What Level is a Guardsman?

[Snoweel]

In 3.5e I also went with 1st level warriors, but in 4e I'm thinking the average guardsman in a big town should be about 5th level. I think the entire Heroic tier is somewhat gritty and mundane in this edition.

Even a 10th level character in 4e is only a third of the way through the potential range of human (and demihuman) ability.

Obviously this leads to questions about why anyone would ask 1st level PCs to do anything when the town guard can handle it better.

But being good at their job in no way makes town guards want to risk their lives unduly. That's what adventurers are for.

Likewise, I see 1st level PCs as very green, very inexperienced young people with a particular aptitude for growth. Some kind of special potential I guess.

Anyway, I never liked 1st level PCs. They have too little history and backstory potential.

 

[Cadfan]

Guardsman levels, like the levels of anything else in the game that I choose to use as a DM, vary depending upon what I need. The only constraint is that once I set the level of a generic guardsman in a campaign, I have to abide by it later in that same campaign, or come up with a plausible reason for why I'm not.

So "generic town guardsman" might be a level 1 or a level 8 npc- who knows? Whatever the story requires. But once he's established as a level 1 npc, if I later want to use a level 8 npc guardsman, the new guy is going to have to be an elite guard of some kind who is noticeably better than the regular mook.

You can't derive population demographics from the rules of D&D.

 

[Delta]

1E - 3E DMGs were quite consistent, that's what I use: Lowest level base soldiers (0-level or War1), 3rd level sergeant, lieutenant level 4-5.

 

[pawsplay]

1st level warrior. Veterans might be 2nd to 4th level. A squad leader is going to be about 2nd or 3rd level. The captain is probably a 4th level warrior, or maybe a fighter level 3-6th.

 

[Snoweel]

You can't derive population demographics from the rules of D&D.

Sure you can. You don't have to derive population demographics from the rules of D&D, but you can easily make the rules a factor.

 

[el-remmen]

1E - 3E DMGs were quite consistent, that's what I use: Lowest level base soldiers (0-level or War1), 3rd level sergeant, lieutenant level 4-5.

I use something along these lines, but I mix in levels of fighter (or rogue) to create elite officers.

 

[S'mon]

1E - 3E DMGs were quite consistent, that's what I use: Lowest level base soldiers (0-level or War1), 3rd level sergeant, lieutenant level 4-5.

I'm not happy with the 1e notion that city guards are just typical soldiers, the medieval equivalent of the WW2 conscript soldier. IRL the small number of permanently employed medieval city guards troops were veteran mercenaries, very well equipped.

Edit: Growing up in Ulster in the '70s I knew a few veteran Royal Ulster Constabulary, a semi-militarised police force. Those were some tough men! Calling them 0th level or War-1s would seem ridiculous.

 

[Rechan]

Back in college, a roommate of mine moonlighted as a security guard for video game money. A classmate also did the security guard thing.

Off-duty police officers often do security guard work for extra cash.

Private security firms and government organizations have highly skilled security guards (See: Blackwater, the Secret Service, etc).

So, it depends on their purpose and level of expertise.

I'd say your typical small town guardsman is 2-4, depending on the local threats in the area. After all, the guards may be what repels some fledgling invasions, fight the occasional low-level demon or other monster that runs rampant through the streets, etc.

However, I fully endorse Wormwood's approach.

 

[pawsplay]

I'm not happy with the 1e notion that city guards are just typical soldiers, the medieval equivalent of the WW2 conscript soldier. IRL the small number of permanently employed medieval city guards troops were veteran mercenaries, very well equipped.

Very small number. The typical watch were exactly typical "typical soldiers." Most wore leather aprons or mail shirts and carried a stout club. They were better than conscripts... your conscripts were basically 1st level Commoners with decent ability scores with a sprinkling of 1st level Warriors.

 

[Tigerbunny]

RC: typical guard is a Normal Man, possibly with some tweaks. Leaders/elites might be statted up as Fighters, typically no more than 4th level except in very unusual circumstances.

4E: typical guard is a 3rd-level monster (minion when part of a larger encounter, mix of minion & normal when in a "guards" encounter, elite for leaders or ... elites). Unusual guards are probably given appropriate class templates and might get beefed up to higher levels.

But essentially - in any edition - whatever I need them to be for their role.