low level NPC [Archive] - Wizards Community

low level NPC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
I_hate_elfs
08-02-05, 06:02 PM i have seen that eberron has loads of low level npc.

what is the reason for that ?
law
08-02-05, 06:05 PM From the reson that that higher level NPCs are a little rarer then normal. Yes there level is maby a little higher over all but theres less of them.
polt
08-02-05, 06:17 PM In Eberron the players are the heroes.

NPC's don't gain XP the same way.
Take the veterans of the last war for example, 95% of them are lvl 1-2 warriors.
Cloud Divider
08-03-05, 07:17 PM I find it to be a pretty pleasant change of pace, honestly. It certainly makes my job easier - a cadre of 3rd level Warriors NPCs is much easier to deal with than a cadre of 9th level Fighters (with feats and magical doodads).

The big epiphany I had, was that low-level NPC-classed opponents are d20's version of Mook Rules...

My players are "only" 3rd level, but they're having a great time - they get to thoroughly trounce the opposition (which to this point have basically been 1st or 2nd level NPC-classed goons) in an appropriately heroic fashion. The battles go by quickly, and are still sufficiently dramatic (when you've only got 15 hp, combat with a bugbear wielding a greataxe is certainly a nontrivial affair). They're certainly getting to the point of building a pretty good reputation for themselves...

I ran a few Monte Carlo simulations to get a rough idea of combat life expectancy (fighting equivalent opponents), and not too many managed to survive past about the 4th encounter, let alone 4th level... So I fall back on that when I need justification. :) That was assuming "only" a 20% casualty rate (so for any given combat against an equivalent enemy, you'd get killed 20% of the time). Even at a 10% casualty rate, the average soldier only lived through just over 7 encounters (which just puts them into 2nd level). I'd started working on a more complex simulation (which simulated the actual combats), but I never got around to finishing it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
I_hate_elfs 08-02-05, 06:02 PM	i have seen that eberron has loads of low level npc. what is the reason for that ?
law 08-02-05, 06:05 PM	From the reson that that higher level NPCs are a little rarer then normal. Yes there level is maby a little higher over all but theres less of them.
polt 08-02-05, 06:17 PM	In Eberron the players are the heroes. NPC's don't gain XP the same way. Take the veterans of the last war for example, 95% of them are lvl 1-2 warriors.
Cloud Divider 08-03-05, 07:17 PM	I find it to be a pretty pleasant change of pace, honestly. It certainly makes my job easier - a cadre of 3rd level Warriors NPCs is much easier to deal with than a cadre of 9th level Fighters (with feats and magical doodads). The big epiphany I had, was that low-level NPC-classed opponents are d20's version of Mook Rules... My players are "only" 3rd level, but they're having a great time - they get to thoroughly trounce the opposition (which to this point have basically been 1st or 2nd level NPC-classed goons) in an appropriately heroic fashion. The battles go by quickly, and are still sufficiently dramatic (when you've only got 15 hp, combat with a bugbear wielding a greataxe is certainly a nontrivial affair). They're certainly getting to the point of building a pretty good reputation for themselves... I ran a few Monte Carlo simulations to get a rough idea of combat life expectancy (fighting equivalent opponents), and not too many managed to survive past about the 4th encounter, let alone 4th level... So I fall back on that when I need justification. :) That was assuming "only" a 20% casualty rate (so for any given combat against an equivalent enemy, you'd get killed 20% of the time). Even at a 10% casualty rate, the average soldier only lived through just over 7 encounters (which just puts them into 2nd level). I'd started working on a more complex simulation (which simulated the actual combats), but I never got around to finishing it.