Thanks, [MENTION=3400]billd91[/MENTION] - not only did you save me the typing but you put it better than I probably would have.
Lanefan
OK, but my 5e NPCs have as much life behind the scenes as the PCs do, while being statted very differently - or even unstatted. I don't think there's a connection.
Edit: I think 4e's relativistic statting can indeed give the impression that NPCs only exist for the benefit of PCs and can harm the sense of a living world. 5e is the exact opposite approach; a 2 hit dice orc or 15 hit dice gladiator always has the same stats. The gladiator doesn't need to be statted the same as a PC Fighter for this to work.
