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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Centaur" data-source="post: 900617" data-attributes="member: 11822">Re: Not to paint a target on my chest, but...I would have to say that I agree with Lord Pendragon.  All campaigns need NPCs and they are invariably of different power levels.  In my games, the PCs are never the most powerful people around, but they are alwasy at the forefront of the fight.I find that when I introduce an NPC to a story, I need to have a complete character sheet including equipment, magic items, and spell books all prepared.  If I don't, the NPC seems to convieniently be able to do something that the players need done at any given point.  Each time, the single task is of no real consequence, however, over time all these different capabilites add up to some realy scary power levels and the PCs become overshadowed by the NPS capabilites.To combat this, before I get any NPC seriously involved with the party, I make sure I have a completed Record sheet with all their resources noted down.  This way, their capabilities don't get added to al the time.  However in making up this sheet, I do get somewhat attached to them.  Makes it hard to let them go when the party turns on them or when they are caught in a cross fire of the PCs creation.In all my games, I try to have one NPC hanging around with the part that is part of the group.  In all cases this NPC fills a gap left when the players made up their charcters.  In my Current game, I have five players (2 fighters, 1 fighter/rouge, 1 fighter/sorcerer and 1 druid/sorcerer) as you can see, no real healing ability and no dynamic capability of a wizard.  So at the begining of the game, I added an NPC Cleric who has been with them the entire campaign.  Recently, they picked up an NPC wizard I had introduced for some comic relefe and have kept him on for some time.However, in the beginingI was a bad DM.  I ran many a game that had NPC pets and even a couple of EgoNPCs.  My players hated that and I learned from their voicing of their opinions.  Over time I have learned to make my NPCs more like trees in a forest.  Meaning that they are there, fully fleshed out to decorate the campaign world and the PCs are free to interact with them or not, as they see fit.  Sometimes I use them as plot hooks, sometimes I don't.  Many times, the PCs drag them into something they want nothing to do with, but they have a unique (ie. something the PCs can't do, usually due to an earlier oversight) capability that the PCs need access to to complete a current plot line.My AdviceTo Players If your DM is doing something in his game ON A REAPEATED BASIS that detracts from your enjoyment of the game, tell him, either before or after the game session, not during.  If he doesn't listen to you, or continies to do it. Drop out and make sure he knows why you have left.To DMs Be receptive to critisism from your players, if you don't, you won't have them for long.  If your players are anoyed with something you are doing, look for a way to curb your "evil" ways. Grow as a DM and you and your player group will grow together.I know this to work, as I still have all the same players (even some new ones who came over from other groups) I had 13 years ago.  Heck I even married one of them and she used to hate some of the thing I did in my games.  Now she playes in many of my current games without complaint.</blockquote>

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