Mass Creating NPCs Help

[Raekai]

I've been GMing my first campaign for two good sessions now. Everything is going smoothly EXCEPT in the NPC department. Bill, George, and Larry. How can I whip them up instantly and yet make them all a little unique? Obviously, it's not just Bill, George, and Larry. I'm talking about people they run into. Most of the time, I won't be statting people up. However, if my players want to kill the NPC, how can I quickly turn around and create important battle stats? Other situations require being able to instantly draw up an NPC. Running around the streets. Going to the tavern. Going to the coliseum. What's the best way to go about this? I tend to over-think things a lot, but I'm willing to experiment and try out methods and ideas thrown at me.

[Langy]

When I don't have an established template to crib off of, I generally utilize Wildcard Skills for unimportant NPCs. These NPCs just aren't important enough to give detailed skill descriptions; so, instead, I give them something like 'Job!-12', where they have a base skill level of 12 for anything directly dealing with their job. I may also give them things like 'Background!-10' - this would be things like Driving, Computer Use, etc. Stuff that they're skilled at, but aren't super important to their job.

I typically give most characters an 11 or 12 in their most important job attribute, and 10s in everything else. More of a difference if it is warranted.

And, of course, toss on random disadvantages/advantages to taste.

I used to have a file full of generic NPC templates in this vein, but I have no idea where it went.

[Emerald Vagrant]

First off, pre-generate some random names appropriate to your setting. A quick internet search should give you plenty of options for that.

Second, keep some cards or a notepad handy - when the party interacts with somebody WRITE IT DOWN. All you need to know right off is 2-3 quick 'tags' (proud of his mustache, dislikes braggarts, afraid of people finding out he collects ceramic unicorns, etc.)

As far as stats, only assign numbers where you absolutely need them. You don't need to know what an average blacksmith's riding or sex appeal skills are. I'd likely assign ST, HT, and blacksmithing skills and that's it.

[Maz]

You don't need a full blown character sheet for random NPC's. In most cases you only need a single skill and sometimes some stats.

I tend to simply give an NPC 12 in his primary skills and then, if needed, stats from 9-11. And build out as needed. Keep it as simple as possible.

For instance.
The PC's meet a shady dealer and decide to bargain with him (opposite Merchant-skill rolls). [I assume he has 12 in merchant and note it]
The PC's don't get the result they want and try to intimidate him. This is against his Will. [I note his Will as 10].
The PC's roll a bad result and the dealer isn't intimidated and now the PC's draw weapons on him.
Once we go into Combat we usually need more stats than usually, but most can be derived by simply setting the 4 Attributes.
I quickly give him ST:10, DX:11, IQ:10, HT:10. From this I know his HP, Basic Speed, Dodge and Damage.
I then give him a knife-skill of 11 and the combat can begin. I would be able to note tall that down in the time it take me to describe the scene for my player and put down a small battlemap.

So to repeat: Keep it simple, only give the stats you need and then expand as needed.
to help you, you might have some basic write-ups prepared in advance. For instance "a thug", "a mugger" and "a guard".

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As an alternative I have begun going a bit more free-minded and "just say yes". This has REALLY helped me as a GM. Especially if running very open games where the PC's are going to run into many new NPC's and new situations.

What I mean by "just say yes" this is that whatever the PCs try to do, just let it happen with a little narrative and ignore the rules.

For instance, if the PC's meet the shady dealer and decide to get into combat with him, then just let them beat him up (or kill him). You don't have to fish out the dies for this because it's not going to be a proper fight anyway. (You know the PC's are going to win).

[Stripe]

I've created several "gener-o" characters and use their stats over and over.

However, if I just need some random Joe who's largely unimportant, I'll make all his stats and skills 10's, 12's, or 14's. If Joe's the average farm hand, he'll have maybe all 10's plus a 12 in ST and a couple skills like Animal Handling and Fishing at 12. Street tough? Same attributes, but Streetwise and Brawling at 12. Oh? The street tough is trying to kick down your inn room's door? He also has Forced Entry and Knife at 12.

No need to go into more detail than that, and I'm big on detail. For total no-name, faceless NPC's that'll never be seen again, instant traits and skills is fine.

[Dammann]

I try to mine quirks from people I talk to in the course of my day. A grouchy barista who won't make eye contact becomes a grouchy stablehand who won't make eye contact. A chatty bank teller becomes a chatty innkeeper. A policeman with a droll sense of humor becomes a guard with a droll sense of humor. I try to remember their faces, too, for physical descriptions. Their attributes are all 9-11, their skills are all 10-12. Combat skills are usually 6. But Quirks and appearance are what I really need. I keep a name list and just use the names in order unless I dislike a particular name. I used to make up back stories for people I meet, but now I file them away for use as NPCs.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Raekai

I've been GMing my first campaign for two good sessions now. Everything is going smoothly EXCEPT in the NPC department. Bill, George, and Larry. How can I whip them up instantly and yet make them all a little unique? Obviously, it's not just Bill, George, and Larry. I'm talking about people they run into. Most of the time, I won't be statting people up. However, if my players want to kill the NPC, how can I quickly turn around and create important battle stats? Other situations require being able to instantly draw up an NPC. Running around the streets. Going to the tavern. Going to the coliseum. What's the best way to go about this? I tend to over-think things a lot, but I'm willing to experiment and try out methods and ideas thrown at me.

Most of the people living in your world has 10 in all their attributes. DX 10, ST 10, IQ 10, HT 10. 10 in the sub-attributes. Derive the other stats from there (Speed, Move, Dodge...).

If you want to, you can vary by +/- 1 according to selection criteria, or according to what the character's profession would train or neglect to challenge. A dumb labourer is likely to be ST 11 (and Fit) but probably IQ 9. A clerk is likely to be IQ 11 but HT 9 (or Unfit, or both).

In GURPS, people can get by with defaults for a lot of tertiary or "life" skills. Give everyone but the lowest classes (Status -2 or worse) one hobby skill. 1 CP for Status -1 or 0, 2 CP for Status 1+, but keep in mind that it's based on spare time. Some low-Status slaves may have a lot of spare time, while some commoners promoted to high office (if that sometimes happens in your world) may be overworked and so have no spare time (hobby skill at default), because the high office work demands so much of their time, or perhaps because it is unpaid work, so that he has to work a second job to earn enough money to pay his Cost-of-Living.

An apprentice may have 1 CP in the job skill after a year or two. 2 CP towards the end of the apprenticeship. A journeyman 2 CP for a junior one, more likely 4 CP. 8 or 16 CP for a master. Most such skills are DX- or IQ-based. Sometimes they "float" frequently from one to the other (which is not my fault! I didn't design GURPS!).

People learn foreign Languages due to need-pressure. If one character does a lot of trade with people from one particular foreign nation, he's likely to end up at Accented (2 CP) for speech, while remaining entirely iliterate.

Becoming literate in the local language (either the people's language, or perhaps an ancient language traditionally used in administration or religious affairs, such as Latin in the medieval West) is a result of schooling, but can be learned informally from a parent.

For combat skills, think both about what the individual character's in-world needs are, how martially inclined his culture is, and how safe and peaceful the region is as that serves to mitigate the first two.

In many worlds, a lot of weapon usage consists of bullying weak people. If you have some armour (even just low-DR non-metallic) and 1 or 2 CP in your weapon skill, and the other guy is unarmoured and using his weapon at default (often a fairly feeble weapon like a knife or staff, or hatchet), then it doesn't matter much if you're outnumbered 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1. The other guys will be scared of you. So for some in-world jobs that appear to be combat-like, there's actually not much demand for serious training.

Professional soldiers, and mercenaries, are different, of course. Jus use the apprentice/journeyman/master values from above, but since fighting is more intense and critical than most other jobs, it is not unrealistic for a few individuals to end up extremely skilled.

Most characters will have one or two minor mental disads, often at the highest possible SCR (least change of triggering). Rather like extra-large Quirks. But note that such personality traits can be useful if the player characters want to manipulate such characters. Knowing the target's weak points is very helpful, if e.g. you want to run a long con.

In a low-tech setting with poor medicine and little or no magical healing, people are also going to have physical disadvantages. Again it'll often be the minor -5 CP ones.

One thing you can do is write up an 1d12 or 1d18 table for random mental disads, and another for random physical disads, then do some pre-rolling to generate sets, and then just use those sets in order, as you need to improvise new NPCs, skipping over sets that make absolutely no sense for a given role, e.g. a Blind clerk or a Deaf singer (but note that the greatest piece of music ever was composed after the composer became Deaf) Also keep in mind that an acquired disability doesn't invalidate the fact that the character used to do a certain job. He may be retired and living on guild charity, possibly teaching or consulting a little if he can.

Also write up a list of names to use, sorted by male and female, and by culture, with presumably the largests list being of names appropriate for the local culture.

You can also go further, and make a lot of random roll tables (and computerize it), so that for instance for the character's primary job skill, you roll 3d6:
3-6: Deficient, 1 level lower than expected
7-15: As expected
16-17: Expertize, 1 level higher than expected
18: Great expertize, 2 levels higher than expected (probably also has a very limited +1 Reputation, and may own Fine gear appropriate to his job)

The point of such a set of random roll tables is to create more spontaneous unpredictable variety.

Characters may also have random gifts, Roll 1d6, on a 6, roll 1d6 again:
1: Language Talent and 1d6+1 CP in spoken Language (but instead 2d6+2 in spoken and written if character has a clerk job)
2: 1d3-1 levels of Charisma (minimum 1)
3: 1d3-1 levels (min 1) of Perception
4: 1d3-1 levels (min 1) of Will
5: Attractive (upgrade to Beautiful or Handsome if job normally requires or prefers Attractive, such as courtesan, gigolo or bed-slave)
6: Sensitive (uprade to full Empathy if it fits the job, such as con artist or psychological counsellor)

This gives every such generated character a 17% chance to have a special gift. On a roll of 2, 3 or 4 on the table, there's a 33% chance to have 2 levels of the trait, 67% chance of having 1 level.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Langy

When I don't have an established template to crib off of, I generally utilize Wildcard Skills for unimportant NPCs. These NPCs just aren't important enough to give detailed skill descriptions; so, instead, I give them something like 'Job!-12', where they have a base skill level of 12 for anything directly dealing with their job. I may also give them things like 'Background!-10' - this would be things like Driving, Computer Use, etc. Stuff that they're skilled at, but aren't super important to their job.

One thing I've thought about allowing in Sagatafl for minor NPCs only, is stereotype psychological disadvantages. For instance, Teenage Girl or Dwarf or Felinoid.

That can be done in GURPS too, where you'd use the SCR mechanic, so that you might have Dwarf(12) or Teenage Boy(15) as disads, and using the SCR to determine whether the NPC responds to triggers. Dwarf might be triggered by gold or beer and the possibility of getting into a fight, Teenage Girl might be triggered by pretty jewelry and clothes and the possibility of romance with a hot male specimen, and so forth.

There's no point cost associated (in GURPS), and if such a minor NPC ends up becoming a major NPC, the stereotype trait needs to be dissected into its component parts, e.g. Greed and Compulsive Beer Consumption, and so forth.

In most cases the SCR will be the weakest possible, so e.g. Felinoid(15), with 12 reserved for the more strongly stereotyped cases, and 9 and especially 6 probably only being appropriate in the odd basket case or in a silly campaign.

And of course everybody shouldn't have it. Don't give all teenage girls Teenage Girl(15). If it becomes predictable, it will be far too easy for the player characters to manipulate minor NPCs.

Keep in mind, it's more of a shorthand than actual game mechanics. The reason for assigning a stereotype trait is that it's too much bother to assign individual specific mental disads.

[Fnugus]

My own approach to making a lot of NPC's quickly is to make use of occupational templates AND the GCA (GURPS Character Assistant, PC program). I just add a racial template if needed, and then add the occupational template. A few dialogs, and you have a ready to go NPC. Fill in name, a note or two on personality, and you're ready.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

One thing I've thought about allowing in Sagatafl for minor NPCs only, is stereotype psychological disadvantages. For instance, Teenage Girl or Dwarf or Felinoid.


Keep in mind, it's more of a shorthand than actual game mechanics. The reason for assigning a stereotype trait is that it's too much bother to assign individual specific mental disads.

I like that idea, I often start off a minor NPC by sterotyping them and then gradually if there used more flesh them out.