You are right, my bad. The problem lies with the
game interacting with the
world.[/2uote]
However, it relies entirely on NPC design and how that interacts with the world.
The game makes assumptions about the world DURING FIGHTS.
The PC is going to be in just about every fight the player sees.
An NPC is going to rarely be in more than one fight the player sees.
Giving the NPC daily resources doesn't make sense in this concept ... nearly all their resources are thus encounter based. They don't get (many) healing surges, they get tons of HP instead. They don't get daily powers, they get non rechargable encounter powers. They also have the option of rechargeable encounter powers, "replacing" a PCs encounter powers. Elite or Solo monsters get action points, just like the PCs
. They don't get feats and magic items and 1/2 level increases and masterwork quality, etc, etc, etc ... they just get a simplified system of tracking that, and leave it to the PCs to have to do extra math.
There are characters in the world that are just like the PCs ... if they get into the fight, the "protagonist" PCs and "antagonist" PCs would have the antagonists be played as NPCs. In some cases, the opposing NPCs may have some more power than the PCs, such as recharging their encounter powers and being willing to use up dailies. Also, there are NPC powers that aren't necessarily learnable by a PC ... so some NPCs are more special than the PCs. In fact with all the high level monsters to fight [which can be NPC characters built to have classes] the specialness of the PCs is relative to peasants for the most part in the early level.
Special because they are the main characters and do the important things in the world yes. Special because the laws of the universe give them VIP treatment, no.
PC: " dont give me any lip guardsman Joe. I am a PC. I have healing surges!!"
Guardsman Joe: " Big deal so do I. Bring it on!"
PC: " Well I can activate mine!"
Guardsman Joe: "
"
And yet the PCs have a lot lower HP than most NPCs ... precisely because the NPC's "healing surges" have been rolled into that HP. A PC may have more HP available "per day", but it is possible for them to die by massive damage.
We are using the same definition with regard to hero. Being unique in the world is kind of a superheroic trait. If the PC's are adventurers who get to use different rules from everyone else, how were they trained? Were they sent to the planet like Superman or did the powers manifest overnight like on the TV series Heroes?
NPCs can have levels in the PC classes. They can be trained by other low level adventurers.
NPCs, especially ones comparable to PCs, may not have as many powers or healing surges, but they have more hit points, and the ability to recharge powers. Ultmately this is because they are only represting the monster/NPC as an "in combat" character. It is only dealing with how the character interacts within a fight. Giving an NPC tons of healing surges ... but no way to activate more than 1 of them during a fight ... is pointless. The GAME assumes they will die after 1 encounter... recurring villains are exceptions to the rule, and fighting them in back to back battles isn't a given.
Being able to call any kind of an attack a "stun" IS superhero comics.
It was included in the 4E combat system because nothing can stand in the way of PC's unleashing the full fury of thier combat powers without being labeled as unfun.
Applying the "same rules to everyone" ... a PC can knock down an opponent. Unless the PC does so much damage that the opponent is at negative bloodied, the opponent is not dead. Considering the fact that monsters have TONS of HP this will happen only in extremely rare circumstances. Thus, it is possible to stabilize an enemy before it fails it's third death save. For the sake of brevity, the player has the narrative power to determine whether the enemy survived long enough to be "saved". Or maybe they did make 1 non-lethal attack, which on top of all the "lethal" attacks means they are unconcious but not dying. Or, maybe the fight does end with all the enemies dying, but not dead, and the rogue goes around Coup de Grasing all the enemies just to be sure. Depending on the type of campaign, there a number of narrative ways to justify the ability to "set phasers to stun". You choose to interpret it one way, that then supports your feelings of the game being a superhero one.
