When our intrepid heroes come to the table, they bring with them a carefully crafted character. This will be a work of art; their pride and joy. Hours will have been spent choosing the class and race, before a single die is rolled. The default skills and abilities will have been accompanied by those that fit the persona they look to play. A rich and diverse backstory will explain the origins of their character, as well as the wants, needs, and motivations. You owe your players nothing less than the same. As a DM, it is your job to provide your players with challenging antagonists that have depth, not just a two-dimensional cookie-cutter NPC. But how? Where do you begin? Join us now as we look at how to create believable NPCs for your 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons games.
Making it Fun
The most important factor to consider is that your NPCs should add ℱto the fun. If you create something too unrealist✤ic, or too powerful, your players may become disgruntled and shatter the immersion. DMs need to think about the target audience for their characters, and they should present a challenge, but not too much so. Their skills need to be something that the players can overcome, but won't result in a steamroll should they fail. There is nothing wrong with player characters meeting their demise as long as it fits, is fair, and everyone had a good time and believe it to be a fair fight. Keep it fun.
Stats
Every NPC should have stats, simple as that. These should never be revealed to a player🅘, but they serve as a reference for you when actions are made against them. Named NPCs, especially “Bosses,” should be unique and have an NPC character sheet, but henchmen or other inconsequential NPCs can share character sheets. A word of warning, when creating a new NPC you need to be aware of race/species averages. Not every NPC in your games is going to be superhuman, in fact, most will be "average." Only the elite few will have above average stats. Create template NPCs that can be🥃 used to quickly draw up a new NPC. These should be tiered with stats based upon the level you assign, and there should be variability in each stat so that they are all not the same. Whenever you introduce a new NPC keep a record of their name and stats just in case the players run into them again.
Skills And Abilities
Character classes are for your players, not your NPCs. Think about what a class does. It sets a boundary for what a player character can do and helps avoid cross over into different professions. The denizens of your world are not heroes or adventurers. They are barmen, boats-men, thieves, pickpockets, carpenters, blacksmiths, farmers, etc. Thinking in these terms lets you assign the skills they need for the role they will p🐲lay. Focus on the important things.
Backstory
Not every character needs a backstory, and even when they do it doesn’t have to be their entire life history. Think about the important things that an encounter with an NPC will bring to the game. Meeting a casual messenger in a tavern🧸 will limit the backstory needed and help you handle some unexpected situations. Think about including how the messenger got there, were they followed, are they in danger. Is this a friend or someone who is normally a foe? Are they looking to barter or f🤡or payment? Are they trustworthy or will they double-cross the players at some point? Have the players met this character before? And if so, what did they discuss? How did the encounter go?
Answering some of these questions before a game/campaign can help you plan an arc or storyline involving this NPC. The more important a character, the mo𒅌reback story they should h🔴ave. Think like an actor and the information they need to get in character. Even if a character is motivated by something as simple as greed, you have something to work with. A lot of this information will remain hidden from the players but it is there for the DM to use in their storytelling and acting of a particular role.
Their Former Life
An NPC may be a tavern owner now, but what did they use to do. Perhaps they worked for one of the Lords and proved their worth earning a large sum that enabled them to retire and live out 🌸their life long dream. If this is so, then it is more than likely that they will have connections or skills outside of a typical barman. This will also bring extra depth to the NPC.
Combat
This can be a tricky area. It is more important to keep the combat flowing than for it to be “stop, look something up, roll dice, start up again, repeat.” Make sure you have all the appropriate information and the tools you need to do the job at hand. There is nothing worse than having to look something up or find that missing die. Be prepared to fudge the numbers a little or embellish the action as you narrate. A narrow loss on a die roll maybe a glancing blow that brushes past, barely leaving a scratch. A huge win could see the opponent lifted off their feet and fling to the other side of the room, slamming into the wall leaving a villain shaped silhouette in the plaster. This flamboyant retelling of combat is a lot better than "Roll to hit." "Does an 18 hit?" "Yes, roll damage." "22 damage." "Ok, next player.” Think theatrically but don’t be too over-fantastical, you are directing a fight scene not the end of the world (unle🎀ss that is what is happening, in which case – go nuts).
There are many things to think about when you cr🐽eate and use NPCs. With a little forethought, you can cater for most situations and play a more rounded character than the cookie-cutter ones you so often see. Make the game fun for not just the players, but you also. You are in a unique position where you can play multiple personalities, from multiple characters. Test not just your storytelling abilities, but your acting as well. Have Fun.