Dicing NPC Conflict

[irdeggman]

It will all boil down to the quality of the narrative you give it - regardless of the actual die rolls.

I would recommend that you have a thought out plan for what the PCs will do if the favored NPC dies.

Can he be brought back? Resurrected? Healed in same manner? Act of the gods?

This type of scenario almost always lead to some epic quest the PCs will have to undertake (for honor of their brother).

 

[Water Bob]

It will all boil down to the quality of the narrative you give it - regardless of the actual die rolls.

Absolutely. The dice rolls are there to show the players that the fate of the NPC is not pre-determined. The drama will come from the result of the dice--since the players have a vested interest in what happens to the NPC.

I would recommend that you have a thought out plan for what the PCs will do if the favored NPC dies.

Absolutely, again. I've got a plan if he lives, a plan if he dies, and a plan if he's maimed or crippled.

Can he be brought back? Resurrected? Healed in same manner? Act of the gods?

No. Not in this game. It's very low magic.

This type of scenario almost always lead to some epic quest the PCs will have to undertake (for honor of their brother).

I can see where you would get that, but no, not in this case. It's a long story, but in short, the PCs and the NPC are on the verge of manhood. Their brother is going to test his metal in a very brave way in front of the entire clan. If he wins, he'll be a hero, respected by all, now considered a warrior for the clan. If he dies, all will agree that he went out with honor, and he'll be remembered as such.

 

[Water Bob]

I realized that I could scale the check for just about any situation. If I wanted a fight between two clans, the check would be:

d20 + rank + Stat modifier + situational modifier


Where:


rank = average level of a "unit"


Stat modifier = using the number of warriors in the "unit" as a stat, then taking the modifier from that (i.e. 20 warriors would mean a +5 modifier just like a STR 20).


situational modifier = GM determined modifier based on weapons, armor, Feats, and special abilities.


The difference in this Opposed check is divided by 3, with the result indicating the number of warriors downed by the losing unit. A number of warriors from the winning check will be downed as well, equal to one third of that the enemy lost.

As the bigger units take damage (not hit points for single people but men falling in combat for bigger units), one of the modifiers will go down, reflecting the unit's combat effectiveness deteriorating as it takes casulaties. For example, in the clan fight above, the 20 warriors are reduced to 9. That means that modifier goes from +5 to -1 because of casualties.

 

[Water Bob]

What I like about this mechanic is that it is flexible and adjustable to fit almost any situation I may need to dice in a game that involves NPCs.

Here's an example, off the top of my head. My game is set in Cimmeria. Let's say I'm curious if the clan has prepared well for the upcoming winter in stocking food.

I can take an average hunter from the clan, make a quick check, and use that as the result of how the clan has done as a whole in stockpiling for the upcoming cold months.

d20 + rank + attribute mod + misc. modifier

Rank = replace with average level of the hunters.

attritube mod = replace attribute with the number of hunters and find modifier.

misc. modifier = a place to put in GM modifiers (if the PCs have done something in the game to influence the hunting, or if the GM wishes to implement an event, like the thin ranks of the mountain goat seen this year for whatever reason).


If the GM determines the avearage Clan hunter is level 4, and there are 27 of them. There are 336 people in the clan, and 27 hunters is considered a good number. So, we'll arbitrarily divide 27 in half to get 14, which is better than an average stat. Use the modifier for a stat 14.

The GM places a -2 on the roll as a misc. modifier because the winter has come to the clan almost a month early this year.

The roll is: d20 + 4 + 2 - 2. Or, d20 + 4.

Roll the check and look at the standard DC chart.

A result of 5-9 means that the food will run out, and people may starve--even die.

A result of 10-14 means that the the winter will be rough and lean, but the clan will make it through.

A result of 15-20 means that enough food was caught and kept in the underground cold rooms.

A result of 21-24 means taht the clan has enough food to share with a neighboring clan, if needed.



Or, something like that. Adjust the throw or the DC as needed. The point is to show how flexible the throw can be.