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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silverglass" data-source="post: 1311802" data-attributes="member: 14071">Which is exactly what I said. The original post said "combat" whereas the DMG says that you do not have to kill something to defeat it. I said a challenge "could be" a puzzle or social encounter and that the DM "can award" xp for roleplay etc. I used those words rather than "is" and "does" because they are a variant in the core rules, and bonus xp for roleplay is a very widely used one.But even if you limit everything to combat related encounters and traps my example of shepherds driving off wolves or an attempted mugging in an alley are both exact examples of gaining combat related xp. True, but I said "realistic" because the sample settlement calculations in the DMG are not that realistic, but anything else would take up too much space and too much calculation for something that is often not of great importance to game flow. The idea that someone would be no better at their craft or profession skill after 20 years than when they started adult life is obviously a flawed one and not "realistic".Without my DMG with me I cannot check but I don't remember the DMG precluding higher level NPC's or explaining how they got to those higher levels. If 75% of the population is 1st level and 25% is second that doesn't invalidate my point, it just means that only about 1 in 4 adults survives long enough to gain the 1000xp to reach 2nd level. In a dangerous locale experience is earned faster but mortality rates are higher so you probably end up with the same proportion of leveled NPC's as some safe village but in the latter the 2nd level people are older because it takes longer to level up. This variability is why I used term such as middle-aged and old as that covers a range of ages.We understand that as people work at their profession they get "better" at it. A blacksmith just starting out has demonstrably less skill than one who has been practicing the craft for 20 years. In D&D that can only be reflected by an increase in skill ranks, which in turn is only granted by level gains. Therefore if a 20 year old blacksmith is a level 1 expert then a 50 year old blacksmith must be a level >1 expert as that is the only way the rules can reflect their greater skill after years of experience.Obviously someone who has confronted opponents wishing them harm garners xp, but that should not stop someone improving their skills over the years because they never got into a fight. Fortunately the DMG contains a variant that allows you to award xp for non-combat related challenges and this is what a DM should be doing for NPC's because it is a mechanism within the rules that lets NPC's become better at their profession over the years.</blockquote>

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