DM's ULTIMATE WEAPON: NPCs on the Fly [Archive] - Wizards Community

DM's ULTIMATE WEAPON: NPCs on the Fly [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Drammattex
10-21-05, 02:51 PM If you've been DMing for a while, you may have noticed that when the PCs are in town, they want to talk to the townsfolk. Whether pursuing the villain from their lifelong story arc, looking for a good place to find magic items, or contact the local thieves' guild, they always seem to want to ask the locals everything they know about everything, especially if the PCs have just finished several sessions of tromping through wilderness, ruins, or battlefields.

As an actor and improvisor, I'm not shy about grabbing characters with a point of view and a voice or physical posture, however I find that after a few years, I default to some certain character types: the old man, the cheeky barmaid, the stern soldier, the rambunctious youth, the lofty noble. These seem to come out when we're playing 'on the fly.' They're gut reaction characters that occur when a player says "Does anybody know about the situation with the...? Okay, I'm going to ask somebody."

Bring out the ULTIMATE WEAPON.
In a long form improvisation, the improvisors ask for a suggestion from the audience which the group free-associates for a while, generating ideas for scenes. Once enough ideas have been generated, the group starts to perform the scenes using those suggestions. Building from someone else's suggestion removes the pressure of being brilliant on your own (when your inner critic is screaming "this is stupid"), and often pushes you into heretofore unexplored territory (which is cool).

So next time you're DMing a setting with large numbers of NPCs milling about, try this:
Go to the DMG and find the section on NPCs. Locate the chart with the NPC traits on it at the end of the chapter (there are 100; apologies for not having the page number on hand). Roll on the chart for a trait. You'll get something like "bookish" or "jealous" or "odd hair color."

What's the big deal about that? Nothing. Ah, but wait!
Now, open up the DMG2 to the NPC section and put bookmarks (or photocopy) the medieval occupations and the NPC agendas. Roll on those charts.
Now, you have...
Trait: Odd Hair Color
Occupation: Furrier
Agenda: Nationalistic. Wants others to believe the place he comes from is best.
Now, color in between the lines.

It takes almost no time, and suddenly your imagination is kicking into high gear as you fill in Yeonag the furrier, whose hair is literally a silver color, flecked with black. He's wearing a cloak of pelts as he stoops over the bar, gulping down mead. He's got a shop in town, but he's far away from home where life was better.
The PCs can ask him anything they will, but you know where his heart is, and what kinds of lines to throw in to make him distinctive. He's sitting there in three dimensions, so different from your regular 'old man at the pub' guy.

I was using this method last night, and the world POPPED into vivid detail. Every time a game starts going sour and the world is looking stale, I find it's because the NPCs in the world haven't been living up to their potential.

Try it this week. It's awesome. It's fun. You will feel like an UBER-actor.
Unfortunately, it will lose its effectiveness with large parties, as players who aren't involved in the interaction may get bored).
Golden Zealot
10-21-05, 08:32 PM that sounds excellent, but unfortunatly i dont own the DMG2. i dont suppose you's be willing to post a copy of the table here? 'twould help a lot, methinks
Longarms
10-22-05, 02:00 AM Yes a copy of the table would be great
DwarvinJedi
10-22-05, 02:26 PM Yes a copy of the table would be great
but slightly illegal
I am wondering what the pages are, i found one of the pages, but I am too blind to find the others
rbrt_Spade
10-22-05, 02:33 PM for npcs i make "wing it npcs" in a notebook, i have stats made for a few of the major classes-rogue,cleric,fighter,wizard and a few for npc classes. i then roll of the random alignment charts on the table npcs(but if the race has usally in thier al entry in the mm i use that), roll on the phb height,age,and weight charts,traits charts and bam a npc. i also make a few npcs near the pcs level for combat if needed. or you can take a brake in your game and write up the npc stats from the tables of the dmg if needed.
Drammattex
10-24-05, 02:40 PM It's true. Usually, I create them ahead of time. Those are the REALLY good NPCs.
I find that the spur of the moment guys are... well, fine, but I really enjoy building around the "suggestions" from the DMGs (from the lists) when we're on the fly. I wouldn't say it puts the brake on the game, but sure it will slow you down for about a minute or two.

I will try to remember to post the page numbers when I have the books in my hands again (i.e. when I'm not at work). If you don't own DMG2, I highly recommend it. It's packed with interesting stuff... kind of like going to a DMing seminar for longtime DMs who need a refresher, as well as newcomers who want to pick up some tips and tricks.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Drammattex 10-21-05, 02:51 PM	If you've been DMing for a while, you may have noticed that when the PCs are in town, they want to talk to the townsfolk. Whether pursuing the villain from their lifelong story arc, looking for a good place to find magic items, or contact the local thieves' guild, they always seem to want to ask the locals everything they know about everything, especially if the PCs have just finished several sessions of tromping through wilderness, ruins, or battlefields. As an actor and improvisor, I'm not shy about grabbing characters with a point of view and a voice or physical posture, however I find that after a few years, I default to some certain character types: the old man, the cheeky barmaid, the stern soldier, the rambunctious youth, the lofty noble. These seem to come out when we're playing 'on the fly.' They're gut reaction characters that occur when a player says "Does anybody know about the situation with the...? Okay, I'm going to ask somebody." Bring out the ULTIMATE WEAPON. In a long form improvisation, the improvisors ask for a suggestion from the audience which the group free-associates for a while, generating ideas for scenes. Once enough ideas have been generated, the group starts to perform the scenes using those suggestions. Building from someone else's suggestion removes the pressure of being brilliant on your own (when your inner critic is screaming "this is stupid"), and often pushes you into heretofore unexplored territory (which is cool). So next time you're DMing a setting with large numbers of NPCs milling about, try this: Go to the DMG and find the section on NPCs. Locate the chart with the NPC traits on it at the end of the chapter (there are 100; apologies for not having the page number on hand). Roll on the chart for a trait. You'll get something like "bookish" or "jealous" or "odd hair color." What's the big deal about that? Nothing. Ah, but wait! Now, open up the DMG2 to the NPC section and put bookmarks (or photocopy) the medieval occupations and the NPC agendas. Roll on those charts. Now, you have... Trait: Odd Hair Color Occupation: Furrier Agenda: Nationalistic. Wants others to believe the place he comes from is best. Now, color in between the lines. It takes almost no time, and suddenly your imagination is kicking into high gear as you fill in Yeonag the furrier, whose hair is literally a silver color, flecked with black. He's wearing a cloak of pelts as he stoops over the bar, gulping down mead. He's got a shop in town, but he's far away from home where life was better. The PCs can ask him anything they will, but you know where his heart is, and what kinds of lines to throw in to make him distinctive. He's sitting there in three dimensions, so different from your regular 'old man at the pub' guy. I was using this method last night, and the world POPPED into vivid detail. Every time a game starts going sour and the world is looking stale, I find it's because the NPCs in the world haven't been living up to their potential. Try it this week. It's awesome. It's fun. You will feel like an UBER-actor. Unfortunately, it will lose its effectiveness with large parties, as players who aren't involved in the interaction may get bored).
Golden Zealot 10-21-05, 08:32 PM	that sounds excellent, but unfortunatly i dont own the DMG2. i dont suppose you's be willing to post a copy of the table here? 'twould help a lot, methinks
Longarms 10-22-05, 02:00 AM	Yes a copy of the table would be great
DwarvinJedi 10-22-05, 02:26 PM	Yes a copy of the table would be great but slightly illegal I am wondering what the pages are, i found one of the pages, but I am too blind to find the others
rbrt_Spade 10-22-05, 02:33 PM	for npcs i make "wing it npcs" in a notebook, i have stats made for a few of the major classes-rogue,cleric,fighter,wizard and a few for npc classes. i then roll of the random alignment charts on the table npcs(but if the race has usally in thier al entry in the mm i use that), roll on the phb height,age,and weight charts,traits charts and bam a npc. i also make a few npcs near the pcs level for combat if needed. or you can take a brake in your game and write up the npc stats from the tables of the dmg if needed.
Drammattex 10-24-05, 02:40 PM	It's true. Usually, I create them ahead of time. Those are the REALLY good NPCs. I find that the spur of the moment guys are... well, fine, but I really enjoy building around the "suggestions" from the DMGs (from the lists) when we're on the fly. I wouldn't say it puts the brake on the game, but sure it will slow you down for about a minute or two. I will try to remember to post the page numbers when I have the books in my hands again (i.e. when I'm not at work). If you don't own DMG2, I highly recommend it. It's packed with interesting stuff... kind of like going to a DMing seminar for longtime DMs who need a refresher, as well as newcomers who want to pick up some tips and tricks.