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<blockquote data-quote="GlassJaw" data-source="post: 3761962" data-attributes="member: 22103">Cool article Geoffrey - thanks for the link.&nbsp; Good thread too.&nbsp; ------Regarding the modeling of skilled NPC's:Modeling &quot;normal&quot; NPC's (by game terms) that would be considered &quot;experts&quot; in their field is difficult for most game systems, not just D&amp;D.Since advancement in most systems is largely based on gaining experience by killing stuff in combat, it's often not realistic to give NPC's levels just to boost their ability in a particular skill since they would never be able to gain enough experience.In most games, especially the &quot;standard&quot; power level of D&amp;D, this isn't that big of an issue because it's not as important to have that level of detail with NPC's.&nbsp; But in systems where the power level range is reduced significantly (like E6 or even a system like Grim Tales), and where the level of magic &quot;technology&quot; is reduced, it becomes much more important to distinguish between the heroes and NPC experts.&nbsp; One of the biggest problems is that levels are predominantly a reflection of increased combat prowess.&nbsp; Assuming the system is level-based, the easiest way is to accomplish this is cap NPC's at some level, depending on their profession, amount of training, etc.&nbsp; This isn't ideal since it still doesn't model someone like Einstein who would have a lot of skill ranks but almost no combat training.&nbsp; One level or three is essentially irrelevant in modeling his abilities.Another option is to change the Commoner and Expert NPC classes so they don't increase things like saves, BAB, or hp's.&nbsp; Now you can have an NPC with a lot of levels, a lot of skill ranks, but the combat ability of a 1st level commoner.&nbsp; Or you could just leave the classes alone but treat them like &quot;mooks&quot;, so that any hit kills them or they have to make increasingly difficult saves to stay alive, etc.As Morrus noted above, the other dilemma is to &quot;justify&quot; how they gained additional levels if they are not adventurers (and therefore won't be getting any XP from combat).&nbsp; Since they are NPC's, this is easy to hand wave - just assign levels and skill ranks based on how skilled you want them to be.&nbsp; You could &quot;explain&quot; this behind the scenes by assuming there is some kind of NPC experience chart that allows them to gain XP over time, from study, training, natural talent, etc.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GlassJaw, post: 3761962, member: 22103"] Cool article Geoffrey - thanks for the link. Good thread too. ------ Regarding the modeling of skilled NPC's: Modeling "normal" NPC's (by game terms) that would be considered "experts" in their field is difficult for most game systems, not just D&D. Since advancement in most systems is largely based on gaining experience by killing stuff in combat, it's often not realistic to give NPC's levels just to boost their ability in a particular skill since they would never be able to gain enough experience. In most games, especially the "standard" power level of D&D, this isn't that big of an issue because it's not as important to have that level of detail with NPC's. But in systems where the power level range is reduced significantly (like E6 or even a system like Grim Tales), and where the level of magic "technology" is reduced, it becomes much more important to distinguish between the heroes and NPC experts. One of the biggest problems is that levels are predominantly a reflection of increased combat prowess. Assuming the system is level-based, the easiest way is to accomplish this is cap NPC's at some level, depending on their profession, amount of training, etc. This isn't ideal since it still doesn't model someone like Einstein who would have a lot of skill ranks but almost no combat training. One level or three is essentially irrelevant in modeling his abilities. Another option is to change the Commoner and Expert NPC classes so they don't increase things like saves, BAB, or hp's. Now you can have an NPC with a lot of levels, a lot of skill ranks, but the combat ability of a 1st level commoner. Or you could just leave the classes alone but treat them like "mooks", so that any hit kills them or they have to make increasingly difficult saves to stay alive, etc. As Morrus noted above, the other dilemma is to "justify" how they gained additional levels if they are not adventurers (and therefore won't be getting any XP from combat). Since they are NPC's, this is easy to hand wave - just assign levels and skill ranks based on how skilled you want them to be. You could "explain" this behind the scenes by assuming there is some kind of NPC experience chart that allows them to gain XP over time, from study, training, natural talent, etc. [/QUOTE]

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