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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 9147128" data-attributes="member: 20323">My answer is emphatically &quot;No, NPCs should NOT be built using the same rules as PCs.&quot;But my reason why might surprise you.The suite of options facing players is large and complex with many moving parts - these rules/tools are intended for a zoomed-in &quot;micro management&quot; of resources and decisions based on the assumption that one player runs one PC.However, the DM's circumstances are completely different because they run many NPCs, monsters, the setting, and overall their mental burden is significantly spread out across more things.Thus, NPCs should be built with that burden in mind – easy to run, no micromanagement, limited resources the GM needs to track.Say I wanted to create a Barbarian-type NPC who acts as a bodyguard for a BBEG. I look at the rules for Reckless Attack and Rage, and those really are prime examples of player-facing &quot;micro management&quot; features. So I would not use those directly. However, I might create a trait for this NPC that is inspired by Rage, giving them the quaggoth's Wounded Fury trait and perhaps something like this:Wrath of the Guardian. As a reaction to being within 5 feet of a hostile creature making an attack or spell against the BBEG, the bodyguard becomes wrathful engine of death. They deal an additional die of damage with melee attacks and gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. They retain these benefits until knocked unconscious, the BBEG is no longer present, or if their turn ends and they haven't attacked that hostile creature since their last turn.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 9147128, member: 20323"] My answer is emphatically "No, NPCs should NOT be built using the same rules as PCs." But my reason why might surprise you. The suite of options facing players is large and complex with many moving parts - these rules/tools are intended for a zoomed-in "micro management" of resources and decisions based on the assumption that one player runs one PC. However, the DM's circumstances are completely different because they run many NPCs, monsters, the setting, and overall their mental burden is significantly spread out across more things. Thus, NPCs should be built with that burden in mind – easy to run, no micromanagement, limited resources the GM needs to track. Say I wanted to create a Barbarian-type NPC who acts as a bodyguard for a BBEG. I look at the rules for Reckless Attack and Rage, and those really are prime examples of player-facing "micro management" features. So I would not use those directly. However, I might create a trait for this NPC that is inspired by Rage, giving them the quaggoth's Wounded Fury trait and perhaps something like this: [B]Wrath of the Guardian. [/B]As a reaction to being within 5 feet of a hostile creature making an attack or spell against the BBEG, the bodyguard becomes wrathful engine of death. They deal an additional die of damage with melee attacks and gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. They retain these benefits until knocked unconscious, the BBEG is no longer present, or if their turn ends and they haven't attacked that hostile creature since their last turn. [/QUOTE]

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