Making memorable NPC's | DM's tips & tricks #6

Making memorable non-player characters NPCs for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns

The Difference Between Memorable and Throw-Away NPC's

Are your NPC's (non player characters) truly memorable, distinctive or noteworthy? Think back to the last game you played. Whether you were a player or the dungeon master, it doesn't matter. Now, think of the characters you remember. Probably your own, since you believe it has a distinctive personality. You can picture his likeness in your head, you can almost hear what his voice sounds like. Maybe a friend's player character as well, because you have been exposed to it often. Maybe he or she has a particular trait, Or a look on his or her face before she goes all Leyroy on the game. As a DM, I can immediately picture Lucious the Paladin, who even in the most pleasant of conversations preaches about the "light" and asks everyone he meets whether or not he walks in it. Or Preston Prescott Esquire the Third, Esquire, the well-to-do elf with a horrid charisma who persistently berates everyone he meets, including his fellow party members. But are those characters truly as clear to the remainder of the players as they are in your head?

How many barkeeps have you used in your games?Are they all the same? Let's take a guess. A fairly chubby older man, maybe a retired fighter who keeps a well worn broadsword above the roaring fireplace, and a smooth-handled club under the bar in case the drunkards get rowdy. In your head, he is distinctive. He doesn't have a beard like the last one did. He has more black hair than gray like the last one, and this one does his own cleaning, so his cotton apron has more oil stains and spots of spilled ale on it than the previous. But do your players know that? What they hear is that there is a large, maybe burly man behind the bar, wiping a mug with a too-dirty rag. And that's it. To make your setting come alive, to really make the players remember, you need to do better.

Sometimes Forgettable Is Better

Let's face it. Sometimes you've got too much going on to put the time and effort into an NPC who will only remain important for this single session or adventure. For example, in the Village of Hommlet, there are tons, tons and tons and tons of well-written NPC's (who for some reason have ungodly amounts of money hidden in the floorboards of their village homes). However, it is unlikely that once the players leave for Nulb, or whichever village or adventure they head off to next, that they will ever encounter more than one or two of these characters ever again. So why, then, is it even important to the DM to consider dedicating all of those distinct personalities to memory? For one exceptionally vibrant session? That's just completely unrealistic to expect of a DM, especially if he/she will be remaining in the chair for more than a few sessions. In the end, it is important to fill your world with people; without them, who are the innocents to protect, or how does society even exist? But at the same time, sometimes Farmer Bob can just be Farmer Bob, and your players will eventually get accustomed to the gruff retired fighter who built a tavern with his loot; regardless if he built the Silver Unicorn or the Tin Cup.

How to make memorable non-player characters

Sometimes, though, you want a non player character to be remembered. So how do you do it? Well, there are a few easy things you can do to make it possible. If you follow any of these guidelines for each character you want your players to remember, then you'll be surprised at how much of your campaign setting they will remember.

Distinctive Physical NPC Traits

Scars, tattoos, haircuts, wooden legs, missing teeth, pungent odors, greasy skin, warts, a discharging pustule on his hand, all of these are simple things you can throw into a character for some simple flair. The barkeep example above can be made much more rich by saying that he has a metal plate in his head, where the skin has started to grow over it, around the edges, over the years. Now you know why he retired from fighting. Or, perhaps he wears an eyepatch. Or for something less gruesome, he oils his hair and keeps his fingernails clean, since he is more interested in counting his money than putting in the labor to make it.

NPC Ticks and Mannerisms

Spice up your characters with simple ticks or mannerisms. It is much easier than it sounds, and you don't have to be creative at all to make up a good selection of them. Just look around at some of your friends and family. Do you have an uncle who always clears his throat before he speaks? Or maybe someone who is constantly apologizing. Anyone with longer hair that always brushes a lock or two out of his or her eyes? How about a more nervous tick, like chewing fingernails or drumming their fingers on their desk? Tapping feet when restless? In our barkeep example, try having him constantly wringing his hands whenever the idea of trouble with the authorities come up. Or maybe when he wants to walk away from any conversation, he grabs a rag and wipes the already clean bar. Where does he keep that rag? When you walk in and greet him, does he flip it over his shoulder, or tuck it into the string of his apron?

Memorable NPC Personality Traits

Is the barkeep nervous? How about quick to anger, or absent-minded? Keep it in mind, if you want him to be remembered. Clyff Sharp Junior, for example, is memorable because he is selfish and greedy. And never, ever forget to write it down. Always keep records of important NPC's and why they act how they act.

Differentiating Your NPC's; Considering Their Backstories

So what makes one barkeep better than another, even if they both have physical traits? It's all about the backstory, and how that motivates them. Maybe one gets nervous, but just because there is a dwarf in the party. Did this barkeep fight in the dwarf wars? does he maybe wonder if this dwarf knows of his name and his exploits? And what about the mage in the corner. Why is his back to the wall? Been the object of pick pocketing too often? Tiny details like this, even if they are otherwise non-consequential, can make all the difference in creating an NPC. Again, though, you have to keep track of this stuff on your own, so when the players come back, the Mage will again be in the corner, and the barkeep will still keep a nervous eye on the dwarf.

Putting Them All Together

The more realistic and memorable you need an NPC to be (say you plan to bring him in later as a recurring villain in your campaign), you should consider stacking these, and any other attributes you can think of, together. Consider your average jeweler acting out of a booth at a high-end bazaar in a large, wealthy city. Just by describing his position I have built some of his backstory, he sells expensive goods in a wealthy city, so he will have nice boots, freshly polished, and fine clothes tailored with thin pin stripes to make their cost apparent. He will be shrewd, and unable to trick, since he must deal with dwarven silver merchants. He will also be friendly, an excellent salesman. He has a black goatee, a wide, white smile and as a mannerism, he will always complement women in a shopping crowd while holding the finest of his pieces, and throwing a wink in their direction. Already you might love this character, since he is obviously successful, or you may already hate him, since he is obviously a cunning manipulator (and I'm planning on using him later as a complete sleezeball). In any case, with several attributes layered on (a mannerism, several physical attributes, a small piece of backstory and a suspicious, savvy and shrewd personality), he is clearly different from the plain and simple jeweler your thief pick pocketed last week.

Keeping a Cast of Ready Non Player Characters

So, there are a few tips. But now what do you do with them? You write them down whenever you make them up. Keep a list, a cast of characters if you will. And feel free to use them more than once in a campaign, even if they are unrelated. I don't know how many Splugs are running around in my world. Honestly, I've even worked it in that the reason there are so many goblin cowards named Splug is because it is a nickname, and Splug is a goblin pejorative for cowards.

A Few Examples

Stinky Pete, the Bandit Leader

Stinky Pete is a favorite of mine. Much like I discussed in the importance of character names, his name says it all. He is a bandit leader, and he smells bad. So far, in the Mürmaids campaign, there have been two Stinky Petes. One is a bugbear that was killed in Darkshelf, and another is a human who is a fairly powerful bandit leader somewhere north of Hommlet. He works for Theg Narlot, the slaver, and is often accompanied by a hill giant. He's easy to remember because his name is funny. I hope to make a bigger deal out of the human version, and I will have to work on some more physical attributes to make him more memorable.

Juaquoot, the Gossipy Druid

The players always have fun with the gossipy druid. This character has been the spiritual leader of some town or village for years, and knows everything about everyone as they come in for confession. A successful charisma check gets her spilling the beans about whatever and whomever. Careful, though, because any secrets she knows about the players can get out as well. A physical attibute here is how I usually role play her. She looks up and slightly rolls her eyes in her head as she says "you....wouldn't...believe what little Johnny Paxton has been up to with the Lindress twins..."

Viscount Wessel, the Local Lord

The Viscount is many things, but helpful he isn't. He is a loyal servant to his king, and however he may sew the seeds of distrust with the players, he isn't (usually) the bad guy. He simply isn't helpful. Sometimes I make up that his mind is wandering to other problems, like his willful daughter is making trouble about the arranged marriage to the prince's cousin. Or that he has a trade deal with the neighboring elves that he hasn't told the King about, and he wonders how much he can personally profit before the tax collectors do their thing. Still, he stares off into the distance, or sometimes does listen to the characters, but just refuses to take their needs seriously. He will also often be offended by their persistence, or seem annoyed to have been bothered with their presence.

Basso, the Viscount's Houseman

Basso is an interesting one. Sometimes I have had him be a slave, so standing near the Viscount, silent with his head down, but very observant. Other times he is a herald, maybe a bard player class. He is the man that escorts the party to and from the Viscount, and will attempt to convince them that the Viscount is not the bad guy (if it is a politics game). Usually, he is the bad guy. Once, he was plotting a slave revolt, and that was a fun thing for the players to take sides on...free the slaves..or obey the King....In any case, he has intimate knowledge of the Viscount's dealings. I usually have him be obviously very smart, and bad at hiding it. He is over confident, and talks down to the players. Since he was originally a slave character in a different world where slaves shaved their heads, Basso the house servant to some noble (viscount or otherwise) is always bald in my games. Even when a slave, though, he is clean and well-kempt, since the Viscount, or whatever nobleman owns him, would never allow a dirty field slave to keep company in his main audience chambers or parlor room; much less dine with him.

Splug, the Goblin Traitor

And finally, my personal favorite: Splug. Stolen from the Acquisitions Inc. sessions, Splug is a goblin, who almost always starts as an opponent, but defects to the heroes' side when the going gets tough. He hangs back in battle when there are other goblins, and always speaks both common and goblin. He has a few nervous ticks; like whenever melee gets too close, he starts to cower, and scrambles on all fours away from danger.