Successful DM NPCs: fact or fiction?

[DrunkonDuty]

Yes, all the time, never had any problem with it. Our group has frequently been as small as 3 people and so the extra character was necessary for survival. Even when not everyone usually wants to 'play' as well as GM and we all understand the need. Of course they never get special rules or preferment

I have recently semi-retired a fighter GMPC in my main campaign. The group was light on meat-shield to begin with but now there are more players and the character was not necessary any more. But did have the very gratifying experience of having one of the guys run a one-off spin-off for my fighter just after that. Much fun.

 

[an_idol_mind]

Many of the high-level NPCs in my setting are old PCs previously played by either me or other players. I've had powerful NPCs hand quests down, show up to save the day, and even adventure with the PCs. I can't recall ever having a problem with any of that killing the story, and I think there are a couple of reasons why.

First, the powerful NPCs still give the PCs respect (usually). Unless they're villains or antagonists, they don't go around flaunting their power. Most often, they see the PCs as allies, heroes in their own right, and even friends. By treating the PCs as peers, the high-powered NPCs are more tolerable, even if the power difference between them and the PCs is vast.

Secondly, I keep tabs on which NPCs draw favorable or unfavorable reactions from the players. If the players really like a specific NPC, I'll use that one fairly often. If they are irritated by one, I'll shelve that character. Especially in ongoing campaigns, having a well-liked NPC show up is like having the players meet an old friend.

 

[Lanefan]

I lob NPCs into the party all the time, sometimes because the party recruited to fill a hole, sometimes as plot hooks and-or because the module I'm running expects it, and sometimes just for the sheer hell of it - usually to disguise the plot-hook types; when a stray NPC shows up the players can't metagame whether it's a plot hook or not, and in the past there's been times they've taken in the red herring NPC and let the plot-hook one go without ever realizing the relevance.

Once in the party, NPCs are considered full party members (unless they're present as henches, that's a different thing) with regular treasury shares, votes in party decisions, etc. I almost always have one of the players take care of the rolling etc. for them...or if a guest drops by the game, they can do it. As for personality, my NPCs tend to be either the background types (these last the longest), the types with their own agenda and-or attitude (these usually get left behind as soon as a good excuse arises unless present for obvious plot reasons), or the gonzo comic-relief types (a.k.a. red shirts; these always die too soon).

Lanefan

 

[kigmatzomat]

I've only had one that worked, probably because I was actively trying to keep him from being a DMPC. (I'd learned my lesson from a previous NPC I was too attached to and became the DMPC. The fact it had a plot-based shelf life didn't help since it was the star of that particular sub plot. It was the crappiest campaign arc I'd ever run and I still feel guilty about it 15 years later)

This time around I had an NPC I wanted to be a kind of social foil to the PCs. He was a Krynnish Irda, an almost mythically insular race, for those who don't know. The goal was the "alien mirror", causing the players to see inconsistencies in the "traditional" quasi-european feudal mindset of Solamnia. His motivation was that the players once caught him, literally scared him out of a tree, then splinted his arm and let him go. This was completely at odds with his subculture's view on the Races of Man and made him doubt his own culture's deeply held concepts.

So H'orst went rogue (well, he's a paladin, actually) and left his people to see what the Races of Man were really like. Being a juvenile, he wasn't as powerful as the Irda of legend. His shapeshifting was much more limited and he had only one or two 1/day spell-likes. He was very, very strong and quite smart but uninformed and untrianed so he was no threat to the PC's egos.

His catch-phrase became "I'll save you!" because when something would seriously hurt a PC, he'd charge it to act as a distraction. He had just enough hit points, AC, and weaponry (thanks to gear the party bought for him) that he could make himself a bigger threat at least long enough for the PC to seek healing. Later, when he got paladin spellcasting and acquired his Irda fast-healing he became much more of a bruiser, however he was never quite in the PC's league.

I think it was the fact the PCs got to train him, show him the ropes, and then watched him bloom that made him their favorite. It took a long time for him to ever outperform the PCs, and even then it was often more along the lines of making knowledge skill checks that others shouldn't have failed but the dice came up 1 or 2. (e.g. wise wizard "Hmm, magic coins don't ring a bell." DMPC - "Didn't you tell me about Fistandantilus making coins that cursed anyone who went back on a contract?" WW - "Why yes, yes I did.")

And he was their favorite more than mine. I needed him to leave the group for plot reasons but they did their darnedest to keep him around. They knew what his goals were and how they fit into the party's overall plan, but they still dragged their feet in letting him go. As the selfish-evil party rogue put it, "Who else but a bleeding heart paladin can I count on to come and save my bacon?"