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Do NPCs in your game have PHB classes?
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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6882150" data-attributes="member: 6787650"><p>For me, there are essentially two kinds of NPCs: 0th level NPCs, and NPCs with class levels. My class level distribution is much as you describe yours: heavily weighted toward the low end. I do have a fair number of NPC bad guy wizards and such who are up to 8th or 9th level, and ancient liches and dragons are often 17th+ level, but they come in ones and twos, not large groups--there definitely aren't any high-level "adventuring parties" out there, because those trivialize the PCs. Having a whole party of cooperative heroes is their PCs' schtick, like the story of "the king and with six friends" (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-King-Six-Friends-Williams/dp/0819303429" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/The-King-Six-Friends-Williams/dp/0819303429</a>) or the Avengers.</p><p></p><p>I do use MM stats for 0th level NPCs such as guards, but I don't use their versions of higher-level characters like Priest/Veterans/etc. because I don't see any value in them. If I were to run Curse of Strahd, I would make Mordenkainen an actual high-level wizard with a specialty (Transmutation and Conjuration both seem appropriate), not an anemic MM "Archmage" who's missing half of his features for no good reason that I can see.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 6882150, member: 6787650"] For me, there are essentially two kinds of NPCs: 0th level NPCs, and NPCs with class levels. My class level distribution is much as you describe yours: heavily weighted toward the low end. I do have a fair number of NPC bad guy wizards and such who are up to 8th or 9th level, and ancient liches and dragons are often 17th+ level, but they come in ones and twos, not large groups--there definitely aren't any high-level "adventuring parties" out there, because those trivialize the PCs. Having a whole party of cooperative heroes is their PCs' schtick, like the story of "the king and with six friends" ([url]http://www.amazon.com/The-King-Six-Friends-Williams/dp/0819303429[/url]) or the Avengers. I do use MM stats for 0th level NPCs such as guards, but I don't use their versions of higher-level characters like Priest/Veterans/etc. because I don't see any value in them. If I were to run Curse of Strahd, I would make Mordenkainen an actual high-level wizard with a specialty (Transmutation and Conjuration both seem appropriate), not an anemic MM "Archmage" who's missing half of his features for no good reason that I can see. [/QUOTE]
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Do NPCs in your game have PHB classes?
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