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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5032118" data-attributes="member: 82106">DMG2 has MONSTER templates for classes, but no NPC templates. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to use the monster ones, they're pretty similar aside from hit point mods.The problem I and apparently a lot of other people have with NPC opponents has several aspects to it:1) They are overly complex for the task at hand. While simpler than full PCs they still have more different powers and tricks than you really need in a single fight. Opponents don't need a full suite of adventuring options, they are there to die or maybe run away and get revamped by the DM for another day.2) They simply have too few hit points. PC damage level powers will easily 1 turn kill NPCs. They're glass cannons. When used as an entire opposition its even worse because the PCs are somewhat glass cannons too, its just that monster damage is fairly evenly on the low side, so you don't see it until 4 NPCs all unleash their 3[W]+blah plus effect dailies all in a row on the party defender and there's a smoking crater in the ground. Overall they are more complex than monsters to no real point and fighting them is swingy at best, disappointing or lethal at worst. Monsters just plain work better for the majority of DMs I know. They're more resistant to damage, implement interesting tactics in a much simpler to run way, and dish out much more even attacks that give the party a chance to adapt and make decisions before someone is dead. Honestly I'm just not sure why the NPC rules even exist. You can make the exact same opponents using the monster rules if you want pretty much anyway (and you can always tweak things as much as you feel like). I'd be very surprised if WotC provides any more support for 'vanilla' NPCs. They seem to be a 4e feature that was not all that successful or needed.</blockquote>

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