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Old 07-21-2009, 08:52 AM   #1
nerdvana
 
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Default NPC Stat Format Question

I am spinning this off the DF Town near Dungeon online resource thread...

Quote:
Originally Posted by trooper6 View Post
Here are your stats.

Tier 1: All the NPCs have 10s in most stats. They have have an 11 IQ, or DX...or 11 in ST & HT depending on their emphasis. All of them have Skill-12 in whatever central skills they would have. Skill-10 for a peripheral skill. If a Mage, Magery 1.

Tier 2: All the NPCs have 11s in most stats. They have have an 12 IQ, or DX...or 12 in ST & HT depending on their emphasis. All of them have Skill-14 in whatever central skills they would have. Skill-12 for a peripheral skill.. If a Mage, Magery 2.

Tier 3: Tier 2: All the NPCs have 12s in most stats. They have have an 13 IQ, or DX...or 13 in ST & HT depending on their emphasis. All of them have Skill-16 in whatever central skills they would have. Skill-14 for a peripheral skill. If a Mage, Magery 3.

There you go. Your entire town is now populated with any NPC you would need.

ETA: Lest you think I'm being flippant I'm not. This is how I deal with any NPC who isn't major and reoccurring.
For example, The PCs say, we go to a shop. I say, there is are smaller market stalls with sorts of limited selection, some regular shops with slightly better selection, and then rich shops in the better part of town.

If they go to a market stall:
Stallkeeper-- ST 10, DX 10, IQ 11, HT 10. Merchant-12.
If they ask him about Current Events...I think...yeah, this guy should know currents events as a central skill--12. If they attack him? Well...I think he'd have a knife skill...but peripheral not central--10.

I do that all the time. I find no need to stat out everybody, because most people can be developed on the fly. Then I take notes about what I determined for later.
Trooper6 (and everone else), I like this format... I am assuming this is how you handle generic NPCs and that you build others more like characters the more important or influential they are going to be to the game?
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Old 07-21-2009, 09:13 AM   #2
Turhan's Bey Company
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Default Re: NPC Stat Format Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by nerdvana View Post
I am assuming this is how you handle generic NPCs and that you build others more like characters the more important or influential they are going to be to the game?
Something like that. Frequently, most of those stats exist at a subconscious level. If, for example, a PC haggles with a merchant, he's sorta haggling against a Merchant skill; I don't know and don't really care what his attributes might be until another PC tries to steal something, at which point I have to figure out what his Per might be (though I've still got little interest in his attributes and other skills and abilities are), and so on.
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Old 07-21-2009, 10:38 AM   #3
Captain Joy
 
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Default Re: NPC Stat Format Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by nerdvana View Post
I am assuming this is how you handle generic NPCs and that you build others more like characters the more important or influential they are going to be to the game?
I also generate a random lists of names and appearances before a GMing session because I'm horrible at making such stuff up on the fly. But as far as their abilities go, I pretty much pick their skills levels based on what Kromm and trooper6 have said.

And yes, the more important the NPC is, the more effort I put into them. If I expect the PCs will be in combat with them, I concern myself with their appearance and what they have on them. If I expect the PCs will interact with them socially, then I concern myself with their motivations. My experience is that what they have on their person and their motivations are at least and often more important than getting their stats.
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Old 07-21-2009, 11:55 AM   #4
trooper6
 
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Default Re: NPC Stat Format Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by nerdvana View Post
Trooper6 (and everone else), I like this format... I am assuming this is how you handle generic NPCs and that you build others more like characters the more important or influential they are going to be to the game?
I generally build more important NPCs like characters...but that still depends.
In my last campaign there were a number of NPCs (mostly governors and high ranking officials) who were very important. But I didn't bother statting out hardly anything...because it was really doubtful the PCs were going to be getting into combat with them. I just needed to know their motivation, their Will and their social skills.

The NPCs that the PCs interacted with all the time--would be called upon to make a variety of rolls? Who would probably get into lots of combat (physical or social)? Those were the ones I statted out.
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Old 07-22-2009, 11:11 AM   #5
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Default Re: NPC Stat Format Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company
Frequently, most of those stats exist at a subconscious level.
Yeah... except for me, "frequently" is "almost always". I will rarely figure out such things beforehand, usually only writing descriptives down for NPCs that will likely impinge themselves upon the player characters.
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