[Kromm]

Yeah, CRPG escort quests are not the same thing at all. I've played many (far too many) CRPGs, and those sorts of quests aren't really what I've been writing about here. There, you basically have a squishy monster magnet over whom the player has zero influence. I'm talking about an NPC who could be persuaded to go along with plans through good roleplaying rather than mechanical Influence rolls, which is essentially not within the realm of even the best AI at the moment.

"Okay, this plan all comes down to you, Mr. Blue. When the monsters show up over there, you have to pull this rope back here right on cue, or we're doomed. We'll leave Father Aesculapius with you to watch your back, but that's all we can spare – you're going to have to hold out with almost no support. Our fate is in your hands!"

Of course, the rope mostly just triggers a trap that gives the group a small advantage. Its real value is keeping Mr. Blue 20 yards back from the battle lines. And Father Aesculapius is there to buff and heal Blue so much that he'd have to actively try to die. But Blue doesn't need to know any of that, and his Indomitable won't matter because he has Gullibility and the explanation seems to make sense.

I'm really talking more about a character who would be an NPC quest-giver but who wants to come along for the ride rather than sending the PCs off to do their work. The NPC would participate, just not all that usefully. But in pure GURPS terms, the NPC could still be worth quite a few points in the form of Contacts, Indomitable, Multimillionaire, high Status, Unfazeable, and hopefully a bit of Luck.