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GameMastery Guide / Nonplayer Characters / Making NPCs Unique

Monstrous NPCs

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 85
A lovingly crafted, fully realized NPC can take almost as long to create as a player character. While the players only need to create one character each at any time, the GM might need to create several NPCs for each adventure. Here are a few tips for GMs to help avoid NPC burnout.

Efficiency: If an NPC only needs generic “townsperson” stats, there is no need to calculate every skill point for a given NPC or to roll stats for every soul in a village. Some NPCs—such as the anonymous voice at the back of the crowd shouting, “Burn the witch!”—do not need stats at all. Although the rules exist to create every commoner in complete detail, creating full statblocks should be saved for NPCs who really need a significant level of detail.

Go Generic: A selection of generic NPC stats might require work at the start of a campaign, but they will be used again and again. Adjusting a point here and a point there is enough to fit most NPCs for their purpose in a particular adventure. Chapter 9 provides complete statistics for many regularly occurring fantasy NPCs, though highly specialized games might be well served by filling in any expected gaps.

Repurpose: Game stats never go bad. If an adventure calls for specific stats and the GM has access to them from another source—past campaigns, published adventures, this guidebook—repurposing those statistics can save a great deal of effort, and with a few changes, the players will never know they weren’t custom-built for the current adventure.

A Word Is Enough: There is no need to create a detailed life story, even for a major recurring NPC. Where backstory is important, a few short notes usually provide everything the GM needs.

Archives of Nethys

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Monstrous NPCs