For anyone who played AD&D in the past or even now, is the exception-based monster design in it a problem, or is its monster design perceived as different in some way?
To me- playing all editions since '77- I just never liked the idea of NPCs having access to something the PCs never could unless there was a specific and meaningful (non-arbitrary) plot based reason for it- an item that requires a particular bloodline to activate, for instance.
Also, as I stated before, its easier (for me at least) to balance encounters when all of the NPCs go through the same "accounting procedures" as do PCs.