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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 9743624" data-attributes="member: 15538">5e already leaned into a distinction between PC stat blocks and NPCs. The 2024 revision has deepened this divide; whereas giving monsters PC levels was before only discouraged, now it is not even contemplated. Essentially, now, every NPC is a monster, and the GM's guide helpfully refers you to the section on customizing monsters if you want to alter one of the NPC stat blocks. That's great, I can say this Veteran has an axe instead of a sword, and maybe I'll even change out one of the Mage's spells or turn its eldritch burst into Cold damage or something. A notable weakness of the new rules, compared to prior editions, is that I can't simply whip up a Mage or Rogue equivalent for any given CR. Do you want an NPC Ranger? Good luck, there is no such thing at all. There's also not a single stat block that looks like it might be a Warlock. And as of the new DMG, there aren't even any guidelines to painfully reverse engineer new NPC types.There are a ton of third party NPC books to fill this void, but since there aren't any guidelines in the new rules, I have a lot of doubt about the balance and style of those writeups. What do you think? Do you ever find yourself hunting around for a CR 8 Mage with Warlock spells?</blockquote>