NPC CLASSES

The Player’s Handbook extensively describes adventurers. But what about the rest of the world? Surely not everyone’s a fighter, rogue, or wizard. Presented in this section are five classes specifically designed for NPCs. None of them, with the possible exceptions of the expert and the aristocrat, stands up as a playable class for PCs. Instead, they represent the rest of the people in the world around the PCs who don’t train to go on adventures and explore dungeons.

Treat these classes as you would any other. Their members get feats every three levels and ability score increases every four levels (see Table 3–2: Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits on page 22 of the Player’s Handbook). Most NPCs take feats such as Endurance, Skill Focus, Track, and other noncombat-related abilities. It’s possible for NPCs to multiclass, and even to obtain levels in PC classes if you so desire.

The level and class of an NPC give an indication of how well that NPC knows his or her field. A typical blacksmith might only be a 3rd-level commoner, but the world’s greatest blacksmith is probably a 20th-level expert. That 20th-level character is a capable person with great skill, but she can’t fight as well as a fighter equal to her level (or even one much lower in level), nor can she cast spells or do the other things that characters with PC class levels can do.

NPCs gain experience points the same way that PCs do. Not being adventurers, however, their opportunities are more limited. Therefore, a commoner is likely to progress in levels very slowly. Most commoners never attain higher than 2nd or 3rd level in their whole lives. A warrior serving as a town guard is more likely to earn XP here and there and thus might gain a few levels, but this experience is still paltry compared to what an adventurer gains. Keep in mind, though, that dangerous areas are more likely to produce higher-level NPCs than peaceful, settled lands. A commoner who must regularly fight off gnolls trying to ransack his farm or burn his crops is likely to be of higher level than one who rarely encounters a challenge of this sort.

These NPC classes should provide enough distinction to create anyone the PCs meet who isn’t an adventurer. See Total Characters of Each Class, page 138, for information on how many characters belonging to each of these NPC classes are found in a typical town and their respective levels.