NPC ability scores... not quite realistic.

[Thomas Long 175]

R_Chance wrote:

Ahem, you brought up "from orbit", not a place that's ever been mentioned in the game I believe. So, you're OK with vacuum, but not friction from reentry? There are magic items that would handle heat as well. And, as I said, cue the magic items... :)

I don't argue for realism myself, just verisimilitude. The game has to allow for the suspension of disbelief (imo) to be well done. My own game doesn't involve "modern science" in any way. It just looks like it until you look under the hood and see how it works. It is internally logical and makes sense of game physics, magic, etc.

Lol truth be told I don't even require versimilitude. My last game we summoned the great outsider lord of the plain of freaking jam. That character changed from Bard to Paladin of Jam with the ability to "smite blandness."

To me this is a fantasy game. All of it is ridiculous. Arguing over whether a farmer deserves a 12 or 13 in con to be realistic in a game where I can tap dance and someone gets better at picking locks itself is ridiculous.

Oh and I only argued the vacuum cause I've seen it so many times. :P truth be told you don't really need either. That's clear in GM Fiat area.

[thejeff]

Cranefist wrote:

I'm glad there are half a dozen examples of people in real life killing a few dozen soldiers.

Given the what, billion or so humans that have died at the hands of others, this puts the number of high level heroes pretty low.

I personally know someone who walked away from a jump where his parachute failed. He broke his hip and back, but walked away, recovered, and went back. 8th fing level.

8th level? Or really lucky?

Does he think he could do it again? Reliably?

Similarly with the so and so killed 20 guys stories. At least the ones that aren't legendary and exaggerated. High level characters against mooks or skilled guys against slightly lesser opponents who had situational advantages or a lot of luck? Again, the question is: Could they repeat it? Assuming they didn't die in the process.

[RJGrady]

Musashi is said to have killed forty men. He flat out stated in his book that the first thirty or so were largely "luck" as he had not yet achieved mastery of his technique. To do such a feat, you must be good; but you must also be lucky. For every Musashi out there, there were twenty guys as talented who either did not get the experience he did, or died of a critical hit before they got to 3rd level.

[Weirdo]

Since falling damage caps out at 20d6, a really lucky 1st level warrior with 12 con or 1st level expert with 12 con and Toughness could roll minimum damage and not hit -Con HP. That would explain the odd case of ordinary people surviving absurdly high falls.

Also glad that the real-life accounts of soldiers killing large numbers of opponents can be replicated by a 5th-6th level character (as well as a very lucky character of lower level). It's consistent with the model of 5th level as the upper limit of real-world possibility that the Calibrating your Expectations article suggests.

[EldonG]

RJGrady wrote:

I once ran a d20 Star Wars game in which a level 6 Soldier decided to hold off some stormtroopers. Ducking behind cover, wielding paired blasters, he killed thirty-six stormtroopers. The numbers are a little different in Pathfinder, but in general, 5th to 6th level is high enough to kill shockingly large numbers of 1 and 2 HD opponents.

LOL...if you're true to the movies, stormtroopers only hit on a natural 20. ;)