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GM Screen
GameMastery Guide
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Nonplayer Characters
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Making NPCs Unique
Avoiding NPC Overwork
Source
GameMastery Guide pg. 85
One danger a GM might encounter when designing NPCs is to rely too heavily on the stereotypes drawn from well-known characters in fantasy stories. Myths and folktales prove rife with repetition and overly familiar characters, leaving GMs with quite a challenge in coming up with original NPCs. The key is to take the old building blocks and arrange them as differently, imaginatively, and yet as reasonably as possible. If groan-worthy and tired NPC tropes cannot be avoided, they should be worked into something fresh and palatable, or traditionally pleasant. Is it bad for the innkeeper to be an ex-adventurer? Not that bad if we have an innkeeper with an interesting personality or secret. Is it bad for the good king’s advisor to be sly and scheming? Not that bad if she turns out to be the clever, if shady, opponent of a greater villain manipulating the throne. As long as his creation is balanced, functional, and believable, the GM should think of originality as a welcome addition rather than a necessity.