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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5522101" data-attributes="member: 82106">First of all XP and level progression are a conceit of the game mechanics used to regulate PC power progression. While it makes sense that it isn't easy to become a high level NPC either nothing requires that NPCs are adventurers and gained their higher level status in the same way PCs do. An NPC evil wizard might simply spend 40 years in his tower studying and experimenting. Said evil wizard could be almost any level.Secondly, don't underestimate the power of masses of lower level figures too much. 200 level 1 minions can pump out a LOT of damage in a round and that's kind of the extreme weak end of the range there. Even mid-paragon level figures are hardly immune to being dragged out in the street and killed by an angry mob. Nor does the game world require that such possibilities be strictly governed by mechanics designed for running PC encounters. Nothing really indicates that the majority of people would WANT to be running things. Again, the evil wizard. His goals don't really require him to be in charge, though he might wield great influence and be able to get his way whenever he really desires it. Really high level figures are also likely to be rare in most societies. Higher heroic tier figures are probably not unheard of in any given area, but paragon and epic power level NPCs who might wield enough clout to run around with no check on them probably are quite rare and don't exist in most mundane areas of the world. Logically where one high level figure can arise so can others. Even if one is clearly stronger than the rest there will be some level of checks and balances. Get too out of line and a bunch of lesser figures may well join forces to put paid to your hypothetical high level tyrant.Finally, even if a high level figure were in charge in the way you envision, how is he going to enforce all these rules against anyone else gaining a threatening level of power? He's got to have people working for him to do that, an organization. Creating and running such an organization implies a number of things. It implies inducing people to cooperate, sharing some degree of power and benefits from one's position, etc. This is much like the real world. My vision of what it would really look like is you'd have in any given area a few personally powerful figures. They might be priests, warriors, and/or masters of the arcane. They would probably have defined roles in society, but they might well not be the top people. The King may well be a fairly trivial figure in terms of combat ability for instance, but well liked and with plenty of popular support. His champion might be a pretty tough figure, but not at all interested in unseating the king. Likely the king is reasonably secure because he has the support of most of the nobility, the loyalty of the people, etc. Same with your local powerful priests and wizards and whatnot, they have their places in society, their areas of authority, and their limitations stemming from social order, limits to what one person can do alone, etc.The society in my current setting seems reasonable enough and it certainly isn't built on the concept that power goes strictly to higher level figures. Most authorities have their positions more because of mundane considerations and not personal adventuring sort of power. In fact the majority of higher level guys are higher level because they spend their time on their specialties and not on running things. The people who do run things rely on them as a resource and might not be able to strictly control them, but they aren't controlled BY them either, at least not explicitly and in all cases.</blockquote>

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