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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FalcWP" data-source="post: 3389953" data-attributes="member: 16858">I'd have to say motivation.  Making an NPC with really cool stats is great and all, but I don't think he'll be memorable, or even logical, unless he has clear motivations for what he's doing.  On the other hand, just an average fighter or wizard without any really neat attacks can work if you really flesh out his backstory and find out what motivates him.And it extends beyond just your key NPCs.  Anything that isn't mindless should have *some* motivation.  Sure, you fleshed out the leader of a gang of bandits, gave him a nice backstory that explains why he's raiding a town and what he plans to do with the wealth he steals... but what about the average bandit in that gang?  What's his motivation?  Why does he follow this guy?  There should always be more of a reason than "The bandit leader isn't a high enough CR by himself to threaten the PCs, so he needs some followers."  That may be your rationale for adding some followers, but you have to consider why those *particular* folks are there.  Part of that is that you never know who the PCs will choose to question.  Say they grab a random mook from the aforementioned bandit gang and interrogate him.  If he was just there as filler, you don't have a whole lot to go on as far as how he'll react.  On the other hand, if we know what motivates him (Greed?  Loyalty?  Was he shanghai'd into the gang?  Is he doing it to protect a loved one?)  then we can tailor his responses.  The greedy bandit might sell out his comrades for gold; the loyal one is likely to be silent regardless; the one who is forced into service might be willing to betray the bandits for freedom; the one who is protectiong a loved one might betray the bandits if the PCs will save the loved one for him.  With just a few complementary NPCs, you can pick a motivation for each; with a bunch of them, you can make a table to roll on.  But it really helps to flesh them out, and it makes the world a lot more logical. Of course, as Dragonbait said, it depends on the group.  If the players aren't going to notice motivations and are more focused on killing stuff and taking its loot, then you don't need much for motivation.</blockquote>

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