The only guide to tell you how levels work you'll ever need
Lvl.1 Fighter = literally picked up a sword for the first time
Lvl.4 Fighter = top twenty sword duelists in the village
Lvl.8 Fighter = top twenty sword duelists in the town
Lvl.12 Fighter = top twenty sword duelists in the small city
Lvl.16 Fighter = top twenty sword duelists in the big city
Lvl.20 Fighter = top twenty sword duelists in the kingdom, literally Jamie Lannister, Bron...
Lvl.1 Rogue = literally stole something for the first time
Lvl.4 Rogue = top twenty thiefs in the village
Lvl.8 Rogue = top twenty thiefs in the town
Lvl.12 Rogue = top twenty thiefs in the small city
Lvl.16 Rogue = top twenty thiefs in the big city
Lvl.20 Rogue = top twenty thiefs in the kingdom
Do this for every class... now you'll see how special you really are!
>Lvl.4 Rogue = top twenty thiefs in the village
Romania?
>level 4 Bard: top 20 village rapists
A level 4 Romanian Rogue is equivalent in power to a regular level 16 Rogue, I think Romanians need a nerf.
Bulgarians too, while we're at it.
I was led to believe player characters were exceptional, and not just something that anyone could be.
Depends on the DM and game version. 1st edition your started as a basic mook and became a hero through your actions (if your survived). 5E you start as an overpowered superhero that rarely dies or has anything bad happen to them (because that might trigger someone if it did). Different gameplay for different sensibilities.
>5E you start as an overpowered superhero
Frick no you don't.
Incorrect. Character class levels indicate an inherently superior level of skill, which is why characters have them and random bandits do not. This has been true since 1st Edition, which you would know if you weren't a fricking tourist.
>Bandits don't have class levels.
NTA, but I must be misremembering all the AD&D NPC entries that told you they were x class of y level, and all the leveled npcs in adventures and setting guides in 3e. I'm sure you'd remember them from the decades those editions were active, if you weren't an OSR tourist that only got into d&d via OSE in 2022.
No in AD&D Bandits were led by people with class levels. Usually 7-9 for the whole group or around 3-4 for the subcommanders.
My average adult NPC is level 4-6. Most of them will have NPC classes, not player classes, but they're not level 1. Depends a lot on the DM. But if you want a default, the DMG gives you the formula. IIRC metropolis has one level 22 NPC of each player class.
>Inb4 muh 5e
The only good new d&d books since 2007 have been Neverwinter for 4e and Elminster's Forgotten Realms (edition neutral). Menzoberranzan (edition neutral) was alright but it's mostly just a reprint of the 2e Menzo boxed set with new art.
First and foremost they're Fighters and Rogues, not your neighborhood brawlers and rascals, those are ELITE classes so even the first level ones should be considered a cut above the rest, second by 2nd level they are considered elite VETERANS and by 4th they are already stepping in HEROIC territory, an average 4th level fighter can already do something akin to action movie protagonists like jumpig off a 30ft building and fending off 3-4 sword slashes done by well trained skirmishers getting out just heavily bruised. RTFM moron.
No, moron.
>theres over 20 sword duelists/thiefs/mages/warlocks/druids in a village
probably a lot of illegal/undocumented multiclassing going on
>tfw you're in the top 20 duellists
>in a village with 19 duellists
More like:
>Lvl.1 Fighter = experienced fighter
>Lvl.4 Fighter = elite fighter
>Lvl.8 Fighter = the only fighter of his skill in any regular army, literally Goliath
>Lvl.12 Fighter = performing beyond what is humanly possible, blessed by the Gods
>Lvl.16 Fighter = legendary fighter who has sagas written about him, literally Alexander the Great
>Lvl.20 Fighter = demi-god the likes of Hercules or Gilgamesh
>Lvl.1 Rogue = experienced thief who spent most of his life honing the craft
>Lvl.4 Rogue = on the town watch's most wanted list
>Lvl.8 Rogue = on the kingdom's most wanted list
>Lvl.12 Rogue = that guy in heist movie montages without whom the heist can't happen
>Lvl.16 Rogue = Bond, James Bond
>Lvl.20 Rogue = steals from the Gods, gets away with it
No, level 20 is literally John Wick.
John Wick is a Gunslinger
>>Lvl.1 Fighter = experienced fighter
>>Lvl.4 Fighter = elite fighter
>>Lvl.8 Fighter = the only fighter of his skill in any regular army, literally Goliath
>>Lvl.12 Fighter = performing beyond what is humanly possible, blessed by the Gods
>>Lvl.16 Fighter = legendary fighter who has sagas written about him, literally Alexander the Great
>>Lvl.20 Fighter = demi-god the likes of Hercules or Gilgamesh
>>Lvl.1 Rogue = experienced thief who spent most of his life honing the craft
>>Lvl.4 Rogue = on the town watch's most wanted list
>>Lvl.8 Rogue = on the kingdom's most wanted list
>>Lvl.12 Rogue = that guy in heist movie montages without whom the heist can't happen
>>Lvl.16 Rogue = Bond, James Bond
>>Lvl.20 Rogue = steals from the Gods, gets away with it
>thiefs
Lvl.1 Wizard = just graduated from wizard school
Lvl.4 Wizard = is better than any fighter or rogue in the realm, has spells that let him open anything, go invisible, read minds, see the future, command people to do his bidding
Lvl.8 Wizard = one of the most powerful people on the planet, can change into anything, can solo companies of men with one spell, can travel through the planes, can only be effectively opposed by higher level wizards
Lvl.12 Wizard = same as lv 8 but more power with fewer people capable of opposing them, for all intents and purposes is now a demi-god
Lvl.16 Wizard = same as level 12 but is now effectively a God
Lvl.20 Wizard = if they're not king of the planet it's because they can't be bothered to rule all the ants that everyone else is compared to them, can only be opposed by another wizard at or within two levels of himself, functionally immortal and an all knowing a literal master of time and space that can quite literally shape reality to his will
But yeah good job being really good at fighting and thieving Fighter and Rogue. You sure are equally valid members of the party that contribute just as much as the casters do!
Do you still get level one wizard when you drop out of wizard school?
That's a gish
Anon, I hate to break it to you, but there are like two dozen level 24-30 wizards running around. They run the countries outright, or they run the countries with a figurehead. Your level 8, 12, 16, and 20 wizards are far less of a big deal than you think they are. Hell. On average, each Small City (5k-12k people) has 2 of each Lvl 9 Sorcerer & Wizard, Lv10 Cleric, Lv10 Adept, Lv10 Druid. Your level 8 wizard isn't even the toughest wizard in Fairfield Iowa.
How many duelist do you think the average medieval village would have?
>Lvl.1 Rogue = literally stole something for the first time
>Steals grandma's cough syrup
>suddenly gains the inhuman ability to hide in shadows and move completely silently
>everybody else can actually just do that whenever
>Lvl.1 Fighter = literally picked up a sword for the first time
>Lvl.1 Rogue = literally stole something for the first time
That would be level 0 (both in D&D and DCC), level 1 means that the PC had about 9 months of of training before the real deal.
>Ex. Lvl.1 Fighter has been trained on how to use a sword and armor, but he's never been into a duel to death, or a fight for his life.
>Lvl.1 Rogue has been trained on how to pickpocket, but has actually never pickpocket somebody on the streets before. Or, knows how open a safe, but has never done that in stranger's house at night, with guards patrolling the place constantly.
>Level 1 fighter literally up a sword for the first time
>Level 1 rogue or any other class can have been using swords for years
Yeah, this is a sensical guide all right.