Depending on which side of the fence you sit, Shadowrun's official name is actually Magerun.
Due to the fact that magic can get obscenely powerful.
"Yes but how powerful?"
My mage, which I have played now since the winter of 1989 (started a few weeks after SR1 came out) is sitting a 4300+ karma.
He can turn just about everything within a 24meter radius (thats just under a 160 foot diameter) to ASH with a single spell. Cars, soldiers, little children, armored personnel carriers....
But the question becomes, can he survive the repercussions of such a spell?
And, simply put, "No he can't".
Unlike in DnD where the majority of fights happen in "the evil <insert trope here> lair/maze/dungeon", the majority of SR combat happens in hallways of buildings, back alleys and almost entirely in cities. And cities have more police with more guns and bullets then he has chances to resist drain (the other limiter of mages - how destructive casting a spell is to THEM!).
smart (aka: want to keep living and free!) Mages learn fast that sometimes 'the magical option' is actually the worst option. Or they just leave combat to the 'combat monsters' (sammurai) <which is what I do> and act more as debuffers or enhancers to their teammates.
Add to that, magic is RARE! Depending on the source you read, only between 1 -5% of the world have any magical potential. Less who can actually DO something. And when something is rare and unknown, it breeds fear and hatred. (Hence the "Geek the mage First" combat rule. Seriously. It IS a rule!!)
You start throwing magic around, people shoot first, collect your body after. Then there are the 'rules' of magic.
No teleportation.
No raising the dead.*
No time travel.
No "magic guns"**
* Raising the dead doesn't bring back what died.
** ranged magical items are extremely limited. Both in terms of exactly what can be used (arrows, axes, knives, etc. NO GUNS!!!) And how long they stay "magical" for.. (if you are extremely skilled.... maybe a week. Tops.)
So there are limits to magic.
Mages are also extremely slow to progress. They need karma for EVERYTHING. And karma is slow to accumulate.
Money for a mage is almost useless without the karma as there is almost nothing a mage can buy to increase his abilities that:
A: doesn't also require karma (foci, spells, initiations)
B: doesn't also have the ability to hurt his magical abilities. (Bioware, cyberware, drugs)
A nage needs karma to improve every facet of himself:
Attributes
Skills
Magic rating
Initiation
Foci
They all take increasing amounts of karma. And you usually only get 4 to 8 per run. Meaning, a mage generally has to do several runs before they get their first boost/improvement to their character. (For example: For my mage to initiate AND raise his magic attribute it will cost me just under 200 karma. About 20 runs. Then the actual act will take several MONTHS. Time which I am NOT earning karma while the rest of the team will be.)
The other archtypes can just throw money around to get a boost to their character. Be it cyberware, bioware, new gear, decks, drones... (provided they HAVE the money. The top shelf stuff costs you an arm, leg and your first and second unborn children. Plus your kidney.) And then they are free to use karma to raise their skills and attributes on top of said gear.....
●●●●
Mages are slow to power, die quickly if your not careful, and exceedly frustrating in math. But the final result are powerhouses with almost no equal...... if you survive long enough (and your game lasts long enough! - took me 25+ years to get to my level of ability).
