NPCs

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Creating an NPC is a very complicated task, a memorable one even moreso. One thing to know about NPCs, is NPCs may not always stick with the player or party, and may need to be retired for a new character that blends well with the party, either as a villain or an ally. Creating an NPC that your players love is a long and arduous process that is rewarding for both the player and the GM, bringing more immersion to a world.

Name

A name is very important for an NPC. Typically, GM’s choose names that are memorable for players, but players tend to go for characters with the most simplest of names, unique names can be used, and racial specific names may be used as well.

Role

NPCs have various roles to the adventurers, either a mentor, rival, friend or any other combination, no matter the role, all NPCs make an impact and should be designed to accentuate the players. Below is a list of role archetypes that you could use for a character, or create a mix and match with these.

Mentor

The mentor character is one that helps the player along with their mission, their role is to teach a lesson or assist the player closely with something while lecturing and teaching the player, these characters are usually more powerful, but that is not always the case.

Antagonist

The Antagonist is someone that strives against the players ideals, fighting them and actively leading to their downfall. Many antagonists exist, but a popular dynamic is one large antagonist, known as the “Big Bad Evil Guy” (BBEG), these characters can be absolutely anyone, but their main goal is that they are stopping the player.

Skeptic

A skeptic is someone who does not trust the player or sees their side of things, either functioning fairly independent until sometime in the story eventually believing the player, they tend to point out flaws, but are not necessarily the villain that they should be fighting, but allowing the player to question their own motives.

Friend

A friend is a character that stays loyal to the player, remaining as someone to lean on, or someone that is there for the player. A friend is someone the player can trust, or assist them on a journey. They will always actively help the player in most means if they agree with it.

Diversion

The Diversion is an interesting character that adds a flair of misleading and third dimension, the love interest can be completely neutral to the character, some examples can be romantic love interests, or maybe a red herring kind of character, someone that diverts the players and misleads them, either to their detriment or their benefit.

Foil

The foil is the direct opposite of the player, usually in personality and morals, but has a skill set that requires the players to remain with them. The foil is a really important role, as it is a very strong way of allowing the player to shine in their own situations.

Rival

The rival is a character that fights against a player multiple times, mainly in ways to surpass or get stronger compared to the player. The rival is not a direct enemy, and is usually shown as an “unlikely ally” and creates tension between the player, having the ability to double cross or betray the player for their own benefit.

Personality

Personalities play a huge impact on creating an NPC, you want a personality that matches the player (or party), which allows the players to really shine in their own ways. Personalities change over time, maybe due to experiences, or maybe characters have multiple aspects of each personality. Below is a list of sample personalities that you may give to your NPCs on the fly to create a character with depth.

Optimist

An Optimist is someone who remains positive and assists others in remaining positive, to see the “brighter side” of things, and pairs well with a pessimistic character to round them out

Pessimist

The Pessimist is someone who tends to not see the brighter side of things, is typically cynical to their condition, and pairs well with an optimistic character to round them out

Perceptive

A perceptive character is one who takes a look at the finer, more intricate details to plans and eachothers lives, psychoanalysing people.

Stoic

A Stoic character is one that assesses situations at their foremost and remains calm and collected, keeping moments to remain determined and focused on the now, more then the future.

Pragmatic

A pragmatic character is one that views everything in a very level-headed, down to earth approach, and keeps the peace with situations, viewing both sides of a situation, they’re considered more of a “devil’s advocate”.

Emotional

An emotional character is one that uses their emotions to influence their decisions, leading them into trouble along the way, usually for good intentions in their own eyes.

Apathetic

Apathetic characters are typically ones that do not care for the situation they are currently in, and typically do not care at all.

Logical

People who take a rational and cut-and-dry approach are typically seen as logical, finding simple solutions to problems without using emotion.