DungeonCraft #28: Designing NPCs 

One trick if the party asks a party NPC for their opinion on what to do: always roll a d20 behind the DM screen. It doesn't matter if you look at it or not. The important part is to signal to the players that the NPC can be wrong.

My favorite NPC was actually an animal companion. I was playing a game with my family and my dad was playing a ranger. When he reached the level where he gets an animal companion he walked out into the woods and met this sparrow. As a table we thought it would make some sense if the ranger could speak with this animal companion. Well when my DM first voiced the sparrow his throat caught and he spoke in a very gravelly whisper. From then on this cute little sparrow animal companion spoke like the godfather and it was always hilarious.

My most successful NPC was a squire that I made on the fly, the group wanted a squire, and I gave them "Martin". He is a boneless young man who failed to join the army and was trying to get a job as a squire to aquire some experience. The bard of the group then starts writing a song after every major adventure featuring Martin as the one true hero and his loyal followers. The legend of Martin, The Impaled was born.

When I played the starter set with my friends the first time, they encountered the Nothic at Tresendor Manor, and asked what its name was. I panicked and said Mike as in Mike Wasowski (a monster with one green eye). They befriended Mike, and since then he has made a cameo in almost every game we've played

This is gold. Great vid, sir.

I enjoy Guy Sclanders' take on NPCs, especially those that may be around for a while. He illustrates three different characteristics for each NPC purposely created: Competence, Likeability, and Proactiveness. Two should be above average while one should be dismally low. One NPC can be the greatest blacksmith in the city and is willing to help the PCs at any cost but is often rude and demeaning to the PCs...or the same greatest blacksmith, PCs like him, but he won't help them unless it is convenient for him. I tend to go with this structure for, at least, creating NPCs. Great Video!

All time favorite NPC was in a sci-fi bug hunt kind of a game (the rules were just adapted Cyberpunk rules, and a miniature war-game called Kryomek). He didn't even have a name. We just called him "psycho-marine." He had barely survived on an alien infested world for so long that he had gone completely insane. The GM definitely expected him to die at pretty much every encounter, because he was weak, he was unarmored, and he had nothing but a knife. Crazy bastard survived the entire campaign, and even managed to wound a giant monster before his knife dissolved in its acidic blood.

Everything you make is gold. Pearls being dropped here! Thank you so much.

My group's favorite NPC was Dobbas - a barkeep, fence, and purveyor of rumors. Although he typically appeared no more than 10 minutes per session, he made an indelible impression. In fact, his story deepened when it was revealed that he suffered the effects of an extremely slow-working poison. Dobbas had as many friends as enemies. I planned to entice the PCs into questing to help Dobbas obtain the ingredients necessary to concoct an antidote.

One of my most popular NPCs was a drunk crawling around on a barroom floor.

I was running Princes of the Apocalypse and early on the players came across a goblin and an ogre that ambushed unsuspecting travelers. I was expecting a fight but they chose to talk them out of combat. They even managed to have the nearby village of Red Larch hire them as protectors (I went along with it, because it reminded me a bit of something that can happen in Baldur's Gate II). The duo even rescued the players from a dungeon at some point (after an encounter that I had inadvertently made too tough for them and they got captured). They have quickly become very fond of them and regularly check on their unlikely friends.

My most popular NPC is a Goblin Rogue who I fleshed out on the spot with no prior planning whatsoever. He was the last survivor of a group of goblins in a dungeon room where he was the captain, a 3rd level rogue leading some standard goblins. His allies died and he panicked asking to be spared and he ended up joining the party against the other goblins and went on many adventures in the Forgotten Realms campaign I was running at the time.

I have always refrained from running a party member as the DM to keep from the potential horridity of the DM that is the hero of his own story. Your explanation, however, provided me an executable and sensible strategy without stealing the players' spotlight, or worse - my NPC talking to my monsters while the players watch lol. I find the content on this channel immensely helpful so far. Thank you for all the effort you put into it.

"So, now I have a group of six player characters and seven bandits walking around a dungeon together." Classic quote that captures the (sometimes) plight of the DM. Also...hilarious quote!

Excellent advice Prof DM! Have you ever forgotten that an NPC was traveling with the party, only to be reminded by the players? I have! Sometimes DM’s simply have too much to keep track of 😊

Since I'm from Germany, one of the few things I won't steal from Professor dungeon Masters fondness for German names. That sounds to me like I'm turning my uncle or a beer buddy into an NPC. but apart from the silly names, it's the best RU-vid channel about pen and paper role-playing games.

Your thoughts always get my creative wheels going, even when they don't directly apply they help me think outside my normal process. Thanks for these!

I played the Jar-Jar vs. Boba Fett part for my players. They loved it. They had this hobo NPC they loved that I put no immediate effort into... he pulled a cart of explosives... very expendable. They even named him for me. Later a Banshee killed “Sven” and eventually they were so heartbroken they visited Sven’s grave. *shrug*. Ohhh... i have a necromancer villain coming up...

that Grum voice is actually mad good though

Surper helpful! I've found I do great with NPC who only encountered the party briefly, like shopkeepers or quest giving nobles, but when I try to have an NPC in the party, things get tricky. This advice will be handy during my next session.

Stars without number has very useful NPC generators which allows you to make complex NPC's in less than a minute. Very useful imho.

My most popular npc is Tim the crazy necromancer that lives out in the swamp collecting a skeleton hord. Him and his girlfriend Fae the witch help out the party on occasion with their adventures.

I'm gonna use that npc in combat advice. Thanks!

I'm going to encourage my players to pick up a NPC kids and if they have them holding the torches, I'm going to forgo any encounters until there deep enough that the kids are going to get spooked and then run back to the opening, and they have to catch up of get left in the dark. What fun!

As a DM I love using npcs to show how deadly a situation is, the players always perk up once someone gets frozen and broken apart. Or in one instance a party member burned an npc to 1hp, who I had lie there pretending to be dead, later they come back and he's gone. Several sessions later he returns, chases the party, and somehow gets amnesia. Which was rolled for as a random status effect. Now he's best friends with the person that burned him earlier. It was crazy fun twist that the players enjoyed being a part of

My very first game was 3.5 and we were in a sunken citadel. There was a war for this building between Kobolds and goblins. THe module has the players meet a lame kobold named Meepo. My fellow players feel in love with him and even shared their xp to help Meepo the NPC level. I have no idea why I wanted to kill him.

As being from Germany i approve to your mentioned german names, especially Johann Schmidt! Love your channel Professor, keep up the good work!

Love this advice Professor DM.

i run a magicpunk campaign, and my players have a favorite npc. during a 2 player session the gang had to cross an ocean, so they decided to hijack a yacht, throwing most of the passengers and crew overboard, they let one stay named stilton because he looked funny. stilton is a nervous wreck with terrible stats, his only character ability is advantage on finances, but they love him, they even gave him some high tier spells (most spells are physical objects in my world). next session they forced him into getting a warlock patron. the next session they handed him a cursed book that they new had a different patron, NAT 1 wisdom check vs a dc of 12. so now stilton is a full member of the party, he makes a full cut of all profits, suffers from hallucinations caused by having 2 warlock patrons, and he has some of the most powerful magic items in the group. his heel turn (which is inevitable, all his friends are dead and the gang killed them) is going to be delightful.

I like the fact that you roll dice without caring what the Dutch say I've kind of done that for years kind of just made a decision for NP c's or make a decision for a monster they're fighting just to move the story along or because it got boring and we needed to move forward

jar jr and boba ...tht's an excellnt analogy of what happens to a vaf NPC

Great advices, thx Professor!

Great advice and the pacing of your videos is spot on.

2:09 - In that case, the name would be _Schmitt_ or _Schmidt,_ not Smith. FUN FACT: If he were a bladesmith, then his name would most likely be... _Messerschmitt._ =P

One time a random bandit named Klyde became the PC's friend and became so favorite that he is a god worshipped now and killed a dragon with a fishing pole. That was hilarious! Thanks for the tips, I've been watching non stop your videos, they are very entertaining and helpful (very much helpful). I'm thinking on running Lamentations of the Flame Princess to enter the old school vibe and the grim Fantasy - hope things goes well. Thank you!

That's very helpful! Thank you!

I've found a good way to handle many npc encounters is to have a simple goal list for any NPC that's more than just a few seconds of interaction. Very minor NPCs have one or two goals, more important ones have two or three. One of these should usually be survive. The others will be related to their story function, job, family, agenda. Keeping survive high on the list makes opponents less likely to fight, at least if they're losing or feel weaker than the party, and allies more likely to not fight or withdraw after taking a hit or two. Survive lower on the list, or removing it from the list, makes NPCs more heroic or suicidal (Why does Dave keep running straight into the face of every dragon we meet?) These are easy to note for an "on the spot" NPC you expect the party to interact with regularly, even if it has no stats. I got the idea from the Ironclaw game

One I do for powerful npc's is have them have ethical restrictions around fighting. Maybe they have been in enough wars and they don't want to use their powers for violence anymore. This why they can support at times but not overshadow the players.

That slave in the yellow coat could make a good travelling merchant

First two mins, all I could think of were cat toys: buy a cat toy at a store ... cat will have nothing to do with it. New tablecloth? Oh, that will be of instant interest.

Very good video Sir!

Great advice. It’s obvious you’ve DMed a lot. So many channels give dumb advice like “don’t ever have npcs travel with the party.” Makes me wonder what they are playing - no guides, no hirelings, no rescued prisoners? No, it is as you say.

Solid advice sir, very comprehensive yet succinct.

thanks, professor

I’m running a game currently, Giantslayer adventure path by Paizo, but, I only have 3 (started with 2) players, so I introduced “Linzi Larringfass”, the daughter of the Ramblehouse’s proprietor, who is upset with her mom’s involvement with Rodrik’s murder, and joins the party in order to help them solve the mystery and kind of atone for her mom’s error in judgment. She’s a bard, and mostly is in the background, observing and chronicling the adventure. But, the PCs are not skill-heavy, there’s a Druid, a Ranger, and a Warpriest...so, they have a limited skill set and they are all fairly new gamers. Linzi is a good way for me to help them out when they need it, without being a ‘Mary Sue’ that steals the spotlight. Bards are good support characters, giving party buffs without being a major damage dealer or healer or anything themselves. She can pick locks if needed, but not as good as a dedicated rogue, if they had one. She can be called on to do Knowledge checks and Linguistics and things if they need someone to do those things, but most of her usefulness is in non-combat encounters.

As a DM, I've given instructions that - when I die - my gaming group shall lower me into my grave... so they can let me down one last time.

Great advice!

I ran a game with a very powerful NPC, but he never used that power. He was more of a utility character a wizard that hired the party to find an artifact. He used spells like Tensers Floating disc, or unseen servant, and mage hand. He also had a folding boat that he used to help the party escape an encounter that surely would have killed them all.

One problem I have is that my players assume my NPCs are always right. I guess it's just a metagaming/psychological thing because the NPCs are an extension of the GM, but when I make an NPC, they don't always know everything. And if my NPC is also an antagonist, they're going to either lie or, more likely, brag about how smart they are for figuring something out when in reality they just run with their assumptions, not realizing they're wrong. For example, I'm running a Call of Cthulhu campaign where one of the main antagonists is a time traveler. He brags about how smart he is and how he's the only one who can fix everything when in reality he's just a college kid who stole a smarter person's time machine and had been completely fucking up the timeline.

Dieter, Johan, someone is either a fan of the manga Monster or that was a very happy coincidence.

My players fav is a barbarian named Guntar , he is half hill giant half man. He has low wis/int so he makes poor choices. He can do a ton of damage so they always want him for their adventure...but as I said he is dumb and Also he is impulsive. In the end he is not really benefitial. But he can fight and he is lots of fun to role play "guntar is pawn in game of life"

6:12 I laughed my ass off when I heard this. :D Sick!!!!

He he . . . Sorry, I am a big believer in running an NPC who works with the characters. We play in a very collaborative way. I usually put the Primary NPC together at the same time as the players build theirs and we work together to form a good team; more often than not, we roll play using Discord to check the builds, fix flaws and build esprit de corps prior to our first table top game. We all talk about our character creation and we love character creation . . . . . . you say you rarely run a campaign past L10. In our case characters rarely get past L12 because someone will come up with a new character concept and mention it . . . this gets everyone else interested and, more often than not we work out a new group and I then build the campaign around what that group would be good at . . . we even have some cross group mish-mash at times, and an adventure with characters from different groups happens. I've seen some groups where the DM is trying to do in the PCs and where most or all players are trying to outdo or in some cases undo everyone else. We don't get a lot of joy out of that. Admittedly, most of my players have been running PC's in my games for ten, twenty, even as long as thirty-seven years. Almost all of us enjoy this concept of playing, and the chaotic or me-me-me players don't stick with us for long.

Grum just because an NPC in my world

Jar Jar Binks is like Nickleback, I don’t know why this comparison makes sense to me

Grum's hilarious.

4:29 Maybe they have a family? Sure, they could run off with you into the woods, OR they could stay at home with their wife and kids. Tough call.

Do you have recommendations on playing written word Solo rpgs?

I'm playing the lost mines of phandelver with my brothers and there was a wagon driver who killed a goblin during the ambush by effectively b#### slapping him into a thorn bush with his hand axe then proceeding dto murder everything in axe range

about NPCs more powerful than the players, let me just add my thought there: In general i agree, but not realy. By all means have powerfull NPCs in the world, just dont put them in the party, or have reasons why they cant fix the situation. A simple reason could be because the NPC have better things to do than to clear out Kobolds from the sewer. The Knight NPC is clearly more powerfull than the party of Lv.1s, and could easily clear out the kobold hold by himself... But he is guarding the King, a duty he cannot just leave. if the King sends out the party together with the Knight, then he should be the one who suffers poison or disease, gets taken in the night, gets afflicted by the magical nightmare (Or combine the two, and he gets taken in the night By a Nightmare, or should i say... a Knihtmare? *Badaboom Dish*), or left on the outside of the dungeon as the enterance collapses, stranding the players inside. Or vice versa and now you have to rescue the knight and be all heroic and shit. But in general i agree to the sentiment of the statement, dont let NPCs outshine the players. On a side note, i've come across the DnD philosophy that Only the PCs should be characters with levels/power in the world. And if thats the setting, then fine, thats awesome. But as a general rule i find it to be terrible advice. What are your thoughts there?

I can see why your player likes Grom. He is right, shields are for girly elves, true warrior does not need shield.

Great job. Can I add something? Something major that took me years to figure out. The DM cant also be a player. Or, in 90% of games it wont work well. A lot of game masters will put an npc to follow and fight with the party but that's a way to irritate the party because you're now the star of a story you're writing and they're just side guys

Gandalf actually didn't seem all that powerful. Especially when contrasted against, say, Raistlin Majere from Dragonlance.

BRUNO BRUNO BRUNO!

1:36 hahaha

You should a review of critical role!

That's funny. Though I don't actually think he sucks.

I don't like roll cheasing.

OMG Gandof dies ????

Don't make the NPCs powerful 6 Minutes later So anyways I had the zombies rip apart the bandits Isn't making powerful monsters the same as powerful NPC? Forcing the story in a given direction? There's a reason it's called a "game". If the rules can be changed at any point, dice fudged, etc. It's not a game at that point it's a novel by the DM. Whether you use powerful NPCs, Monsters, what have you, it has a name "Railroading". This is a little off topic but in my opinion the dice exist for a reason and are arguably just as important as stats. They represent fate. Don't ignore it, work with it. If you're game is so ridged that you can't incorporate an unexpected "dice roll" then why are you rolling dice? Another thing I like to do is not to have a "story" but "ideas". It could go that way or, not. I let my players decide where they want to go inside the world and work with it. In my very first campaign I played in my DM would ignore what the players wanted to do unless it went along with what he had in mind. "I want to chop down a tree and make a raft to get across the river" DM "Ok". He then never followed up on it and as a result the player completely tuned out of the game. *Don't be super ridged*. If it's possible let them do it is my rule of thumb. Again this is just my personal opinion. You do you and what works for your group.

I may be in the minority, but I actually liked JarJar Binks.

We don't talk about Bruno

I love the Star Wars anology