Miniature Mondays - Cultist

Miniature Mondays - Cultist

What dwells in the dark

They follow without question

Driven mad by faith

You can grab your fig here!

and your digital fig here!

DM Advice - 3 Question NPCs

DM Tips - 3 Question NPCs

We know the cliché: you spend a week and a half preparing an NPC (Non-Player Character) that sees about 5 seconds of game time before they are either forgotten, ignored, or killed by the party, while the town guard (whose name you pulled out of a hat) ends up becoming their lifelong boon companion. 

So how do you create an NPC that is so compelling, so original, so amazing that the players simply can’t relegate them into obscurity? The answer is you can’t, and you shouldn’t. Not only does this plotting and scheming go against player agency, but most players, if not all, are primed by pit traps, mimics, double-crosses, and plot twists to be extremely paranoid of any NPC that has a back story. Other NPC-avoidant players tend to just be dicks that want to see the GM squirm.

So, if you can’t make the players engage, let's address the other half of the issue: the amount of time spent prepping the NPC.  The following is my method for quick-and-dirty NPCs.

Step One: Give ‘em a name. Simple, name the NPC.  There are hundreds of random name generators on the internet if this step vexes you.

Step Two: Answer these three questions with relation to the NPCs role in the scene:

What does the NPC want?

What is stopping the NPC from getting it?

What is the NPC willing to do to get it?

Now, if you find yourself struggling to answer these questions with regard to the immediate scene, step back and answer these questions for their long-term wants and goals. Then, look at the scene and determine what they can accomplish in it to bring them closer to their end goal. 

What we have done by answering these questions is established the NPC's root desire and defined the core conflict of the scene. All sentient beings want something, at any given moment of their lives; it could be something as simple as being left alone, or making the other person smile, or selling a pair of stylish shoes for a handsome profit. It is this "want" that drives our decisions.  You can use this root desire as a touchstone for your NPC's reactions. All their actions and dialogue are tools for them to steer the scene towards their objective.  

The best part is, even if the players ignore the NPC, they can still pursue their goal in the background, advancing their agenda and giving the world a life of its own. If you understand these core elements of your NPC, then the rest of the elements are just window dressing.

Step Three: Window dressing. Fill in the cosmetics: race, class, shoe size, fetish, accent, etc. These can either stem from the three questions, or you can randomly generate these as well.

There you have it! You’ve just created an NPC in less time than it will take your party to ignore them.

Good gamin'!

Miniature Mondays - Slaad Cook

Miniature Mondays - Slaad Cook

What better way for the forces of chaos to infiltrate the royal wedding than with frog chef from Limbo. 

You can grab your fig here!

And you digital fig here!

Miniature Mondays - White Dragon

Miniature Mondays - White Dragon

Winter Wyrm wanting wealth; will wallop warriors without warning.

You can grab your physical fig here!

You can grab your digital fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Manticore

Miniature Mondays - Manticore

A red eyed, brown furred, flying purple people eater.

You can grab the physical fig here!

and the digital fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Shadow Demon

Miniature Mondays - Shadow Demon

When a demon dies it is a shadow of its former self.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Gustov, Dwarven Merchant

Miniature Mondays - Gustov, Dwarven Merchant

A bag of gold is a multifaceted weapon.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Lizard Folk

Miniature Mondays - Lizard Folk

Cold blooded savage

Tromping through the swampy marsh

They eat the face last.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Monday - Omni-elemental

Miniature Monday  - Omni-elemental

 Some wizards are just so indecisive. 

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Human Slave

Miniature Mondays - Human Slave

Not everyone gets labor day off.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Gnome Scavenger

Miniature Mondays - Gnome Scavenger

Minuscule miners of muck and mire.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Nol, Master Scavenger, and his Stone Golem

Miniature Mondays - Nol, Master Scavenger, and his Stone Golem

Its amazing the things that wash up on the shore. Waste not, want not.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Traveling Halfling Merchant

Miniature Mondays - Traveling Halfling Merchant

Forget your rope, rations, ten foot pole? No problem this pint size proprietor has your back.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Sharkman Warrior

Miniature Mondays - Sharkman Warrior

Under the sea in the city of Xyx, Aithon's army of sharkmen stir, hungry for battle.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Mutated Guardsman

Miniature Mondays - Mutated Guardsman

Why march your army halfway across the world when there is a perfectly good one already there.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Phase Spider

Miniature Mondays - Phase Spider

You will need more than a cup and piece of paper to trap this dimension shifting arachnid.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Hammerhead - Deranged Dragon Daddy

Miniature Mondays - Hammerhead - Deranged Dragon Daddy

What kind of father trades his unborn children for set of rare coins? Why a black dragon with an ancient dwarven hammer lodged in his brain of course.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Lucinda - Dismembered Demonic Dragon Daughter

Miniature Mondays - Lucinda - Dismembered Demonic Dragon Daughter

Whatever doesn't kill you may require you to make a pact with a demon prince, so you can have the power to exact your revenge.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Training Golems

Miniature Mondays - Training Golems

What better sparring partner for a young mage, than one that doesn't mind getting blown up.

You can grab your fig here!

Miniature Mondays - Kôr - Fire Giant Sentinel of Voltano

Miniature Mondays - Kôr - Fire Giant Sentinel of Voltano

Only the strongest may stand watch over the gates.

They prove this by wearing the skull of the second strongest.

You can grab your fig here!