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Vanilla Essence: 1E Demographics and the Implied Setting
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<blockquote data-quote="Sacrificial Lamb" data-source="post: 4833271" data-attributes="member: 7482"><p>I'm sorely tempted to start a separate thread to put an end to the myth (yes, <em>myth</em>) that leveled characters in AD&D are this "rare commodity". <em>They're not.</em> Sepulchrave subscribes to the "1% fallacy". The "1% fallacy" is that in AD&D, only 1% of the population had levels, while the rest of the NPCs are zero-level nobodies. <em>Nothing could be further from the truth.</em></p><p></p><p>He mentions this: </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, the OP takes this quote completely out of context. That magic number of 1%? It refers to the level advancement of <em>henchmen</em>. Now before anyone says, "so what?"....please allow me to point out a couple things. For starters, in AD&D, <em>you can already have class levels, and be unsuitable for level advancement.</em> For an example, check out the 1e DMG on page 30. That section is devoted to "expert hirelings", and one of those hirelings is labeled as a "Captain", which is simply a capable leader who happens to be a fighter of 5th to 8th-level. Again, you might say..."so"? And I'd say, "<em>captains are incapable of working upwards in level"</em>. In other words, they have levels, but they don't advance.</p><p></p><p>Oddly, that's not even my main point. If you <em>really</em> want an idea of the level of NPCs you might encounter in 1e, then just skim through the <em>City/Town Encounters Matrix</em> in the 1e DMG, on page 190. It's a perfect example of what to expect if you travel through any town or city. If you read it, you'll see that over half the encounters have NPCs that could easily mulch a 1st-level Fighter. But don't take my word for it. <em>Read it.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sacrificial Lamb, post: 4833271, member: 7482"] I'm sorely tempted to start a separate thread to put an end to the myth (yes, [I]myth[/I]) that leveled characters in AD&D are this "rare commodity". [I]They're not.[/I] Sepulchrave subscribes to the "1% fallacy". The "1% fallacy" is that in AD&D, only 1% of the population had levels, while the rest of the NPCs are zero-level nobodies. [I]Nothing could be further from the truth.[/I] He mentions this: Unfortunately, the OP takes this quote completely out of context. That magic number of 1%? It refers to the level advancement of [I]henchmen[/I]. Now before anyone says, "so what?"....please allow me to point out a couple things. For starters, in AD&D, [I]you can already have class levels, and be unsuitable for level advancement.[/I] For an example, check out the 1e DMG on page 30. That section is devoted to "expert hirelings", and one of those hirelings is labeled as a "Captain", which is simply a capable leader who happens to be a fighter of 5th to 8th-level. Again, you might say..."so"? And I'd say, "[I]captains are incapable of working upwards in level"[/I]. In other words, they have levels, but they don't advance. Oddly, that's not even my main point. If you [I]really[/I] want an idea of the level of NPCs you might encounter in 1e, then just skim through the [I]City/Town Encounters Matrix[/I] in the 1e DMG, on page 190. It's a perfect example of what to expect if you travel through any town or city. If you read it, you'll see that over half the encounters have NPCs that could easily mulch a 1st-level Fighter. But don't take my word for it. [I]Read it.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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