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<blockquote data-quote="Cody C. Lewis" data-source="post: 6781900" data-attributes="member: 6802841"><p>When putting NPCs into my game, I have one goal: make the NPC memorable. </p><p></p><p>I find that if my initial goal is not to drive story, but rather to give the PCs someone to interact with that they will not 'just get a quest from', the rest comes easier. From there, I can create a way for them to drive story. The trick I have to doing this is to take a trope is give it a bit of a twist. To take something that people would expect and give it a little M. Night. Shyamalan so to speak with how I present it to my PCs. </p><p></p><p>An example of a trope I put a little, small, tiny, not too much, just an itty bitty twist on, is the strong, older Madame.</p><p></p><p>Hilda (One name like Cher)</p><p>The twist I put on her was that she was not a tall breath-takingly beautiful, former prostitute that rose to Madamehood(??? sure, madamehood is a thing). Because she was not beautiful is a traditional sense.</p><p></p><p>She was a Dwarf. </p><p>A beardless, bald dwarf (my female dwarves have facial hair), so this made her already stand out, when she entered the scene, to my PCs. </p><p>Hilda also spoke with a Russian accent. </p><p></p><p>But as far as tropes go, she was still familiar to the PCs as far as her demeanor, how confident she was, and how strong and protective of 'her girls' she was. So the PCs got a good sense of something familiar with a small twist that made her memorable.</p><p></p><p>BTW, if anyone wants to steal her for their game, go right ahead. She runs a brothel known as, you guessed it, Hilda's. She is dressed in pink silks, including a mask like "I Dream a Genie". She has taken on the current captain of the watch (in my game a bad-A dark skinned man who speaks like Michael Clarke Duncan) as her personal lover. And allows him to use her facility for any private meetings.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cody C. Lewis, post: 6781900, member: 6802841"] When putting NPCs into my game, I have one goal: make the NPC memorable. I find that if my initial goal is not to drive story, but rather to give the PCs someone to interact with that they will not 'just get a quest from', the rest comes easier. From there, I can create a way for them to drive story. The trick I have to doing this is to take a trope is give it a bit of a twist. To take something that people would expect and give it a little M. Night. Shyamalan so to speak with how I present it to my PCs. An example of a trope I put a little, small, tiny, not too much, just an itty bitty twist on, is the strong, older Madame. Hilda (One name like Cher) The twist I put on her was that she was not a tall breath-takingly beautiful, former prostitute that rose to Madamehood(??? sure, madamehood is a thing). Because she was not beautiful is a traditional sense. She was a Dwarf. A beardless, bald dwarf (my female dwarves have facial hair), so this made her already stand out, when she entered the scene, to my PCs. Hilda also spoke with a Russian accent. But as far as tropes go, she was still familiar to the PCs as far as her demeanor, how confident she was, and how strong and protective of 'her girls' she was. So the PCs got a good sense of something familiar with a small twist that made her memorable. BTW, if anyone wants to steal her for their game, go right ahead. She runs a brothel known as, you guessed it, Hilda's. She is dressed in pink silks, including a mask like "I Dream a Genie". She has taken on the current captain of the watch (in my game a bad-A dark skinned man who speaks like Michael Clarke Duncan) as her personal lover. And allows him to use her facility for any private meetings. [/QUOTE]
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