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NPC Method of Detail |
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Misc Gaming Mechanics Index | NPC Building Index | |
The Questions | |
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Coming up with interesting character details for NPCs has several effects. One, when you know more about your NPCs, it’s much easier for the PCs to interact with them. Two, it can help you to come up with all sorts of plots! There is such a thing as taking this too far, of course. As I said in a previous article, if you detail every NPC to death, you’ll be too busy writing up NPCs to detail anything about the plots themselves, or even to run the game. This leaves you two choices. The first is to detail your NPCs thoroughly, which you’ll want to do with a few NPCs but not all of them. The second is something I call the “bright spots method.” This is an NPC which you detail minimally for the most part. But you slip in a few bright spots of detail that you can pull on later for plots, or which lend individuality and uniqueness to a character that would otherwise be skeletal. After all, it often isn’t whether the NPC is well-detailed that matters - it’s whether he comes across that way to your players. If he has a few interesting details to him he’ll probably seem complete even if he isn’t. If you need to complete him later, those bright spots of personality will make the job easier. Sometimes asking yourself a weird question like “what books does this NPC read?” can give you a push in the direction of a new plot. Or it can provide a way to make this NPC seem just a little different from all of the others you have to play. Thus, I’ve put together a whole bunch of questions you can ask of your NPC. I don’t really recommend that you go through all of them for a single NPC, unless you’re really trying to waste some spare time! Just pick one or two questions to answer for each NPC, and see where it takes you. Ignore any question you don’t want to answer, or that doesn’t inspire you. Copy-paste the list into a word processor file, save it, and add your own questions. Some of these questions are more trivial than others. You never know what will spark that idea, after all. I’m basing these questions in the assumption that the game takes place in the modern day, but most questions should translate easily into other genres and time periods. | |
Places to Go, People to See | |
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What are her hangout places? Does she go to a bar after work? Does she play pool? Does she go dancing? Who goes with her? If you detail this, you’ll know what to do when your PCs decide to go looking for her. Who are her buddies? A reading circle? Friends she emails with on the internet? Some people she went to college with? Her co-workers? A neighbor? Someone she met at a coffee shop? Detail this and you’ll know who would miss your NPC should she go missing, who might protect her, and who might be convinced to sell her out. How close is she to her friends? What do they know about her? What do they not know about her? What does she know and not know about them? Does she live with anyone? Housemates? Roommates? Relatives? Friends? Near-strangers? A family friend? A spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover? (Somehow most RPG characters seem to live alone, yet the majority of people I’ve met in real life live with someone.) Is she married? (Have you noticed that almost all characters in RPGs are single? Isn’t that weird?) Maybe your NPC has a spouse, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a fiancée, or a “significant other.” Maybe she has several. Is there anyone she protects? A child or other relative? A friend? Why does she see herself as their protector? | |
Past History | |
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What stupid things did she do when she was younger? This gives you secrets, blackmail material, motivation, and friends and enemies. What hurt will she never forgive? What awful thing did someone do to her, and why can’t she forgive them? It could be something small, an off-handed comment her father made to her, a hurtful lie a friend spread about her, etc. Or it could be some terrible abuse. Who was her first love? How did it turn out, and why? Which toys from her childhood has she kept? Why? What do they mean to her? If she didn’t keep any, why not? What did she do to them all? Burn them? Give them away? | |
Fears and Desires | |
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What is her secret dream? What one goal, ambition, or desire (realistic or unrealistic) does she keep hidden from everyone? What is her worst fear? What terrifies her? What gives her nightmares? What does she dread? What does she wish she could do that she can’t? Does she wish she could be a painter, but her watercolors look like ugly blobs? Does she want to know how to ride horses, but animals don’t like her? | |
Hobbies and Habits | |
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What are her hobbies? You never know when an ability to paint, write, or make candles will come in handy as a plot point or scenery. What does she read? Scientific textbooks? Historical novels? Cookbooks? Romances? News magazines? Science fiction, fantasy, or horror? The newspaper? Short stories or novels? This doesn’t just give you keys to personality. It also tells you how up she is with the news, and where she might get ideas for how to go about things. What music does she like? Classical? Rap? Heavy metal? Pop? Brass bands? Barbershop quartets? Folk? Does she have a favorite artist? Will she listen to the same songs over and over, or does it drive her nuts when people do that? | |
Physical Details | |
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Does she get sick? Maybe she catches the flu twice a year and that’s it. Or maybe she has a weak immune system and catches anything that goes around. (Psst - have you noticed that RPG characters never get sick unless it’s part of some plot? No one ever gets the flu!) Does she have any long-term ailments? This too can provide the occasional odd plot point, as well as a way to get to her if she’s the enemy. What about disfigurements and handicaps? Limps? Scars? Blindness? Tendonitis? How does she exercise? Does she work out at the gym? Does she take walks in the morning? Does she run marathons? Is she a couch potato? What build does she have? Is she overweight? Underweight? Muscled? Wiry? Shaped like a pear? Dumpy? Pudgy? Angular? (Have you noticed that lots of RPG characters are of “average” or “slender” build? Except of course for combat antagonists, who are muscled.) | |
Her Home | |
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Where does she live? Does she rent or own? Apartment or house? How close are the neighbors? Is it a good neighborhood? What color is the house? Which floor is she on? Does she have a lawn? What about a flower garden? Does her house have an attic or basement? What does her furniture look like? Is her house crowded, with mismatched furniture from random office supply stores? Is the furniture second-hand and scratched up? Does she buy antiques? What about a spare, clean, Oriental look? What do her walls look like? Are they plain white or off-white, or some odd color like “eggplant” or puce? Are they wallpapered, and if so, with what? Are they covered with posters or artsy photos? What sorts of curtains does she have? Frilly lacy ones, venetian blinds, or pull-down shades? Does she keep her house clean? Does her house sparkle? Does it constantly bear the smell of antiseptic cleansers? Is it dusty? Is the bathtub moldy or coated in rust? Does she clean it herself, do her kids clean it, or does she call in a maid service? What does her desk look like? Is it small and cramped? Huge and expansive? Covered in drifts of books and papers? Neatly ordered and clean? Can she find a pen when she needs it? What color are her sheets? Are they black, green, or white? Satin or cotton? Patterned with flowers, or covered with pictures of toy robots? | |
Details of Life | |
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What sorts of food does she eat? Does she cook her own dinners? Is she a good cook, a gourmet, or a terrible cook? Does she have a spouse to cook for her? Does she eat out? Does she get fast food? Is she on a diet? Does she eat a lot when she’s upset? Is she vegan or vegetarian? Where does she vacation, and how often? Does she go on quiet yoga retreats? Does she ski? Does she like the beach? Does she sit at home with the phone and doorbell unplugged and watch bad movies? What clothes does she like and wear? Does she wear practical business suits? Luxurious gowns? Sweats and a T-shirt? Jeans and a blouse? Running shoes, boots, sandals, or high heels? Formal coat, trench coat, or waterproof hiking jacket? Is there any kind of clothing that she keeps in her closet but doesn’t wear out? Does she dress differently for work, at home, and when she goes out? Does she have any pets? A puppy? A couple of cats? A guard dog? What about goldfish? A rabbit? A bird? A boa constrictor? Mice? A lizard? A large spider? An ant farm? A monster? | |
Information and Technology | |
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Does she use a computer? Does she talk about sensitive things over email or on a cell phone? Does she keep important documents on-line? If so, does she know anything about computer security? If she doesn’t use a computer, what does she keep in her paper files, and are they well-secured? This may provide a way for the PCs to get information. What about a journal or diary? Does she keep any kind of record, electronic or paper, of what she does? Is it straightforward or cryptic? Is it in some sort of code? Is it dull, daily information, or deeply personal? What about a calendar or address book? How clear and decipherable are the entries? Where does she keep them? What kind of computer does she use? A Mac? An IBM? A machine running Linux? Does she have a palm-top computer, or a laptop? Does she have the latest super-fast machine, or an old, used piece of junk? What does she use it for? What sort of background does she have on her monitor? | |
Conclusion | |
| Thinking about some of the above questions can help you create fully fleshed-out NPCs, capable of being thrown into any situation. You’ll find you have fewer silent minutes during game, your NPCs stand out from each other more, and you’ll know what to do when your party strikes out in weird directions next time. Well okay, you’ll know more of what to do than you used to, and that helps! | |
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