Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 243 - Friendly NPCs
Episode Date: December 15, 2024Friendly NPCs are often overlooked when it comes to campaigns. DMs focus on the antagonists and sometimes forget about the allies. In this episode I make a case for including friendly NPCs in your... game and give you some tips for running them.  #pf2e #Pathfinder #gmtips #dmtips #dnd #NPCTips Resources: How to Be a Great GM - Adding a Lovable NPC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUrh9p2IM0 How to Be a Great GM - Self-Operating NPCs (OGAS) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzWXuy8QWgI
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This week on the Taking20 Podcast.
But an NPC with an affection for a party, or at least certain members of it?
An NPC who's actively rooting for and supporting the characters long term through their adventure?
There are layers to that onion that should be handled very carefully and that onion can
really stink if you use it wrong.
Thank you for listening to the Taking 20 Podcast, episode 243, a back to basics episode for
DMs about running friendly NPCs in your game.
I want to thank this week's sponsor, Oil.
You know, black gold, Texas tea.
I knew someone who would bathe in oil once a week.
He was really slick.
Hey, we have a website, www.taking20podcast.com.
Come on by, check out some old episodes,
make some comments, et cetera, et cetera.
I want to apologize for having to miss
a normal release date.
I came down and actually still have a bad case of bronchitis and sinus
infection and at that time I had very little voice for about two weeks. I was coughing
and wheezing and frankly sounded like crap, even worse than I sound right now. I tried
to record the first part of this episode then and all of the audio processing in the world
wouldn't have made it sound even remotely good.
I tried all the way up to the Friday before and it, I'm sorry, it just wasn't happening.
I'm still coughing by the way, weeks later, and I've been negative for COVID and flu, so yay,
but I'm just going to have to push through as best I can and you're going to have to listen to a fairly rough voice.
So I apologize for that. I apologize for the ramble to begin the episode.
And sorry again for missing that episode a few weeks ago.
The last episode of the year will be published on December 29th.
That episode will be about an important concept for DMs and players
about fun versus realism. So be ready for that.
Anyway, thank you for listening on to the episode.
Most of the people and things that we meet in RPGs are not what I would call friendly,
amiable, convivial, or whatever word you want to use.
Many NPCs are trying very, very hard to kill our characters.
Most monsters we meet in dungeons or in the wilderness aren't really interested in having
a discussion about the weather and the fall harvest.
They don't really care how our characters' families are doing unless they want to find them and eat them too.
Even those that aren't openly hostile are usually just there and just want to go about their lives
and don't really give two craps about this group of murder hobos who just arrived.
Shopkeepers, merchants, travelers, or random people in town who have their own concerns,
or just usually two-dimensional, non-motivated beings that exist for a particular interaction and
then gone from the world.
Now, can you have a game that way?
Shit yeah, you can have a tremendously fun game that way.
It's the characters against the world because most of the world ignores them and those that
don't want to profit off them, kill them, take their stuff, or use them to benefit the NPC's own agenda.
However, what about the NPCs that don't meet those criteria?
The friendly NPCs, or dare I even say it, helpful ones, who root for the NPCs, like
them, and maybe even support them on their missions.
These, for lack of a better term, I'll call friendly NPCs, and they can be a real challenge
for DMs.
The DMs handling a hostile raider encounter where they're trying to rob the PCs?
Sure.
Raiders have swords, they threaten to put the pointy ends into the PCs, not a lot of
nuance or conversation there.
But an NPC with an affection for a party, or at least certain members of it?
An NPC who's actively rooting
for and supporting the characters long term through their adventure? There are layers
to that onion that should be handled very carefully, and that onion can really stink
if you use it wrong.
Let's start with the obvious. Advice about handling friendly NPCs will be more relevant
in games with heavier roleplay elements. If there's no roleplay in your game and your game is just primarily tactical combat with
non-combat NPCs just being there to be shopkeepers and quest givers, then who gives a crap if
the local merchant takes a shine to the party cleric?
You're not going to roleplay that interaction, so it really doesn't matter.
GMs, as we prep for the next session, friendly NPCs are so easy to overlook or at least gloss
over.
A lot of the games are combat focused, and because of this the antagonists get more attention
than friendly NPCs would.
And as a GM, if PCs pay more attention to it, we tend to work more on prepping it.
That's just good common sense.
We maximize the effectiveness of our prep time by focusing on what the players think is important.
As an aside though, if you're in a game where NPCs are largely ignored, why use friendly
NPCs at all? Why should GMs waste their precious time designing conversation topics for Gloria
the Armorsmith to have with the PCs just in case they decide to engage in conversation
for this 1-in-one-hundred
NPC?
Well, okay, first of all, having a few conversation topics ready makes your game more realistic,
or at least aligned with the vast majority of modern societies.
Most interactions with people are at least a neutral interaction.
Mostly people ignore everybody else, but sometimes someone strikes up a conversation while you're
waiting for the bus, or you're on the train, or while you're waiting for coffee, picking up lunch, or you're
at work, or school, or wherever. Some people are more extroverted than others, and it's
easier for them to strike up these conversations, but generally people tend to be fairly neutral
towards each other. So GMs, while world building, make the amount
of interaction the PCs get with NPCs vary
by area of the world.
In other words, there's friendly and there's friendly.
I happen to live in the southern United States where strangers can be downright chatty with
one another.
I was waiting for a prescription the other day and had a 15 minute conversation with
a very nice guy whom I had never seen before in my life.
Sure, it was superficial, we talked
about the weather, our kids, who's sick, and well wishes that they get better, but
it was not a conversation I would have had in other places where I've lived. Other places
that gentleman and I could have sat there for two hours, never even acknowledging the
other person's existence. So DMs, are there areas of the world where people are friendlier,
more outgoing, more accepting of others?
Consider adding some areas like that.
Conversely, start adding places where people are annoyed by strangers, especially out of
towners.
Think, and I'm sorry for my listeners who happen to live here, New York City.
They do not suffer fools gladly.
And the times I've been there, they generally aren't open to having a conversation unless
they know you or they have to.
Then, of course, there will be areas of the world that are in the middle, where you're
generally tolerated but don't piss them off.
Maybe that's most of your world, by the way, or maybe it's just the really complex areas
like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
One of my favorite stories about Philly was by a friend of mine whose rental car broke
down because a battery died.
A couple of people stopped, called him a dumbass, and then helped jumpstart his car.
So I'd recommend having areas of your world that are tolerant of outsiders.
For example, I'm running Abomination Vaults at the moment, and people in the nearby little
town of Otari are generally friendly to outsiders because they have a good trade for adventurers
and sailors and they bring in good money to the town.
Some of the local people even run services that cater to outsiders over inns and taverns and gaming halls, etc. But also adventuring equipment. There are places to buy and sell stuff and even places where outsiders can make a bit of coin during downtime.
They're building conversations in the adventure that can be had with outsiders that gain the trust of the people of the town, and entire adventures can follow on from there.
The group I'm running through has been downright helpful to some of the townsfolk and word
has gotten around.
They are generally good eggs.
Some people want to meet them, some want their help, and some want to take advantage of them.
All of this by starting a couple of friendly NPCs, Wren Savinxy and Tamalee Tandervale to name them. The more the PCs have interacted
with friendly NPCs, the more they've grown fond of those NPCs in town, or at
least they appear to. So another reason why I put friendly NPCs in my game is
that they allow an opportunity to inject relationships into the game. I don't mean romantic, although there's always that chance.
I'm talking about friendly relationships that can come in all kinds of forms.
Sure, love interests, absolutely.
But honestly, I tend to keep most of the love interest stuff off camera if it's going to
happen at all.
Okay, yeah, you spend an evening with Tamalee discussing her love of the sea and the difficult decision she made to
settle down on the mainland. We're not role-playing that out. I love my players
but that's not an exact aspect of the game that I would enjoy running for them.
Friendly NPCs though could just become friends and confidants of the party. This
I do role-play. I love it when that friendly banter starts
between a character and one of the NPCs I'm voicing. They grow closer, start to trust
each other, and next thing you know, maybe one asks the other for advice and they root
for each other to succeed in whatever is important to them.
Another type of friendly NPC that you could have in your game is a mentor or a teacher.
Having that wise NPC who can give the
player characters a nudge when they're stuck, someone that the PCs trust and that their advice
can go a long way. Having that mentor or teacher is a great tool for a DM that can bump the party
towards the right direction to keep the adventure going because if your party's like mine, sometimes
they get stuck and start going the wrong direction for a particular adventure, for example.
Down a dead-end path, so to speak.
Sometimes friendly NPCs could be experts in a field or service providers, the town healer,
a guide for the area the PCs haven't been, NPCs that are retainers that work at the party's
home or castle.
Sometimes the PCs are just consulting with an expert on the occult, or tinkering with
gadgets or to learn a new skill as they level up.
And of course, friendly NPCs could be shopkeepers or merchants.
Generally they'll be friendly to customers who respect the rules and aren't too annoying.
That being said, DMs should treat friendly NPCs that are short-term
members of the campaign differently than those who will be in the campaign long-term. Short-term
NPCs can be less developed. Maybe give them a name, a personality, and a motivation, voila,
you're done, move on. The PCs are talking with Morgan Gaspacho, the traveling soup maker,
who happens to be going the same direction as the party for a time.
Brief conversation, likely about ingredients, the weather, their pet donkey named Hominy
who's pulling the ingredient wagon slash stove and voila, you're done.
However, if Viscount Delia will be a long-term quest giver, then you're better off fleshing
out that NPC to prepare for multiple interactions.
As a reminder from a previous episode, what do I mean by fleshing out NPCs?
Way back in episode...9. Man, I f***ed up all of a sudden.
I talked about realistic NPCs and making them three-dimensional. Give them a description,
something unique about them like their appearance or an accent. Give them goals and dreams and motivations and voila,
fleshed out NPC. Maybe Delia is tall and thin, which is an indication of her half-elf heritage.
Maybe they have a small scar on their neck from their time as a fencer.
Now, okay, you may be asking, do I mean fencer as in someone who engaged in sword play?
Or do I mean someone who built fences? Either would be an interesting backstory for someone who
is now as highly ranked as a Viscount. They're motivated to display their fierce loyalty to
their local ruler because of a shared secret from about 10 years ago. What's that secret? I don't
know. I'm making it up as I go, but that's for you to determine. That is, if you want to make it part of the campaign. If not, then it's just there for their
motivation and done. Guy Flanders from How to Be a Great GM, which is a fantastic YouTube channel,
by the way, had a great short video about short-term NPCs that I'll link to in the resources,
and if you're watching on YouTube, there'll be a little blip in the corner. You can click that link.
and if you're watching on YouTube, there'll be a little blip in the corner. You can click that link.
He has a great method for generating NPCs called OGAS.
Occupation, goal, attitude and state.
I'll have a link to this OGAS method video in the resources
and in the description of the episode.
Go check that out.
So short term NPCs can be simple and quick to design,
but I'd recommend that you give long term NPCs more depth.
The last type of differentiation I want to give to you regarding friendly NPCs are those
NPCs that are external to the party versus those that will travel with or even become
members of the party.
Up until now I've been discussing friendly NPCs who will exist away from the party, the
general goods merchant, the ship's captain, party's home butler.
But what about NPCs who will
be traveling with the party and sticking with them?
With external NPCs, you know the PCs will interact with them and most interactions will
be quick and maybe even transactional. Party needs to sell 35 various melee weapons and
16 shortbows they claim from that kobold outpost they raided and broke up. Sure, here's 40
gold pieces for the lot. Alright, see you next time. Thanks for coming to Sunny Sundries. Maybe they'll ask Sunny about some goings
on about town, the quest that they're on to figure out what that night howling is and
where it's coming from, but mostly the interaction's quick hitting. But NPCs that stick with the
party can be part of a discussion anytime about potentially any and every topic, and you need to be prepared.
These NPCs can show more personality and depth. Remember why they're traveling with the
NPCs. Are they experts in a field, taking care of weapons and animals? Are they combatants
that fill a certain role that was missing from the party, like a trap-finding rogue
or a healer? If so, they will generally do their job to the best of their ability and
do what they're hired to do.
For example, let's say the PCs hire an animal expert to help keep the mounts in good condition.
This could especially be needed if the mounts are unusual.
In most of my games in any fantasy world, absent an ancestral or backstory reason to the contrary,
everybody knows how to ride a horse, or horse-like animal.
Maybe it's riding dogs for halflings or whatever,
but everyone is a standard animal they know how to ride and generally care for.
However, what if the party has been given griffins to ride?
They will probably need to hire an expert to help take care of these griffins.
They may know how to feed and take care of a horse,
but a flying apex predator?
That's a horse of a different color.
Hey!
Oh yeah, I may be sick, but I still got it baby.
The point being that the Griffin Caretaker will likely be with the PCs for days, weeks,
or maybe even longer. Those are the PCs I take the time to give a backstory and motivation
and maybe even interests and hobbies. They will or at least may have more interaction with the PCs than
the local armorer, so spend more time developing them. I've already said you can include friendly
NPCs or not in your campaign. Maybe vary their level of interaction depending on where in the
world the PCs are and including them is an opportunity to develop relationships between
the PCs and the rest of the world. Obviously long-term NPCs should be more fleshed out than the one-and-done interactions.
So here are some tips for handling friendly NPCs.
1. You don't need a three-page backstory on every NPC, but they all come from somewhere
and want something. Name, description, something unique, maybe a personality if you want to,
and a motivation. These five things make any fictional character feel more real. Two, all NPCs, especially ones friendly to the
party, should react naturally to what's going on around them and what the PCs do.
Most of them won't say, oh these gold fillings came from the orphanage that's
in flames? Cool. I'll stuff them in the saddlebag and they'll be ready to sell
when you're ready to go to the next town. No.
Unless they're a complete psychopath and maybe.
They should have believable motivations and reactions to what the PCs do.
They should be ready to agree or disagree with party actions,
and if they dramatically disagree with the party,
maybe they threaten to leave and then do it if the party keeps doing things they disagree with.
Have them communicate their feelings with both speech, body language, and tone of voice.
3.
Don't make the friendly NPCs a Mary Sue type character.
Perfect in every way, competent in everything, flawless, etc.
It's just not believable.
People have flaws and drawbacks and your NPCs should as well.
And then four.
Don't make long term NPCs the Deus Ex Machina that solves all the PC's problems.
Well I may be a simple day laborer hired to carry these parts for ya, but I also happen
to be a level 20 rogue.
I can pick that lock for you.
What the hell is that? Don't turn long-term
NPCs into the magical cure-all, solve-all, do-all for the party, thereby rendering the party
unnecessary. Have them stick to what they're good at and be good at that.
Friendly NPCs add depth and realism to your game. If you have any roleplay whatsoever, I would suggest that you not just focus on hostile
encounters but also have some friendly NPCs whether they only appear once or recurring
NPCs throughout your campaign.
Make them unique in some way, give recurring NPCs some depth, have them react naturally
to the PC's actions and choices, and I'd be willing to bet that you and your friends
would have fun doing it.
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In two weeks, I'm going to highlight an important DM tip that's in the 2024 DM guide about fun versus realism.
But before I go, I want to thank this week's sponsor, Oil. I am so sorry about the bad Oil
joke at the beginning of the episode. I promise, future Oil jokes will be more refined. This has
been episode 243, giving you some reasons for and tips to run friendly NPCs. My name is Jeremy Shelley
and I hope that your next game is your best game. The Taking 20 podcast is a Publishing
Cube media production. Copyright 2024. References to game system content or copyright their respective
publishers.