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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 7156359" data-attributes="member: 71699">So with help from comments in this thread, I would now proposeAbout 1/100 people have tier 1 character class-equivalence, with an order of magnitude fewer per tier above that. An Intelligence (Investigation) ability check DC 5*Tier can discover the whereabouts of such an NPC so long as they are not taking steps to avoid being found; add 5 to that DC if the search is conducted in a settlement with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. Triple the tier counts and subtract 5 from the DC if the region is on a war footing. Monster Manual stat blocks such as the Mage represent such NPCs in abstract, and are usually sufficient to run them: adding more detail using their character class where required. Their Hit Dice indicates their tier.The components are<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Starting estimate based on the oft-repeated 1/100 low-levels</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Goes by tier to keep things vague and flexible - it's a guideline not a straitjacket</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Equates MM stat block NPCs with cc-equiv NPCs, treating them as fungible - gives flexibility to modify as needed</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Offers a DC for PC searches for arbitrary PCs - this is the most experimental part and will be refined over time</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Adjusts for regions on a war-footing</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">NPCs are not assumed to be "locked" to the town they are estimated for - in fact, a good way to use the method might be to do the estimate at regional level first</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">It's designed to be a quick first pass - an estimate made on the fly do without looking up a table</li> </ol>This rule won't bite and isn't a trick to take away your power as a DM. It produces results pretty consistent with the baseline D&D world. CC-equiv NPCs remain extremely rare. Tier 3's are about 1 in 10,000, and Tier 4s are 1 in 100,000! Even a city as large as Waterdeep (2m in the age of 5e) will only yield a score of them. Half of those might be absent at any one time. Half of the rest might be reclusive. A handful might be available for PCs to locate on a DC of 20: failure could indicate anything from "There is no 17th level Monk in Waterdeep" to "There is, but she won't speak with you" to "There is, but she is away on her own affairs".More than anything this is intended as a point of departure. The DM can always simply fiat that there is a 17th level Monk, or there are no Tier 4s at all, or anything in between. However, through providing a consistent framework it is hoped to inspire. To make us scratch our heads and wonder at who the inhabitants of our fictional worlds are, and what they are doing.</blockquote>

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