Frank wrote:NPC classes are always non-associated.
Further levels are considered associated after you match your racial hit dice.
If it was written like that, I would agree.
Its not.
It's written like this:
SRD wrote:
Associated Class Levels
Class levels that increase a monster’s existing strengths are known as associated class levels. Each associated class level a monster has increases its CR by 1.
Barbarian, fighter, paladin, and ranger are associated classes for a creature that relies on its fighting ability.
Rogue and ranger are associated classes for a creature that relies on stealth to surprise its foes, or on skill use to give itself an advantage.
A spellcasting class is an associated class for a creature that already has the ability to cast spells as a character of the class in question, since the monster’s levels in the spellcasting class stack with its innate spellcasting ability.
Nonassociated Class Levels
If you add a class level that doesn’t directly play to a creature’s strength the class level is considered nonassociated, and things get a little more complicated. Adding a nonassociated class level to a monster increases its CR by 1/2 per level until one of its nonassociated class levels equals its original Hit Dice. At that point, each additional level of the same class or a similar one is considered associated and increases the monster’s CR by 1.
Levels in NPC classes are always treated as nonassociated
If last line were written in the Associated section, you might have an argument. Its not. Its written in the only section where it talks about Non. Ass. classes turning into Ass. classes. A paragraph is a simple order of operations like an logical argument. Each line changes the argument, and a later line clarifies general information in a former line, and takes precedence if it actually conflicts
If there were monsters that cast spells as Adepts and the the text were in the Associated section, it might be an actual conflict, except for fact that the order of operations which makes that the last line take precedence.
If a few monsters have their own CR text that takes precedence in that case, then it is a simple general to specific order of operations, in the same way that Fly spell supercedes the rule that humans only have a 30' land movement.
There is not place in the whole game where this is not true.
Reading the text and atttempting to say that the somehow the word "always" has changed its meaning is totally bogus. Shame on you.
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I don't even have to add that by misinterpreting the rules, you are somehow believing that designer intent is for a 12th level commoner with 12th level NPC Equipment be a CR 11 guy, and an Ogre/War 10 and an Ettin/War 10 the same CR.
Designer intent is seldom "let's make something that doesn't work at all!"
There are enough typos and legacy 3.0 crap in 3.5 to look at all your monster examples and see editor failure.