D&D 5E Poll: What is a Level 1 PC?

[Cadence]

An first level npc has the same attack bonus (none) as a 1st level fighter. While they only roll 3d6 as opposed to 4d6 -1, they also treat any 1 as a 3, and any 6 as a 4. So no 18s, but no 3s either. A minimum of 9 for every stat. .

Typos or a different edition? In 1e the fighter starts with one higher to hit than the 0-level. And the minimum stat for the "general character" NPC is a 6 (for three 2's).

Anyway, the average from the modified 3d6 is the same as the usual 3d6 (10.5) and is about 1.75 below the 4d6-1. The median score profile for the 4d6-1 is 16/14/13/12/10/9. For the modified 3d6 it is 13/12/11/10/9/8. Using 4d6-1, the PC will have an 80.4% chance of having at least one stat of 15 or higher, including a 42.2% chance of at least two 15 or highers. The PCs chance of having at least four fifteens is higher than the NPCs chance of having at least one fifteen (around 2.86% vs. 2.76%). And, of course the PC gets to put those scores in order.

{I need to be quicker... started typing the above before [MENTION=11821]Obryn[/MENTION]'s post on the middle of the last page }

 

[Manbearcat]

I find this a difficult question to answer within the framework of anything resembling an objective, universal truth so I don't know if anyone's answers (let alone my own) will achieve any solid end here. Nonetheless, let us try. The question is asking how the PCs are represented in the fiction at 1st level and how they are recognized, as a result of this representation, by their fictional contemporaries - NPCs.

How do we make this determination?


XPs?

Nope. XP does not correlate to "a metric that properly encompasses a persons experience". It is entirely a meta-game construct; a pacing mechanism for PC potency versus adventure content. If NPCs stuck around a PC for a long enough period of time (eg - over multiple levels), they would then see the impact of XP and would be able to reliably confirm that this guy's XP is greater than that guy's XP. But just a guy walking down the street? Nope.


HPs?

Nope. HPs do not correlate to size, density, meatiness, hardness or anything "real world". It, like XP, is entirely a meta-game construct; a pacing mechanism for PC survivability (plot protection primarily) versus adventure content. If NPCs stuck around a PC for a long enough period of time (eg - over multiple levels), they would then see the impact of HPs and would be able to reliably confirm that this guy's HP is greater than that guy's HP. But just a guy walking down the street? Nope.


Class Features?

Hmmm...maybe. In 5th edition terms, most NPCs likely have little more than a Background. That leaves Class Features and Specialties (and the inevitable pre-game stories/training/legacy that produced them and culled these people from the common rabble). That clearly sets them apart. This is where acumen reliably reproduces proficiency. You could demonstrate over and over that you are a swordsman set apart from the rest (Proficiency bonus, At-Wills, BAB, THAC0, Damage Bonus, Combat Superiority, etc). You could display your "cut-above the rest" ability to locate trail signs, tracks, natural hazards, safe havens. You could Prestidigitate, Mage Hand, At-Will Attack Power, etc. You could lay your hands on a townsperson's head laceration (specifically in a locale bereft of any clergy) and it may disappear. Etc, etc.


Ability Scores?

This is a product of world-building so there will be some incongruency here (table to table and system to system). A commoner's Ability Scores might be a standard array outside of point buy. This approach would clearly display the relative impotency of the commoner versus the adventurer. However, some folks may determine that they should roll for their commoner's or point buy (relevant folks) just like PCs. In 4e, the Servant (which would effectively be the equivalent of commoner) is 10 across the board except for one 8. The Thug is 14, 10, 12, 9, 10, 11. In Pathfinder, the Farmer is 11, 10, 12, 13, 10, 9. I would say, RAW, these are both very good representatives of the "lay class" of the various D&D civilization. As such, Ability Scores would clearly set a 1st level adventurer apart from the common man. They would almost assuredly be beyond the physical scope of the common man in almost all ability scores (in some cases dramatically so) either through genetics or training regime (or both). Nonetheless, the disparity would be clear and present to your standard commoner. They would take notice and it would be inescapable.


Stories and immediate travails?

Yes. There are so many editions that its difficult to go through all of them. However, taken together, they (yes, even 4e) have an expectation of PC:adventure content that scales with acute congruency. So what are their stories at 1st level? They're routing a band of marauding goblins that are raiding the local village. They are protecting a merchant's caravan that has been repeatedly ambushed (goods confiscated, guards killed or captured) by a notorious band of highwaymen. There is plenty more where that came from. If I was an NPC (specifically a young child) I would look upon those figures with the awe reserved for a hero (much like we look upon the men who stormed the Beaches on D-Day).


I think, for an everyday NPC, a 1st level PC's acumen (class features/build resources beyond background), Ability Scores, and the pre-game story/legacy/training that culled them from their peers + the 1st level stories that they immediately produce would be impossible to deny. They would clearly set them apart from "every-man."

 

[Obryn]

In AD&D, 0-level and 1st-level each had THAC0 20. In (at least some versions of) Basic, 0-level had 20 and 1st-level had 19.

1e has no THAC0. There's a series of repeating 20's at the low end of each chart. For 0-level humans, the first 20 is at AC 1. For 1st-level Fighters, the first 20 is at AC 0.

-O

 

[RedShirtNo5.1]

If I'm playing a sandboxy game, I'm fine starting out with just the same competency as a regular town guard. I have to use the info I gather to pick my own fights.
On the other hand, if I'm playing an adventure path, I would rather have my character start a bit better than that so that to be somewhat insulated from random chance death at low level. I would like to make it to the end of a "chapter", even if I die in "boss fight". I suppose the adventure path could be written to use weaker opponents to achieve the same effect, but with the adventure path I think there's still the stronger assumption that the characters are special or fated.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

In 4e, the Servant (which would effectively be the equivalent of commoner) is 10 across the board except for one 8.

I'm going off-topic a bit here, but which book is the servant in? I'm actually interested. (I figure they might be a minion, perhaps with a skill power.)

 

[GX.Sigma]

1e has no THAC0. There's a series of repeating 20's at the low end of each chart. For 0-level humans, the first 20 is at AC 1. For 1st-level Fighters, the first 20 is at AC 0.

-O

Oh, I get it. So lvl1's attack rolls were always 1 better than lvl0, but AD&D nudged the whole table down 1 unit.

 

[Manbearcat]

I'm going off-topic a bit here, but which book is the servant in? I'm actually interested. (I figure they might be a minion, perhaps with a skill power.)

Dungeon Master's Kit

Yes. It is a minion.

 

[Manbearcat]

Bystander (minion) is:

Str 10 (0) Dex 10 (0) Wis 10 (0)
Con 10 (0) Int 11 (0) Cha 8 (-1)

Gangmember (minion) is:

Str 14 (+2) Dex 10 (0) Wis 10 (0)
Con 12 (+1) Int 9 (-1) Cha 11 (0)

 

[El Mahdi]

I went with E - it's variable depending on the type of campaign I'm running.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

Heroism is not a measure of competence, it's a measure of action and morality. We would be best served, as roleplayers, by not confusing the two.

As I've always seen it, a first level character is a journeyman. They know the fundamentals of their class's skill set, but lack experience. The wizard out of apprenticeship. The fighter who has trained and spared, but not seen real combat.

Fifth level is the quintessential level. The level of expertise. This is the wizard with fireball, or the expert thief. Many professionals never exceed fifth level.

Level ten is the level of mastery. What can be taught is known. The fighter is ready to train soldiers. The cleric has become a name within the church.

Beyond tenth level, characters are creating their own skills. The fighter is developing new styles. The wizard is researching new spells. The characters are a power within the world.

Level 11 and above shouldn't be the same kind of power as levels 1 though 10. They are about influence on the setting. Lordships. Armies. Spells that bend reality. Hit points and combat bonuses stop increasing, or slow dramatically. Characters gain traits and abilities that are focus on influencing the setting.

While all of that is how I see it, the further from first level I get, the more vague the impressions become. But first level as journeyman and fifth level as expert are solid.