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<blockquote data-quote="ccooke" data-source="post: 6233912" data-attributes="member: 6695890">I was reminded of the 3e Expert Class today and was thinking how something like it would work in 5e/Next. Obviously, not everyone wants to generate NPCs in the same way as PCs, but I always thought the NPC classes in 3e were a really nice touch I've missed a lot in 4e. Now both of my 4th edition games are converting to 5th edition, I've spent a little while doing a first pass of how an Expert might look. Looking back to the 3e Expert, it was designed to be as good as a PC in a narrow set of skills or tasks without any real combat ability. To model that, I've taken something between the Rogue and the Bard in terms of skill abilities (Note: I've only taken it to level 10. Extending would be easy, but I'm curious as to what people think before I do so). I've also ended up with something a lot more general than the 3e Expert class - I plan to use this class and the Noble background to create a few idle noble NPCs. Just adding proficiency with the Rapier and a couple of things works out quite nicely, although martial stuff would really benefit from a different subclass. This could definitely be used for any non-magical knowledge worker, labourer or commoner though.(This is based on some assumptions of class distributions in 5e: 1st and 2nd level are apprentice levels. Level 3 is where adventurers begin, and will be the most common level for random people the PCs meet. In trade terms, that's Journeyman level - good enough to have a shop or travel selling your wares, but not yet a master. Mastery comes by level 5, and this is the level that the best shops or the expert sages would be. Most of the NPCs good enough at something for the PCs to query them will be levels 4 and 5, with a very few above.Obviously, all this only holds true for the games I'm running - it's an attempt to translate the class demographics I'm used to in 3e (1st level is the most common, 3rd level for most experts, etc) into 5e.)Level&nbsp;&nbsp; Prof&nbsp; &nbsp; Class Features&nbsp; 1&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 1&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Apprentice&nbsp; 2&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 1&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Apprentice&nbsp; 3&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Specialisation: Journeyman&nbsp; 4&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Ability Score Improvement&nbsp; 5&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Master&nbsp; 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2&nbsp; 7&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 3&nbsp; 8&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 3&nbsp; 9&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 3&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Ability Score Improvement&nbsp; 10&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3Class Features:&nbsp; Hit Points:&nbsp; 1d6 per NPC level&nbsp; Hit Points:&nbsp; 6 + the NPC's Constitution modifier&nbsp; Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + the NPC's Constitution modifier per level after 1stProficiencies:&nbsp; Armour: Light&nbsp; Weapons: All Simple Weapons&nbsp; Tools: None&nbsp; Saving throws: Choose one from Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma&nbsp; Skills: NoneApprentice:&nbsp; At levels 1 and 2, gain proficiency with any one skill, tool, armour or weapon of your choiceSpecialisation (subclass):&nbsp; Expert:&nbsp; &nbsp; At Level 3:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Journeyman:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gain proficiency with any one skill or tool of your choice&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Gain Expertise (+5) with any mix of two of your skills or tool proficiencies.&nbsp; &nbsp; At Level 5:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Master:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Choose one skill or tool with which you are proficient. When you make an ability check that involves that skill or tool, treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.What do people think? Am I completely wrong (well, someone is bound to think so) or is this a usable seed idea?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ccooke, post: 6233912, member: 6695890"] I was reminded of the 3e Expert Class today and was thinking how something like it would work in 5e/Next. Obviously, not everyone wants to generate NPCs in the same way as PCs, but I always thought the NPC classes in 3e were a really nice touch I've missed a lot in 4e. Now both of my 4th edition games are converting to 5th edition, I've spent a little while doing a first pass of how an Expert might look. Looking back to the 3e Expert, it was designed to be as good as a PC in a narrow set of skills or tasks without any real combat ability. To model that, I've taken something between the Rogue and the Bard in terms of skill abilities (Note: I've only taken it to level 10. Extending would be easy, but I'm curious as to what people think before I do so). I've also ended up with something a lot more general than the 3e Expert class - I plan to use this class and the Noble background to create a few idle noble NPCs. Just adding proficiency with the Rapier and a couple of things works out quite nicely, although martial stuff would really benefit from a different subclass. This could definitely be used for any non-magical knowledge worker, labourer or commoner though. (This is based on some assumptions of class distributions in 5e: 1st and 2nd level are apprentice levels. Level 3 is where adventurers begin, and will be the most common level for random people the PCs meet. In trade terms, that's Journeyman level - good enough to have a shop or travel selling your wares, but not yet a master. Mastery comes by level 5, and this is the level that the best shops or the expert sages would be. Most of the NPCs good enough at something for the PCs to query them will be levels 4 and 5, with a very few above. Obviously, all this only holds true for the games I'm running - it's an attempt to translate the class demographics I'm used to in 3e (1st level is the most common, 3rd level for most experts, etc) into 5e.) Level Prof Class Features 1 1 Apprentice 2 1 Apprentice 3 2 Specialisation: Journeyman 4 2 Ability Score Improvement 5 2 Master 6 2 7 3 8 3 9 3 Ability Score Improvement 10 3 Class Features: Hit Points: 1d6 per NPC level Hit Points: 6 + the NPC's Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + the NPC's Constitution modifier per level after 1st Proficiencies: Armour: Light Weapons: All Simple Weapons Tools: None Saving throws: Choose one from Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma Skills: None Apprentice: At levels 1 and 2, gain proficiency with any one skill, tool, armour or weapon of your choice Specialisation (subclass): Expert: At Level 3: Journeyman: Gain proficiency with any one skill or tool of your choice Gain Expertise (+5) with any mix of two of your skills or tool proficiencies. At Level 5: Master: Choose one skill or tool with which you are proficient. When you make an ability check that involves that skill or tool, treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10. What do people think? Am I completely wrong (well, someone is bound to think so) or is this a usable seed idea? [/QUOTE]

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