What Level is a Guardsman?

[Snoweel]

I guess this is a levels/demographics question.

What level is your typical town or city guardsman in D&D?

I'm aware it's not a simple question, which should make for an interesting thread.

What levels do you, personally, believe NPC guardsmen should be? Go into as much detail as you want. Explain the weighting you give to the variables - size of settlement, the types and frequency of danger they face, which edition of D&D you're talking about, etc.

How much different do you see guardsmen in 4e (30 levels) as compared to 3.x (20 levels)?

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

All in where he is at what what he is doing. A small town in BFE head guard may be 4th level as the kings guard may be 15th or more.

Common low enter guards I put between 1-5 warriors
middle liners like guys you would find in charge of a good sized city could have levels ranging between 6th and 12th
with high ranking[kings eilit] mostly between 12th and 20th

but most fall between 1st and 4th


But really all in where and what there doing

 

[Knightfall]

1st to 3rd level warriors for a typical town guardsman.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Most typically, as per Knightfall's level range and type. Depends on the training they've had though - some (particularly leader-types) might be Fighters, or multiclassed with something else.

Also, some societies are just more martial, overall. Or less. More or less well-organised, and so on. It's such a campaign-dependent (and further, territory-specific) thing. . .

 

[S'mon]

In a typical 3e setting I put the typical city guardsman, a veteran professional soldier, at 3rd level Warrior.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Your typical guard on the street has been around for a while, seen and done a bit, but isn't in so much action that he's high in level. I put him at 2nd-3rd level, with the occasional outliers (a 1st-level newbie to the force; a 4th-level guy who always knocks heads in the occasional guardroom brawl).

The sergeants and other mid-tier leaders are typically more experienced; I put them around 4th level, maybe 5th. The senior leaders might top out at 5th or 6th or perhaps a bit more.

All of this assumes a pretty typical urban setting in a relatively peaceful time. Lots of strife, crime, or a recent war that developed a labour pool of hardened veterans would all up those levels, as would an elite force with a special mandate (the high king's guard, etc.).

 

[billd91]

It seems that I tend to skew my NPCs a bit higher than others. Young adults just coming of age will be 1st level, and then I assume a level gain for every 3-5 years or so after that under normal circumstances. That'll put most guardsmen in the 3-5 range, officers more likely to be fighters than warriors.

 

[Stoat]

In 3E, I used the demographic charts in the DMG. A typical town guard was divided into 5 or 10 man squads of 1st Level Warriors, each commanded by a 1st level Fighter. There were usually a few 3rd or 4th Level leaders (maybe 1 for every 40 or so regular guardsmen), and 1 higher level guard captain (usually 4th or 6th level). Since most NPC's by the books are 1st level commoners, this is more than enough firepower to enforce the peace on a day-to-day basis. They can also handle small raiding parties of Orcs or Goblins in a pitched battle. But they need to hire PC's for anything meatier.

In 4E, I haven't given it as much thought (the campaign is set far from civilization) when I've needed 'em, I've just used the 3rd level Human Guard from the MM.

 

[Crothian]

First level, unless plot or comedy effect warrants a higher level.

 

[Wormwood]

For my 4e game:

If the players aren't fighting 'em, then it doesn't matter.

If my player's are fighting them, then the guardsmen would be close enough to party level to make a good encounter (as per the DMG).