D&D 5E adventurers in your world: common or rare?

[clearstream]

Heh, I think I would only make a DC check to locate something if I knew it existed.

Agreed! Although I might entertain PCs looking for such a thing

Anyway my conclusion is you are definitely in the right ball park for a typical D&D campaign.

Thank you for that feedback, and nice map. It has the feel of a lived in campaign. Ultimately, I want to avoid needing a table and have a simple rule of thumb. I think I land on -

About 1/100 people have tier 1 character class-equivalence, with an order of magnitude fewer per tier above that. An Intelligence (Investigation) ability check DC 5*Tier can discover the whereabouts of such an NPC so long as they are not taking steps to avoid being found; add 5 to that DC if the search is conducted in a settlement with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. Monster Manual stat blocks such as the Mage represent such NPCs in abstract, and are usually sufficient to run them: adding more detail using their character class where required.

 

[S'mon]

About 1/100 people have tier 1 character class-equivalence, with an order of magnitude fewer per tier above that. An Intelligence (Investigation) ability check DC 5*Tier can discover the whereabouts of such an NPC so long as they are not taking steps to avoid being found; add 5 to that DC if the search is conducted in a settlement with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. Monster Manual stat blocks such as the Mage represent such NPCs in abstract, and are usually sufficient to run them: adding more detail using their character class where required.

Yeah I think it works. I'm impressed that it tallies so closely with my actual play experience - more closely than the results you'd get from "half per +1 level" - which sort-of worked up to 9th level in pre-3e because XP requirements doubled each level, but does not produce nearly enough high level NPCs for most settings.

I would only allow check to locate NPC if there was a strong possibility they existed from the formula; not every Shadowdale has an Elminster.

 

[Horwath]

i would put it at:

level 1-4: 1 in a 100

level 5-8: 1 in a 1.000

level 9-12: 1 in a 10.000

level 13-16: 1 in a 100.000

level 17-20: 1 in a 1.000.000

level 21+: 1 in a 10.000.000

That is for active adventurers.

 

[Ninja-radish]

I'm running a campaign in Forgotten Realms right now, only because WOTC has no other settings for 5E. In my game, low level adventurers (also known as "Monster Chow") are pretty common. After all, monsters in dungeons have to eat something.

Competent, mid to high level adventurers are exceptionally rare in my game (because most adventurers get eaten). That is where I diverge from the Realms setting, where you can run into half a dozen 20th level adventurers at the local tavern, along with a polymorphed Gold Dragon.

 

[Derren]

How do you define adventurers anyway? Characters with class levels or just people that behave "adventuresly"? If it is the latter they should be far from rare. I already mentioned mercenaries being more or less adventurers in a fantasy settings but also look at for examples Vikings. What were they known for? For going out to kill things and take their stuff. So you have a whole culture being more or less adventurers. Other regions of the world also had their fair share of robber barons, bandit hordes, etc. And all of that would in some way or another qualify as adventurer.

 

[Herosmith14]

I'm still currently building my own campaign setting, by from what I have so far, it depends on where you are.

My setting is kind of a "united against a great evil" setting, and the countries further away from where the darkness lies, adventuring is less common, but the closer you get, the more common it becomes. In fact, the orc and goblin countries that border it conduct regular raids on the dark lands, which is essentially Mordor.

There is also a region in chaos due to a power void that adventuring is very common in.


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[Lanefan]

How do you define adventurers anyway? Characters with class levels or just people that behave "adventuresly"? If it is the latter they should be far from rare. I already mentioned mercenaries being more or less adventurers in a fantasy settings but also look at for examples Vikings. What were they known for? For going out to kill things and take their stuff. So you have a whole culture being more or less adventurers. Other regions of the world also had their fair share of robber barons, bandit hordes, etc. And all of that would in some way or another qualify as adventurer.

Well, the way I see it people that behave "adventuresly" are by doing so either going to gain levels or die trying.

Which is why you don't mess with the Vikings - most of 'em are multi-level Fighters specialized in badassery.

Lanefan

 

[Fanaelialae]

How do you define adventurers anyway? Characters with class levels or just people that behave "adventuresly"? If it is the latter they should be far from rare. I already mentioned mercenaries being more or less adventurers in a fantasy settings but also look at for examples Vikings. What were they known for? For going out to kill things and take their stuff. So you have a whole culture being more or less adventurers. Other regions of the world also had their fair share of robber barons, bandit hordes, etc. And all of that would in some way or another qualify as adventurer.

I wouldn't consider Vikings to be adventurers, but rather raiders.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I wouldn't consider Vikings to be adventurers, but rather raiders.

Potayto. Potahto.

 

[Derren]

I wouldn't consider Vikings to be adventurers, but rather raiders.

What are adventurers if not raiders who target only monster villages and lairs?