PCs that are too big for their britches...do they live or die?

[Janx]

There is a world of difference between being a competent soldier and being a supreme bad-ass. I dare say Napoleon was a competent soldier, but there's no reason to think he was any better at hand-to-hand combat than the average schlub in his army. But I don't recall ever hearing that Napoleon had trouble earning the respect of his men.

PCs do tend to be supreme bad-asses, though. The standard NPC knight (and remember that knights were the elite of medieval armies, trained from early childhood and armed to the teeth) is only CR 3. A 5th- or 6th-level PC is a very tough customer indeed.

Putin.
Aragorn
Elrond

While not all leaders have to be leveled bad asses, I do not live in a world where I assume every leader is incompetent and inept. Quite the opposite, I find many leaders to be strong and excellent in many fields.

In D&D land, where levels exist and a king is there by birthright, that birthright is the very definition of superiority over common man (unlike the real world). Hence, Aragorn was of better stock than the stewards of Gondor.

Play it how you like, but pansy kings are an exception to make a point in my campaigns.