Populating the game > Making interesting NPCs Duncan Fingarson Senior Columnist PCs, short for “non-player characters” represent the vast majority of the people in a game world. Every shopkeeper, bandit, villager, etc., are NPCs. These are the people the players will spend their gaming time interacting with and doing quests for. These are also the people that your players will never be able to remember come next session. Most games run weekly, or less often. That’s a lot of time for the players to forget who your NPCs are, their names, what they do... the list goes on. One of the challenges faced by the GM (Game Master) is making the NPCs memorable. There are a few different ways to do that. First, tropes are most definitely your friend when it comes to NPCs. Give them one or two easily-noticeable physical features and let that define them, at least partially. Say you have a crime boss who could be an ally or antagonist. Draw on some mafia tropes sym DKON MMe Vee OhY Noemi ea swede OE by ORCVOLC RMN CUM Clone Mit Lame Mata Ymbnbrsa la not remember his name, but they’ll probably remember “that shark guy.” Good house-guesting > Like ‘Good Housekeeping, but for when it’s not your house Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Yu can find a million articles and archived books online informing you on how to be a good host. Articles like “how to make your guests feel welcome,” and “easy entertaining” are adimea dozen. What is talked about very little is how to not be a complete asshole when youre staying at someone else’s place for an extended period of time. I will admit, I am very rarely a houseguest. As someone who spends a lot of time pent up in the apartment writing, | am very much a homebody. However, even J must sometimes leave my dwelling to go on wondrous adventures for fun and profit. In this case | went about four blocks away to stay with a friend during renovations. So, here’s some advice from me to you, and how to be a good houseguest, and not a giant poo—that’s a limerick, I think. If you eat a lot of their food or drink a lot of their beverages—replace it! This is especially important to keep in mind if they usually live alone. They might not be used to budgeting for the expense of having an extra person in their domicile. I’m not saying do this for everything, but if youre a big coffee drinker, maybe at the end of your stay buy them a bag of coffee beans as thanks, or treat them to dinner. It’s really just the polite thing to do. Clean up after yourself. Maybe in your own home you tend to toss dirty clothes around and forget to make the bed, and that’s perfectly fine; but when you stay with someone else you want to limit your intrusion as much as possible, so they don’t regret having you staying there. Keep your mess contained and maybe think about what you would like to see if the roles were reversed. Generally speaking, a houseguest who tidies up enough to keep everything If your NPC is someone important, like a king or powerful wizard, you'll want to go a little deeper. Pick a name that’s not really complicated. RETOMISUEUR LOOM EMEC OKC MRO Bu sent sorb yee Rand is not. Figure out what they want, what motivates them, and have them try to work towards that. It makes the world feel more alive when the major NPCs have goals they're trying to achieve outside of the what they can do for the players. These needn't be complex; perhaps the king wants to expand his kingdom or put down a rebellion. Give the important NPCs a few extra traits and a little more attention. It'll pay off in the long run. You can also put a little thought into where the NPC lives or works. Do they collect something? Do they own a pet? What do they do in their PUN a ren SwawelSVOUNITe ALU Meys oy those questions will give the players something else to latch onto when they're thinking about that NPC. Ultimately, when crafting NPCs, the best advice is to avoid them being generic. Generic wizard OCCA MALO BT ION RLM TNE SKCI a BETee The addition of a few simple, yet memorable, traits will go a long way towards bringing your NPCs—and your world as a whole—to life. somewhat presentable is preferred. Just don’t go overboard. You don’t have to wash their floors or vacuum their couch cushions. Don’t be weird. In the same vein as the last point— wash the bedding before you leave and before they return. In my case, I was staying at a friend’s while she was away for work. She didn’t return until the night before I was going to be leaving. During my stay I slept in her bed because she lives in a studio apartment—so naturally, I washed the sheets before she returned so that she’d have a fresh, clean bed when she got back. For me, this is common courtesy, and it should befor you, too. If youre staying in a guest room, just think of this as being the ultimate way to clean up after yourself. My last tip might sound a bit weird, but because I was staying in someone else’s space while they were not there, I wanted to try to maintain that space as much as possible. What I should have done is take pictures so I’d know how they liked their throw pillows set up and how they liked their bed made— what I actually did was try to decipher it all from memory. So, take pictures! Especially if you're house-sitting, staying at an Airbnb, or even if the host just won't be there with you for a few days.