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From: Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: NPC classes
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2024 14:43:03 -0700
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On 4/2/2024 1:58 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
> I recently was rethinking the use of NPC classes in my (mostly 
> OSR-style) games. Previously I had dismissed them as unsuccessful 
> attempts at making overpowered PC classes. But reading them "as written" 
> they make much more sense as human boss monsters in a lot of cases.
> 
> I specifically mean stuff like e.g. Lew Pulsipher's Necromancer class, 
> which is a terrible class for players (it demands human sacrifices of 
> increasing specificity to advance), but does actually make more sense 
> when used as a maybe recurring human antagonist who keeps getting 
> stronger as over the course of a PCs career.
> 
> I also looked at the Witch class from Dragon magazine but find that one 
> oddly lacking.
> 
> What are your preferred NPC classes, if any?

I never used any in AD&D.  Pretty much whatever's fair for the PCs is 
fair for the NPCs as well and vice versa.  I do think I remember letting 
someone use the Archer one time, but that didn't turn out well, because 
of course it was the resident rules-lawyer/power-gamer.

I only even let any of the UA classes be used one time, not so much 
because Barbarian and Cavalier were overpowered, but because they were 
written in such a way that they didn't work well with the normal makeup 
of a party (Barbarians hating magic users and cavaliers having to Leroy 
Jenkins all threats.)

The races I didn't like as they were obviously power creep.

I did use the 3e NPC classes a few times for NPCs, but it was rare and 
not particularly memorable.  Those NPC classes were far less dangerous 
than a normal PC of the same level though.

5e NPC monsters are kind of like/hate.  I like that they're easier to 
handle than full characters, hate that we have to use pared down 
versions of PCs because PCs are too complicated.

-- 
-Justisaur

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