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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 2055762" data-attributes="member: 177">I think the NPC classes are a bit better at modelling non-adventuring sorts in such a world than the PC classes are.  YMMV.No, because I recognize that the class is not trying to model my real world.  Rather than feel dissonance, I change my view of the world the NPC lives in to fit the reality the rules represent.  In the game-world, anyone who has gotten to high level has by necessity been through a lot of stuff (not necessarily combat, but heavy stuff nontheless).  If he can survive getting to that point, he's a force to be reckoned with.  Well, be careful - "best in the world" is relative.  It is probably easy to be best in the world at Craft (Painting), because few people ever take the skill at all.  Fewer still max out the skill.  Fewer still also take feats, and have natural aptitude.  It is far more difficult to be best inteh world in a skill that more people would use.  There are probably far more blacksmiths than artists in the fantasy world, so being the best blacksmith will take more.But then, we still don't have the cognitive dissonance.  If there are more blacksmiths, that's probably because blacksmiths are more important and useful.  As story elements, they need to be capable of playing an active role in the story, and that means having some more hit ponts and abilty to survive in a fight without keeling over.Well, again, "best" is relative to the task you feel is at hand.  If you feel the task at hand is to provide a source of skills the PCs don't have, and not much else, then you are correct, these are not the best way to go about it.If instead, you feel the task at hand is to provide useful characters as story elements in a game of high action, then the NPC classes do a nice job.  The best blacksmith in the world is going to be a commodity.  He won't live a normal life in a world where some of those who deal with such commodities are wizards and high priests and kings.  If the guy has skills and nothing else, he turns into a McGuffin, rather than an active character in the story.</blockquote>

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