What Level is a Guardsman?

[avin]

DMing 4ED I would ignore the DMG challenge approach. It doesn't make sense a small town having lv 10 guards just because the players are lv 10.

 

[Snoweel]

DMing 4ED I would ignore the DMG challenge approach. It doesn't make sense a small town having lv 10 guards just because the players are lv 10.

The DMG doesn't say to make them level 10 or any other level.

The only place advising guard levels is the Monster Manual.

It's up to the DM to assign levels (and monster role) based on the setting and the needs of the adventure.

Remember though that a level 10 minion is nowhere near a level 10 Player Character. It's not even close to a level 10 soldier.

 

[AllisterH]

I imagine the guards of say the town of Hommlet would be much lower in level than the guards for the town of Sharn/Greyhawk/Waterdeep.

Similarly, I fully expect the guards in Sigil to be able to wipe the floor with those selfsame guards from Greyhawk.

So yes, you can have 10th level town guards depending on the town.

 

[Shades of Green]

Guards should be at least as powerful as the opposition they're supposed to guard against on a day-to-day basis; otherwise the opposition, rather than the guards, would control the town.

In most cases that means facing various CR 1/6 to CR 2 creatures such as goblins, kobolds, orcs, hobgoblins, low-level thieves (not necessarily Rogues, more typically commoners or experts) or bandits, and the occasional bugbear, ogre or higher-level/PC-class rogue/bandit. Higher CR monsters would either be rare, reside in areas far away from civilization or spend most of their times in ruins and dungeons. So Warriors of levels 1-3 with decent equipment (chainmail, large shield, longsword or short bow or light crossbow) would do well. Larger cities would probably have some higher-level veterans or specialists (including spellcasters) as well a SWAT equivalent (mid-level PC-class elite unit with good gear used to deal with major threats).

 

[pawsplay]

But if you're married to the idea that guards are only good for beating up peasants and a PC of 10th level is TEH AWESOME!!!!!1!! then obviously you're not going to have your 10th level party fighting guards.

But there's a long way to go from 10th level to 30th.

The idea of a town where the guards can provide a credible challenge to a 10th level party is pretty frightening to me. It would be like one of those kung fu movies where it turns out the fish seller can break pillars with his bare hands.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

The idea of a town where the guards can provide a credible challenge to a 10th level party is pretty frightening to me. It would be like one of those kung fu movies where it turns out the fish seller can break pillars with his bare hands.

Well it again depends on how you view level 10. Since a level is abstract in one person's campaign a level 10 is the equivalent in terms of the sense of power in that world to a level 1 in another campaign.

 

[HelloChristian]

Hello Snoweel,

I'm not sure if this will be of help to you, but in an issue of my zine I wrote about watchmen. I created a chain of command, small group tactics and provided stat blocks.

Here the link: http://www.iridiazine.net/pdf/Iridia46.pdf

 

[TwinBahamut]

I would say that city guards would work well as anywhere from being 1st to 8th level as standard monsters or minions, and up to 12th or even 15th level as just minions, depending on circumstances. It really varies greatly based on countless factors. I am one of those people who believes in "Shrödinger's stats", where stats only solidify into existence the moment before an encounter starts. I mean, a level 3 standard monster and a level 11 minion both are worth 150 xp, so it seems pretty natural to say that you can substitute one for the other. That way, the party would fight 5 city guardsmen at level 3 and 25 of the same kind of guardsmen at level 11, at it would be a fair fight both times (really emphasizing the party's growth and development).

 

[AllisterH]

Guards should be at least as powerful as the opposition they're supposed to guard against on a day-to-day basis; otherwise the opposition, rather than the guards, would control the town.

Exactly.

If the worse they have to face off is the occasional Troll, then levels under 4 and 5 make sense.

If the worse they have to face off is the occasional high level demon, then level 10 is the lowest they should be.

 

[aurance]

..."Shrödinger's stats"...

I love this term. I also take the exact same approach you do.