to 6th level in addition to having an area of expertise and being an encyclopedia.

2e DMG, p 107, says sages are experts in a single field. Nothing about being a spellcaster, but some are alchemists and can brew poison and acid.

5e allows characters to have sage as a background. That doesn't make sense to me.

I think I'll go with 1e, but I'm still interested in a better specific concept. I think I'll make them wizards or clerics who decided they liked research better than magic and devote themselves to knowledge in general but particularly in a favored area. Other spellcasters regard them as weird nerds but nevertheless sometimes consult them.