Successful DM NPCs: fact or fiction?

[Hairfoot]

Forked from: What was your irritating DmPC's backstory?

This question has cropped up before and, to my recollection, players' experiences of "pet" NPCs have been largely negative.

As a player, have you ever had a good run with a DMNPC/PCNPC/whatever? Or as a DM, have you ever successfully included a favourite NPC?

I've run one in a couple of campaigns - an old PC of mine I like to throw in for my own fun. I seek a lot of feedback from my players, and I don't get the impression he's regarded as an annoyance or Mary Sue.

The key (I hope) is not to make the NPC in any way crucial to the campaign. My guy's usually lurking somewhere around the adventure area, and if the PCs interact they might get a clue to an "Easter egg" - a bonus cache of treasure or a shortcut to a character goal - but only ever as an optional side-quest. I certainly don't force him upon the party.

I've also found it useful for including off-colour or comical side-quests. So, if a given campaign centers on military aspects of an orc invasion, my dude might lead the party on a creepy mission to a vampire's den, or a farcical myconid chase as relief from an otherwise gritty and murderous campaign. That way, the players know where to go for something a bit different.

Your experience?

 

[S'mon]

As DM, I have had NPCs accompanying the party who were very popular, eg Kytor the Red, a bald veteran mercenary, in my Lost City of Barakus game, or Barbelle the Amazon in my Wilderlands game. I never regarded them as GMPCs though.

 

[Hairfoot]

As DM, I have had NPCs accompanying the party who were very popular, eg Kytor the Red, a bald veteran mercenary, in my Lost City of Barakus game, or Barbelle the Amazon in my Wilderlands game. I never regarded them as GMPCs though.

I was thinking more of "legacy" NPCs and recurring non-villains.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

As DM, my players generally beg me for an NPC party member if I don't include one from the start. I don't think that's the same thing as a "DMPC" though, even if the NPC in question is regarded as an equal party member.

 

[Crothian]

Yes, we have had many camapigns with successful NPCs in the party.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Party level X, DMPC level X-1. Result? Happiness.
Party level X, DMPC level X+1. Result? Misery.

 

[rgard]

I was running a 3.0 campaign about a year or so after 3.0 was released. I used one of my PCs from AD&D as an NPC in the game. The PC/NPC is a high level Illusionist. The players were a mix of folks I had played with back in the 80s and a couple of their kids. So the grown ups had played characters back in the day who were part of the same party as the Illusionist and were familiar with the PC/NPC character.

I only used the PC/NPC to drop hints and plot hooks and usually only at the tavern they went to after the dungeon delve. I never had the PC/NPC adventure with the party. He was just a source of information. I never had any complaints from the players.

That's the way I prefer to play the non-enemy NPCs when I DM. I don't use an NPC to save the PC's bacon when they are in crap.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[S'mon]

I was thinking more of "legacy" NPCs and recurring non-villains.

I normally aim to keep 'legacy' NPCs well off-stage; you might hear of King Alidarn of Tholkan and his struggle against The Destroyer, but he won't play a role in the campaign.

 

[small pumpkin man]

Since our group currently switchs GMs around regularly, sometimes in the middle of a campaign, DMNPCs of the previous character type come up fairly regularly, and don't cause problems. A Previous DM did occasionally have them hanging around, and they were incredibly irritating, but that was more an extension of the guy's personality than anything else.

Further back again at Uni I heard horror stories of what sounded essentially like DM of the Rings, a long, loooong campaign of level 3 characters (who had been that level for a good year) hanging on to literally Gandalf who solved most of the problems.

Then again, those guys seemed to actually enjoy it, so who am I to judge?

 

[Vael]

Our 4e games have always had a DMPC. Our group is 4 people, so the DM has done double duty, playing a party member and DMing. We also used to alternate DMs, I'd play my wizard and DM for a bit, then the Fighter would play his character while DMing for a level or two.