Whose NPC Is It Anyway?

[GlassJaw]

I started a thread about a week ago (capturing the feel of a big city) and I really liked some of the ideas, especially the ones about having the players come up with names, etc for people they meet.

I thought about this and wondered how it would be to take it one step further. Since fleshing out an entire city is virtually impossible, names and characteristics of people and places need to be generated on the fly at times.

So my thought is whenever a situation arises in the game where the players want to go to a place or interact with an NPC the GM hasn't created beforehand, the players can play "Whose Line Is it Anyway?". For those unfamiliar with the show, a host sets up a a very basic scene and the audience will yell out specifics about the scene. The actors then have to improv the scene based on the criteria. For example, the host could say the scene is a newscast and ask the audience what the story is. The audience could then yell out "Man Bites Dog" or something like that.

In this case, the players can take turns (or just shout out ideas) coming up with a name of a person they meet or place they go, some character or personality traits, quick physical descriptions, or other interesting facts that flesh out the encounter.

The GM can then take these ideas and write them down (especially if there is a laptop handy) and begin to create a database of people and places the characters encounter in the city. Over time, the city begins to take shape and the players will begin to identify with the city itself. The databse could easily be the springboard for new adventures as well.

This practice could slow down the game at times but I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. To speed things up, the GM could even create a "Madlibs"-esque template for people and places. The GM could ask for a couple of adjectives describing physical appearance and personality, etc.

Thoughts? Comments? Opinions?

 

[GlassJaw]

And I actually thought this was a cool idea.

 

[Crothian]

Interesting idea, but it wqould take the right group of players to be able to come up with good ideas. Personally, as a DM I like coming up with NPCs so I would not do this for my own games.

 

[GlassJaw]

as a DM I like coming up with NPCs so I would not do this for my own games

Well duh, so do I. I certainly wouldn't do this for the major players in the campaign.

One thing that always frustrates me when I'm running a game in a city or metropolitan area is that the PC's will always end up going to a place I haven't detailed or haven't even thought of. Instead of fumbling through books or trying to come up with names on the spot for useless NPC's that will never enter the game again, why not have the players themselves come up with ideas? I think it would add a fun and interactive element to the game and who knows, maybe a cool NPC will come to life and be a recurring character in the campaign.

 

[Crothian]

Well duh, so do I. I certainly wouldn't do this for the major players in the campaign.

One thing that always frustrates me when I'm running a game in a city or metropolitan area is that the PC's will always end up going to a place I haven't detailed or haven't even thought of. Instead of fumbling through books or trying to come up with names on the spot for useless NPC's that will never enter the game again, why not have the players themselves come up with ideas? I think it would add a fun and interactive element to the game and who knows, maybe a cool NPC will come to life and be a recurring character in the campaign.

For that instance I have a few pages of names, and people lightly defined (like a sentance or two) and that makes it relaly easy for to continue as if I had them planned out. Each campaign I add a few here and there to the list and I steal ideas I hear on the boards as well.

 

[SweeneyTodd]

Hey Glassjaw,

We totally do this in our games. In fact, if somebody's got a particularly strong idea for what the NPC should be like, we usually hand them over to them to play for a while. It's worked great for us.

We have several NPCs that are almost PCs, because one player has a strong attachment to them. Our PCs are often separated, so we don't usually run into the "two characters in a scene" problem, but there's been times when it happened, and the player decided to have their PC fade into the background so they could play their favorite bartender or criminal stoolie or what have you.

 

[arwink]

I do something similar at the beginning of every Eberron game - I tell the players where the adventure stats, then go make coffee while they discuss why they are there and who they're about to see. They come up with NPC's, events, new character motivations and a bunch of other details which are copied down and given to me. At least three of the five impro sessions have spawned new directions for the campaign.

 

[GlassJaw]

In fact, if somebody's got a particularly strong idea for what the NPC should be like, we usually hand them over to them to play for a while. It's worked great for us.

That's very cool, and pretty much the goal I had in mind. Recurring NPC's really go far to establish that big city feel.

I tell the players where the adventure stats, then go make coffee while they discuss why they are there and who they're about to see. They come up with NPC's, events, new character motivations and a bunch of other details which are copied down and given to me. At least three of the five impro sessions have spawned new directions for the campaign.

As I read this, I first thought you were being sarcastic but I think you are completely serious! It's definitely a unique idea. I'm not sure I would go so far as to put that much control in my players' hands but if I can get ideas for the direction of the campaign from them, all the better.

 

[pogre]

And I actually thought this was a cool idea.

It is a cool idea, but I shudder to thinbk of the names my players would come up with - I had to institute an approval process for PC names!