Afgncaap5
2016-10-03, 10:29 AM
So, let's say you wanted to run an encounter with an organization that follows the recommended 3.5 Monster Manual guidelines and you get to a note that discusses the "level" of a hypothetical different group of figures. For example, the entry for elves says a "company" of elvish warriors consists of 11-20 1st level Elf warriors, plus "2 3rd-level sergeants and 1 leader of 3rd to 6th level." So, a typical company of elvish warriors consists of between 14 and 23 elves, all ready for war and/or fighting PCs. This may ultimately not be a big issue one way or the other, but when it suggests "level" do you think they mean...
1) Identical figures, different in level only (ie., two 3rd-level elvish warriors and a single leader with 3 to 6 levels in the Warrior class)
2) Different figures, with potentially different NPC class levels (so, you could have two 3rd-level Adepts and a 6th level Aristocrat leading all these 1st level Warriors around)
3) Different figures, with potentially different levels in any class (11-20 1st level Elvish warriors being led by, say, two level 3 Elvish Barbarians and a level 6 Elvish Wizard)
4) Something else entirely?
I feel that entries like this are probably more for flavor than for game balance, or for DM convenience in a pinch ("Ugh, Jerry insulted the leader of the elf squad that I said was right there, let's figure out how many elves the party has to deal with now..."), but I'm dealing with an elvish army invading a city in my game right now, and the players decided that rather than going to fight the final boss where she's cooped herself up they're going to go spend the night healing and recovering spells, so now I feel that the elves will take the time to do some prep work (not to mention the assassins that they'll send out in the middle of the night...)
1) Identical figures, different in level only (ie., two 3rd-level elvish warriors and a single leader with 3 to 6 levels in the Warrior class)
2) Different figures, with potentially different NPC class levels (so, you could have two 3rd-level Adepts and a 6th level Aristocrat leading all these 1st level Warriors around)
3) Different figures, with potentially different levels in any class (11-20 1st level Elvish warriors being led by, say, two level 3 Elvish Barbarians and a level 6 Elvish Wizard)
4) Something else entirely?
I feel that entries like this are probably more for flavor than for game balance, or for DM convenience in a pinch ("Ugh, Jerry insulted the leader of the elf squad that I said was right there, let's figure out how many elves the party has to deal with now..."), but I'm dealing with an elvish army invading a city in my game right now, and the players decided that rather than going to fight the final boss where she's cooped herself up they're going to go spend the night healing and recovering spells, so now I feel that the elves will take the time to do some prep work (not to mention the assassins that they'll send out in the middle of the night...)