toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
Good NPCs can make your game world come alive. Years ago, Dragon Magazine created a % table of traits like tries to sell you something, then ran an article about 3 simple categories to make memorable, believable NPCs with no advance preparation:
Marta the Bartender squints at you as you try to order a drink. "Come closer dahling," she says in a low whisper. "I can't see you from back there and I lost me screamin' voice yellin' at my kids." She chuckles to herself. When the PCs ask about the haunted mines, she tugs on her bottom lip. "Dahling, you'll want to speak to Kasey. His papa was a supervisor once way back when. I can hear him laughing over near the fire."
I've attached my 1-pager shrinking Dragon Magazine's work to something I can reference on the fly instead of multiple pages. Even so, credit where credit is due to Dragon Mag for providing most of these ideas. Ultimately, if it's a major NPC, I'll flesh them out even more with a few catch phrases and mannerisms, but the basic idea is there. No bad accents needed. And, the trait might naturally create its own story. Why does Marta have a low whisper? It takes a second to add that bit if I want. Instead of kids, maybe she lost it to [insert hook]. If you get lucky, a random NPC like Marta might catch on and become a major part of your next storyline.
Anyone else do something like this?
- Visual (first impression such as a really bad squint due to poor closeup eyesight)
- Speech (style such as speaking in a low whisper + cues like calling everyone "dahling")
- Mannerism (way they act when with PCs such as pulls on bottom lip when thinking).
Marta the Bartender squints at you as you try to order a drink. "Come closer dahling," she says in a low whisper. "I can't see you from back there and I lost me screamin' voice yellin' at my kids." She chuckles to herself. When the PCs ask about the haunted mines, she tugs on her bottom lip. "Dahling, you'll want to speak to Kasey. His papa was a supervisor once way back when. I can hear him laughing over near the fire."
I've attached my 1-pager shrinking Dragon Magazine's work to something I can reference on the fly instead of multiple pages. Even so, credit where credit is due to Dragon Mag for providing most of these ideas. Ultimately, if it's a major NPC, I'll flesh them out even more with a few catch phrases and mannerisms, but the basic idea is there. No bad accents needed. And, the trait might naturally create its own story. Why does Marta have a low whisper? It takes a second to add that bit if I want. Instead of kids, maybe she lost it to [insert hook]. If you get lucky, a random NPC like Marta might catch on and become a major part of your next storyline.
Anyone else do something like this?
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