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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 188848" data-attributes="member: 158">I do agree with one thing - there is no case for assuming that anyone over the age of 20 is a first level ANYTHING. Life experience will give most people skill in their profession and other related fields over time. Can you imagine the grizzled old veteran guard of the city watch as being first or even 2nd level, even though he's maybe seen 5 actual combats in his life?Think on this: we all face challenges in life. Challenge is a PART of life. Everyone, from pauper to millionaire, faces challenges that they must overcome - it is a mistake to think that just because someone never wondered where their next meal is coming from, that they never faced a challenge that tested them and made them better people. We know from the D&D experience system, that experience is given not for winning fights; experience is given for overcoming challenges. What's the only way to have never been challnged?Answer: To have never lived.Therefore, anyone who is over the age of, say, 18 to 20 should definitely be a 2nd or higher level character, whether PC or NPC. It is unrealistic to me to say that Farmer Brown, age 50, is a level 1 Commoner. He has survived plenty of hard times, overcome challenges to his survival just by living - and still he lives on. Some characters, such as street urchins or 13-year-old conscripts, are possibly much higher level at age 18 than one would think. That 18-year-old who has wielded a weapon since age 13 might be one heck of a warrior - but he has no social skills and is too immature for bluffing or diplomacy whatsoever. That part is all up to roleplaying. But you CAN'T say that he hasn't lived.If a 30-year-old always had stuff handed to him from age 5, and has never had to lift a finger to get what he wanted, then you might make a case for a 1st level commoner there. (Prestige class: "waste of space.") But a battlefield full of soldiers with an ounce of training would hardly be first level. Heck, "boot camp" would give you a level just for surviving it! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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