Post by damianmagecraft on Nov 29, 2013 5:37:45 GMT
Here are a couple of tools I use to shorten the time invested in throw away NPCs.
I have a Hierarchy of Villainous NPCs I use
(I wrote these up for some Supers and Spy games I was running but they can apply to any setting)
Mooks:
these are the cannon fodder of the BBEG; consequently they are not expected to last long (1Hit wonders... I dont usually bother with stating them) the BBEG will have 100s to 1000s of these guys
Toughs:
these are the lowest level leaders in an organization; They too are not expected to last long (2 or 3 hits and they drop; I note their HP which is of average quality) 10% of Mooks are Toughs
BBAs (Billy Bad Asses):
These are the highest ranking mooks and toughs. They are still not expected to do much more than slow the heroes down. They will have one or two unusual bonuses noted down. HP are slightly above normal. (it may take a hero a full melee or two to deal with just one)
Lieutenants:
These guys look and act like BBAs. But they are much tougher; They will have full combat stats (PS, PP, PE, SPD, Strike, Parry, Dodge, Damage, HP), above average HP may wear armor.
Capos:
These are the Jaws and Odd Jobs of the BBEG: They get full stat treatment.
BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy):
full stats, Back story, Motivations, Etc...
For non villain NPC (the everyday folks) I run the concept of averages...
Until needed in the foreground the "extras" are assumed to be perfectly average.
That is until the players interact with them and personalities start to come to the fore.
Average numbers for stats
2d6 = 7
3d6 = 10/11
4d6 = 14
5d6 = 17/18
6d6 = 21
for armor/weapons i keep the gear sections of the games bookmarked with colored tabs. (same goes for the stat bonuses chart).
I have a Hierarchy of Villainous NPCs I use
(I wrote these up for some Supers and Spy games I was running but they can apply to any setting)
Mooks:
these are the cannon fodder of the BBEG; consequently they are not expected to last long (1Hit wonders... I dont usually bother with stating them) the BBEG will have 100s to 1000s of these guys
Toughs:
these are the lowest level leaders in an organization; They too are not expected to last long (2 or 3 hits and they drop; I note their HP which is of average quality) 10% of Mooks are Toughs
BBAs (Billy Bad Asses):
These are the highest ranking mooks and toughs. They are still not expected to do much more than slow the heroes down. They will have one or two unusual bonuses noted down. HP are slightly above normal. (it may take a hero a full melee or two to deal with just one)
Lieutenants:
These guys look and act like BBAs. But they are much tougher; They will have full combat stats (PS, PP, PE, SPD, Strike, Parry, Dodge, Damage, HP), above average HP may wear armor.
Capos:
These are the Jaws and Odd Jobs of the BBEG: They get full stat treatment.
BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy):
full stats, Back story, Motivations, Etc...
For non villain NPC (the everyday folks) I run the concept of averages...
Until needed in the foreground the "extras" are assumed to be perfectly average.
That is until the players interact with them and personalities start to come to the fore.
Average numbers for stats
2d6 = 7
3d6 = 10/11
4d6 = 14
5d6 = 17/18
6d6 = 21
for armor/weapons i keep the gear sections of the games bookmarked with colored tabs. (same goes for the stat bonuses chart).
