D&D 5E NPCs Along for the Ride

[dirklancer]

The worst example of what can go wrong with a DM run PC happened to me in a game in college. The guy running was playing his personal character from his friend's campaign at home, and he ensured his character got the best loot and most XP so he could claim to his home group it was all acquired "legitimately in play." While that level of abuse is rare, some DMs might have trouble leaving their egos at the door and be tempted to have their character steal the spotlight. While I prefer having an occasional NPC there for support, I still have the players make rolls and handle the NPC in combat so they are still in control. And if its a small group I usually have some players run a second character to round out the party's needs.

 

[Jake Johnson]

In my games, I'll usually handle this with an NPC. They aren't a full-fledged member of the party, and their interests often differ greatly from the actual PCs. A paid hireling, for instance, is great for extra muscle. A cleric might be along on the condition that he gets to take any religious treasures.

In addition, these characters don't need to share a viewpoint with the DM. I find it fun to send along a brash, loudmouth, braggart warrior with a group to serve as the voice of 'stupid and brash ideas', who the party may have to rein in from time to time. Or a timid, cowardly NPC who will hide when fights break out, and will suggest ways to run away from combat. Or perhaps the rich, know-it-all 'adventurer' who clearly hasn't actually set foot in a dungeon? There are plenty of fun archetypes to play up who will definitely not spoil the dungeon by slipping past challenges.

Your approach seems like a good way to introduce dynamics that might otherwise be absent from the game, such as the risk of a loud-mouthed party member starting a fight, or a cowardly player encouraging the players to run from a fight that could be too big for them. I like it!

 

[SkidAce]

I had an interesting conversation with one of the players in my group regarding the DM running a character in the party. I'm a newbie DM, so please forgive any ignorance and/or obviousness.

My first thought is that the DM should refrain from running a character with the party, primarily because the DM knows too much, and might spoil the adventure by doing any one or more of the following:

1. Ruining monster surprises and exposing hiding places
2. Knowing right where to go
3. Solving puzzles that should be left to the party
4. Messing with the adventure's mojo by giving off knowing vibes
5. Having too many good ideas

I also see some benefits to the DM running a character:

1. Rounding out party support roles (Hello, Ms. Cleric.)
2. Providing an appropriate number of characters for a small play group
3. Ensuring that an unavailable player with a critical attribute, ability, spell, object, etc., doesn't hold up the game
4. Facilitating better story telling by providing frame narrative or other plot support

I'm sure there are other pros and cons. What do you think, is it better to ask players to play more than one character if necessary, and maybe request that one or more play characters that can provide support, such as healing?

I want to answer before I read the thread.

Looking at the list of pros and cons you laid out, you have nothing to worry about. Use a DM NPC as an ancillary character to the big heroes, and keep in mind the good things you listed and avoid the bad.

You will find this also allows you to make the world seem more engaging, as NPCs develop a personality.

 

[TerraDave]

I once had a magical dog--a sort of divine proxy--help the party. It could fight and step in with other things, and saved the parties life at one point, but obviously not a lot of talking!

In a gamma world crossover, it was the med-bot. That ended up being a really good one to support the party and channel key info, but could otherwise stay in the background.

The mentor that at the key point helps the party is good. But you have to be really careful. (One interesting variant of the is Elmo from Village of Hommlet. Basically he plays dumber then he is and plays down his contribution to the party. So he can really help, but not outshine).

Sidekicks, henchman, etc can also be good with the right players, and most of the running falls to them.

You want to avoid the DM's favored character, or the character that drives the plot. Or the super cool character that is there to help, but seems to end up doing all the super cool stuff.

 

[Jake Johnson]

So many good ideas. I like the concept of adding NPCs that have characteristics and attributes that cause them not to talk or limit their cognitive capacity in some way. I also appreciate the great insights. Now I'm thinking along the lines of how to have the right NPCs ready for when key characters aren't present. I may start another thread about the preparation and thinking around handling player absence.