THE SEVEN-SENTENCE NPC

By C. M. Clint

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Creating an NPC for a game session is an interesting and challenging part of adventure creation. However, while great time and effort can be spent on major antagonists and PC companions, rarely does a DM have the time to put equal effort into NPCs with "bit parts." All too often, the results of this are a few well-developed NPCs and a lot of stereotyped bit-part NPCs who seem to all look the same.

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To give NPCs more variety, while keeping down the effort in their development, use the seven-sentence NPC method detailed in this appendix. The seven sentences used to describe an NPC contain the essential elements to allow PCs to deal with and remember the NPC.

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This method does not necessarily create seven sentences for an NPC. Instead, it covers seven topics that you can usually cover in one sentence, but some NPCs might need more detail in one area than others.

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OCCUPATION AND HISTORY

The first sentence serves as the introduction to the NPC, describing his occupation and giving a brief history of the character. If the NPC has a front, such as posing as a jeweler while practicing burglary by night, this information can be provided in the sentence. A brief historical note can give the NPC more depth and indicate skills and knowledge that are not readily apparent to the PCs.

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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION The second sentence is a brief physical description of the NPC. In some cases this might give a hint as to an NPCs hidden occupation, such as a note that a beggar has a flash of gold in his mouth.

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ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

The third sentence describes the NPCs attributes and skills. Here, any attributes above or below average should be noted. When describing attributes, it is easiest to reference those used in the game. Any attributes not mentioned are considered to be average.

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Any special skills and the NPCs level of ability with these skills can also be mentioned. These skills do not necessarily have to be associated with the NPCs current occupation. For example, if Rand is an average blacksmith but a great song writer, the sentence might not even mention blacksmithing, noting only his undiscovered talent for musical composition.

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These skills and attributes might be widely known or known only to the NPC himself. Whatever the case, this should also be noted in this sentence.

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VALUES AND MOTIVATIONS

The fourth sentence is one of the most important, from a role-playing point of view. This sentence describes the values that the PCs must discover and exploit in order to motivate a NPC to doing as they ask. This is particularly important if the PCs are asking the NPC to do something that is against the NPCs basic principles. For example, due to Rand's honesty, the PCs have a difficult time convincing him to shoe a horse so the horse throws it after a short distance. Money probably will not do it; however, if the PCs threatened his family, there is little doubt that Rand shoes the horse as the PCs desire (but he probably hates them for it).

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The values and motivations described in this sentence should not be directly revealed to the PCs. The PCs have to search for clues in the way the NPC talks and acts in order to discover which buttons must be pushed to get the NPC to do as they desire. From the DM's point of view, the values and motivations described for the NPC help the DM decide how the NPC reacts to the questions and offers of the PCs.

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INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS

This sentence describes how the NPC interacts with others. Whether he is loud and obnoxious or condescending and rude, it can be noted in this sentence. Many NPCs react differently to the PCs depending on whether they know them or not. If this is the case, it is noted in this sentence.

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USEFUL KNOWLEDGE

This is also a very important sentence from the PCs' point of view, as it describes what the NPC knows that might be of use to the PCs. This information might be simple, such as where a tired adventurer can get a good meal and a bed for the night. On the other hand, it can be a key clue leading to the next adventure. The knowledge described in the given example for Rand is of a general nature, which should be the case in most NPC descriptions. There should also be an indication of how reliable the NPCs information is. In some cases what the NPC knows might be very specific, such as the location of a dragon's lair or whom to bribe to get a buddy out of jail. This usually occurs when the NPC is designed for a specific walk-in part in the current adventure.

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DISTINGUISHING FEATURE

The last sentence is used to describe a distinguishing feature or characteristic of the NPC. This gives the PCs something to remember the NPC by, possibly helping them to locate him in the future. It is fairly common for players to forget the names of NPCs, unless they are in the habit of writing down the names of every character they meet. If a distinguishing feature is described, the players can often recall this description, if not the NPC himself. If the PCs cannot remember an NPCs name, the DM should not give it out. The PCs can return to the city and inquire for the blacksmith with the deep, slow drawl who always is pulling at his big, black beard,