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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 4541096" data-attributes="member: 15538">Even in Basic D&D, orcs could be led by 1+1 or even 2 HD leaders, and many NPCs have 2 HD. Berserkers were 1+1 HD, which is about equivalent to a 1st level character. Monster shamans could often cast 2nd or 3rd level spells. So I think there was already a precedent for NPCs to be 1st to 4th level or so, especially with NPC classes. So I think it's accurate to say characters live in a mostly 1st level Commoner world with some Warriors thrown in, but I think a sizable part of the population is going to be a 2nd or 3rd level Expert by middle age, just to make those very hard skill checks. So a third level PC fighter gets into a duel with a 3rd level NPC guard captain... it's just like in a novel, the older more experienced guard may well teach them a lesson. But by 5th or 6th level, the PC is far and away a force in their own right, capable of taking on multiple opponenets.In my latest campaign, I benchmarked the court wizard of the strongest nation at 6th level, and the leader of a fabled order of seers is 12th. My players kept having the idea of recruiting locals for their fights, until they started noticing that the hired help was getting mowed down by ogres.</blockquote>