Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition Dungeon Master's Guide introduces five new non-player character classes (NPCS) to the game which provide Dungeon Masters with some non-adventuring options for the common (and uncommon) folk of their campaign. This article, inspired by a debate on the Greytalk listserv about the merits of having dedicated NPC classes, looks at how I use them to enhance combat, role-playing and meta gaming in my campaign

You can learn more about my campaign by checking out our web site: http://www.nuketown.com/griff. I should note that our campaign is located in the Greyhawk campaign setting; I have stripped out the Greyhawk references for this article to keep it generic (and to avoid getting slammed by WotC).

The five NPC classes are:

• Adept: A scaled down cleric capable of casting some divine spells.
• Aristocrat: Representative of the ruling class, including lordlings, princes and kings.
• Commoner: You average serf, such as a farmer, or dockhand.
• Expert: A skilled individual such as a scribe, blacksmith, or fletcher.
• Warrior: A scaled down fighter who doesn't get the feats of a fighter, but gains a few new skills, such as