Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
CyberCon Seminar - "NPCs: From the Inside, Out"
Friday Oct 25 2002 8pm (central US time)
Mark Clover (Mark_CMG) of Creative Mountain Games - Visit the CMG Site at http://www.creativemountaingames.com/
(CMG DMing Chat sessions are held every other Monday night!)
(Edited somewhat for brevity and clarity)
Participating:
Adam_F
BloodKnight
Dramen
LordVenger
Mark_CMG
Palcadon
Spiritual
Mark_CMG Hello to everyone and welcome to "NPCs: From the Inside, Out" Although we'll discuss mechanics and how they play a part in NPC development, our main focus in this seminar will be how to deepen the personality of an NPC.
Spiritual Great!
Mark_CMG Just to tell you a little about myself, I am (as of yesterday) officially a "Greybeard" having just turned forty (winks)
Spiritual Ouch!
Mark_CMG (smiles) My love of RPGing began back in late 1974 when D&D first came on the scene. I began as a player but was DMing games soon after that. I've DMed for many groups, being in a large metropolitain area (Chicago) and have also run games at many conventions (GenCon as the biggest) and have run some online games both message board and IRC. Just so I can tailor some of this seminar to each of you specifcally, can everyone give me an idea of their own experience, how long you've been playing, and also DMing, as well as what mediums you have used to run games? Just go right ahead and type away folks! (smiles)
BloodKnight I have been on and off about DMing lately. I went to Basic DnD, passed the first two editions of ADnD, Storytelling with some White Wolf games, and back to DnD with third edition. I am currently doing a campaign based on my own Tech Fantasy setting.
Adam_F I've been playing for about 13-14 years, and DMing for at least a decade. I've played in person in groups and at cons, online in irc or muds, and on openrpg/webrpg.. And e-mail games, too. (smiles)
Spiritual Playing since the late 80's DM and now game design. Mostly tabletop and have thought about online chat gaming but have not seen it done yet.
BloodKnight I use OpenRPG most of the time because I find it much easier and relaxing to DM then in front of a table. There is also way more roleplaying in terms of internet RPGing compared to tabletop.
Dramen Well, I've been in and out of RPGs since High School, now 30, I rediscovered gaming about 4 years ago, first with Shadowrun and now I play AD&D 3rd Edition on the Scarred Lands theme with a small group every Sunday. I've gamed Table Top, IRC and MUSH environments. I've done some minor DMing in the past, mostly online, but I'm more of a player than a DM.
Mark_CMG It appears we have a real cross section of gamers here, along with varied mediums having been used. To jump right into things, I'd like to know what sources people use other than their RPG books to build their NPCs?
Spiritual Movies, stories, etc...
Mark_CMG Personally, I find that short biographies of actual people are very useful, as well as using a simple thesaurus.
Dramen Asside the core books, I've used custom CharGen engines in MUSH environements, would PCGen be considered an outside source? As it is a collection of many published materials, such as Dragon Magazine articiles...
BloodKnight To be honest, I don't use other sources. Most of the stuff I just came up in my mind.
Adam_F Fiction books, combining elements of other different characters is the only thing that comes to mind. (smiles)
Mark_CMG This will, by the way, be a very interactive seminar, so feel free (since we have a small turn out) to jump right in with things as you wish. (smiles) (then to Dranem) Yup, all useful sources.
Spiritual Cool.
Dramen Since embarking in my current D&D group, I've had to get a subscription to Dragon Magasine, just so that I'd have time outside our RP sessions to read it. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Something I've always done, and also include in the releases I produce for Creativee Mountain Games is called the CMG PROSE System. It breaks down the character in five areas and also includes several adjectives or adverbs to describe a chaarcter. The name "PROSE", itself, is an acronym that stands for Politics, Religion, Others, Self and Economics. I give each of these areas a number fom one to ten. The various areas can all be high, low or anything in between, but it allows me to place a personal priorty for each NPC on each area. For instance, if someone has a high value in Politics, but perhaps average in all others, they can be motivated by political means. This does not mean they have to be a politician, just that politics is foremost in their thoughts. I think most of us are familiar with the bartender who always has some take on politics, right? Or even a shopkeeper who blames his business failures on oppressive taxation
Dramen Or at least the local events...
BloodKnight (to Mark_CMG) Where can I find information on this CMG PROSE System?
Mark_CMG (to Dramen) True.
BloodKnight Or has competition with other merchants. (winks)
Mark_CMG (to BloodKnight) It is in the CMG products, but I'll give you a good run down of it here (for those who don't wish to buy products from me). (grins)
Dramen Then there's the General Store merchant who knows all the juicy town gossip...
Mark_CMG I'm not here to sell you things, but I certainly wouldn't discourage it either. (winks) If someone has a higher value set on the Religion aspect, then they tend to have a spiritual nature. And again, I want to emphasize that none of these high values have to force an NPC into a particular calling or job. A very religious person can just as easily be a beggar as a priest.
Dramen Or could be that bum that roams around fortelling the doom of the land... (winks)
Mark_CMG Others is an aspect that helps determine how much value an NPC places on what other people are thinking, and how much they wish to allow that to guide their lives. (to Dranem) Very true, also. (Continuing) If someone has a high aspect rating for Others, they can tend to be quite selfless, always looking out for "the other guy" or society at large Further, in the CMG PROSE system the "S" stands for self, and is all about looking out for number one. The greedy merchant, while possibly having a high rating in Economics, would also have a high rating in Self All of the aspects can be utilized with one another to show the motivations of any NPC as well as to allow for a DM to do it quickly, at a glance, as it were. It's very simple to just jot down the five letters of PROSE and add a number from one to ten, along with the usual stats, physical description and other details, but it is also far easier during play to be able to simply glance at those ratings on the fly. The second part of the system that I use includes "three key words." Once you've introduced an NPC by giving a physical description, it helps a lot to cement that person in player's minds by describing their manner. Any three adjectives or adverbs will do, and when you have created the NPC ahead of time, it is very easy to jump into that NPC's character during play when you have those key words handy. If you like to create things while playing, just thumbing through a thesaurus can allow you to come up with such a manner on the fly. There are also lists of such words that can be found online using any search engine with the field "lists of adjectives or adverbs" or "list of traits." A lot of the sites that you will find in that way will be geared toward personality classifications and such. Do most of you use Google as a search engine?
Dramen You know that's the second time that's come up tonight...
Mark_CMG (smiles) It's a very useful tool, no doubt.
Dramen I've ocasionally used Google, but obviously not in the way others do.... (smiles)
Mark_CMG Can I ask a couple of you to open a second window and do a quick Google search right now? Search by "personality traits" please... Whether it was a relative of a player character, a tavern keeper, just some fella on the street that was asked for directions. Anything at all.
BloodKnight (Regarding one of his NPCs) He is very picky when it comes to food, arrogant, and has this cocky attitude
Dramen Well, I don't know about an important role, but on one Star Wars MUSH I had an R2 Droid that had quite an interesting personality.
BloodKnight But his knowledge about the wilderness is above normal and something that makes druids hate him in fact and he is slow to temper
Mark_CMG So, BloodKnight, you had a strong background that helped set up the ranger's motivations and included a flaw that led to some nice story hooks, eh?
BloodKnight in my tech fantasy campaign, he takes a job as a guide for both nobles and adventurers alike
Mark_CMG Dranem, what in particular made the droid "interesting?"
BloodKnight is prices are usually steep but he always seems to be working with someone else because of his high prestige
Mark_CMG Blood, so he is also useful to further the game and not just as a side player
BloodKnight at one time, he admitted to the PC Party that he was working with one of the PC's parents. He is useful as both (winks)
Mark_CMG (smiles) I think it is important at this point to mention something that BloodKnight has brought up. That is the importance of having a "character flaw" Something very important to creating a compelling situation for the players is to find ways to introduce conflict. Even if it is inherent in the NPC's background.
Dramen Introduce a Chaotic Neutral Thief to a party, and you have a good amount of conflict to keep the game on its toes... (smiles)
Mark_CMG It creates a sense that something is always happening, and it keeps the players interested in things.
Adam_F I've found systems like GURPS and Hero work well for giving your characters flaws to be roleplayed, and since you get points back it encourages PCs to take them as well.
Mark_CMG You never really know what in particular the players will pick up on and decide to follow, so leaving as many options as possible allows them a great game
BloodKnight To be honest Adam, a character isn't realistic if they don't have a flaw. (to Mark_CMG) I don't see why a system would be needed
Mark_CMG Well, Blood, someone can be perfect...to a fault. (winks)
Adam_F Its just handy to encourage it. There are way to many perfect unflawed dnd characters. But very few GURPS (smiles)
Dramen Shadowrun has a great system for Flaws...
Adam_F Its also nice to have a good list of quirks and mental and physical limitations you can pick and choose from in a hurry
Dramen Actually encourages you to pick up Flaws for your character to give you bonus building points.
BloodKnight Adam - I don't mean just on a character sheet. I mean personality and such.
Adam_F Dranem: Yeah Shadowrun is another one like that. There have been many. Ars Magica comes to mind too
Mark_CMG Rather then get into a system vs system debate, shall we build something together?
BloodKnight The character becomes a cardboard cutout if he doesn't have a flaw. (to Mark_CMG) Be my guest...
Adam_F Bloodknight: GURPS has mental disadvantages like prejudices, phobias, bloodlust, etc. (to Mark_CMG) Sure! (smiles)
Mark_CMG Blood, please use the dice roller to roll a ten sided die to determine the Political rating for an NPC. Adam, do the same for the Religion rating, please.
( Adam_F rolls 1d10 => 1 )
( BloodKnight rolls 1d10 => 4 )
Mark_CMG and Dranem, please roll one for the Others rating...
Adam_F Religion? What's that? (chuckles)
BloodKnight ha, beat cha (winks)
Mark_CMG Blood roll again for the Self rating
Dramen Not very Religious and the NPC doesn't care much about Politics... Sounds like me (smiles)
( BloodKnight rolls 1d10 => 7 )
Mark_CMG Dranem? Did you roll for Others?
BloodKnight He didn't...
( Dranem rolls 1d10 => 2 )
Dramen Sorry, didn't know you wanted me to....
Mark_CMG And Adam again for Economics, please
( Adam_F rolls 1d10 => 8 )
Mark_CMG P=4 R=1 O=2 S=7 E=8
Adam_F There we go, high Economics and Self. (smiles)
Mark_CMG So we have an NPC who is strong toward Self but very high in Economics, eh? I need three adjectives or adverbs for this fellow
Dramen So he's a greed Self Centered guy with some leaning on politics...
Mark_CMG How about one from each of you.
Adam_F Weasly.
Mark_CMG I like that. Weasily...
Adam_F Yeah there is an I in there.. Weasily..
Dramen Self-Centered
Mark_CMG Okie doke. Weasily, Self-Centered, and...? Who has a dictionary handy? DMs without Dictionaries?
Dramen So he's a Selfish Self-Centred Weasel that hates Religion. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Dranem, Adam, Blood, do any of you have a dictionary?
BloodKnight I can't think of one... (winks)
Dramen It's around here somewhere... Open up word and check the Thesaurus. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Best to grab a regular dictionary, please. (smiles)
Dramen That went to school with my kids... They don't bring it home often.
Adam_F I usually use dictionary.com, but hae a thesaurus handy.
Mark_CMG hmmm... Well, tell you what. Someone give me a descriptive word that begins with the letter "D" please.
Dramen Drunk?
Adam_F Daring
Mark_CMG Okie doke, let's go with daring. Drunk might be over-used, eh? And we'll need one more.
Adam_F Impotent
Mark_CMG OK. (chuckles)
Dramen (laughs)
Mark_CMG That'll work and, please, one more time.
Adam_F Sentimental.
Mark_CMG Very good. So let's take Daring, Impotent, and Sentimental as our three "key words" To recap, we have P=4 R=1 O=2 S=7 E=8 Since not everyone here has played all of the same systems as everyone else, but all of you have used a fantasy/medieval setting at some point, let's place our NPC there.
Dramen Our Selfish Self-Centered Weasel is quite at odds with himself... (smiles)
Mark_CMG My first instinct is to toss out the first three words that come to mind because they often don't add to the NPC, but rather just reinforce what is already in my mind from the ratings. To add to the dimensions of the NPC, I like to choose random adjectives and adverbs
Adam_F Makes sense.
Mark_CMG It keeps me from falling into a rut when creating them.
Dramen I see your point.
Mark_CMG ...and often helps me to come up with combinations I wouldn't have. So let's have some ideas for a profession in this setting. Give me a profession that begins with the letter "L"
Adam_F Herbalist.
Dramen Well with the S=7 and E=8 I would put him as a merchant of sorts.
Mark_CMG Let's ignore the ratings for now and not let them influence the profession.
Adam_F Librarian.
Mark_CMG I like Librarian.
Palcadon (to Mark_CMG) Just stopping in to watch...
Mark_CMG Someone roll a d100 to give him an age...
( Dranem rolls 1d100 => 57 )
Mark_CMG Howdy Palcy! (smiles)
Adam_F Old librarian. (smiles)
Dramen If he's human...
Mark_CMG Someone roll a d6 1-3 male 4-6 female
( Dranem rolls 1d6 => 2 )
Dramen male
Mark_CMG OK. He's a 57 year old, male librarian, daring, impotent (and that's not necessarily to do with the sexual conotation) sentimental but also rather selfish and economically driven.
Dramen Not to mention a mild interest in Politics...
Mark_CMG (to Dramen) True. (Continuing) Can you see how easy it would be to have this NPC answer any questions posed by a player during a game?
Adam_F I get the impression with the impotent and high economic and slightly high politics, he probably wishes he was running the library and making more money but is stuck shelving books. (smiles)
Mark_CMG That would work very nicely. How would you allow the daring part to manifest itself? Perhaps he purposefully mis-shelves books to get back at his superiors?
Adam_F Perhaps thats why he never advanced is he always took risks and got in trouble.
Mark_CMG (smiles) I like that even better. OK, let's take him for a spin. Who wants to try and play him first?
Dramen In most medeival settings, the Librarian runs the show....
Mark_CMG Anyone want to volunteer? There's no right or wrong way to do it.
LordVenger I wish I had joined this discussion earlier. It looks interesting...
Dramen I will take on the role of a Mage looking for some archane lore.
Mark_CMG OK. Someone roll a d6 (1-2 Adam 3-4 Blood 5-6 Dranem)
( Adam_F rolls 1d6 => 2 )
( LordVenger rolls 1d6 => 5 )
Adam_F Doh!
( BloodKnight rolls 1d6 => 6 )
Adam_F I like Venger's roll better.
LordVenger (laughs)
Dramen (chuckles)
LordVenger That depends... (laughs)
Dramen Ok, Dranem the Mage is looking for books on old lore.
Mark_CMG (to Adam) OK. You are the Librarian, try to play him with his motivations in mind. Dranem, you play the mage looking for the lore and LordVenger, how about you be a cleric? Remember, we're just playing through some verbal interaction, not trashing the library. (winks)
Adam_F Okay, got it.
LordVenger Ok Ill try (smiles)
Mark_CMG (to Palcadon) How about if you be the fighter, please.
BloodKnight I have to go but nice seminar!
Dramen Aww... I wanted to trash the library. (winks)
Mark_CMG DM With a Vengeance, feel like jumping in as a Rogue of some sort? (to BloodKnight) Thanks for participating! (smiles)
Dramen The Mage looks around thinking 'You know one fireball in the right spot would make a good bonfire in here... ' (smiles)
Mark_CMG Okie doke. You're all in the library and Adam is the only one available to help you.
Adam_F looks up from his work shelving books, "Is there something I can help you with?"
Dranem clears his throat to get the Librarians attention.
Palcadon I would, Mark, but I can't stay to long
Mark_CMG No problem, Palcadon. (smiles)
Dramen "Yes. I'm looking for a book on some regional Lore..."
Mark_CMG (Let's go with that regional part and make the reason so that you can determine the symbols on a map you have found...)
Dramen "Something that happened say, 150 years ago in the mountains to the West of town."
LordVenger *browsing* I am new to this Library and looking on topics of Area Interest
Adam_F We have many books on regional lore, but I have much work to do, unless you are looking to hire a part-time researcher
Mark_CMG (nice way to work in the Economics factor)
Dramen "I could possibly toss in a few gold what some information you know now.. I have no time for long term research assistants."
LordVenger What is the fee for Temple reseach in this area.
Dramen (Playing a Chaotic Good player, just if your wondering.)
Adam_F You can find the regional history books over there, and the books on regional cultures over in those stacks. If you go digging around in the stacks, try to put things back exactly where you found them.
LordVenger *glance over* Thank you.
Adam_F My expertise can be purchased for 5g per half-day. I have a book about an event that happened say 150 years ago, in the mountains to the West of town. I have an interesting document, and some knowledge of that time might help me sort it out."
Mark_CMG (adam> 1d6 please, 1-3 means the book you seek isn't in the stacks where it should be)
( Adam_F rolls 1d6 => 2 )
Mark_CMG (chuckles)
Adam_F Ahh, I think I know the book you need but it wasn't put back where it should be again. *sighs*
Mark_CMG (And it was a favorite book of yours - sentimental attachment to it)
Dramen <<Thank you oh so generous DM >> (winks)
Adam_F I swear I would quit this job if I hadn't been working here for so long.
Mark_CMG But you remember most of it's contents and might dare to join the party if they will have you)
Dramen "I'm sure that you have proven your worth much here over the years."
Mark_CMG - (winks)
Palcadon I have to be going. For those who don't know... Mark has an awesome site at <http://www.creativemountaingames.com/index.asp.> Just stopped by to say hi. Talk to you soon Mark and all.
Adam_F I do recall a great deal of that particular volume. Perhaps you would be interested in hiring an expert to join you? At my usual fee of course.
Mark_CMG Thx Palcy adios for now
LordVenger Then you should... Perhaps you would be better suited as a man of the cloth. (grins) Yes. (checks gold) If I have the fee I will pay you. *gives gold to Adam*
Mark_CMG (Let's say that you have it...)
Dramen (Looks over to LordVenger for approval.) "Well the path we follow could prove quite dangerous.. Is a man of your standing prepared to take the challenge?"
Adam_F A vacation would be good, perhaps we can smite some evil and do some good. And perhaps we will make a tidey profit besides.
LordVenger *looks at Dra smilin* I am ever seeking what is over the next hill
Mark_CMG Okie doke, we're short on time so let's end our interactive portion at that point, but I think you can see how much easier it is to present a particular NPC with simple guidelines as such.
Dramen "Well as it seems, my companion here is in agreeance. I hope you can hold your own, as I don't know if we can protect you..."
Mark_CMG Let's take a few minutes to "post-mortem" that interactive though.
Dramen (grins) "Darn, I was just getting into it as well. (smiles)
LordVenger (listens)
Mark_CMG (to Adam) What parts do you think you might have added a bit to put more of what we all had created into the NPC from the page to the scene, as it were?
Adam_F I think you're asking what did I do differently based on the 3 words and the PROSE scores?
Mark_CMG Sure.
Adam_F Money and self-gain became a higher priority for him, the daring and impotent made him dislike his grunt job and want to do bigger things.
Mark_CMG Yup, very good.
Dramen And have a lack of self-preservation... (winks)
Mark_CMG Can anyone else throw out some suggestions how Adam might have added anything else to bring out those ratings and key words?
Adam_F Sentimental will probably make him miss his dusty tomes after he leaves though. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Obviously, in a quick thing like this, Adam didn't have much time to bring it completely to life, but did a very good job under the circumstances, of course. (smiles)
LordVenger I am late in coming and don't know all the variables...
Adam_F PROSE Politics, Religion, Others, Self, and Economics.. scores of 4/1/2/7/8..
Mark_CMG We had the libraian be keen on himself and Economics, but also sentimental, impotent and daring.
Dramen Well, I can tell you one thing... Most 57 year old human Librarians wouldn't be so gung-ho to go adventuring and putting their necks on the line... unless of course they were adventurers in an earlier time.
Mark_CMG OK. Maybe it could have been played up that it was a last grasp at life, perhaps?
Adam_F Or they make decisions without fully considering their consequences IE "Daring" (chuckles)
Mark_CMG Also true...
LordVenger Well being Impotenet he might not be daring at all...
Mark_CMG Ah, but somehow he is both and that's one key to making him a unique NPC.
Adam_F There in lies the conflict. (smiles) He is powerless, but willing to take risks to gain wealth.
Dramen Well, being impotent would probably lower his need of self preservation...
LordVenger Or "Pretend" to take risks...
Mark_CMG He has an internal conflict, in that way, and bringing that conflict into his decision making process makes him an interesting NPC to utilize.
Dramen (nods)
Mark_CMG Well, it looks like we are running out of time for this seminar, but I think we've managed to accomplish a few things. I hope that everyone has enjoyed it!
Adam_F Thanks, Mark!
LordVenger Well I would be intersted in seeing the entire System. Like I said I missed the beginning, but thanks.
Mark_CMG Let me just close by saying that I have a couple more seminars this weekend, please check the schedule, and I also run a DMing chat every other week which is announced on the EN World site (and I'll also announce it elsewhere. The next one is on ****)
Adam_F Mark has the system in some of his books I believe?
LordVenger Thank you.
Mark_CMG You'll find the CMG PROSE System briefly explained in each CMG product where it is needed. Thank you all for coming and participating.
(End of Seminar)
Friday Oct 25 2002 8pm (central US time)
Mark Clover (Mark_CMG) of Creative Mountain Games - Visit the CMG Site at http://www.creativemountaingames.com/
(CMG DMing Chat sessions are held every other Monday night!)
(Edited somewhat for brevity and clarity)
Participating:
Adam_F
BloodKnight
Dramen
LordVenger
Mark_CMG
Palcadon
Spiritual
Mark_CMG Hello to everyone and welcome to "NPCs: From the Inside, Out" Although we'll discuss mechanics and how they play a part in NPC development, our main focus in this seminar will be how to deepen the personality of an NPC.
Spiritual Great!
Mark_CMG Just to tell you a little about myself, I am (as of yesterday) officially a "Greybeard" having just turned forty (winks)
Spiritual Ouch!
Mark_CMG (smiles) My love of RPGing began back in late 1974 when D&D first came on the scene. I began as a player but was DMing games soon after that. I've DMed for many groups, being in a large metropolitain area (Chicago) and have also run games at many conventions (GenCon as the biggest) and have run some online games both message board and IRC. Just so I can tailor some of this seminar to each of you specifcally, can everyone give me an idea of their own experience, how long you've been playing, and also DMing, as well as what mediums you have used to run games? Just go right ahead and type away folks! (smiles)
BloodKnight I have been on and off about DMing lately. I went to Basic DnD, passed the first two editions of ADnD, Storytelling with some White Wolf games, and back to DnD with third edition. I am currently doing a campaign based on my own Tech Fantasy setting.
Adam_F I've been playing for about 13-14 years, and DMing for at least a decade. I've played in person in groups and at cons, online in irc or muds, and on openrpg/webrpg.. And e-mail games, too. (smiles)
Spiritual Playing since the late 80's DM and now game design. Mostly tabletop and have thought about online chat gaming but have not seen it done yet.
BloodKnight I use OpenRPG most of the time because I find it much easier and relaxing to DM then in front of a table. There is also way more roleplaying in terms of internet RPGing compared to tabletop.
Dramen Well, I've been in and out of RPGs since High School, now 30, I rediscovered gaming about 4 years ago, first with Shadowrun and now I play AD&D 3rd Edition on the Scarred Lands theme with a small group every Sunday. I've gamed Table Top, IRC and MUSH environments. I've done some minor DMing in the past, mostly online, but I'm more of a player than a DM.
Mark_CMG It appears we have a real cross section of gamers here, along with varied mediums having been used. To jump right into things, I'd like to know what sources people use other than their RPG books to build their NPCs?
Spiritual Movies, stories, etc...
Mark_CMG Personally, I find that short biographies of actual people are very useful, as well as using a simple thesaurus.
Dramen Asside the core books, I've used custom CharGen engines in MUSH environements, would PCGen be considered an outside source? As it is a collection of many published materials, such as Dragon Magazine articiles...
BloodKnight To be honest, I don't use other sources. Most of the stuff I just came up in my mind.
Adam_F Fiction books, combining elements of other different characters is the only thing that comes to mind. (smiles)
Mark_CMG This will, by the way, be a very interactive seminar, so feel free (since we have a small turn out) to jump right in with things as you wish. (smiles) (then to Dranem) Yup, all useful sources.
Spiritual Cool.
Dramen Since embarking in my current D&D group, I've had to get a subscription to Dragon Magasine, just so that I'd have time outside our RP sessions to read it. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Something I've always done, and also include in the releases I produce for Creativee Mountain Games is called the CMG PROSE System. It breaks down the character in five areas and also includes several adjectives or adverbs to describe a chaarcter. The name "PROSE", itself, is an acronym that stands for Politics, Religion, Others, Self and Economics. I give each of these areas a number fom one to ten. The various areas can all be high, low or anything in between, but it allows me to place a personal priorty for each NPC on each area. For instance, if someone has a high value in Politics, but perhaps average in all others, they can be motivated by political means. This does not mean they have to be a politician, just that politics is foremost in their thoughts. I think most of us are familiar with the bartender who always has some take on politics, right? Or even a shopkeeper who blames his business failures on oppressive taxation
Dramen Or at least the local events...
BloodKnight (to Mark_CMG) Where can I find information on this CMG PROSE System?
Mark_CMG (to Dramen) True.
BloodKnight Or has competition with other merchants. (winks)
Mark_CMG (to BloodKnight) It is in the CMG products, but I'll give you a good run down of it here (for those who don't wish to buy products from me). (grins)
Dramen Then there's the General Store merchant who knows all the juicy town gossip...
Mark_CMG I'm not here to sell you things, but I certainly wouldn't discourage it either. (winks) If someone has a higher value set on the Religion aspect, then they tend to have a spiritual nature. And again, I want to emphasize that none of these high values have to force an NPC into a particular calling or job. A very religious person can just as easily be a beggar as a priest.
Dramen Or could be that bum that roams around fortelling the doom of the land... (winks)
Mark_CMG Others is an aspect that helps determine how much value an NPC places on what other people are thinking, and how much they wish to allow that to guide their lives. (to Dranem) Very true, also. (Continuing) If someone has a high aspect rating for Others, they can tend to be quite selfless, always looking out for "the other guy" or society at large Further, in the CMG PROSE system the "S" stands for self, and is all about looking out for number one. The greedy merchant, while possibly having a high rating in Economics, would also have a high rating in Self All of the aspects can be utilized with one another to show the motivations of any NPC as well as to allow for a DM to do it quickly, at a glance, as it were. It's very simple to just jot down the five letters of PROSE and add a number from one to ten, along with the usual stats, physical description and other details, but it is also far easier during play to be able to simply glance at those ratings on the fly. The second part of the system that I use includes "three key words." Once you've introduced an NPC by giving a physical description, it helps a lot to cement that person in player's minds by describing their manner. Any three adjectives or adverbs will do, and when you have created the NPC ahead of time, it is very easy to jump into that NPC's character during play when you have those key words handy. If you like to create things while playing, just thumbing through a thesaurus can allow you to come up with such a manner on the fly. There are also lists of such words that can be found online using any search engine with the field "lists of adjectives or adverbs" or "list of traits." A lot of the sites that you will find in that way will be geared toward personality classifications and such. Do most of you use Google as a search engine?
Dramen You know that's the second time that's come up tonight...
Mark_CMG (smiles) It's a very useful tool, no doubt.
Dramen I've ocasionally used Google, but obviously not in the way others do.... (smiles)
Mark_CMG Can I ask a couple of you to open a second window and do a quick Google search right now? Search by "personality traits" please... Whether it was a relative of a player character, a tavern keeper, just some fella on the street that was asked for directions. Anything at all.
BloodKnight (Regarding one of his NPCs) He is very picky when it comes to food, arrogant, and has this cocky attitude
Dramen Well, I don't know about an important role, but on one Star Wars MUSH I had an R2 Droid that had quite an interesting personality.
BloodKnight But his knowledge about the wilderness is above normal and something that makes druids hate him in fact and he is slow to temper
Mark_CMG So, BloodKnight, you had a strong background that helped set up the ranger's motivations and included a flaw that led to some nice story hooks, eh?
BloodKnight in my tech fantasy campaign, he takes a job as a guide for both nobles and adventurers alike
Mark_CMG Dranem, what in particular made the droid "interesting?"
BloodKnight is prices are usually steep but he always seems to be working with someone else because of his high prestige
Mark_CMG Blood, so he is also useful to further the game and not just as a side player
BloodKnight at one time, he admitted to the PC Party that he was working with one of the PC's parents. He is useful as both (winks)
Mark_CMG (smiles) I think it is important at this point to mention something that BloodKnight has brought up. That is the importance of having a "character flaw" Something very important to creating a compelling situation for the players is to find ways to introduce conflict. Even if it is inherent in the NPC's background.
Dramen Introduce a Chaotic Neutral Thief to a party, and you have a good amount of conflict to keep the game on its toes... (smiles)
Mark_CMG It creates a sense that something is always happening, and it keeps the players interested in things.
Adam_F I've found systems like GURPS and Hero work well for giving your characters flaws to be roleplayed, and since you get points back it encourages PCs to take them as well.
Mark_CMG You never really know what in particular the players will pick up on and decide to follow, so leaving as many options as possible allows them a great game
BloodKnight To be honest Adam, a character isn't realistic if they don't have a flaw. (to Mark_CMG) I don't see why a system would be needed
Mark_CMG Well, Blood, someone can be perfect...to a fault. (winks)
Adam_F Its just handy to encourage it. There are way to many perfect unflawed dnd characters. But very few GURPS (smiles)
Dramen Shadowrun has a great system for Flaws...
Adam_F Its also nice to have a good list of quirks and mental and physical limitations you can pick and choose from in a hurry
Dramen Actually encourages you to pick up Flaws for your character to give you bonus building points.
BloodKnight Adam - I don't mean just on a character sheet. I mean personality and such.
Adam_F Dranem: Yeah Shadowrun is another one like that. There have been many. Ars Magica comes to mind too
Mark_CMG Rather then get into a system vs system debate, shall we build something together?
BloodKnight The character becomes a cardboard cutout if he doesn't have a flaw. (to Mark_CMG) Be my guest...
Adam_F Bloodknight: GURPS has mental disadvantages like prejudices, phobias, bloodlust, etc. (to Mark_CMG) Sure! (smiles)
Mark_CMG Blood, please use the dice roller to roll a ten sided die to determine the Political rating for an NPC. Adam, do the same for the Religion rating, please.
( Adam_F rolls 1d10 => 1 )
( BloodKnight rolls 1d10 => 4 )
Mark_CMG and Dranem, please roll one for the Others rating...
Adam_F Religion? What's that? (chuckles)
BloodKnight ha, beat cha (winks)
Mark_CMG Blood roll again for the Self rating
Dramen Not very Religious and the NPC doesn't care much about Politics... Sounds like me (smiles)
( BloodKnight rolls 1d10 => 7 )
Mark_CMG Dranem? Did you roll for Others?
BloodKnight He didn't...
( Dranem rolls 1d10 => 2 )
Dramen Sorry, didn't know you wanted me to....
Mark_CMG And Adam again for Economics, please
( Adam_F rolls 1d10 => 8 )
Mark_CMG P=4 R=1 O=2 S=7 E=8
Adam_F There we go, high Economics and Self. (smiles)
Mark_CMG So we have an NPC who is strong toward Self but very high in Economics, eh? I need three adjectives or adverbs for this fellow
Dramen So he's a greed Self Centered guy with some leaning on politics...
Mark_CMG How about one from each of you.
Adam_F Weasly.
Mark_CMG I like that. Weasily...
Adam_F Yeah there is an I in there.. Weasily..
Dramen Self-Centered
Mark_CMG Okie doke. Weasily, Self-Centered, and...? Who has a dictionary handy? DMs without Dictionaries?
Dramen So he's a Selfish Self-Centred Weasel that hates Religion. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Dranem, Adam, Blood, do any of you have a dictionary?
BloodKnight I can't think of one... (winks)
Dramen It's around here somewhere... Open up word and check the Thesaurus. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Best to grab a regular dictionary, please. (smiles)
Dramen That went to school with my kids... They don't bring it home often.
Adam_F I usually use dictionary.com, but hae a thesaurus handy.
Mark_CMG hmmm... Well, tell you what. Someone give me a descriptive word that begins with the letter "D" please.
Dramen Drunk?
Adam_F Daring
Mark_CMG Okie doke, let's go with daring. Drunk might be over-used, eh? And we'll need one more.
Adam_F Impotent
Mark_CMG OK. (chuckles)
Dramen (laughs)
Mark_CMG That'll work and, please, one more time.
Adam_F Sentimental.
Mark_CMG Very good. So let's take Daring, Impotent, and Sentimental as our three "key words" To recap, we have P=4 R=1 O=2 S=7 E=8 Since not everyone here has played all of the same systems as everyone else, but all of you have used a fantasy/medieval setting at some point, let's place our NPC there.
Dramen Our Selfish Self-Centered Weasel is quite at odds with himself... (smiles)
Mark_CMG My first instinct is to toss out the first three words that come to mind because they often don't add to the NPC, but rather just reinforce what is already in my mind from the ratings. To add to the dimensions of the NPC, I like to choose random adjectives and adverbs
Adam_F Makes sense.
Mark_CMG It keeps me from falling into a rut when creating them.
Dramen I see your point.
Mark_CMG ...and often helps me to come up with combinations I wouldn't have. So let's have some ideas for a profession in this setting. Give me a profession that begins with the letter "L"
Adam_F Herbalist.
Dramen Well with the S=7 and E=8 I would put him as a merchant of sorts.
Mark_CMG Let's ignore the ratings for now and not let them influence the profession.
Adam_F Librarian.
Mark_CMG I like Librarian.
Palcadon (to Mark_CMG) Just stopping in to watch...
Mark_CMG Someone roll a d100 to give him an age...
( Dranem rolls 1d100 => 57 )
Mark_CMG Howdy Palcy! (smiles)
Adam_F Old librarian. (smiles)
Dramen If he's human...
Mark_CMG Someone roll a d6 1-3 male 4-6 female
( Dranem rolls 1d6 => 2 )
Dramen male
Mark_CMG OK. He's a 57 year old, male librarian, daring, impotent (and that's not necessarily to do with the sexual conotation) sentimental but also rather selfish and economically driven.
Dramen Not to mention a mild interest in Politics...
Mark_CMG (to Dramen) True. (Continuing) Can you see how easy it would be to have this NPC answer any questions posed by a player during a game?
Adam_F I get the impression with the impotent and high economic and slightly high politics, he probably wishes he was running the library and making more money but is stuck shelving books. (smiles)
Mark_CMG That would work very nicely. How would you allow the daring part to manifest itself? Perhaps he purposefully mis-shelves books to get back at his superiors?
Adam_F Perhaps thats why he never advanced is he always took risks and got in trouble.
Mark_CMG (smiles) I like that even better. OK, let's take him for a spin. Who wants to try and play him first?
Dramen In most medeival settings, the Librarian runs the show....
Mark_CMG Anyone want to volunteer? There's no right or wrong way to do it.
LordVenger I wish I had joined this discussion earlier. It looks interesting...
Dramen I will take on the role of a Mage looking for some archane lore.
Mark_CMG OK. Someone roll a d6 (1-2 Adam 3-4 Blood 5-6 Dranem)
( Adam_F rolls 1d6 => 2 )
( LordVenger rolls 1d6 => 5 )
Adam_F Doh!
( BloodKnight rolls 1d6 => 6 )
Adam_F I like Venger's roll better.
LordVenger (laughs)
Dramen (chuckles)
LordVenger That depends... (laughs)
Dramen Ok, Dranem the Mage is looking for books on old lore.
Mark_CMG (to Adam) OK. You are the Librarian, try to play him with his motivations in mind. Dranem, you play the mage looking for the lore and LordVenger, how about you be a cleric? Remember, we're just playing through some verbal interaction, not trashing the library. (winks)
Adam_F Okay, got it.
LordVenger Ok Ill try (smiles)
Mark_CMG (to Palcadon) How about if you be the fighter, please.
BloodKnight I have to go but nice seminar!
Dramen Aww... I wanted to trash the library. (winks)
Mark_CMG DM With a Vengeance, feel like jumping in as a Rogue of some sort? (to BloodKnight) Thanks for participating! (smiles)
Dramen The Mage looks around thinking 'You know one fireball in the right spot would make a good bonfire in here... ' (smiles)
Mark_CMG Okie doke. You're all in the library and Adam is the only one available to help you.
Adam_F looks up from his work shelving books, "Is there something I can help you with?"
Dranem clears his throat to get the Librarians attention.
Palcadon I would, Mark, but I can't stay to long
Mark_CMG No problem, Palcadon. (smiles)
Dramen "Yes. I'm looking for a book on some regional Lore..."
Mark_CMG (Let's go with that regional part and make the reason so that you can determine the symbols on a map you have found...)
Dramen "Something that happened say, 150 years ago in the mountains to the West of town."
LordVenger *browsing* I am new to this Library and looking on topics of Area Interest
Adam_F We have many books on regional lore, but I have much work to do, unless you are looking to hire a part-time researcher
Mark_CMG (nice way to work in the Economics factor)
Dramen "I could possibly toss in a few gold what some information you know now.. I have no time for long term research assistants."
LordVenger What is the fee for Temple reseach in this area.
Dramen (Playing a Chaotic Good player, just if your wondering.)
Adam_F You can find the regional history books over there, and the books on regional cultures over in those stacks. If you go digging around in the stacks, try to put things back exactly where you found them.
LordVenger *glance over* Thank you.
Adam_F My expertise can be purchased for 5g per half-day. I have a book about an event that happened say 150 years ago, in the mountains to the West of town. I have an interesting document, and some knowledge of that time might help me sort it out."
Mark_CMG (adam> 1d6 please, 1-3 means the book you seek isn't in the stacks where it should be)
( Adam_F rolls 1d6 => 2 )
Mark_CMG (chuckles)
Adam_F Ahh, I think I know the book you need but it wasn't put back where it should be again. *sighs*
Mark_CMG (And it was a favorite book of yours - sentimental attachment to it)
Dramen <<Thank you oh so generous DM >> (winks)
Adam_F I swear I would quit this job if I hadn't been working here for so long.
Mark_CMG But you remember most of it's contents and might dare to join the party if they will have you)
Dramen "I'm sure that you have proven your worth much here over the years."
Mark_CMG - (winks)
Palcadon I have to be going. For those who don't know... Mark has an awesome site at <http://www.creativemountaingames.com/index.asp.> Just stopped by to say hi. Talk to you soon Mark and all.
Adam_F I do recall a great deal of that particular volume. Perhaps you would be interested in hiring an expert to join you? At my usual fee of course.
Mark_CMG Thx Palcy adios for now
LordVenger Then you should... Perhaps you would be better suited as a man of the cloth. (grins) Yes. (checks gold) If I have the fee I will pay you. *gives gold to Adam*
Mark_CMG (Let's say that you have it...)
Dramen (Looks over to LordVenger for approval.) "Well the path we follow could prove quite dangerous.. Is a man of your standing prepared to take the challenge?"
Adam_F A vacation would be good, perhaps we can smite some evil and do some good. And perhaps we will make a tidey profit besides.
LordVenger *looks at Dra smilin* I am ever seeking what is over the next hill
Mark_CMG Okie doke, we're short on time so let's end our interactive portion at that point, but I think you can see how much easier it is to present a particular NPC with simple guidelines as such.
Dramen "Well as it seems, my companion here is in agreeance. I hope you can hold your own, as I don't know if we can protect you..."
Mark_CMG Let's take a few minutes to "post-mortem" that interactive though.
Dramen (grins) "Darn, I was just getting into it as well. (smiles)
LordVenger (listens)
Mark_CMG (to Adam) What parts do you think you might have added a bit to put more of what we all had created into the NPC from the page to the scene, as it were?
Adam_F I think you're asking what did I do differently based on the 3 words and the PROSE scores?
Mark_CMG Sure.
Adam_F Money and self-gain became a higher priority for him, the daring and impotent made him dislike his grunt job and want to do bigger things.
Mark_CMG Yup, very good.
Dramen And have a lack of self-preservation... (winks)
Mark_CMG Can anyone else throw out some suggestions how Adam might have added anything else to bring out those ratings and key words?
Adam_F Sentimental will probably make him miss his dusty tomes after he leaves though. (smiles)
Mark_CMG Obviously, in a quick thing like this, Adam didn't have much time to bring it completely to life, but did a very good job under the circumstances, of course. (smiles)
LordVenger I am late in coming and don't know all the variables...
Adam_F PROSE Politics, Religion, Others, Self, and Economics.. scores of 4/1/2/7/8..
Mark_CMG We had the libraian be keen on himself and Economics, but also sentimental, impotent and daring.
Dramen Well, I can tell you one thing... Most 57 year old human Librarians wouldn't be so gung-ho to go adventuring and putting their necks on the line... unless of course they were adventurers in an earlier time.
Mark_CMG OK. Maybe it could have been played up that it was a last grasp at life, perhaps?
Adam_F Or they make decisions without fully considering their consequences IE "Daring" (chuckles)
Mark_CMG Also true...
LordVenger Well being Impotenet he might not be daring at all...
Mark_CMG Ah, but somehow he is both and that's one key to making him a unique NPC.
Adam_F There in lies the conflict. (smiles) He is powerless, but willing to take risks to gain wealth.
Dramen Well, being impotent would probably lower his need of self preservation...
LordVenger Or "Pretend" to take risks...
Mark_CMG He has an internal conflict, in that way, and bringing that conflict into his decision making process makes him an interesting NPC to utilize.
Dramen (nods)
Mark_CMG Well, it looks like we are running out of time for this seminar, but I think we've managed to accomplish a few things. I hope that everyone has enjoyed it!
Adam_F Thanks, Mark!
LordVenger Well I would be intersted in seeing the entire System. Like I said I missed the beginning, but thanks.
Mark_CMG Let me just close by saying that I have a couple more seminars this weekend, please check the schedule, and I also run a DMing chat every other week which is announced on the EN World site (and I'll also announce it elsewhere. The next one is on ****)
Adam_F Mark has the system in some of his books I believe?
LordVenger Thank you.
Mark_CMG You'll find the CMG PROSE System briefly explained in each CMG product where it is needed. Thank you all for coming and participating.
(End of Seminar)