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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 832190" data-attributes="member: 1645">Beautiful metaphor, Graf.As seasong points out, the limiting factor in gaining levels in adventuring (PC) classes is surviving that many violent clashes.  If it takes 13 challenging skirmishes to make it to the next level, what fraction of the armed populace (a) faces the enemy 13 times, (b) faces the enemy with even or worse odds 13 times, or (c) faces the enemy with even or worse odds 13 times and lives?I would expect the elven military, for instance, to have many skilled sergeants/centurions, soldiers who've seen battle and lived but who never grew old and retired.  I wouldn't expect a long-lived race to necessarily have many more soldiers who've lived through dozens of near-death encounters though.On the other hand, if we look at non-adventuring classes that take non-violent risks, we have to expect the long-lived elves to have a huge advantage over time.  A typical elf might very well be a 10th-level Expert, and the elf militia might be full of Exp10/Ftr3 soldiers.  (It's too bad D&D ties noncombat skill & expertise to hit dice, so we can't model this properly.)</blockquote>