How easy do you find it to run NPC party members?

[Bardsandsages]

My biggest problem is dealing with multiple NPCs during combat. In the current 18th level game, because all the PCs in the party have the Leadership feat they have accumulated a witch, a drow wizard/fighter, a fey-ri rogue/sorcerer, a kobold rogue/paladin (long story--explained in another thread), the paladin's mount (a young adult blue dragon), the mount's...eh hem...girlfriend (a young adult green dragon)...and these are just the ones that are with them all the time! During actual roleplaying, I have personalities for each of them, and the NPCs themselves have been the source of various side quests and complications. But during actual combat, it becomes a nightmare keeping track of all the skills, abilities, spells, etc.

The PCs also have a tendency to think when various NPCs say something, it is ME giving them hints, as opposed to just the NPC chiming in. It's funny when they get in trouble following an NPC's advice only to have it be completely wrong, but it's annoying when they say "But YOU said we should..." and I have to remind them, "No, I DIDN'T say anything. Sebastian did."

 

[Endur]

I encounter difficulties with NPCs... some of the problems are:

1) Too many NPCs means the GM spends more time talking than the PCs
2) Too many NPCs takes away from the PCs time to shine in melee combat or problem solving
3) Just takes too much screen time.

 

[evildm]

It's quite rare that I don't actually have a party-member NPC around. In fact, one game I ran (Urban Arcana) had 4 of them. Lately I've been avoiding including any NPCs with the group so they can fend for themselves entirely, and it's been working well enough.

My group is mostly made up of reactive players who basically need to be lead by the nose, so sometimes it's crucial that they have some form of guidance, even if it's just subtle nudging, to keep the game moving.

The only NPCs I actually forget about are the familiars and animal companions. I'm not positive why, but I think it has to do with them not being able to speak, and therefore they don't have an immediate presence.

I've only ever had two intelligent weapons in a campaign before, and one was the villain.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've rarely had problems with it. Whenever I'm designing one, whether it's a member of the party, pet, or intelligent magic item, I always ask the question, "Will this detract from the PCs in any way?" Nobody likes a DM-run character hogging glory.

I certainly agree with Crothian; they don't have to be in the spotlight all the time. I generally look at them as being sidekicks in terms of personality. But that personality needs to be clearly defined, so they're not just a DM-mouthpiece.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've rarely had problems with it. Whenever I'm designing one, whether it's a member of the party, pet, or intelligent magic item, I always ask the question, "Will this detract from the PCs in any way?" Nobody likes a DM-run character hogging glory.

I certainly agree with Crothian; they don't have to be in the spotlight all the time. I generally look at them as being sidekicks in terms of personality. But that personality needs to be clearly defined, so they're not just a DM-mouthpiece.

 

[diaglo]

I drool for when the players ask the NPC what he thinks they should do.


I then give them clues about some Herculean tasks to perform just to light a fire. Most of the time the players get the hint that asking an NPC for advice is bad. very bad. since they don't know what the PCs are doing there in the first place.

 

[Nighthawk]

I manage but that is about it. It truly depends on how the players in the group view them, IME.