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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ketjak" data-source="post: 517167" data-attributes="member: 1083">Um, what sort of comb?The CR and experience system is so central to progression in the game that I'd hardly think a fine-toothed comb is necessary to understand it. I happen to be traveling sans DMG, so someone else will have to quote it. It's right there, though, so take a couple of minutes to read about non-combat experience awards. Who knows, XP awards for something other than slaying monsters might open new vistas of gaming to you.Interestingly enough, the MM (which I do have with me for OW planning) doesn't mention whether the stats listed are average, standard, or exceptional. The MM2 spells out what is implied by the PHB's reincarnation and polymorph spells, though - "these abilities are average..." The vast majority do not "just have the standard." In aggregate their statistics average those values. In other words, for every 18 in the general population there's a 3; for every 14 a 7; for every 11, a 10.It isn't. <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=":)" />It does not assume you roll ability scores for everyone in a nation. <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=":)" /> I believe it assumes only noteworthy folks will be rolled, or that the standard stat distribution (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8 IIRC) will be used for exceptional folks. When I want a few NPCs with color, though, I'll roll 3d6 and arrange as needed for the profession.That doesn't follow, and what's being quoted is not rules-based, it's flavor text. Anyone can interpret flavor text however they wish, and they're welcome to do so. I'm not trying to make this a rules discussion at all, but trying to divine the meaning of flavor text is kind of silly - it means whatever the DM wants it to mean in her campaign.That does not follow, either. If everyone in a population has a 3d6 roll for each attribute (which individually they do), that does not imply everyone will live to be high level. Only the folks who get enough "appropriate" encounters before they die make it to high level, whether they use 3d6 or 4d6 drop the low or whatever method to generate stats.The members of the population with above-average stats stand the best chance of rising in level; those with other stats will tend to stay at the level it's easy to reach then stay the same as they fail at more difficult tasks and stop earning XP for less-difficult tasks, or earn them more slowly. An 80-yo 7th-level expert probably has lower stats than an 80-yo 20th level expert in the same career, or supplemented normal life experiences with adventuring (that person is "more courageous" or "more driven" in flavor text terms), or simply lived in busier area and faced more challenges at work.Again, that's just a function of the CR experience system. Whether or not the CR system is a good one is a different discussion.Ook!- Ketjak</blockquote>

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