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<blockquote data-quote="D+1" data-source="post: 1706724" data-attributes="member: 13654">Farmers get XP and levels because they are ASSIGNED to them by a DM.&nbsp; Yes, NPC classes earn XP just as PC's do - but that only means that IF they go off adventuring they get an xp split and would get to level up in their choice of classes.&nbsp; It does not mean that to get where they ARE they MUST have been off killing orcs or braving dangerous weather and monster incursions several times a month.Somebody check me if I'm wrong but encounter frequency tables are written for PC adventuring parties.&nbsp; They are not meant to be applied universally to every individual in the world, nor collectively to settlements.It is quite easy and acceptible to suppose that monsters simply do not routinely attack or menace even small settlements, but that they are not far beyond the edges of the cultivated areas.&nbsp; Farmer Ted can live and work his whole life on his farm on the edge of the village - but then he seldom if ever goes far beyond his fences.&nbsp; Travelling to the next nearest village or to the nearest &quot;big city&quot; may be a routine task but he still doesn't do it every day - few people do.&nbsp; PC adventurers on the other hand travel constantly over long distances and often not on the most heavily travelled and patrolled roads.&nbsp; THEY are the ones who have the encounters.The game does not presuppose any particular level of &quot;encounters&quot; for Farmer Ted because he's not the focus of the game - the PC's are.&nbsp; It is perhaps assumed that the Farmer Teds of the world DO have encounters occasionally but the game does not concern itself with what they would be or how he would deal with it.&nbsp; Virtually all of what you find in the rules is geared DIRECTLY towards how the PC's are affected and how the PC's affect the world around them.&nbsp; GP limits and available cash can be calculated not so the DM knows how much trade a given village does with the next closest village - it can be calculated so he knows what trade can be done WITH PC'S.The entire game has ALWAYS been constructed that way.&nbsp; Dangerous pitfalls open up when this simple premise is overlooked and rules that are really meant to apply only to PC's are assumed to be universal rules for every individual in the world, and composes a weave that would/could/should accurately describe an entire game world.That said, I think the original post is all but dead-on.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D+1, post: 1706724, member: 13654"] Farmers get XP and levels because they are ASSIGNED to them by a DM. Yes, NPC classes earn XP just as PC's do - but that only means that IF they go off adventuring they get an xp split and would get to level up in their choice of classes. It does not mean that to get where they ARE they MUST have been off killing orcs or braving dangerous weather and monster incursions several times a month.Somebody check me if I'm wrong but encounter frequency tables are written for PC adventuring parties. They are not meant to be applied universally to every individual in the world, nor collectively to settlements. It is quite easy and acceptible to suppose that monsters simply do not routinely attack or menace even small settlements, but that they are not far beyond the edges of the cultivated areas. Farmer Ted can live and work his whole life on his farm on the edge of the village - but then he seldom if ever goes far beyond his fences. Travelling to the next nearest village or to the nearest "big city" may be a routine task but he still doesn't do it every day - few people do. PC adventurers on the other hand travel constantly over long distances and often not on the most heavily travelled and patrolled roads. THEY are the ones who have the encounters. The game does not presuppose any particular level of "encounters" for Farmer Ted because he's not the focus of the game - the PC's are. It is perhaps assumed that the Farmer Teds of the world DO have encounters occasionally but the game does not concern itself with what they would be or how he would deal with it. Virtually all of what you find in the rules is geared DIRECTLY towards how the PC's are affected and how the PC's affect the world around them. GP limits and available cash can be calculated not so the DM knows how much trade a given village does with the next closest village - it can be calculated so he knows what trade can be done WITH PC'S. The entire game has ALWAYS been constructed that way. Dangerous pitfalls open up when this simple premise is overlooked and rules that are really meant to apply only to PC's are assumed to be universal rules for every individual in the world, and composes a weave that would/could/should accurately describe an entire game world. That said, I think the original post is all but dead-on. [/QUOTE]

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