LOL you accuse it of being too video-gamey and then suggest you stat and equip the NPCs...what, in case the players attack and loot them like they'd do in a video game?
I don't! And I didn't mean good video games like Elder Scrolls, where you can attack the NPCs, but really shouldn't. Just like Hommlet. I meant crappy "safe zone no fighting in town" games, with NPCs standing around with golden !s over their heads, whose only role is to hand out quests. Like Phandalin.