Steve Jackson Games Forums - Words to the wise about those medium-sized character pads

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Words to the wise about those medium-sized character pads

Tucked into your Legacy edition box is the biggest gift to someone who plans on running TFT campaigns: three ~3x5 pads for recording stats, talents and spells of figures that are a bit more complex than Melee/Wizard combatants but not worth writing up on the full- or half-page sheets from the character folio.

These are just about the size and complexity of the format I have long used for recording NPCs, detailed monsters, and newly created PC's (who I believe shouldn't be given the respect and rights of a full sheet until they've earned it!). It would be nice if they were stiff like a 3x5 index card, but whatever.

Whatever happens to the figures you write up on these sheets, keep them! By the time you have filled out all three pads, you will have rotating roster of NPCs that can be the population of your campaign's main city, or encounters that could happen anywhere, or stocking of dungeons or whatever. At that point you are well launched.

But don't stop there! Get another 10 pads (somehow...) and keep going. The roster of semi-detailed NPCs is like a salesman's rolodex - it can never have too many 'contacts' in it, and the bigger it gets the more options you'll have at your finger tips.

Also, I think idly filling out NPC cards is a great between-session activity for people into the game - it is sort of fun and creative, and teaches you a lot about the system. And doing it with your noggin instead of a computer program will result in more interesting, fun NPCs who add something to your campaign. Computers are convenient, but they are no substitute for an idea.