D&D General In my DAD Idea was The Baron right in choosing the lowest level candidate because she's a friend and he knows she is honest, trustworthy and loyal?

[Blue Orange]

This is what dictators do too, into the 21st century. It’s part of the reason why the Soviet Union under Stalin lost to tiny Finland - political generals after purges of most of the Czarist-era officer class. I leave more modern examples to the reader.

Well, that's the downside, which is why meritocracy evolved as an idea in the first place (though the term dates to the 20th century and was originally a 'dis'). I'm not sure how the Chinese system performed relative to everything else (was medieval China really that much better run than medieval Europe or the various caliphates?), though the British application of it let them run their empire pretty effectively (for the British, anyway) until they ran out of money.

 

[Ancalagon]

This one is a pretty fun topic, imho.

I concur - this is worth talking about. How are underlings chosen? What are the local customs and norms?

 

[MichaelSomething]

You also have to figure in their stats. Who has the most Cha? The most Wis? Does anyone have feats/backgrounds/skills that support running a garrison?

 

[haakon1]

Well, that's the downside, which is why meritocracy evolved as an idea in the first place (though the term dates to the 20th century and was originally a 'dis'). I'm not sure how the Chinese system performed relative to everything else (was medieval China really that much better run than medieval Europe or the various caliphates?), though the British application of it let them run their empire pretty effectively (for the British, anyway) until they ran out of money.

The British were selling commissions at least until the War of 1812, and let the British East India Company run their Indian empire until the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, iirc. But yes, the Royal Navy was a pioneer in bureaucracy, in a good way.

 

[Malmuria]

the fact that rulebooks don't answer questions like this show how incomplete dnd is smh

 

[Paul Farquhar]

In D&D as it is actually played, you would first work out the personality of any NPCs the players are likely to interact with, such as the Baron's guards, then assign them stat blocks if you felt that combat was a possibility.

Chances are, that would mean the highest-ranking guard would be assigned the highest CR stat block (e.g. Champion), because that is the D&D trope. But it would be irrelevant unless a fight occurred.

 

[JMISBEST]

Hiring people you don’t know feels like throwing darts. I’ll almost always value a recommendation from somebody I know and trust over any credential.

Its not a reference from someone he knows, the candidate is someone he knows and he'd rather have a low level garrison commander that he knows is honest, trustworthy, reliable, loyal and dependable then someone that despite their resume's may not be

After all the others have resumes that say their honest, trustworthy, reliable, loyal and dependable but the resumes could be fake or the writer could have been blackmailed, threatened or charmed or the writer may have wanted to offload someone that's he believes isn't trustworthy by giving them a good resume but the Baron knows her and knows that she's honest, trustworthy, reliable, loyal and dependable

 

[JMISBEST]

20th-CENTURY MERITOCRAT: No, the best person for the job should be picked. Of course, commanders should be chosen on leadership ability, not fighting ability, so if this person was chosen based on that, it's OK, but it doesn't sound like it.

RENAISSANCE PLOTTER: She's loyal to you, that's all that matters. If she's more competent but working against you that's worse than simply being incompetent. Just make sure the people under her respect her, and you. She doesn't have to be loved or anything.

FEUDAL WARLORD: Look, I want someone who has my back in a fight. I know this person, she's loyal, that's it.

BUREAUCRAT OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM: She didn't score well on the exams, eh? Well, this is somewhat irregular, but I could inquire of my superior...

Basically, (a) character level doesn't have to correspond perfectly with rank--that's a convention of video games that have to have a set of enemies with ascending difficulty and (b) in the premodern era, rank depended, as haakon1 and Ancalagon said, on family connections, military service, and personal relationships. You want someone you can trust rather than necessarily the best person for the job--a competent but disloyal underling is more dangerous than an incompetent and disloyal one. After all, the result of playing politics badly in this time period may not merely be job loss or demotion, but death!

The idea of some quantified measure of 'merit' such as a character level is a creation of the modern era's testing regime...which were inspired by the British and ultimately imperial Chinese civil service exams, and assumes a bureaucracy whose survival is more important than any individual. So unless your fantasy world is based on imperial China, your Baron is justified.

I don't know if I need to mention this but in case it helps I'll say that depending on the setting, edition, available technology, her training and how good she is at coming up with unconventional strategies the danger posed by a competent but disloyal underling is likely to be far more dangerous than an incompetent and disloyal one

 

[haakon1]

Its not a reference from someone he knows, the candidate is someone he knows and he'd rather have a low level garrison commander that he knows is honest, trustworthy, reliable, loyal and dependable then someone that despite their resume's may not be

After all the others have resumes that say their honest, trustworthy, reliable, loyal and dependable but the resumes could be fake or the writer could have been blackmailed, threatened or charmed or the writer may have wanted to offload someone that's he believes isn't trustworthy by giving them a good resume but the Baron knows her and knows that she's honest, trustworthy, reliable, loyal and dependable

Seems the Baron should hire the person he wants.

Why do you ask? Is this a way for you to role play here or ”check your work” in running the NPC Baron, or what?

Care to tell us about the Baron’s personality?