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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 6782627" data-attributes="member: 82106">And, you see, this is at least some of the logic which leads me to the inevitable conclusion that class is NOT a part of the setting, but just a tool for describing how PCs advance and creating distinctive archetypes for them to follow in their advancement.There's no '1%' or any other '%'. The logic of 'monsters might overwhelm society' is a fair question, but then the question is more like what quantity of monsters and other attributes of monsters do we need to posit in order that this doesn't happen. Or maybe it DOES happen. There are various possibilities here. Monsters largely don't care much about humans, some of them fight each other, others may pick off a human or other, but largely just go about their business. Dragons and other powerful creatures aren't THAT interested in humanity, and to the extent that they want to eat maidens and raid farms they get paid off. Really powerful creatures just aren't that common. Maybe the world is ACTUALLY ruled by powerful monsters! Perhaps they're just so rare that the 1 in a billion heroes that come along are enough, the gods send them down now and then to put paid to the nasty Dragon, etc.If there aren't really 'classed' NPCs, then there can certainly be a limited number of 'leveled' NPCs, that is characters that are normally represented by higher level stat blocks. They may be NPC heroes, villains, possibly highly accomplished figures of a non-adventuring sort that are combat-capable, etc. Otherwise there's just a lot of very low-level stat blocks around. The High Priest of Atur can access a few powerful magics, at the option of his god, but in combat he's nothing special, he's never learned to fight, or only received the most basic training. In 4e he could be represented as simply an NPC without a stat block, he never fights, or he could be a 'minion' in some scenario that requires him to appear on a battlemat, or as set-dressing with attributes simply invented for the purpose, but not corresponding to any specific rule, or as a standard monster in lower level play. He doesn't need to be regulated or to regulate anyone. Now, its true that heroes may sometimes choose to become leaders, or villains, and normal society simply can't handle them. That's just how it is. If they're really rare, then they're the 'King Arthur' of their time or whatever, and they only come about at rare intervals. Those rare intervals are times of adventure, ages of heroism, the days when legends aren't just told, but they actually walk the Earth, larger than life. Its really up to the DM, if that game is an AD&D game, maybe he gives certain NPCs some class levels and uses those rules, because its convenient (an AD&D fighter for instance is really just the same as a monster, give or take a bit of extra detail). In 4e they might all just be stat blocks. In 5e, I dunno, but it could go either way probably. In any case they're mostly quite low level, with only a very few super villains to challenge the PCs. Why aren't these super villains running things? Maybe they don't want to, or maybe they are! In DS for instance they are, and the implication is they kill off any rivals.</blockquote>

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