The group of player characters (PCs) will unavoidably come across other sentient beings and humans during any expedition. These are the world’s non-player characters (NPCs), who are mostly managed, acted out, and controlled by the game master. An NPC may occasionally be “taken over” by a player at the table to lighten the GM’s workload or to enable a greater range of interactions (and certain systems strongly encourage these instances). However, that is a completely separate article.
Supporting and opposing NPCs is the topic of the post I’m delivering to you today. There will be an addition at the conclusion to discuss the possibility of neutral NPCs, something I had not thought about until I started writing this essay. The majority of NPCs, however, will fall somewhere between oppositional and supporting. It’s not a binary; it’s a spectrum.
For the benefit of the PCs, very few NPCs will put their lives in danger. Only a small percentage of NPCs will sacrifice everything they have in order to crush the PCs’ goals and stop them. Both of those things are possible, but generally speaking, support and opposition will be measured behaviors rather than absolutes.
I won’t go into detail on how to make large-scale, successful NPCs. Other articles and Gnomecast episodes have addressed that subject (both in terms of number and quality). I will, however, discuss some points to think about in relation to the excursion you are planning.
Overall Traits
Additionally, you have already identified your boss (and any sub-bosses). The themes, styles, and tones you’ve established for your Boss and the mooks should be supported (or purposefully broken) by the NPCs in the places that overlap with the Boss areas. This implies that a mountain dwarf ranger is most likely not the best NPC to arrive and assist if the group gets lost while hiking through a swamp. But if a mountain-based ranger got lost in the marsh too and joined the group until everyone was orientated, that would be really funny.
An amiable swamp hag who is familiar with the location and surroundings would be a superior substitute for the mountain ranger. Why would the party benefit from a hag? It’s possible that the hag and the trolls in the area where the party is hunting are completely different. The hag may have lost a father or sister to the troll’s evils, yet she is powerless to defeat the troll or the Troll Boss on her own.
Supporting NPCs
What is it that the NPC is prepared to give up for the PCs?
In order to assist the PCs, supporting NPCs must have a compelling motive to take a risk. By offering the PCs a discount at the nearby store owned by the NPC, the risk can occasionally be as little as a small portion of their store’s profit. Stepping up, donning armor, grabbing a weapon, and pushing into the swamplands with the others is sometimes the danger. The range of options between the “neutral NPC setting” and the “fanatically supportive NPC setting” is unlimited. The secret is to turn that dial in the proper direction so that the other party isn’t suspicious of either too much help or not enough support.
To varying degrees and in various ways, several NPCs will be able to support the party. The NPCs’ abilities and goals are the only factors that determine this. After figuring out how an NPC can assist the PCs 100% of the time, you must use the NPC’s motives to gauge how close the NPC will get to “100% support.”
Opposing NPCs
For what reason does the NPC oppose the party? What are they doing?
On the other hand, why would an NPC obstruct the party’s progress? I normally begin with opposing NPCs at that point. I figure out the how after I understand the why. Is it destroying the group’s equipment or horses? Taking something important away from them? Giving them false information and lying to them? Attacking them directly? Telling the mooks or the boss what the party is doing? Just trying to drain their money by charging them 110% of the general store item’s value?
I calculate the “how much” of the resources the opposing NPC can provide to the party after I understand the why and how. At times, the “how much” is insignificant (e.g., charging 110% of the general store’s item values). On occasion, the “how much” might be putting together a sizable strike force to ambush the group while they are traveling to the swamp’s edge.
It is important to remember that opposing NPCs shouldn’t always be invisible and “behind the curtain.” The Boss always knowing what the party is up to is only annoying to the players, and it gives the impression that the GM is “cheating” because there is no rational way for the Boss to be aware of the party’s plans. Although the enigmatic NPC may be seen in the background or in passing (or even concealed in plain sight as a villager), the identity of the main antagonist should be disclosed by the adventure’s conclusion. This might be as simple as a handout or three that contain correspondence between the NPC and the Boss. (Side note: Why do the criminals never seem to get rid of their incriminating notes? Why not set them on fire? Unfortunately, those are questions for an other time.
Neutral NPCs
Not everyone is in favor of or against PCs.
Neutrality falls somewhere in the middle of the supporting vs. opposing spectrum. The majority of the NPCs will begin the adventure here. These include your town’s residents, other city dwellers who are unfamiliar with the boss or PCs, businesspeople, and people you met while traveling. Even if they might have something to offer the PCs, the neutral NPCs won’t give it freely. They will not, however, attempt to conceal or preserve the offer from the PCs. In order to convince the NPC to share whatever rumors, stories, goods, or advice they have, the PCs will need to put in a little effort (or distribute some cash) has in hand.
Changing Alignment
No. In this part, I’m not referring to a paladin becoming a “mere” fighter and losing her legal good alignment. Here, I’ll discuss how an NPC’s perspective on the PCs can change depending on the party’s behavior. I prefer to keep things simple in this situation. Make use of a 0–20 scale, where 10 represents neutrality, 20 represents strong support, and 0 represents strong opposition. Depending on what the PCs do with the NPC, I will move the NPC’s alignment up or down the scale after assigning a starting point. This is only a fast reference and a gut feeling.
The difference between a 12 and a 14 on the scale has no hard-and-fast rules or mechanics. To easily determine if Graynar the Merchant is a 4 or an 18—which will influence what Graynar is willing to offer to the party and at what percentage of actual value—I just have a note in my document next to each NPC.
Conclusion
I hope this post helps you clarify your thoughts about which NPCs should support or oppose the party (and why!), as well as how to go about figuring out what the NPCs can and will do to demonstrate their support or opposition. I’ll be discussing some exciting topics next month, including connective tissue, rumors, and clues.
Our amazing patron Troy E. Taylor, who has been with us since January 2025, is the one who brought you this post! We appreciate your assistance in keeping the stew fires burning!