Successful DM NPCs: fact or fiction?

[Wormwood]

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

This in spades.

 

[SiderisAnon]

I have had several NPCs that were part of the party and were successful in the campaign. Generally, these NPCs fill a role that none of the players want to fill and tends to have a "supporting role" type of personality. This helps to keep them out of the spotlight. The best ones have become almost a running gag.

I've listed three below. As a DM, I had a blast playing all three of them, yet they never got in the way ofthe group's play.

In one game, it was a fighter character (meat shield) who was sullen and withdrawn most of the time because of her history, but spent most of the adventuring time trying to keep the priest alive. (There was a strong story element for this.) This included doing everything she could to keep him out of fights until the rest of the party has battered down the bad guys. The party, both PCs and players, thought the whole situation was hilarious. This included the player of the priest. Because the fighter was guarding the priest, she rarely did anything impressive in combat, so stole none of the spotlight.

In another long running game, the NPC was the cleric. He'd joined up because no one wanted to play a cleric. The party gave him every single defensive magic item they could. He had a -10 AC long before anyone else. (Back in the days when that was the king of AC.) Because of high PC mortality due to high player stupidity and turnover, the NPC and one PC were the longest played characters in the group.

In a Shadowrun game, I had a decker DMNPC because the decking rules made running a decker with a normal party a major hassle. She was hyperactive and came up with the craziest ideas for how to go about runs, most of which the party never used. She was a humorous element for the game so no one was bothered by her.

 

[Treebore]

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?

I use DM NPC's all the time. I do so successfully. Why? Because they are nothing but well detailed NPC's. When used as part of the party I practically ignore them, and only focus on them when the party is in danger of getting TPKed.

They are PC's I actually played, though. Just when I use them as NPC's thats what they are to me, NPC's. When it comes to treasure division, etc... the PC's get first pick, etc... The only thing divided equally is the gold.

 

[Mark]

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.

Not saying this is necessarily similar to your case, but I went to a play last night and listened afterward as a few dozen people who stuck around glad-handed and patted the performers on the back. I have seen worse plays but to listen to the accolades, one would have thought we were backstage at the Tony Awards.

It's hard to be objective and direct with someone who has obviously done a lot of work preparing an entertainment. With store-bought adventures and campaigns, the feedback has some wiggle room as to whether flaws come from the material or the presentation. With a self-written, one-man show, anything said speaks directly to the talents of the one person.

I think players walk on eggshells when critiquing DMs in most cases and we never get one hundred percent honest feedback. It's best to avoid aspects that can too easily become or be seen as self-indulgent.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I had a pretty successful DMPC who was way over the PCs' level.

I ran a campaign that was a long voyage. When the PCs reached the part of it that went overseas, they hired a retired sea captain to handle the ship they bought. He was several levels above them but based on a bit lower abilities and with aging modifiers applied. A high-level rogue, he was very useful at flanking with PCs against non-crit-immune foes. Mostly, he just kept them from sinking, and provided occasional advice, and disappeared when not needed.

I've never had quite as well-liked of an NPC since-never figured out what made this one as successful as it was (as opposed to numerous others with varying moderate degrees of success).

 

[Hairfoot]

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

More agreement.

Not saying this is necessarily similar to your case, but I went to a play last night and listened afterward as a few dozen people who stuck around glad-handed and patted the performers on the back. I have seen worse plays but to listen to the accolades, one would have thought we were backstage at the Tony Awards.

It's hard to be objective and direct with someone who has obviously done a lot of work preparing an entertainment. With store-bought adventures and campaigns, the feedback has some wiggle room as to whether flaws come from the material or the presentation. With a self-written, one-man show, anything said speaks directly to the talents of the one person.

I think players walk on eggshells when critiquing DMs in most cases and we never get one hundred percent honest feedback. It's best to avoid aspects that can too easily become or be seen as self-indulgent.

It's a good point, but for most people, going to a friend's arts performance/exhibit is a rare, one-off thing, and giving them uncritical support is an obligation. I don't think many people could keep that up if they relied on that friend for entertainment during a huge chunk of their leisure time each month.

Perhaps my players are sparing my feelings, but I'm no wilting daisy, and god knows they've hooked in when they've been unhappy in the past! Reading the other reports from DMs who run favourite NPCs, I don't reckon I'm drifting into Mary Sue territory yet.

 

[Pour]

Ugh I hate our party's tagalong NPC. She not only sucks some of our experience whenever she so much as fires one arrow during an encounter, but she also sucks away rp. Our group has 7 people and there has been a pervading feeling that all of the party members don't necessarily have many connections with each other, beyond say the fighter and the druid, and the cleric and the bard, basically no total group cohesion. So when an NPC constantly tags along, and who has become intimate with the ranger, it sucks him right away from rping with player characters. Worse, we're getting yet another tagalong for our next mission. It's a lot of personalities to deal with.

 

[Pseudopsyche]

I think this is semantics.

When a DMPC is successful, no one calls it a DMPC. They call it an NPC.

This. In most of this thread's success stories, I see the relevant character as an NPC ally, going by the terminology in the DMG.

I think the real problems arise when the DM wants to be a player as well as the DM, whether intentionally or otherwise. In these cases, the DM controls a character who is not a member of the supporting cast but who is one of the protagonists. The DM is trying to "go on the adventure" at the same time he runs it, possibly because he doesn't get to play a PC often. In the worst cases, the DM's character is substantially more powerful than the PCs and steals the spotlight (e.g. Elminster joins the party).

In a sense, the problem is that "DMPC" is an oxymoron, in the literal sense that PC are by definition controlled by players, not the DM. (I understand that DMs are also playing the game, but they are not players in the "technical" sense.) You could interpret "DMPC" as "character built like a PC but controlled by the DM", but I don't think this definition is too useful. In practice, I think DMPC is best interpreted as "NPC that enjoys the starring role of a PC".

 

[WayneLigon]

Almost the only successful GMNPC's I've done have been comic relief.

In the Arcana Unearthed game, they had Rizz, a kobold they'd picked up as a servant and general note-runner. Rizz had his crossbow and he was brave for a little kobold. He'd snipe from as far away as he could get. He almost always went last in the init, which meant that his 1-2 points of damage sometimes had an effect way out of proportion to his contribution After he put the killing blow to an ogre, a troll, a couple of warriors and other things, he became almost like another member of the party. He had a few skills and he could Aid Another a couple people well enough.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Depends on the campaign and players.

Some players enjoy being Moonglum. They don't need to be in the limelight. They want to play and let the big events fall on broader shoulders.

Others want to be Elric, crumbling ancient empires beneath their feet.

Knowing the difference between the two is the vital trick.

In the past, I'm run DM NPCs but they were always done by the rules without 'silver fire' or other goofy bits. If it wasn't something a PC couldn't take, the NPC wouldn't have it either. They were essentially 'my PC.'

I've played in a few campaigns where the GM used so many NPCs that we had more of them than PCs in the group and one of the other players dubbed it "NPC Theater" where we'd simply try to figure out who we were actually going to be listening to.