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Message: <blockquote data-quote="aboyd" data-source="post: 5001831" data-attributes="member: 44797">This is why I cannot DM the free module, <a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20010202a" target="_blank">One Last Riddle</a>.  The premise is that a ghost wants revenge on his enemies, and asks the PCs for help.  The problem?  The module stats out the ghost and his enemies -- the ghost is CR 12, the enemy is a level 8 kobold sorcerer.  There is no good reason why the ghost isn't killing the sorcerer himself.  He has nothing better to do!As for why in general that high-level NPCs give out quests in the first place, I've always been fine with, "I'm busy."  And I don't even think it's a cop-out!  The CEO of SST, where I used to work, has a number of patents for microchips.  He can design them himself.  So why does he need engineers to do it for him?  Because of scale -- he has 10 million other jobs he's supposed to do as the leader of the business.  He can't do it all.In my current campaign, the players were quested by the Fiend-Sage of Rel Astra -- an uber-powerful demon.  The quest?  Overthrow a rival city's government.  That demon could, if he wanted, teleport down there and utterly decimate the entire rival city himself.  Why doesn't he?  Because aside from the wonderful deniability he gets from remaining uninvolved, he's also trying to run the biggest city on the planet, and he's overthrowing a dozen other rivals already, and he's really busy trying to usurp his own boss.  To me, that's not a weak or lame reason at all.The most finite and precious resource of any leader is time.  This is not only true for the real world, but it keeps things highly plausible for a game world, too.  Leaders need competent agents to get stuff done.  The thing that will enrage those leaders the most?  Incompetence that requires the leader to step in and spend time fixing things.</blockquote>

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