Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steverooo" data-source="post: 1955263" data-attributes="member: 9410">Well, that's an arbitrary limit, set by you!  According to the RAW, CR 1 encounters are enough to get you to 9th level, before you stop gaining any experience from them...  So, Commoners can advance all the way to 9D4 HD before CR 1 encounters no longer earn them XP...So Farmer Brown can "defeat" (as per the RAW, drive off) a CR 1 swarm of rats one month, throw rocks to drive the fox out of the hen house a couple of times the next month, chase a wolf away from the sheep in the following month, and be ahead of the game... even if he never kills any of them!  He has "defeated" them, as per the RAW.Now if some Orcs or Brigands attack the village, as long as he isn't 9th level+, Farmer Brown can pick up some extra XP from that (and yes, the commoners will be a threat to the Orcs or Brigands).The next summer, Farmer Brown can drive off some snakes from his field for some more XP.  If someone tries to steal his sheep, cows, or pigs, and he "defeats" them, then he gets still more XP (as per the RAW).Now if the PCs survive a shipwreck, make their way across unknown terrain, surviving without supplies, is that adventure worth ZERO XP because they didn't kill anything?  No?Same for the NPC Commoners.  Growing their own food is a skill-using Challenge.  They, too, are surviving without supplies.  They, too, should get XP.Now when a Commoner gets to ninth level, they will get no XP from CR 1 encounters, so most Commoners won't advance beyond that point without some CR 2 adventures (and a lot more of those).  But then, a 9th level Commoner should be more than a match for CR 2 encounters, especially since the Commoner is only counted as CR 8, himself!So, yes, Farmer Maggot, and Farmer Brown, can eventually reach level 20.  They will be old, and either very lucky or very world-wise... but it is possible.  By the Rules As Written.</blockquote>

Verification