NPC to bolster the party

[ryryguy]

In my 4e campaign that's getting going, I'm considering the idea of having an ally NPC to bolster the party. The party has only 4 PC's, and though we've played a few one-shots, it'll be our first extended campaign. Making matters worse is that we'll be taking our rules inexperience and starting at 10th level (continuation of a previous 3e campaign).

Anyway... while this was fairly trivial to do in a 3e game, I'm less sure about it in 4e. Has anyone had any experience doing it?

My concerns are that if I go with an NPC built according to the guidelines in the DMG, it won't work right because it will have HP and damage output like a monster. If I make a full-on PC style character, it'll be too complicated to keep track of. So my initial thought is to create a PC, but give it a restricted selection of powers a la the NPC/class templates. Basically, 1 power of each type (heroic tier).

For that matter I'm also curious about how the NPCs built from the DMG work out in play as opponents. In what ways do they diverge from standard monsters? If they have PC powers with PC-power damage output, do they hit harder than standard monsters?

 

[lkjopajdowma]

If you're making your own campaign (as it seems you are), why not just balance the encounters for 4 characters? Even if it's a published adventure all you really need to do is remove a monster or two from encounters to balance it for 4.

Unless I'm missing something.

 

[Nightson]

What roles do the players have covered? If they've got leader + defender you should be able to use the XP guidelines without any problems.

 

[ryryguy]

So... I'm not set on this idea, and even if I do it, it will not be a permanent thing. More of a temporary safety blanket as we get up to speed. (That goes for me as well as for the players, where even if I use the XP guidelines, I fear I may still misjudge encounter difficulty in some cases.)

For the record, the party has a "laser" cleric (archivist variant), a charisma rogue, a sorceror, and (provisionally) a wulin xia. The wulin xia is a homebrewed Defender monk. Part of the issue is that the group is perhaps a bit weak at melee and defense; the rogue is a meleer but obviously not a defender, while we're a bit unsure about the wulin xia, being homebrewed and all. Controller is the uncovered role; for the NPC I'm thinking maybe a druid focusing on animal form powers. (Or maybe just a freakin' paladin. )

Anyhow, while opinions about whether this is a good or necessary idea are fine, I'm more interested in hearing about the best ways to go about it if I do decide to try it!

 

[Jack99]

I would stick with 4 players and no NPC. If you feel there has to be one, this is what I suggest:

Make the character as if it was a normal player (I can recommend having a DDI subscription, the character builder saves a lot of time).

Then you make a new sheet, with the following info (at 10th level):

HP/number of surges/surge value
trained skills w/modifier
Initiative
AC/Fort/Reflex/Will
Stats + modifiers
2 at wills
1 encounter powers (2 at 11th)
1 daily
1 utility (2 at 11th)

You might play around with the number of powers, but you are basically making a simpler version of a real character. Less powers = less options = quicker to run. It worked well for us, when we tried, just to see if it could be done.

However, as others have mentioned, it's quite possible to run without an NPC, especially if you stay far away from published modules and tailor the encounters a tad towards whatever composition that you have.

 

[Hussar]

Here's an option that might work.

Hand the NPC off to the players during combats. Have any of them be able to spend a minor action on their turn to activate the NPC - order him to do something and then take that action.

That way you get the extra Ooomph in the party, without you having to handle all the complexity of a complete character. The guy who has the spare action to burn, likely has the time to think about what the NPC should be ordered to do, and have the time to look over the applicable rules for the NPC's powers, while the guy that's knee deep in the kimchi and needs all his actions, doesn't have to worry about it.

And, if you hit the point where all four players are burning all their actions in a round, maybe you can step in for that one time. This is probably going to be fairly uncommon. It seems to me like PC's are not using all their actions every round.

Just a thought.

 

[ryryguy]

Thanks, very helpful.

Hussar, I was thinking to have the players run the NPC, but not about making them take minor actions to activate him. That's a really useful idea.

 

[MerricB]

I've been using an NPC with the party for the Wizards heroic modules (the NPC is Splug... currently an 8th level goblin rogue). The group only has 4 PCs - Paladin, Fighter, Wizard and Warlock - and having Splug around is useful in combats and means I don't have to resize them.

However, resizing combats has worked very well when I have done it, so you don't really need an NPC.

Cheers!

 

[Hussar]

I can't really take credit for the minor action idea. That's been floating out there for a while - I think in relation to animal companions and the like or something like that. I think adding in the minor action activate makes the players make choices, which tends to focus them on the game a little better.

Obviously out of combat, it's not a problem.