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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fenriswolf456" data-source="post: 5879518" data-attributes="member: 6687664">Because the militia doesn't cost 2 gold each. They're all equipped, and armoured, and trained, and fed, all by this lord. Heck, leather armour and crossbows, we're talking 2,500 gold invested already. They're an investment in keeping order in the town. He can't have them traipsing off into the wilderness all the time. And if that's the case, why hire 1st level adventurers to clear out a kobold den, when clearly 50 trained militia could? Because it's a game, and so the plot is developed to give a reason why. It doesn't mean that the 50 guards couldn't do it. He could probably hire mercenary soldiers, perhaps, if any were around, for cheaper. But nothing says they have the skills or wherewithall to face down the threat. Maybe he's tried mercenaries and they failed, so he needs the adventurous PCs, and knows that their skills don't come cheap. On the flip side, if the town guard can't fight off a couple of manticores, why is the town still around and not razed to the ground by them already? Something must be preventing them. Perhaps the acknowledgement that arrows can hurt and kill, especially when a lot are being shot at you.  Sure did. Notice he didn't say a baby D&D troll. While we can keep going back and forth, drawing parallels, the fact is that D&D does not emulate Middle Earth. Inspired in some ways, certainly, but that's about all. So why is your troll any more acceptable than mine? And it's not a bunch of low levels. We even agreed that Gandalf is level 27 at least, and he's running from the low level goblins just as much as the others. I don't want to really limit my game. I'd prefer access to levels and abilities. Obviously, a Middle Earth D&D would be a heavily modified version of the game. You could model it by limiting leveling, or you can redefine what the levels represent in respect to the world being modelled. You prefer the first method, I prefer the second, neither is wrong.  Sure, but for game purposes, the dragons may as well be ancients. It's not like D&D can support a character like Feonor either, as even a level 30 character couldn't take on platoons of level 27 elites. But the First and Second ages are different scales. The balrogs then were likely paragon threats to Feonor's epicness.   Sure, if they were 20th, the kraken would be a fairly easy challenge, but not if they were say 12th. Then the kraken wipes the floor with them. And a Balor would have a field day with them at 20.  The only wight I can remember is the one the hobbits encountered. So yes, totally agree here. The hobbits are very low level, and needed a magic weapon and primordial elemental to help save them.  I do think it's little. My current 4E character has leveled up to 8 in less than a month game time. It's never taken a character of mine 10 years to go up a level. So why wouldn't I think a seasoned adventure of 50 years would have a good number of levels under his belt? Why couldn't Aragorn kill 12 archers? He certainly kills multitudes of orcs, and we've been equating low level bowmen to low level orcs.  My comments on Achilles were in relation to the movie rendition as well. Hence my comments that if a character has never been hit before (as the movie Achilles is presented as), then sure, he wouldn't be concerned by the bowmen. But PCs have been hit and hurt by arrows likely a dozen times over, maybe even brought to near death by them. Why shouldn't they then still be concerned about bows? Hrm ... I seem to remember Leonidas and Co. being concerned about the rain of arrows on them, else they wouldn't have bothered with shielding themselves. They also weren't expecting to survive, it was a matter of stubborn honour and of how many enemies they could drag down with them. Again, I'm not saying that higher level PCs should go running and crying when some guards point bows at them. All I'm wanting is for there to be a perception that this is a dangerous situation. If all the characters are cocky badasses, then sure, the guardsmen aren't a concern. For a grittier kind of mindset, like say LotR or 300, the characters should be going into things feeling like it could be their last. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but it's the D&D style that I prefer playing. It's not likely something to be fully achieved in D&D, since in the end 'save or die' and insta-deaths are usually not fun.</blockquote>

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