Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snoweel" data-source="post: 1535412" data-attributes="member: 4453">Balance between PCs is one thing; balance between PCs and NPCs is another.NPCs ultimately don't need to follow balance rules insofar as their ability to accomplish tasks within the rules - Just look at the fact that an NPC can be any level the DM wants her to be.Suppose the DM wants an NPC with the combat ability of a 5th level fighter but also 8 ranks in Spot. That's what suits the game and it doesn't disrupt balance anywhere near as much as if the DM followed the letter of the rules and cranked the NPC's fighter level up to 13th to account for the necessary cross-class skill ranks.The reason PC fighters don't have Spot as a class skill is so that the party fighter doesn't step on the shtick of any of the classes who do have Spot. NPCs don't need the same restrictions, because they are already severely restricted by the fact that they are not the heroes of the tale (one hopes) and are ultimately doomed to play second fiddle to the protagonists (the PCs).The CR system is what ultimately balances PCs with NPCs.I mean, NPCs have far more race options than PCs to begin with (ie. whatever race the DM wants them to be). Secondly, they can be any level the DM chooses, take any template allowable by the rules, command however many underlings, etc etc etc.They don't follow the same rules because unlike PCs, who are intended to not compete with the other PCs, NPCs generally are intended to compete with the PCs.And unless they break the CR system (ie. not offer enough reward for their challenge), which a fighter with Spot as a class skill clearly does not do, they don't ruin the game for anybody but the most anal rules-accountant.Had you been here a couple of years ago, you could've seen the flamewar I instigated when I pointed out how different society would look if women really were as strong as men.It was an absolute masterpiece.</blockquote>

Verification