My new favorite NPC is the one that doesn't want to be an adventurer, somehow finds himself occasionally accompanying the players on quests and complaining that this is EXACTLY why he doesn't want to be in "this business" (his business being a ship captain). He just wants to live a normal life, but he lives in an abnormal universe full of adventure. Re Stats: I'll make the character first, then pick some Stats from a book that are close enough and bump them up or down to reflect how tough/weak they should be. Making stats is the most boring part of it for me.
I have an idea for an NPC im wanting to run in my campaign. He's a very old Paladin named Gilfren who, for whatever reason, has had his God abandon him. Meaning he's essentially just a high level Fighter. However, thats on purpose. He will be entered into the PCs lives without their knowledge that he has been struggling with his morals and choices of late, slowly slipping from the LG of the normal Paladin. So, his fate will be mostly determinant of the players actions and how they treat him. If theyre supportive of this adviser-like NPC and treat him well, he realizes that even if his God has left he can still do some good in the world. So he dedicates his remaining years to supporting his new friends. However, should they be brash or rough against him, or should they cause his death in some way, a separate revelation is revealed to Gilfren. His "God" was actually an evil entity that purposefully made him believe that he was a God, granting powers of it's own to the Knight to insidiously twist his good will and faith into something he could use, and Gilfren makes an official switch to being an Anti-Paladin and transitions into a PC-made Nemesis. I feel this would be an interesting NPC for the players to meet, a lonely, old Paladin struggling with his dwindling faith, who could potentially become either a great threat or a great ally depending purely on their own actions.
Newly subscribed to your channel. My overall experience with D&D is very limited, and I have somehow gotten myself talked into running my very first campaign as DM. Needless to say, all of my free time for the last two weeks has been completely committed to pouring over all the rules, guidelines, tips and tricks I can find, and your channel has been IMMENSELY helpful.
Just came across your videos a few days ago. absolutely love them loads of great advice especially for a first time GM like me. on another note I could watch you narrate paint dry! Your voice really captivates me ...right up there with David Attenborough
The tip to opposite the NPC was a great one. I planned an adventure where the PC's help a fallen paladin to atone, and instead of always being the classic heroic knight, he sometimes showed weakness talking about the mistakes he made. It really helped forge a bond with what was essentially a necessary meat shield and has now turned him into a friend and ally. Your videos really help make an ordinary campaign extraordinary!
I'm gonna start my first real campaign soon and I just wanna say thanks for doing this, it's amazing. I also got that Star Trek manual you suggested and it's a great read as well!
One tip I found is this. If your party will be in a heavily populated area for some time, such as a kingdom, and they are looking to buy something, make a shopkeeper(s) that is very unique and fun. Notice how Matt Mercer has Pumat Sol and Gilmore. Both are out of the average store owners that his players enjoy going back to time and again. Sometimes, your players will be going back to that place not to buy anything, but to enjoy the shopkeeper(s). Also, make sure that the store has plenty of things for the party to buy, so they have somewhere to spend their hard-earned money while also having a good laugh.
Great tips! Thank you. I love the point of giving your long term NPC goals. It really guides their actions in game, and when the PCs finally go, "A-ha! Her goal is X Y and Z, therefore we can predict her behavior! Or use her personality against him!"
+JulianneRegina Yes! And players love the sensation of putting it all together. Just make sure to give them enough clues... but yes. If we can achieve that reaction from players, then we can truly call ourselves great game masters!
Mostly for those who love to poke a little fun at society and tropish behavior... One of my LONGEST running NPC's of all time is Kaz, half-grougach (wild-elf for those uninitiated to the term) owner and proprietor of "The Goblin's Cup Bar and Grill"... And this is his story (more or less) to date. Kaz was one of my first ever PC's... It was supposed to be a simple, no-frills hack-n-slash sort of thing, get the group together and used to table dynamics... so initiating me to the group was alright while they were at it, and most of us were fighter-mages (just sticking to a step above simplicity itself)... And of we went, somehow trading GM spots, and turning what would've ordinarily been a short-term murder-hobo group into a winding and weirder than weird concept-building adventure that just reached a ridiculous degree of superlatives and overpowered mass-destructing combats... SO we decided in a quiet discussion to resolutely retire the characters from adventuring... And I was up for the GM's position for the next adventure to run... SO... for lack of better ideas, Kaz retired and bought a bar, (and I even originally named it Kaz's Bar and Grill)... lolz... Over time and adventures, there were quite a number of taverns, inns, and hostels for players, but I just kept that sort of run-down Kaz's Bar and Grill poised in almost any city as at least one of the options for cheap eats and reasonable ale (for the price anyways)... Eventually, it was just such a trope, that I refurbished, wrote a whole two page intro' (in case new players showed up as well as to add to the gag) and renamed it "The Goblin's Cup Bar and Grill" with the write-up serving as a stock-description for every scene in the place. Morning, noon and night, The Goblin's Cup Bar and Grill was exactly the same place, serving exactly the same menu NO MATTER WHERE YOU FOUND IT... And it was always just on the near-side of the seedy part of town... (getting any vibes yet?) Kaz found a mystical version of "franchising"... so at least, that was my story behind the thing... Then (after years of this goofy "insider's joke" ) something even more peculiar threatened to possibly disrupt reality as we know it... Among players who even sort of knew the story behind the place, there were rumblings of curiosity... AND then a circle who had just managed a significant chapter in their campaign decided they absolutely HAD TO KNOW what the hell was really behind this whole Goblin's Cup business. anyway... So let this be of service to you fellow GM's out there. If you also decide to try a self-franchising, time-and-space warping monstrosity like The Goblin's Cup Bar and Grill, this little story is warning that sooner or later the Players most certainly will make a full on investigation of the thing... It seems the duty of any good Role Player is to find some way to slip past that proverbial forth wall... BUT do NOT despair... After all, we had a great little chapter or two of investigations and enchantment researching to figure out exactly what the whole story was, and just how powerful Kaz really must be to build one space and then spread its presence and existential influence to all parts and places he'd ever been... holding a permanence of residence within that those four walls and all the tables and chairs and even the Half-drow cook in the back room are entirely and exactly the same place across not just political or real-estate boundaries, but even on other worlds... (yes, in the midst of that old old campaign, someone got us interested in Spell-jammer, too... and since we'd done practically everything else...) Anyways, there are occasions to add just a spot of "flare" to the comical side with a proper LONG term NPC if you don't mind the patience and SUBTLETY... :o)
More great advice as usual. I love how these videos have good advice regardless of one's experience as a GM. It seems like most of the 'how to better GM' style videos are geared towards starting GM's, and don't offer much to the veteran GM's. Fortunately that's not the case with your channel. This is easily the best channel I've found for improving my table-top games, and I don't expect that to change. I can't give high enough praise.
+Preston Powell That's a really cool comment, and I thank you. My goal is to share my insights into storytelling - for anyone to use and improve their game. But many thanks!
Hey, I've got to say, I'm still really glad that I'm subscribed to this channel. You sure have some great advice for everyone. Thank You So Much!!! I might only be a GM for my family but the fun we have had, it will be some of the best memories for us. The Laughter, The Suspense, The Action! Please never stop this content. Again, THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE ADVICE!😁🙏⚔
Hi! I'm gonna be GMing for the first time with some friends a month from now. These past few days, I've been watching your videos coz I want my first game as a GM to be good. I really like watching your videos, and I agree your principles regarding being a good GM. Thank you for making videos like these!
Thank you very much! I'll do a bit more perusing of your videos to answer a few of my questions, but I'll be sure to ask when I find one that remains unanswered!
I've never played any form of tabletop/pen&paper before, but I'm planning on some day trying it out. Your videos are amazing, both the great PC and great GM videos.
I'm so glad that I have stumbled across your channel.. the way you set up each video in easy to swallow bits. Has really inspired me and can't wait to get my game going using different things I have picked up from them.
Sir, I really love your channel, your coherent and expressive style and even just the camera work (placement, focus). I say this out of true curiosity: Do you often film after some other chores? I find you nearing a full sweat as mosttutorials open. I used to think it was just part of the amount of emotion you may put into getting your thoughts across. Then again I think I recall you saying you do most of your gaming in a shed or separate quarters, perhaps it isn't so comfortable inside? I mean no harm in the questions, really.
+Cyber Dan It's Summer down here in South Africa so it's around 30 degrees celsius when I record. And I just generally sweat a lot. Also the lights we use to film with are really hot. One day someone will sponsor me an air-conditioner! But winter is coming so soon... it will be sweat free videos :-) Glad you like the channel!
Right now, I only have two long term NPCs for my campaign. One is a barbarian who was sent with the party by the Queen. He’s mostly long term just because the party is all magic users; a cleric, a ranger and a druid. The other is a guard who is a kind of tour guide to the party who I have some big plans for later on. I’m excited for our next meeting since we’ve only had one session so far!
Thank you for this channel. As someone who recently picked up DMing and want to make sure my characters have a blast these are proving to be very helpful.
Just found your channel, and really enjoy it. I figured I'd share two authors who I find are excellent inspirations for seeing how to create great, memorable characters, and who I feel have made me a better GM just by being familiar with their work. Mervyn Peake's first two Gormenghast novels feature some of the most distinctive and impressive characters I've seen. Dr. Prunesquallor's delicate mannerisms and laugh, Earl Sepulchrave, with his stuffy regal nature collapsing under insanity, the twins who are equal parts comedic and pitiable, and Steerpike, whose low origins tempt you into sympathy, but whose ambition twists from admirable to despicable in a blink of an eye--in every case, they're characters painted in broad strokes, but strokes that are so well defined that they leap off of the page, and when they interact with each other, you can feel the direction the encounter will go before it does, which sometimes allows the actual event to subvert those expectations. It's really powerful stuff. The other is Gene Wolfe, who mostly writes science fiction/fantasy novels that are put together like expertly engineered puzzles. He also writes wonderful characters though. Some of this is similar to Peake (and Wolfe has even cited Peake as an inspiration), with broad-strokes characters who often don't turn out to be as simple as they first appear, but always are distinct in how they present themselves (Dr. Talos with his "stuffed fox face" leaps to mind immediately). In particular, in his Book of the Long Sun, he puts so much effort into giving each character a distinctive voice that, later in the series when a character turns up without being announced (as in, the novel filters the narrative through the perspective of someone who doesn't already know the character), you know full well who it is just by the way the he talks.
they sound like excellent authors and I'm sad I haven't read their works. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me to go and find these characters, it sounds like great reading! I'm glad you're enjoying the channel and hope that it continues to inspire!
I'm a very new gm, In my first session I introduced like 8 npc's. (I probs bit of more than I could chew.) There was one npc that the party didn't like that much, but they had to work with them and 2 others for a short mission. I just did my second session and at one point I said someone walks up behind you and says, "Hey whatcha doin?" The whole party groaned, one of them sighed and said "No" the other just jumped straight in and started explaining to the npc why they didn't want to work together again. And I'm just sitting here, like, I didn't even say who it is yet. I can get kinda insecure about whether I'm doing the game ok. But according to this video, at least it seems like it's a good thing that my players can recognise my npc straight away. 🙂
this is the first video of yours that I've watched, and I must say I am astounded! Both by your amazing, original content, and your ability to answer almost every comment directed towards you, when most people would ignore comments altogether. Congratulations, my friend! You've earned a new subscriber!
Welcome to the table! If you take the time to write a comment, I feel only obliged to answer! It's about learning from one another to make a better experience for us all! But thank you for your kind words :)
My party completely ignored my hand-craft npc with intricate backstory and complex inner turmoil, but some random background character they totally fell in love with.
I'm a fan of having the main villain be a nebulous force of evil in the background that isn't revealed until much later on; in fact, the main villain in the Star Wars campaign I'm currently running is exactly that. But I think there is also a place for a villain who shows up right at the beginning and wrecks everything, then comes back sporadically along the line. He should be way above the players' level at that point, and ideally circumstances shouldn't allow them to engage him directly (for their own safety). I think it's a good way to make a big first impression of the villain if, for example, in the first couple of sessions the entire party has to flee from the town they've started in, as the evil general's army swarms in and sets fire to everything. They cast a glance at the fray behind them and see the General ruthlessly slaughter soldiers and civilians alike. He catches their eye, smiles cruelly, and points his scimitar in their direction, ordering his men to pursue. That can be the extent of the interaction the party has with him, but it's something they'll remember when they're finally at a high enough level to take him on, and it sets personal stakes for the conflict early on in the campaign
My best impromptu villian started as a spy just watching them on their first quest to inform a rival gang but then they focussed so much on him I just followed it up by taking his main identifying feature a super bushy mustache and turning him into a savage werewolf out to assassinate them after they make it through their first dungeon and that led to the new story of the rival gang and tearing them apart.
Great video! Keep up the good work. I've got a campaign starting soon that I will be running, excited!. This channel has been a huge help in expanding my knowledge and skill as a GM!
Hey there Mr. Great GM. I've just started DMing 5E for a group of my friends and so far we've all been having alot of fun. I've run everyone through two encounters that I've thought of myself and 1 premade that I downloaded off the internet. I was wondering how important you think it is to use a campaign setting to run your games through. Also are there any tips you can give for linking "Quests/Missions" into an extended adventure? Rather than having a "bounty board" feeling to each time my group meets. Also what are your thoughts on programs like Dungeon Painter Studio or DonJon? DonJon Seems helpful but there really isn't much rhyme or reason to the encounters rather than choosing the setting (Ie. Undead,vampire,underdark etc..) which is where the whole campaign setting comes into question. Again I am relatively new to the whole Pen and Paper adventuring but have a life long history of fantasy based games and movies... So if I'm using some terms incorrectly please be kind :P
Thanks for great advices. And special thanks for your clear and measured speech style. It's very important for me, because english not my native language.
How to be a Great Game Master Mind if i ask some questions? Bringing the love interest to the table seems kinda tricky to me, because my players are really careful and they have a hard time trusting anyone, because they arent seperating player knowledge from character knowledge. Whenever i bring a female npc to the table they're like 'oh, that must be a trap, because we are playing dnd. Better STAB HER IN THE BACK before it's too late'. Do you have any tips on introducing NPCs to such a group? The super anthagonist, is that darth vader or the imperator talking star wars? We talked about pacing about pacing in oneshot games a while ago. I took your advices and tried my best telling the story within 5 hours... and failed miserably:( Are there any chances you'll upload a video about pacing of oneshots/convention sessions? I'm about to try pacing my next adventure with the 1-2-2 scheme and designing npcs using your advice, hope it will turn out to be the best round ever :D
+Rock Heiland Love questions! ASK ASK ASK! So the Super Antagonist would be the Emperor from Star Wars, or Voldamort from Harry Potter. We don't really learn about them until much later when it suddenly all makes sense. I'm heading to a convention this weekend, so yes - let me add pacing to the list. Otherwise check out Episode One of Bacon Battalion RPG on youtube - I think there is a playlist on this channel for it. Episode one is a two hour game using the 121 method. That may help. As for the love interest - I'm going to do a special piece just on them in the next couple weeks - so watch this space!
Great video Guy. Actually just in time. Planning on introducing a villian'ish character to an online PbP game i am taking over. and these tips really helped me to improve on how to start inteoducing him. =^^=
love love love your videos! please more how to be a better DM! please lol. I would personally enjoy a good video explaining how to keep your games more open sandboxie.
I had a realization with a one off character who was supposed to be a throwaway that his inept introduction and the way he was literally kidnapped by the group makes him the perfect first nemesis if I can get him back in the story without being too overt about it. Maybe they find him being shock down for his wears instead of after being robbed.
Hello there! I really do like your videos, but I don't usually comment, but here I have a question, I'd appreciate it if you had a brief answer or talk about it in an upcoming video ;) What about a long-term NPC antagonist that at first works with the party and looks like he's some kind of rival, so he levels up along with them and they have a few fights, but they don't end up on a life-or-death scenario because they're "friends"? A good example would be the rival on the Pókemon games, you're not enemies but you do fight against him. And then when you decide to end his life (or the campaign) you can put him under the sword of the main villain (or maybe let him become the great villain and betray the NPC party at some point?). I know I said it would maybe have a brief answer but all those things came to my mind haha! Don't know, any thoughts on this? (Random followers, you're welcome to give your opinion to!)
+Withoutnameify Glad you commented! It's a great question and has been popping up all over the place. So I'll make a video just on how to run a truly awesome NPC Villain character. Stay tuned!
I have bbegs, the main antagonist has never ever being seen, but his right hand man was actually met by the party on session 2, they saw him kill a lvl 20 paladin npc, start to slowly walk at them, they started shitting bricks and then he laugh at them and left trough a dimension door
I've been planning an NPC who is a skeleton and privateer, *technically* a lich, if you want to use magic terminology, who befriends the PCs, and then wants to go kill the person who cursed him to be a lich. The king. The king'll contact them first, telling them that somebody is plotting to kill him, he just doesn't know who. Later, it is revealed that it is skeleton, Captain Goldenbones.
+Unmei No Niji Just try your best have fun create story, That's all the "hard stuff" lol You can do it. If I can anyone can. Im terrible at remembering things. And people say they like my style.
+Unmei No Niji Just do it. Sure, you're going to trip and stumble a lot at first. But the only way to get better at it, and gain more confidence, is to just do it. Plus, if you already know the system you want to run, you've got a head start. I'm running my first game now, and it's also the first time I've ever played an RPG. Even my experienced player is enjoying it, despite my stutters, mistakes, and awkwardly timed pauses. Even if your first game totally sucks, who cares? Just keep going. There really aren't enough GMs around, so the sooner more get trained up and running games, the better. Having more GMs will also bring more players to the hobby. It also increases the chances of new players have a great experience, having a wider selection of GMs.
i added a long term npc right now who is examining them because there is something odd about them *the party had a fluke that caused a forward time skip* and is actually the bbeg playing the part of the fool/assistant and actively but subtly working to sabotage them in the future and or cause them to be a tool for her own goals.
I’m creating a campaign based off a post-apocalyptic fantasy world I created over several years. The NPCs who’ll travel with the party are the protagonists from the original story. How do I keep my NPCs relevant/helpful/supplemental to the “main characters” (the PCs) when they themselves were originally conceived as the main characters?
I like the idea of putting in NPC party members to cover weaknesses in the party, such as if nobody wants to play a healer they can run into an NPC healer at some point and take him or her on as a companion. It's a fine line though, the spotlight should almost never be on the NPC here, it's all about the players still. The NPC should never deliver a killing blow on a boss or solve any puzzles or riddles for the players, it should feel like they're a companion in a Bioware game, memorable yet ultimately smaller than the players when it all comes down to it.
Very awesome video! I have a question. What I did in my first session was throw the main villain in with a super tightly knit cover story allying himself with the PCs acting as a guide type character. Next session, I want him to sort of disappear with the really important the loot the PCs took. The thing is, I feel like there hasn't really been any link that happened between the players and the villain so they won't really care when the reveal happens. In the next session, what would you suggest I do to get them to care about the villain in whatever way before the big reveal? I want to just have him talk to them about their homes and what not while they walk - do you think that would be enough?
+OCoptimusconvoy Great question! And to answer it I would scream NO!!!! from the rooftops. It sounds like you've got a really great game going. Why rush it? I've got a session coming up... actually it's Wednesday planned video that answers this exact question. Long and short of it - the villain needs to bleed with the characters. Only then can he betray them. If you can hold out till Wednesday you'll learn more!
+How to be a Great Game Master thank you for the quick reply! I will a absolutely watch your session. I will also have my villain participate in a fight, hopefully that will be enough to tie the connection. I can't wait to see your session in action :)
Very interesting -- and very timely, what with Curse of Strahd having hit shelves a couple of weeks ago! Speaking of Strahd, do you have any tips on running a long-term antagonist NPC who *does* interact with the PCs frequently throughout the adventure?
+egoistic lily Basically you need to make him a bad guy good guy. So he offers the PC's help, and genuienly helps them, but manipulates the outcome to serve his own needs. Then he betrays them. Then he helps them again - more so than before. Then he needs their help. Then he is betrayed by another to the PC's who may or may not choose to kill him - so he offers to work for them. Then he sets them on a path that looks like good, only to discover they have been removing his enemies enabling him to then betray the PC's and take over the world! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA... or something like that ;)
Not sure anyone will get around to this, but basically I have an NPC that's been accompanying the party from day one. Shrouded in mystery, has a cursed mask he can't take off and always sleeps away from the party. The original plan for him was to have him be the vessel for a half primordial being, the main antagonist. Is something like this advisable? They're still level 3 and I plan on implementing this finale around level 14. Thanks for taking the time to read this, anyone.
Aaron Doyle sounds like a Mary Sue DMPC. Spice things up, build up a big reveal and kill him before he can really get his story out. Toss up your players, make what would be entirely obvious and safe a twist. Use this to set up a greater evil, keep the primal elemental or whatever you had in mind.
The hardest thing I've seen is not so much standout than the idea for certain parties who do not cherish their NPCs unless they more or less are beneficial like keeping them alive {Healing}, Crafter, etc. Investing to the point where they care is the best feeling whether positive or negative.
A lot of players are mercenary like that. I feel a good work around is to begin like that - begin with service and supply, and then work in a story or adventure or two around that NPC for the PC's to go. If they don't the service/supply runs dry, so they kinda have to. But in that adventure they learn a bit more about the NPC and the NPC's world. It might be a slow build, but it's a build nonetheless.
So how do I properly set up a love interest/s as the antagonists? My newest group are all playing female bards.. The players have said that they want to play out a 'Josie and the Pussycats" in a renaissance-fantasy world? Would I be better to have the love interest be Ex-Adventurers setting up straw-men adventures to build the band-name? Or should they be wanting to scare and injure them so they end this tour and return to their role as a Noble's wife back-home?
Firstly the one love interest should be a eager youth who just wants to drive their cart from town to town. He should choose one of the women to fall madly in love with. Then his troubles arrive - money owed to horrid criminals and so on. So the bards need to flock to his rescue. Only finally do we discover the he is actually a she with an alter self spell or something - and that she has been secretly using the bards to cover up crimes that she was committing whilst the bards were singing. And of course now she has no need for the bards. The real 'boy' whom the group fell in love with has been help prisoner in a tower somewhere for quite some time. You don't want the love interest to be more powerful than the bards (until she reveals herself and then hell yes). At least that's my suggestion :)
A bodysnatcher/shapeshifter taking the place of a Roadie? You Sir, are Twisted beyond words. I am in Awe. I wonder... So what if the roadie gets into debt with a Loan Shark, lets call here the "Old Crone". She decides that because he's going to abscond/ default on the debt, she decides to "Call the debt in"... The Roadie is kidnapped and killed, and she as the roadie is "rescued", and the Crone's wealth is given to the party as "Thanks and a Promise to the (PC crush)". That PC would of course be the best actor in the group. I can then probably run a whole load of Murder Mysteries/ adventures that happen when the Band arrives, which all have the clues and eye-witnesses ID'ing a local perp, even if one or two have a alibi. All the While the Crone has been learning the Intimate details of that PC's mannerisms, habits, and so-on. All the crimes happening when the Band arrives will eventually raise suspicions, and when the Crone is finally "caught in the act" and turns into an excellent copy of the PC, acts like her, kills the first witnesses, then flees with as many eye-witness as possible... The Crone alerts the guards of the Party's location, and leaves them to try and figure it out...
My main reason for watching is to learn a South Africa accent for one of my character npcs. Everything else is just fringe benefit. Just kidding, he's great!
+robert goodwin Great Villain is coming up! The site is sadly beyond my control at the moment. The Web Goblins are working hard, but what I've planned is apparently very very tricky. I've been promised by the 1st of May we will have life off of something really exciting.
I'm a scientist and I had a very important talk about a month ago. I had been watching all of your videos and I decided to put the talk into a story telling format. the basic idea was, we wanted to know something badly and we're having trouble getting it. I followed most of your story elements. I was worried that it wouldn't be technical enough but the first comment I got, was "amazing talk, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time." I was astounded at how well it turned out. I owe you a huge thanks for these videos. really. great stuff.
+tauofwar Dude that's really awesome! For me that shows the power of our hobby - how roleplaying gives us skills for real world, even learning how to play the game of RP lets us play the game of RL. Are you the mad evil genius kind of scientist?
I'd put it down to how much the npc actually contributed (or how much the npc *had* to contribute because the players needed help). Otherwise the pcs might feel cheated/jipped.
Just a random question: When only one of your players can understand a NPC language, how do you handle it ? I guess you don't ask the other players to leave the room ^^
I open up a private chat with them, but we all play over google hangout so maybe just tell the whole table and you can just say the character is translating
+Snat Man Yup but this prevents the player from lying to the group if he wants to. Most of the time all players are honest to each other but sometimes the PC may want to hide some information to serve his purpose
+Michel Parpaillon It's a good question. And how I handle it depends on the setting. In a mystery / dark setting I literally will get up and go into the furthest room in the house closing doors behind us and have a conversation. In a light comedy setting I let everyone hear, and if the player tries to have their character lie, the other characters get an insight/perception check to see. If they fail - I instruct them that they believe it.
That might dissuade them from being flirtatious which could be good or bad (or both) depending on what you want/are okay with. You also don't want to repeatedly do anything to the point you get predictable or the game starts suffering of course, but that miight already be obvious
Instead of love interests, why not a broader category of loved ones? Such people as relatives, close friends, and recurrent acquaintances, as well as those who the PCs are at friendly competition with or those friendly enemies that push them to greater heights, but not directly wishing the PCs harm in any way because they too enjoy the competition.
Hello you are absolutely correct. It doesn't have to be intimate love. It could be mentorlove - Harry Potter style, bromance - any American movie, or parental love - Finding Nemo. The point is it's about the bond that is forged. I should have made it clearer, so thank you for adding to this! :)
My main long term npc is a war cleric that was a liutenant of a batallion of the army, she got rank up to captain ad discharged to go back to her duties as high priestess of a big city state on my world, now she is mainly the main contact the party has qith the politicians of the kingdom. That npc main physical atributes are, her left eye is blind and her left side of her face is utterly destroyed by a ghoul claw attack, her second one is that her right arm was replaced by a prostetic one after she amputated i herswlf cause she was infected by the same ghoul that left er eye blind, she hides the scar on her face qith a permanent disguise self spell
