Creating Non-Player Characters
Invariably as part of an adventure, the Player Characters (PCs) will need to interact with other characters within the story. We deem these characters, those that are played by the Gamemaster instead of the players, as Non-Player Characters or NPCs. Not every NPC will be pre-planned in advance, sometimes the Gamemaster will find the need to create an innkeeper or merchant that wasn't planned. Other times, the Gamemaster will have an important or recurring NPC, someone who will impact the story. In this case, the Gamemaster will likely need to create certain aspects of their character, such as personality, background, and Social Stats.
Personality
We talk a bit about NPC Personality in Running a Social Encounter, but we will reiterate it here. When roleplaying your NPC, it helps to give them distinct personality, mannerisms, and quirks to make them memorable. The more fun you have creating and roleplaying an NPC, the more fun that your players will have roleplaying with him or her. When building your NPC, experiment with giving your character a distinguishable voice, something that is different from yours. Consider the way that they hold a conversation: do they use a lot of hand gestures, have unique facial expressions, speak fast or slow, are they animated or stoic? Try to pick one or two things that set the NPC apart from the average and plan to play up those aspects. It's better to over-exaggerate a character's quirks than to underplay them.
Background
Your NPCs background is typically only important when he or she will play a major role in the story. This background should include the NPCs relationship to the plot, major life events that impact the character's actions or decisions, and Prejudices towards particular people or organizations. Understanding your NPCs relationship to the plot helps you to navigate questions from the PCs and determine when and where the NPC can offer them assistance and information (or hamper them as the case may be). Knowing about the NPCs past helps to determine how they will react to the PCs actions. For example, if the NPC was a retired soldier, he may respond well to PCs who are seeking to protect the realm. Alternatively, he may respond poorly to PCs who threaten him or those he cares for.
This background can also heavily influence the NPC's Prejudices, as well. For example, if that same retired soldier spent most of his time fighting off Orcs, he may hold over some Hatred or Fear of Orcs (which may extend to Half-Orcs). Likewise, if the local Dwarven clan helped to fight off the Orcish invasion, the NPC might hold some kind of Fondness or Trust for Dwarven kin.
Background for the NPC is only important so long that it helps you to run the game better. Don't feel like you need to come up with a detailed background for every NPC or invent a backstory if there isn't one. But if it will help the story, if it makes an interaction more interesting or meaningful, their background can greatly enhance your storytelling.
Social Statistics
You may need to create Social Statistics for your NPC. Social Statistics consists of Social Skill Ranks, Skill Check Bonuses, and a Composure score. These will be used any time that the NPC comes into a Social Encounter with the PCs, or if the PCs attempt to change the NPC's Disposition. Additionally, the Social Statistics will also include any Prejudices the NPC may have or existing Dispositions towards the PCs (individually or as a group).
There are two main ways to get Social Stats for your NPC. Generate them yourself, or use one of the Generic Social NPCs pre-generated for you. To generate them, you can go through a simplified version of the Character Creation process: determining the NPCs Attributes, Accuracy Modifier, Level, and then spending their skill points in Social Skills as appropriate. Or, you can use the simplified method outlined below.
First, determine your NPC's level. Then, determine if your NPC is Very Social, Moderately Social, or Less Social and then assign ranks to their Social Skills as determined by the chart below. Max Rank always refers to the maximum rank for your NPC's level (which you can determine using the equation or table on the Character Advancement page).
| Very Social | Moderately Social | Less Social | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Rank | 3 Skills | 1 Skill | 0 Skills |
| Max Rank - 2 | 5 Skills | 3 Skills | 2 Skill |
| Max Rank - 4 | 4 Skills | 3 Skills | 2 Skills |
| Any Remaining Skills have 0 Ranks. | |||
When assigning skill, the NPC's best Social Skills should be at Max Rank, with its next best at Max Rank - 2, etc. Note that at the lower levels, the Rank - 4 category may also mean that the NPC has 0 ranks. Once you have the NPC's skill ranks, you can get their Skill Check Bonus by multiplying their rank by 2. Most characters have average stats (i.e. 10-11 plus some minor racial modifiers), so their Attributes will contribute negligibly to their skills. If you expect your NPC has a particularly good Charisma, however, add +1 to all Social Skill checks.
To determine your NPCs Composure score, simply take ½ the Defensive Social Skill Ranks and add 10 to get your score (once again if they have a high Charisma, add a few more points to Composure). These stats are not perfect, but will give you a quick estimate when you need them.
Combat Statistics
Generally speaking, most NPCs will not enter conflict directly with the PCs (unless your NPC happens to also be a Villain), and so Combat Statistics usually aren't necessary. Even in situations where the NCPs may find themselves in combat, if it is not directly with the PCs the gamemaster can usually narrate their way through the encounter (i.e. the goblins and mercenary are exchanging blows, but the merc seems to be getting the upper hand). But sometimes conflicts will occur, or NPCs may travel with and fight with the PCs at some point in time, and in this case you will needs Combat Statistics.
If they do, it's ideal to find a Simple Monster that you can use to take their place, such as the Dwarf Scout or Half-Orc Soldier. Alternatively, you can create a full character for your NPC, but as they are more time consuming to create and more difficult to run, this is only recommend if you feel it will add to the story in some way.