Newbie Question Re: NPC Tiers

[MartialIX]

Yet another newbie question from the n00b.

I understand how NPCs are scalable under the system, what with the Roman numerals rather than hard numbers of the Arabic sort.  But then the "XP Reward" section mentions something about Tiers and how that helps scale their XP reward.  How exactly does that work?  I couldn't find another Mention to NPC Tiers except that Tier III is equivalent to the team's threat level.  Do you assign NPCs a tier and multiply their base XP by the Tier?  So a 40 base XP standard NPC whose Roman numerals are crossed at a team-equal theat level is worth 120 XP?  Or have I missed something major?

Again, thanks.  You guys have been invaluable already.

MIX

[Toccata]

"Tiers: Throughout this book, many NPCs are referred to with a
“Tier” ranging from I to V. An NPC’s Tier determines the Threat Level
used to calculate his statistics, as well as his XP reward (Tier I = TL – 4,
Tier II = TL – 2, Tier III = current TL, Tier IV = TL + 2, and Tier V = TL
+ 4). An NPC’s Tier cannot shift the TL below 1 or above 20. NPC Tiers
should not be adjusted when building a mission; unless otherwise
specified, all NPCs are Tier III."

However, normally npc tiers are there for the sake of game mechanics that introduce npcs. You generally don't need to bother with them as the GC under normal circumstances. This is particularly because their XP values are funky when they appear as adversaries.

From the way I read it, the xp for a non-Tier-III npc would be multiplied by their modified Threat Level instead of the mission Threat Level.

I could be wrong, though.

[MartialIX]

Yeah, that's the passage I saw too.  It doesn't say anything about HOW the Tier affects their XP reward, though.  It gets really weird when you throw in the fact that a Special NPC has their XP reward tripled anyway...

To me, anyway.  Any other ideas on what this passage really means?

MIX

[Number Three]

For your greater mental health, ignore references to Tier. 

That is what  the sentence "NPC Tiers should not be adjusted when building a mission; unless otherwise specified, all NPCs are Tier III" is trying to tell you.

The technical answer is that Tiers are never used during mission design.  Tiers are generally used for PC abilities that summon random NPCs.  You, as the GM, do not use Tiers.  Tiers in no away affect the base XP reward of an NPC.

If, somehow, your PCs encounter as an adversary with Tier that is not III, the Tier modifies the threat level their stats are derived from, and thus possibly the multiplier of a character's XP reward.  See Calculating Total XP Reward, Chapter 7: Gamer Control (First Printing p. 440, end of second paragraph.)

Considering the number of times this question has come up, I'm guessing that this will be much clearer when SP (second printing) finally enters the wild.

[MartialIX]

Actually, I've got a pdf of second printing and its still confusing.  Oh well.  I think that makes sense...

[TheAuldGrump]

Actually, I've got a pdf of second printing and its still confusing.  Oh well.  I think that makes sense...

The book has undergone further updating since the 2nd printing PDF came out. The PDF is due for updating when the Flaming Cobra Spycraft 2.0 second printing hard cover book actually appears - if you purchased the PDF you will be notified that the update is available. This is likely to be a couple or three weeks down the road.

The Auld Grump

[Psion]

For your greater mental health, ignore references to Tier. 

It comes up a lot during the event rules. (Wanted events are fun... every team they send after you, the tier gets higher.) Probably best to ignore them when designing missions unless you have a specific goal in mind for which just changing the threat level won't do.

[Crafty_Pat]

For clarification, Tiers are one of those mechanics that should be hidden but isn't. As discussed, it interlocks with various abilities and rules that spawn NPCs, allowing the game designers to create NPCs of varying levels of power and ability for those purposes. The only reason it interacts with the XP system is that you might occasionally see an adversary whose Tier is adjusted.

Now, the main reason GCs should never mess with Tier, and always leave things at Tier III unless the system says to do otherwise, is that it might break the Tier scale if the GC and the system make adjustments. The system is set up to always range adjustments from 1-2 in either direction, as needed, and never to apply more than one adjustment to anything. Thus, the lowest adjusted Tier you might ever see is I, while the highest is V. If the GC were to further modify a Tier, it could go to nothing or VI, which would cause problems (or, at least, questions).