Party NPCs

[Remathilis]

Definition: A party NPC is a "DM PC". He is a full-statted character that stays with the group and has a role in party actions. For the most part, he is treated like another party member, and acts accordingly.

My D&D group (and all I'ved played with) have always had them. However, is this a universal thing in D&D or not? I'm curious...

 

[Dagger75]

I've never really done this. The closest I had was an R2 droid that was on the shipped. He was stated out anf gained level SLOWLY. The party was level 14 at the end, he was 6 or 7.

I've had heard horror stories about these DM pet characters. One DM's character was the leader of a party, they did his bidding and adventured for him. He was the most powerful one in the party, gear tailored for his character would ALWAYS be found.

IMHO it is nothing but trouble.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

A good many people (myself included) will tell you that a DM PC in general is a really bad idea - too often used for 'guiding' the party (also called 'pulling them along by their noses'), or succeeding where the real PCs fail.

The last time I had one in a game that I a was running I smashed him flat with a 16 ton block of stone...

The Auld Grump

 

[el-remmen]

I chose: Yes, but I switch them as I need to fill the story.

 

[Crothian]

I use them when needed. I do play the Wizard's familar since it was a NPC before he got it.

 

[Psion]

I went with option 2. I let NPCs fill weaknesses in the party so the players can focus on what they want. But they have their own goals, and they tend to come and go; the PCs are the "permanent" members of the party.

There are people who can't run "DMNPCs", but I haven't known any since high school, so I sort of think the paranoia is out of hand. A mature DM will use them appropriately.

 

[Dog Moon]

I let NPCs fill weaknesses in the party so the players can focus on what they want. But they have their own goals, and they tend to come and go; the PCs are the "permanent" members of the party.

This is pretty much accurate for me, though the NPCs are generally a LITTLE bit more permanent. They do disappear if someone wants to take Leadership and replace the NPC though [or the rare occasion where the NPC becomes the Cohort].

I do like to add an NPC though, whether they really need it or not. Never DMNPC though as they're role is mainly to add interest [like the surprisingly tough Jasmine who had no memory of her past] or I make weaker NPCs, but play them up like they're powerful [like the Scout who was really a Rogue/Assassin. 2 levels behind the PCs, but he always waited to get into Sneak Attack position and killed weakened opponents. Because he almost always killed an opponent, the PCs were afraid of him, but he woulda been annihilated if they had actually attacked him].

 

[kigmatzomat]

I said 3. I generally don't like the idea of "DM PCs" but there have been times that an NPC has, due to my (DM) action or that of players, become required to join the party for an extended period of time. The party (both in-character and the players themselves) were most unhappy when I had the most recent NPC withdraw from adventuring. Much of their character development was tied up in the way they groomed this NPC from optimistic, semi-civilized neophyte paladin-wannabe to experienced, sophisticated, tactically- and strategically-minded hero.

Though I spent much effort on him being little more than the voice of the highly obvious (to me), the group was very fond of his input. I suspect they initially thought it gave additional insight into my DM plans (no such luck) but later realized that it was a solid window into at least one way that I, the DM, saw the world working.


However he was so invested in the plot that I could feel myself cringing when he was near death and I had to roll attacks on him. That's my absolute make-or-break for NPCs: I must be willing to kill them at a moment's notice if it serves the story. The fact that I was cringing when the party had resurrection was a sure sign I was too attached. First possible opportunity he moved to a non-adventuring role in a completely appropriate in-character fashion. I actually had a situation where their actions would be key to the NPC's final status but the party was so despondent about his departure that they went all passive-aggressive and more or less sulked.

 

[ThirdWizard]

We've only got three people in our gaming group, so that's one DM and two PCs. Generally, we fill the two "empty" PC slots (since the game runs much better with 4 PCs) with two NPCs.

The past two games I've run have started with the PCs hiring out multiple NPCs for each adventure, then chosing which NPCs fit the party best and were the most fun to have around. The PCs just invited an NPC to live with them in their tower last session to be added in as a permanent member of the group, in fact.

Every once in a while, I'll take out an NPC and replace them to keep things interesting if it gets stale, but other than that, they're pretty much permanet additions to the party. I'll note that I do encourage the Players playing these NPCs during combat, though. Usually they would rather not, but if things get complicated they're helpful about running the NPCs for me.

 

[Greylock]

The last game where we had a regular party NPC (a fellow who tagged along after a succesful adventure, and tasked with being a porter and animal handler), we the players took turns playing him each game session. If the npc was lucky enough to level up in a game, whomever had his sheet at the time got to make all the decisions. Thus, we ended up with a WarriorX/FighterX/BardX and so on cohort.

Worked for us. The npc rocked. And he was definitely not under control of the DM.

hth