I do think if you live an interesting life, you can be an epic level commoner by retirement age. I also think that as you go through life, you pick a few things up along the way. You and I would just as easily get killed by a crossbow bolt as would a 2nd level NPC, but that doesn't mean that we are all COM2s. I think the age system is not nearly generous enough unless you live all your life in an empty cave. I'm a 37 year old carpenter. Am I a COM1/EXP1? My hit points would certainly justfy that. Outside of hit points, what level am I? Do I only have two feats (being Human) and if so, what are they? I wonder what my Craft:Carpentry skill is... (5 I hope). My point is that NPC are just as wide and varied as PCs and you'll run across a legendary blacksmith one in a great while. A 20th level expert with max ranks in Craft:Blacksmithing and Skill Focus:Blacksmithing and is pretty intelligent to boot. On a 1 he still beats a 30. Is Bill Gates a Exp2? Of course not. I think the NPC classes are great because it reflects MOST of the world. The PC classes are the exception, not the rule. It's easy to forget that.
