rdfs:comment
| - In short, if you as a game designer want an invulnerable NPC, make sure that it actually is. The Lord British Postulate was coined in this WoW Insider post, and is the cornerstone of the creativity and ingenuity of the more cunning player. In short, if a NPC cannot be killed through normal means, then there must be some abnormal way to do the job. Quite often, if a character's weapons fail to do the duty, then the task falls upon other NPCs, world objects, or the environment itself to assassinate the relevant target, with some prodding from the player characters. The Lord British Postulate is not restricted to MMORPGs, but can be applied elsewhere: CRPGs, FPSes, even Tabletop RPGs.
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abstract
| - In short, if you as a game designer want an invulnerable NPC, make sure that it actually is. The Lord British Postulate was coined in this WoW Insider post, and is the cornerstone of the creativity and ingenuity of the more cunning player. In short, if a NPC cannot be killed through normal means, then there must be some abnormal way to do the job. Quite often, if a character's weapons fail to do the duty, then the task falls upon other NPCs, world objects, or the environment itself to assassinate the relevant target, with some prodding from the player characters. The Lord British Postulate is not restricted to MMORPGs, but can be applied elsewhere: CRPGs, FPSes, even Tabletop RPGs. That said, the Lord British Postulate has less grounding in reality than one would assume. A great deal of NPCs are free to walk around unmolested, safe in their invulnerability. However, the more important the NPC is, the more likely it will be the target of a creative assassination attempt. A king is a bigger target than the common baker, and much more satisfying to dispatch. This trope can be an applied form of Loophole Abuse with how you go about killing Lord British Postulate. Genre Savvy developers will actually code in what happens if you do manage to defeat them. Contrast with Invulnerable Civilians. A Hopeless Boss Fight or Invincible Minor Minion is seen as a challenge to these people. This has nothing to do with the other ship from Gradius. Examples of Lord British Postulate include:
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