Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Nov 20, 2005 2:48:35	Most every experienced gamer has at one point or another encountered a God-player character (GPC). What is a GPC? In short, they are a DM's avatar. They are the DMs favorite NPC that seems to show up in nearly every session, no matter how unrelated the adventure might seem to the GPCs campaign of origin. They have virtually unlimited power that manifests itself in total disregard for any rules (i.e. they shoot beams of energy that can instantly destroy even the most powerful of draco-lichs, with the snap of a finger they can instantly restore the complete health of any PC, and they always seem to know everything no matter how recently the PCs have discovered it). So where do these nearly omnipotent characters come from? In most cases GPCs are the brain children of unprepared, or on-the-fly DMs and they thrive in homebrewed worlds. More often than not, a GPC began its existence as either a PC the DM played before he made the move to DMing, or a particularly favorite NPC he created for his world. Though the original campaign of the character long since ended, the GPC survived and made its way to the fertile lands of the DMs imagination. There, the GPC thrived and played out entire adventures in the DMs mind honing his skills. Then he emerges into the gaming world as one of, if not the central figure in the DMs homebrewed world where he will employ the PCs to help him forge this world into his own image. Even if the PCs attempt to avoid this all-powerful figure, they will find in the end, that they played right into his hands. The thing to remember about a GPC is that they are always flawless in execution. They are without failure. A GPC thief can steal anything, even from the powers themselves. Don't try to roll to detect him hiding in shadows: his stats are so high, it is instant failure. A GPC wizard will never be caught with the wrong spells. He always seems to have just the right spells memorized to suit the occasion. And, a GPC warrior will never be caught without his +75 vorpal, wounding, sword of black fire with a gem embedded in the hilt that controls all dragons PERIOD! Why would a DM introduce such characters into a campaign? Usually, there are two reasons. First, the unprepared DM, needing to move the campaign along will use a GPC to further the plot, or quickly end one that has become boring. His powers seem God like, but only because the DM hasn't actually sat down to write up his stats and figures if the players ask about it, being the DM, he can just make them up on the spot to explain the powers he has already displayed. Second, the DM has just become attached to the character so much so that he needs to make at least one appearance per session. This happens when a DM is unable to separate his or herself from the NPCs they play, and feel they need to have a character adventure with the PCs so that they can feel like they are playing with their own character too. Either way, the GPC is an example of poor DMing. So, what do you do if you encounter a GPC? Well, my advice is to find another DM, or another gaming group. However, sometimes that is difficult. Furthermore, just because a GPC shows up, doesn't necessarily mean the game isn't worth playing: just most of the times. On the rare occasion GPC encounters can be fun. When there is no other way to avoid them, there really is only one way of dealing with the GPC. You can't kill them. The DM would never allow it, even if you did come up with the cleverest of plans. You can't run from them. Trust me, they'll find you. The only weapon you have against them is flattery. The main reason a GPC shows up in a session is because they are one of the DMs favorite characters, and they want you to like them too. They are examples of perfect characters without flaw. They seve as an example of what a PCs character can become one day with a lot of gaming. They are representations of the DMs ego within the game. Never insult one, because it is an insult to the DM and his game. Instead, flatter them in a way that is appropriate. If they are dark characters, fear them and speak with the proper respect. If they are good, praise them for showing up in time to save the day. And regardless of what kind of characters they are, always do exactly what they say. The only good thing about GPCs is that, if respected in the proper fashion, they tend to be excellent rewarders. They always seem to have access to just about everything. Usually, the DM just hands the players the DMG and says choose. Once again, this isn't exactly the best DMing, but what player can refuse his choice of magic items. So, in conclusion it's best to avoid the notorious GPC at all costs by not playing with a DM that employs them. However, if you can't help it, just go with the flow and let the compliments fly. It's the only way to survive among God Player Characters.
#2 return_of_the_flumph Nov 22, 2005 2:04:42	I know exactly what you're talking about, and believe me, you are right about everything except one thing: if the DM has a GPC, you should NEVER bother with the flattery. GPCs are the ultimate sign that you are playing in that campaign won't be fun; DMs who make GPCs tend to be bad at everything else as well.
#3 zombiegleemax Nov 22, 2005 3:25:36	Recently, members of various gaming groups got together and we started a new campaign with old characters. Kind of like a spin-off. I told them that they would be the drivers in this campaign, and I would go with what they would do. We were all good with this idea. A couple of sessions into it. They asked me to have a GPC with the party. Nothing too powerful, but someone that could give little nudges when they were stuck. We call these characters "Spleens." Because like a spleen, the GPC is always there, you know it's there, but you don't really know anything about it or what it really does. So, I looked back at my treasury of NPCs to see which one would get the honor of being the spleen, and I found one with just the right amount of skills and abilities to keep up with the group, and not over power them. I even had my rules lawyer make up the character sheet, so no cheese could go on. We're all happier now... they get the occasional nudge, and I actually get to speak while they're planning their next move. Win-Win.
#4 wolfram_stout Nov 22, 2005 13:58:59	It is a very easy pitfall for a DM to fall into. I have an old PC that has never died in my mind. I did indeed turn him into a reoccurring NPC. However, I am happy to say that he has never once been in a combat involving the PCs, nor has he ever cast a spell in sight of the PCs. He works exclusive as an information source (he is never even a mentor). Woe to anyone though who's DM uses his GPC as an adversary. That group will truly be hurting. Good article. It is something all DMs need to be self-aware of.
#5 zombiegleemax Nov 22, 2005 16:01:15	I take it you've had a frustrating experience recently...
#6 zombiegleemax Nov 22, 2005 17:55:20	I've known of a DM who uses the GPC in his primary homebrewed campaign; in fact he has a pair of them. With one however he forced into a comatose state that the PCs were going out to find the cure for, the other is helped by the PCs to reforge a long lost empire. Myself, I've created a DMGPC for the campaign that I run myself; however by the time the PCs meet him; well, I'm not sure if they ever will meet him. I've figured out what he's capable of; given him a base of operations and his own allies, cohorts and followers. However, this GPC might not make an appearance until the players are much deeper into the campaign (one year of play time and they're lvl 6-7 with a lot less gear than their level suggests, but much higher stats so I tend to treat them as if they're lvl 8-9). In any case I know that a GPC will be unnecessary, so I've limited this character to my own notes, not to be used and as a reminder that I shouldn't introduce something that can't be an equal to the PCs. So I'm making male eunuch half-ogre chain-fighter... and eventually I'll add in the Pink-maned barbarian Asperii NPC named Phrennzy who also likes his best horsie boyfriend and needs the PCs to rescue him. However, it's hard to add a mountain-top dwelling flying horsie when the PCs are deep in the bowels of a mountain fighting in a former gnomish city and taking it back from a troglodyte horde.
#7 Majorafire77 Nov 24, 2005 18:21:49	Unless I'm mistaken, your "GPCs" are more commonly called DMPCs.
#8 ozymandias_v. Nov 30, 2005 17:47:49	A GPC is a type of DMPC, just like a red dragon is a type of dragon.
#9 zombiegleemax Dec 01, 2005 23:54:14	DMPC sounds right. I am new to D&D message boards so I am still learning the world D&D lingo. Of course, I prefer GPC... but that's because I coined it. Yes, I have had some rotten experiences dealing with GPCs in the past. However, they only made me realize what I had done back when I first started DMing. Nothing like seeing how much it sucks when it happens to you to make you realize it's a bad thing to do to your players.
#10 cre100382 Dec 11, 2005 10:07:50	My DMPC usually serves to play test new interesting classes before allowing them into the campaign. My most recent one was a warlock who was looking to raise money for a magic item that will hide his demonic heritage from onlooking wizards and such.
#11 taltamir Dec 19, 2005 11:12:51	You must not confuse a GPC (DMPC) with the powerful beings of the world. If a party of 5th level pcs insist on mingling with the gods they can expect to find themselves mostly useless. They can’t have the entire universe be the same level as them at all times.
#12 zombiegleemax Dec 22, 2005 9:03:42	GPCs! heh, frequently from campaign to campaign, regardless of worlds I tend to include two of the same villains repeatedly... Do they make appearances every session? No. Do they make appearances at least once every 5 sessions? No. 10? Maybe. Are they someone working behind the scenes for their own nefarious plots? Yes. Might the PCs eventually come into contact with them? Yes. Are they ever the BBEG? Never directly. This GPC concept you seem to have is a perverted Elminister-complex which, as you say, unprepared DMs introduce to take away the spotlight from group or use to cover gaps in the story. While I feel that a properly handled GPC-type is useful, having one that appears more then once in a blue moon is overkill, totally unnecessary, and an obvious attempt at the DM wanting to show off. I use an ancient black dragon and a vampire sorcerer almost repeatedly from campaign to campaign and world to world. They are never "THE" BBEG, but they are always working up minor nefarious plots which the PCs usually uncover as the campaign progresses. Do their servants get killed? Yes. Does their stuff get taken? Yes. Do they usually eventually extort a task/quest from the players instead of killing them? You betcha. Is this me just defending my 'favored' villains? Maybe! But at this point, I've never placed my "GPCs" at odds with the players either for the spotlight, unkillable main villain, or as the unkillable quest dictator. While I feel this trend can easily be overplayed it not handled properly, I do believe its possible to maintain heroes/villains of great power that the PCs occasionally come into contact with, without falling to such tactics.
#13 xidoraven Dec 26, 2005 0:59:57	First and foremost, I'm new. Hello, and best wishes to you all. I take this from a few different angles, each different. First, consider the alternative... You ask a player or group to choose a character of their own, someone they feel close with, a potentially powerful character... Through natural progression and love of the overall campaign-storyline, their characters become increasingly powerful to such a degree that you literally have to put the fear of death (if that's even possible sometimes) into them by interjecting a new NPC, or by resuming an old NPC's power to its previous status if the instigator is old news around the realm, notorious for whatever they are known for. To account for a real reason of why the players cannot do something they so urgently want, this antagonist must also be adequately prepared for these characters, who are themselves like monstrous creations, able to go off on a top-spin in whichever curious direction they choose. This is a classic challenge to DMs, and that is why it is so resounding for anyone who has been on either side of the line. I have personally been on both, both as antagonist and protagonist, DM and player. A character like this is not necessarily a bad deal, nor a creation of solely bad game moderating. Sometimes it is a necessity, for divine purpose or flat-out it's-not-possible kinds of reasons, and it's-been-prepared-against reason alone. High-level prevalent player characters that have more resources than they have whims are often reluctant to be led to give up a single possession or power for the sake of a good storyline. Any player who has any attachment to a favorite character (and hence, a favorite NPC) will have a hard time with any sort of seemingly injust reward, and may end up harboring personal grudges against a DM for certainly in-game (nearly metagame) reasons alone. It sounds immature, I know, but I have seen grown men give me that look that says 'you suck, man, that's not fair, I worked hard for that'... It's sad actually. Characters like these GPCs (still not sure of a DMPC... or whatever) can sometimes just be a fully prepared, consistently backed up unjust ruler of they way things are. It's like George W. Bush... Not everyone backs him, but enough do that he gets to do basically as he pleases. He has every venue covered, every nook and cranny cleaned of its dust, and every ally under his prudent watch and resource. He gits r dun, plainly speaking. It is the same as a truly godly character or antagonist. I recently received the Deities and Demigods D&D supplement because of a deep urge to introduce an all-out deific character into a truly player-character game setting. Not an easy task, but as I quickly found, even the gods have their limits. Truly clever players could find the hitch in the clasps, so to speak, and this 'almighty' character could be brought down to size... but it requires patience (ha!) and clever decision-making skills from both the player and the character. RPing a god is the same as these characters, if even worse of a situation still. GPCs do have their place, and not always from the creation of a particularly inexperienced or unprepared DM. Often, because of their relative closeness with the DM using them, they do in fact have updated character sheets. I personally require it of every one of my players, and also of myself because of that (I do not ask my players to do anything that I myself in their place would not do). I do agree, that, in all rationality, it is true that to succeed in this form of character's midst one can only continuously agree, follow, applaud or encourage them (whether openly or through subterfuge methods such as body language, dialogue direction and tempo, sarcasm, taunts and other various sneakier methods of seemingly reverse psychology or backwards thought). If a player is ever to disagree with a character like this, especially if the character is openly unstable, eager to destroy for its own benefit, or otherwise hostile in an uncontrollable manner, either openly or dynamically, they will often find themselves in a bad situation. This is not because of a method of roleplay or its relative quality of play. Often it is merely a case of NPC dynamics, persona, or truly realistic skills. We have to remember, there are a lot of supplementary materials out there, and in most of them you can find statistics or standards by which nearly anything is possible in terms of skills or knowledges, as well as actions and character methods. Almost everything in the imagination is possible in a fantasy setting, and characters like this actually emulate truly POSSIBLE and quantitative statistics and skills. Because a player or NPC is resourceful does not mean he is a bad player. I agree with a lot of the statements made here, but I must disagree with that one point. From the other side of things, I have also been a player under the direction of a storyteller who WAS unprepared, uncreative and exactly the archtype of who utilizes these GPCs in the described in this manner. I have been the victim of many of these so-called arch-villain protagonists, and this is why I can relate to constantly agreeing and going along with their motivations, actions and just about anything else you can do to support this psychopath and his ideas, while slowly looking for a way to weasel out of a potentially deadly situation for one of MY most favorite characters... And from there, it's all downhill. Because often these terrible antagonists will also act like they torture you, taunt you, prod you into acting out or lashing back, then leave you somewhere somewhat hindered but not dead, and from there you lose interest because there is no real challenge if the possibility of death is obviously not something your character should go worrying about. I find that this happens, not only because of lack of preparation, but also because the Dm potentially just wants to keep you gaming with then instead of someone else.... so they introduce characters that THEY are comfortable with, in order to more fully leash you in with characters they think you are interacting with in a way that you brings your paths back together more often... Often, it is because these characters are too predictable that they are so irritating. Even more irritating is that the DM is the one who is too predictable, which is also often the case. The other thing I think DMs like this are difficult to game with is that a setting or campaign is not just about main personas in the mix of plot and action, but that there is an entire world of storyline going on in the background of any given setting. Just because a DM is able to put a real persona into a scene as an instigator at any given point does not mean that they should interject and NPC into any situation, regardless of need or dynamism. Scene is also about setting, time, characters beyond the obvious secondary character, plots going on both on the surface and beyond it, as well as divine purposes, higher ideals or motivations, ecology, sociology and every other facet of an interesting setting (which is the only way to create an interesting story, the real crown jewel of roleplaying is where you are and what's also going on). It is by giving this contrast that a player is intrigued by whatever is going on, and it is by change that a DM makes the best and most fruitful efforts. Not CONSTANT change perhaps, but continuous change, nonetheless. Keep them on their toes. If the NPC is really so predictable, then there should also be a way of predicting his or her downfall, weakness, or availability thereof. If they are constantly changing, then there should be a reason why, and preferably something that can be proven by written material, timeline, setting feature or plot. I must end with a sponsorship of another online community, which I wish everyone will pay a visit to. It is listed on my profile, and the link to the member entrance is http://elftown.lysator.liu.se One must create a username with a vaild email address I believe, and only a username and password is necessary. All other info is optional upon joining, and fully able to be updated at a moment's notice. I encourage any experience rolaplayer, particularly those with D&D knowledge and methods, to join the site, as well as the Wiki Fantasy Roleplay Roleplayers' Guild, which is accessible at [Wiki Fantasy Roleplay@wiki] by use of the pseudo-html of the site. My username on that site is 'xido' written [xido]. Thanks, and I hope to make a lot of friends here. -Will
#14 kalmarjan Dec 26, 2005 17:27:58	Look, Elminster, Mystra, Drizzt and others (like the circle of 8) could be considered GPCs. They are supposed to be a plot device--something for storyline. You are right; it would get boring if you tried to attack everything you see. Then there are those DPs, or disruptive players. AKA ruleslawyers who like to point out stuff like “How the hell did he do that, right in the DMG it states that is not possible. Check yourself! Pg XX subclause 4.1 paragraph 3!” Point is, you are all trying to have fun. Believe it or not, your DM is trying to have fun too. If they want a reoccurring character to have a Cameo appearance, what's the harm? My Goodness! We can't kill him! Well, something is wrong here! Take for instance the Shackled City Adventure Path. Right there is a so called GPC. You want your 2nd to 3rd level characters to take on Valantru? Be my guest. IT’S A PLOT DEVICE! By all means, if you are not having fun, another game is the way to go. Or, you could just accept that maybe something OTHER than what you are doing is going on in the game. Maybe you'll have fun. Who Knows?
#15 zombiegleemax Dec 30, 2005 11:12:48	There is reason to separate the two terms though. While the DMPC has a bit of a bad rap there is a place for it. To use an example of one that's working out beautifully. I was running the published Eberron Adventures (I needed my party to be around level 7 or so before my own story started and it was a good way to show them the world). By the time they started Grasp of the Emerald Claw mundane stuff had lost us a few players and there were only three. On top of it all the three were two mages and a scout, not exactly a balanced party. So I tweaked the game a bit and at the end of the question Muroni has chosen to travel with them further. She supports the party, acts as an occasional front liner, offers a touch of wisdom when the PCs are truly stuck, but for the most part is the same as the Karnathi Zombie Cohort one of the wizards has. On the other hand, if I had set her up as a GPC she would have limelighted and overtaken the party, instead of being a bit of a guiding influence and supporter. Same way there's a difference between a GPC (I like the term, by the way) and just high level NPCs that help out. My group has friends in high and low places all over the place, but they're not constantly re-occurring, they're just in the area if the PCs seek them out.
#16 Yue_Ryong Dec 31, 2005 10:38:32	I admit, DMPCs are an easy trap to fall into. The one I use is an old woman who is (effectively) the employer of the party. She was murdered and now her ghost wants them to find out who did it.
#17 zombiegleemax Feb 06, 2006 12:13:03	I have never used a DMPC, nor have I ever played in a game with one. After reading your article I am very proud of that.