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Old 08-14-2020, 02:41 AM   #23
larsdangly
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: Can NPCs break the rules? (moved from KS discussion)

I think my position on this might be misinterpreted by some. I have no objection whatsoever to the existence of NPCs who are exotic, powerful beings (demigods, Mnoren, 5000 year old sorcerers, aliens, superheroes, demons in disguise, demons out of disguise, etc.). I regularly do this myself. Similarly, I have no objection to NPCs possessing exotic and powerful magical items or knowledge of exotic and powerful spells (though anything like this that I say came into existence by the studies and labors of a mortal wizard I would also allow a PC to invent or learn). What I'm not into is placing the PC's in a world where their battle hardened knight simply must hit a ceiling of so-and-so-many ST points (depending on whatever you consider to be realistic expectations re. rates of experience), but a generally similar battle hardened, but basically mundane, NPC knight might arbitrarily have several points more, for no reason that could be readily explained. To me, this contributes nothing to the 'story' of the game - it is simply a case of the GM arbitrarily breaking the rules under which the rest of the table plays so that his or her NPC is more powerful than a PC could be. I view this as in the same category as 'railroading' players by fudging die rolls or declaring outcomes of things that normally get resolved by established rules. It forces the players to play in a setting where the rules that describe normal sorts of things they might like to do might be twisted to meet the GM's wishes about what they can or cannot accomplish.
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