Like me, author Berin Kinsman reckons that the most dangerous monsters come on two legs, thinly disguised as the other people around you... and whilst major villains deserve full development, the 'bit-part' NPCs can be a lot more basic. Yet although many can be roughed out in a few descriptve words, sometimes you need to know their stats as well.

Here, then, is the solution: a ready-made collection of 'character frameworks' to put the mechanics into the NPCs you need all the time, the ones who you can readily describe to your players but need the stats for when the dice come out - be it a full-blown brawl, a game of cards or someone attempting to sneak by undetected.

The core of the product are the stat blocks for the five NPC classes - Adept, Aristocrat, Commoner, Expert and Warrior - each for levels 1 through 20. To make everything clear, there is quite a lot of explanation, and the stat blocks themselves have been laid out for ease of use (including links to the Pathfinder SRD if you are using it online). NPCs who can be expected to use spells have prepared spells listed (and there are notes on changing these if prefered), and weapons used, feats, skills and equipment carried are also included. Interestingly, each one is given TWO XP totals: one is the XP accrued by that NPC to reach the level he's at and the other is the XP that the party can earn by defeating him - this can be in combat, or could even come by thwarting his plans or otherwise outwitting him if you choose to allow it. Indeed, any resolution to an encounter that results in the party gaining their objective can lead to the XP award.

As these NPCs are elves, their racial bonuses and abilities have already been factored in, so you do not need to worry about them. As these are NPCs, built using the NPC class, they are not really suitable to be used as player-characters, although the suggestion is made that they could be used as 'less complicated' characters for newcomers to Pathfinder, or as GMPCs to fill out a party as needed - being easier for a GM to play whilst attending to his other duties.

If you make use of a lot of interactions between the party and an array of NPCs, this can help with your prep work, or even supply the NPC you need on the fly mid-game. A nice, handy resource.