The Bazaar #90 – Creating Engaging NPCs (Part 2)

Francois DesRochers
2 minutes ago
12 min read

INTRODUCTION

Continuing the series on NPC development, I’ve seen a few discussions online about the difficulty in development and use of NPCs in terms of adventure design for Rifts and the Palladium Books RPGs writ-large. For some, this poses a fairly significant hurdle in the adventure design phase, something I firmly believe can be overcome with a few nudges down the right path. It isn’t necessarily a solution of ‘just build dozens of NPCs and get the hang of it,’ more so a depth of knowledge on the Megaversal system and an Adventure Design Methodology that can streamline this oft-times contentious issue. So let’s take a look at the creation and use of the NPC within the context of a Palladium Books game.

DISCUSSION – ROLE IN ADVENTURE DESIGN

General. The NPC is a design element the GM needs to consider from the outset of adventure design. Ideally this should never be a random ‘dude’ you insert without much forethought. You may want to make it appear that way, but I’d strongly suggest you think about what these characters are there to do, why, and how.

What is an NPC. Pedantic, but requires a baseline definition. Essentially it is any character that interacts with a Player’s Character that is managed/controlled by the Game Master. So when a Player Character (PC) interacts with another PC, that’s on the Players to sort out how they react. For the most part, this is a benign element of the game session. On rare instances, it can become a ‘thing’ that develops into a personality conflict that can be resolved on equal terms (e.g. two Players have relatively equal authority). But this can be an adverse relationship if and when it is the Game Master that is controlling the character. By this very nature, we need to try to manage that interaction in a way that eliminates most possible conflict/friction points but still achieves the aim of what we use that NPC to do.

Elements of the NPC

Attributes: We know the eight Attributes well and good. This is also one of the elements of an NPC has the LEAST bearing on the GM or the Players. Unless there is a specific Attribute element that you need the NPC to have (e.g. % Trust/Intimidate or a bonus to save to Poison/Magic). Just assign the Attribute to achieve the attribute bonus and move on.

Role-Playing Aspects: These are the more descriptive elements to the NPC you would use depicting the NPC’s appearance and mannerisms. This like:

Species: Are we using a Human, a humanoid/D-Bee, or something totally alien?
Hair and Eye Colour: Could extend to scales and other physical descriptors.
Physical Build (Height/Weight): Pretty self-explanatory.
Age and Gender: As much as it makes a difference/impact.
Disposition: Specifically how they react to the environment around them, as well as the way they interact with the PCs. Basically, the NPC’s personality. Give yourself point-form notes and cues to develop from. Nothing more.

Combat Aspects: The parts to set up a fight (…..duh!):

Armor: Just have the type with SDC/AR or MDC already prepared and ready to start marking for when they take damage.
Weapon(s): Just list the names with damage, and relevant payloads for ranged weapons.
(e.g. only has 20 arrows, 5 × E-Clips with 30 shots each)
Spells/Psionics: This one can get a little tricky, but you really only need a few key spells or psionics to draw upon during the combat. Pick no more than five or six of them – some damage dealing, others for support/effect. Remember, Practitioners of Magic and Psionic Classes also use hand weapons.

Palladium Books Examples. Part of the problem most new GMs face is the template of the abundant NPCs provided across hundreds of books. A lot of those NPCs are developed for the most complex use by the GM, as an NPC on par with PCs, a GM-controlled character, or a villainous NPC the PCs must overcome. Other times the NPCs found in the books are used as a method to conduct world building. There are few things better aimed at driving engagement and immersion with an adventure than a great villain, and the NPCs Palladium Books offers can often really make great opponents. But this also presents an overly-detailed template; it’s overkill for how most NPCs need to be used. They also might be too high up the “food chain” for a GM to randomly have killed off (e.g. kill off Emperor Prosek or Splynncryth and you’ve got a GM headache in terms of fallout to discern).

Link to Adventure Design. In my article on Adventure Design (The Bazaar #62: Adventure Design Methodology), I discussed the idea of goose eggs, elements within being discrete pieces of information to consider and design. Each NPC should be considered the same way (e.g. goose eggs within goose eggs). They should serve a purpose, at least in the general sense that allows you to roll with the punches your Players deliver. And trust me, they’ll find weird and whacky ways to drive you off-course you’d never think to consider. But when we decide to include an NPC, we need to first assign a function to the character, much like we would assign a reason for the goose egg of the adventure. The level of detail and the information should be limited to that function.

Interaction With Players. If there is one constant a GM needs to muckle onto right away, Players will find ways to completely up-end the best laid intentions of your adventure design. There is a significant skill set to develop around rolling with what your Players bring to the table, to try and steer them back to the main elements of your adventure design, and the few hooks or tangents you may have inserted. By planning out the nodes of each adventure segment, this allows you the opportunity to outline key elements that need to be reinforced. You can now try and weave these facts or elements back into interactions with the PCs and return them back to what they should (read as: need) to accomplish for the adventure to continue.

NPC FUNCTIONS

There are a variety of functions that the NPC can/needs to provide. In some cases, this makes them a bit more complex to flesh out, while others are relatively straight forward.

Information. The NPC is simply there to provide a specific piece of information. They should pretty much be a null-set (e.g. nothing else worth providing) once they’ve given their tidbits of information; they should blend back into the background or disappear entirely. This could be resolved with a call from their boss, an authority figure approaches (e.g. CS patrol, Kittani guard), or they simply delve into their day job and ignore the PCs from then onward. Ultimately you need to clarify the information they need to hand off, and how they would most likely do so, given the circumstances you’ve designed. Is it a clandestine Handoff? Do they simply reply to an email? Do the Player Characters need to complete a series of adventure puzzles to even discover where the meeting spot is located in order to acquire the information?

What they are there for (e.g. what information they give)?
Develop framework of information in point form style
Outline their interactions and limitations to how much they give/don’t give to PCs
Disposition. Develop a quick/basic Disposition (e.g. loosely based on people you know, or movie/TV characters)
Commentary. Provide yourself a few prompts to weave into the discussion. I find these add life to the interaction, and also allow me to layer in some world building or links to the Player Characters' stories or hooks for later adventures.

Example NPC (quick and dirty): A City Rat used as an Informant the PCs need to find and interact with.

Social Interaction. By lack of design, or maybe Players not getting the hint, this one can give the GM some problems. These characters require the Players, and yes you as the GM, to actually develop their role-playing chops. These NPCs could be the bartender, the supervisory figurehead, the criminal underboss the Player Characters must deal with, a business contact they need to haggle for an item/service. You as the GM need slightly wider margins for yourself and the NPC, but they can also come with their own limitations, best identified during adventure design. Things like: What’s the minimum bid for a service? How good are they at haggling (do they or the PCs have the Barter skill)? Does the service even exist there (e.g. buying spell scrolls in the ‘Burbs might be a stretch)? How crabby or forgiving is the supervisory figure? Does the bartender not want to associate with the PCs (e.g. CS troops, D-Bees)? Some other elements to consider:

Disposition. Develop a more nuanced and complex Disposition (you could be blamed for worse things than developing based off real people/media personalities)
Commentary. Provide yourself a few prompts to weave into the discussion. I find these add life to the interaction, and also allow me to layer in some world building or links to the Player Characters' stories or hooks for later adventures.
A GM’s PC. Try to establish them as individuals almost on par as Players
Role-Playing. Be prepared to challenge your own and your Players’ ability to role-play.
Combat Potential. Be prepared to see the role-playing develop into a friction point and fall forward into a Function (Combat) encounter.

Example NPC: A service provider, someone that sells products (e.g. weapons, E-clips, food, magic items). For these NPCs, you really are more interested with concentrating on the products/services you as the GM need to haggle through with the PCs. Other than that, add in a bit of a Disposition to shape that interaction, and a few Commentary bullets to work from.

Combat. Sometimes the NPCs are there to function as a road block or speed bump. They might not be the most difficult obstacle for the PCs to overcome, but you need to understand what they bring before you throw them against the PCs. Something to remember as well, the Players are limited to what their PCs can see, and you as the GM are under no obligation to fill in the blanks. If they assume the new D-Bee throwing around Super-Psionics in a Mind Melter, then it casts a Temporal Magic spell, they’re going to ask questions; that’s fine. The fact you introduced a new D-Bee R.C.C. with different capabilities is something they need to learn. Combat with unknown monsters is about exploring new capabilities and overcoming that challenge. Some critical elements to consider:

Men-at-Arms: What armor are they equipped with, and how are they armed? Give them a number of E-clips/arrows (and the possibility to run out of them)
Psionics: What key powers would you give them? Give them a baseline ISP (and possibly run out of it).
Practitioners of Magic: What key spells would they have? Give them a baseline PPE to work with (and possibly run out of it).
Tactics: Are they going to be ‘Red Shirts’ and die relatively quick deaths by charging straight at the party? Will they break up into groups and try to flank them? Will they pose significant challenges to the PCs? How easy are they going to break and run after losing 25% or 50% of their own forces?
Reinforcements: Consider the element of reinforcements for the NPCs to force a withdrawal. If the battle goes too long, rages too loudly, are other forces likely to come investigate? How soon?
General Bonuses. Assign each NPC a general bonus to Strike, Parry, Dodge, Initiative, and any other relevant factor you need to conduct the combat. These don’t need to be precise.

Example NPC: This is the easiest one to accomplish, and really the only parts you need are the Combat Elements above.

Support. These are the akin to the Information NPC in that they are specifically relegated to just providing a service. How in-depth the GM goes depends on how much you wish to tie into the PCs’ back story. Realistically though, how much role-playing do the Players want from the local trading outpost to purchase arrows, replace damaged armor, re-charge E-clips or refresh their provisions? This can be as easy as a video-game interface where a catalogue of items with prices is available (no haggle), and they buy damaged items at 50% the listed credit cost. Alternatively, this can develop opportunities to insert adventure hooks (e.g. the Cyber-Doc is dealing with some rival gangs from a Body-Chop-Shop; a suspected Black Market operation is undercutting your normal Operator’s repair facility). These require perhaps a little more detail on what they are offering in terms of support, more so than the actual in-character elements. Some critical elements to consider:

Services/Products Available. You don’t need a full-blown menu, but try to foresee a list of things the PCs would need. A repair shop should have general list of services, parts and labor. Give the restaurant a generic menu, even if it’s just “lunch for 15 cr.”
Price List. We’re talking sticker price in credits. If you’re not sure what to price them at, just do a quick Google search and make a quick decision. Don’t spend too much time locking into the realism of the numbers. Throw the PCs a bill and move on.
Bartering. The PCs might has “something interesting” the NPC may need/want. Or perhaps there are services the PCs could provide in lieu of the cost. Physical labor, a minor one-shot mission, perhaps PCs conduct their own repairs for a cheaper cost, whatever. Don’t discount the opportunity this provides for some role-playing and one-shot adventures.

Example NPC: Very much the same set-up as found for the Social Interaction NPC. The difference on this one is the reduced emphasis on Disposition or interactions with the PCs.

World Building

One of the last elements to touch on is the worldbuilding elements this provides a GM. As you begin to craft the adventure from a basic design or concept into something more comprehensive, the introduction of locations and NPCs provides a chance to do a bit of world building. This exercise is important to the GM in terms of giving them a more thorough and intuitive way to deal with tangents the Players may throw at them.

Option Space. It allows the GM to have certain plot hooks and one-shot adventure ideas “in the bank” that allows them to “roll with the punches” the Players are throwing. Players might take a tangent on some inane piece of information; because you know the adventure well enough, you can immediately pivot to and provide a solution with a quick one-shot or mini-quest that allows them to return to the main story arc.

Character Arcs. Tying adventure plot hooks into character arcs is really one of those hidden talents of an experienced GM. The worldbuilding aspect allows you to leverage your PC’s storyline into things they encounter, building opportunities and adventure hooks throughout the adventure. An NPC might inadvertently provide a clue into an object a character is keenly interested in; one of the NPCs might have had a run-in with a member of a gang the PC wants to avenge a wrong against. This in turn draws in the Players, reinforcing their immersion. Don’t worry if this isn’t immediately jumping out at you. It comes with practice; I’m developing a post specifically for this as well.

Turnover Potential. Something akin to restaurants ‘turning over’ tables to maximize profits, the same principle applies to NPCs. The more you are able to use the same NPCs, the more return you get on your investment in terms of time and effort. The NPC becomes more realistic and impactful to the PCs and Players as they develop a working relationships, possibly even starting to care for them as much as they would one of the other PCs.

CONCLUSION

This article admittedly places a fair onus on the GM to develop the ”goose eggs” of the adventure module in terms of NPCs and their involvement with the PCs. Is there a chance that some of that work will not ever really be used? Well, yeah, but this is the risk with any adventure. Players might ignore an entire quadrant of your dungeon, an entire city district, or a section of the war front. I’m of the opinion it serves the GM to be better prepared by at least throwing down some point form notes to develop ‘on the fly’ as required, or spend the time to more completely world build what the PCs will be interacting with.

With a little forethought, and within the parameters of your adventure design, you can get a sense of the limitations these NPCs are going to have, and then limit yourself to that amount of effort. Players don’t have an inherent right to know everything about the NPC, nor do you have the obligation to provide anything other than what their PCs can see with their own eyes. You also have the flexibility to stretch the boundaries. Given that each game can technically ‘Rift’ into another can make than exploration an interesting experience for both Players and GM. By putting some effort into the different NPCs they now have to try and interact with outside of their comfort zone can really make it a memorable adventure.

NPCs in the Palladium Books RPGs can appear to be a daunting task. The key is to remember how to limit yourself to what you need. You certainly would not generate a full-blown character with attributes and a full skill list, magic powers and combat bonuses just to have the NPC act as an informant and surreptitiously hand a sheet of paper to the Player Characters. Why go through the effort? And if it does devolve into combat, make the NPC a ‘Red Shirt’ – very basic weapons and bonuses. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming you need full-blown characters for your NPC. Establish yourself some limitations and stay within them, only expanding outwards if the NPC develops into a more Recurring Roles, Lead Roles [See The Bazaar #89: Creating Engaging NPCs - Part 1], or perhaps a way to make them turn into a BBEG for a future adventure. Keep your options open. But recall the function they serve and try to limit your efforts to the output they provide the adventure and the amount of interaction they likely have with the PCs.