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NPC party competing with PCs
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<blockquote data-quote="Fenris-77" data-source="post: 8024261" data-attributes="member: 6993955"><p>What you can use an NPC party for is pretty open ended. What you <em>should</em> use them for is to facilitate a certain set of fictional outcomes. In other words, have a very specific plan for why you have that party in the narrative and focus on that. If it's competing in a race to the mcguffin then their primary task is to serve as a clock, so if the PCs don't get to X by time Y then Z happens. When the other party is in the lead, they also serve as the source of a secondary set of clue, which is cool. WHy follow the clues when you can just track the other party. Used deftly, this can actually be used in a vaguely <em>deus ex machina</em> kind of way to jumpstart a stalled group of PCs. The nice thing about the pther party is that they have motivations and goals, and they are an easy tool to use to drive narrative.</p><p></p><p>It doesn't have to be that simple of course. One of the things I like about the competing party trope is that it gives you a chance to add some frenemies to the mix, and to add some social interaction to the game even in the depths of a dungeon or deep wilderness. That can lead to more interesting and nuanced decision making. For example, the PCs have been sparring back and forth with Party X for many sessions in their twin hunts for the Duke's Golden Underpants. Insults have been exchanged and sarcastic little waves given as someone disappears with the loot. Close to the final goal, the PCs find Party X in bloody melee with a Giant Monster. They're in a bad way, with one or more unconscious NPCs and all battered and bloody - they're losing. What do the PCs do? Do you help, do you wait it out, what kind of concessions might you be able to wring from them if you team up? Lots of cool nuance and narrative potential there. Also, done right, the team-up scene allows you to add in a beast that would normally be way to big for just the party by itself, which is also cool.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fenris-77, post: 8024261, member: 6993955"] What you can use an NPC party for is pretty open ended. What you [I]should[/I] use them for is to facilitate a certain set of fictional outcomes. In other words, have a very specific plan for why you have that party in the narrative and focus on that. If it's competing in a race to the mcguffin then their primary task is to serve as a clock, so if the PCs don't get to X by time Y then Z happens. When the other party is in the lead, they also serve as the source of a secondary set of clue, which is cool. WHy follow the clues when you can just track the other party. Used deftly, this can actually be used in a vaguely [I]deus ex machina[/I] kind of way to jumpstart a stalled group of PCs. The nice thing about the pther party is that they have motivations and goals, and they are an easy tool to use to drive narrative. It doesn't have to be that simple of course. One of the things I like about the competing party trope is that it gives you a chance to add some frenemies to the mix, and to add some social interaction to the game even in the depths of a dungeon or deep wilderness. That can lead to more interesting and nuanced decision making. For example, the PCs have been sparring back and forth with Party X for many sessions in their twin hunts for the Duke's Golden Underpants. Insults have been exchanged and sarcastic little waves given as someone disappears with the loot. Close to the final goal, the PCs find Party X in bloody melee with a Giant Monster. They're in a bad way, with one or more unconscious NPCs and all battered and bloody - they're losing. What do the PCs do? Do you help, do you wait it out, what kind of concessions might you be able to wring from them if you team up? Lots of cool nuance and narrative potential there. Also, done right, the team-up scene allows you to add in a beast that would normally be way to big for just the party by itself, which is also cool. [/QUOTE]
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