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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Helldritch" data-source="post: 7913320" data-attributes="member: 6855114">Again you cite the book without the full extent of the citation or intent.The entry of "Men" in the MM shows you the basic ones. Then IF you read the text wall under each type of "Men" you get that after x amount of "whatever men you wanted" you add 1 npc of X level. After another amount, you add another npc of "Y" level and so on. Yes you can extrapolate with made up numbers, but if you do it diligently (no insults intended here) you had to create each of these NPCs from scratch.You cite Icar as an example. I'd put him as an exception, not the rule. He had the "Cool" concept attached to him. Even the book of necromancer was not to set an absolute rule but it was to add a "cool" aspect to a BBEG. As soon as a leveled day to day enemy NPC was needed. You were supposed to use the PC creation rules. All the Slave Lords were following PCs' generation rule. I don't remember exactly where, but it was clearly said in one of the old rule books to not over do it with NPCs with special powers. In the whole A serie, only Icar had such a special hability. As for the Necromancer handbook. I'd use such powers on BBEG type of enemy. These powers should not be the norm.I do not say that you could not use the mooks in the Men entry of the MM. Far from it. They are generic enemies to be used in mass. They are minions of their classed leaders. And unfortunately, you had to create the classed leaders from scratch using PC rules. Yes you could make up the numbers, but it was an art of improvisation and if the numbers did not fit, you better be prepared to answer questions from the players. When every NPC is an exception, the players feel like they are pigeon holed into bad classes. They can accept and even expect that an exptional NPC has powers/feats/shenanigans that they might not be able to achieve for obscure reasons once in a while but to see it all the time is calling for trouble at the table.The encounter tables in 1ed, 2nd and 3ed have NPC party at all levels of difficulty. And you had to create them from scratch, again using PC creation rule. Of course, again, you could take short cuts and make up some numbers but consistency was/is required.</blockquote>

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