World populated by higher level NPCs

[Andezzar]

I looked through the DMG and saw that the game worlds are supposed to be populated mainly by low level NPCs, which means that the PCs are individually much more powerful than most NPCs pretty soon.

This got me thinking, how would the game world change if you had more of a gauss distribution of NPC levels with a peak at level 10?

[Yahzi]

WhatThePhysics is right. The game world no longer resembles faux-medievalism. Science fiction is a better model.

[Cicciograna]

Look at these (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/clericSpells.htm#fifthLevelClericSpells) spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/druidSpells.htm#fifthLevelDruidSpells) lists (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/sorcererWizardSpells.htm#fifthLevelSorcererWizardS pells), now back at this thread.

Say hello to a plane-hopping, mind-raping demigod.

This morning, they communed up Pelor to chat with them while drinking some fabricated tea, followed by a stroll with their awakened polar bear alongside a stone barrier massive enough make the Great Wall of China cry.

At noon, they caught a live episode of Grognard the Ysgardian on their flat screen scrying mirror, while chatting it up with a lich on their sending stone.

In the afternoon, they took a trip to the downtown teleport hub, encountered a mind flayer with a mild case of mummy rot, and made a mental note to get an appointment with their personal cleric by the end of the week.

At night, they went to an illusory club, danced the night away with a couple elves, avoided the creepy stares of some desperate-looking baatezu, then went home and slapped themselves with a wand of sleep.

Eight hours later, their personal zombie steps into their bubble of alarm, rousing them so they can prep for a camp-out with some aasimar buddies on Arborea.

You know, this looks pretty awesome.

[Chilingsworth]

You know, this looks pretty awesome.

It also makes me think of Sigil.

On another note, it would also depend on the class distribution.

[javijuji]

We actually play in a similar manner. It is our way of explaining why robbbing a shop is practically impossible. Since the shop owner might be a lvl 15 artificer with a crapload of contingencies.

[Hiro Protagonest]

WhatThePhysics is right. The game world no longer resembles faux-medievalism. Science fiction is a better model.
You mean the current D&D setting doesn't logically resemble Star Wars?

These are the pros to such a world, though. Any bad apples could cause some serious damage. Can you say stilled, silent, invisible fireballs?

FTFY.

[ericgrau]

When the average person is legendary, nobody is all that special. Also the world runs on magic as a commonplace thing.

[avr]

If a village has a hundred 10th level characters in the militia, monsters are largely irrelevant. Adventures become political intrigue or mystery/crime only.

[ArcturusV]

If a large number of NPCs are level 10... how did they get to that level?

I mean the reason most "Armies" are things like level 2 characters, maybe level 5 for an old warhorse sergeant type... is that the means of gaining XP typically aren't things Soldiers do. They might be in the army for 12 years and only see a handful of battles.

[Matticussama]

Unless the majority of those monsters are also 10th level and above. Orc hordes where the weakest grunt is a 10th level fighter are suddenly a lot more threatening. Not only do they have numbers, but also significant tactical options.

[Animastryfe]

If a large number of NPCs are level 10... how did they get to that level?

I mean the reason most "Armies" are things like level 2 characters, maybe level 5 for an old warhorse sergeant type... is that the means of gaining XP typically aren't things Soldiers do. They might be in the army for 12 years and only see a handful of battles.
The premise of the world can be set such that NPCs are, essentially, low level Exalted. By this, I mean that people will naturally reach level, say, 5 just by reaching adulthood.

[navar100]

It's ok to have higher level NPCs. Just don't make them the stars of the game. This is one of my DM's biggest mistakes. We're constantly meeting NPCs of higher level doing all sorts of stuff we can't do and can never do. Bad guy NPCs always get away with stuff. Good guy NPCs always rescue the party when the DM purposely sets opponents far above our station against us. If not a combat but we face some DM fiat obstacle preventing us from moving forward with the plot, an uber-NPC comes along to get rid of the obstacle. That's not even mentioning the blatant railroading. I'm getting really sick of it.

[Animastryfe]

I think one of the traits of the Eberron setting is that there are very few (good?) NPCs of high level, although I'm not sure whether this means that the median NPC level is lower than that of other settings.

I think a more workable world is one where the average soldier is around level 6. They are then equal to or better than the best warriors in actual history. I think the most popular analysis of Aragorn has him as a level 6 fighter/ranger. Wuxia movies are likely a good indicator of what this looks like; I am specifically thinking of what the characters in House of Flying Daggers are capable of.

[Deaxsa]

In my campaign, the average NPC off of the street is anywhere from level 3 to 5, usually in an npc class. soldiers in an army/guards are from levels 4-8 or so, and NPC adventurers and plot NPCs can reasonably reach level 12, maybe 14 max. as a side note, magic is not high on the list of class choices, optimization is very seldom (for instance, most magic users are clerics, and most clerics hang out in churches healing people or something). Finally, (plot relevant) NPCs level with the party (with a couple of exceptions) so that the party is always on the same relative power level. there's a never a point where they can look at someone who hired them a year ago, and be all like "haha we can kill him now! and then kill all the guards that come after us!"

I find that taking the whole "every npc is below 3 or above level 12" idea is just ridiculous, and that it unbalances the game (because seriously, what IS stopping you from killing your employer for all of his gold, when you can just disguise past all the guards, unless they have relatively reasonable sense motive checks?).

Finally, i have found that if the party does pass level 10, the fact that they are above level 10 is a rarity, but not 6 or 7 levels above EVERYONE. guards are still a threat. it takes more guards now, and a single guard is still a breeze, but a bunch of guards? they are still capable of being relatively effective. Armies can (feasibly) be made of some pretty elite units (like a small group of level 9 paladins/cavaliers, or a unit of 6th level rangers, etc.)

a big part of it is not having very many caster NPCs.. 'magic is harder to learn than combat prowess' and 'magic is looked down upon unless given by divine lords to heal the needy' or some such like that. also, druids are rare, even in low-level NPC campaigns, so they are not a serious problem. Just keep the optimization low.