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Thin NPCs are perfectly fine in the right setting Some games, especially 1 shots, don't have a ton of time to develop characters. Use NPCs as obstacles. Put them in a blender and let the players hit "Mix". In a game about relationships, interactions between cliches are much more easy to latch on to than complex backstories and machinations. Why is the Dork a Drugdealer? Whay are the Slut and the Closeted Gay Guy, or the Innkeeper and the Out of Town Vigilante drinking together? Why are the mayor and Professor Exposition never seen in the same place? Your characters will speculate why. If their ideas are good, use their ideas. If they ain't, say "hmmm, maybe", scribble notes, and then use them when you need a mysterious person to set off the explosives, betray the town to goblins, or cast the tie-breaking vote in the student election.
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Apr 15, 2014 07:13
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Ettin posted:These are both terrible NPC archetypes. That's the genre of Monsterhearts though. Reputations are extremely narrow and archetypes are broadly drawn, just like the source fiction. It's only when the PCs get involved that people gain depth (and usually in response to the NPCS). Most games don't have the GM represent an entire ecosystem of selfish scared people who feel differently about every PC, and in those you should obviously use less Arch archetypes. They're also easier to subvert. Closeted gay guy is actually hiding a monster-hunting pact; "Slutty" girl is vampire queen and has to be alone with plenty of people, etc.
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Apr 16, 2014 04:32
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