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RebelRogue
2011-05-29, 06:19 PM
Hey there. I have an upcoming IRL game, in which there will be quite a few NPCs to take care of. I'm looking for a smart way to organize elementary data about them (name, race, profession, looks, mannerisms, important information held etc. more than combat stuff - I don't expect most of these to be fought. It's D&D 4e, but that shouldn't really be important here). It's mostly for minor NPCs - I've got the major ones down pretty good, but I was wondering if anybody knows of a clever way of organizing all of this information so it's readily available during gameplay. I'm thinking some kind of card system, or maybe a program (though I prefer not using a laptop during play). Am I overthinking this? Any tips or thoughts are appreciated :smallsmile:

Yukitsu
2011-05-29, 06:56 PM
I use excel as a reference that tracks where dudes are, what they do, vital stats and the page reference on my word doc NPC omnibus.

TARDIS
2011-05-29, 07:09 PM
If you have a large number of NPCs, I would really recommend you go electronic... just makes life so much easier. A word doc is probably best... just fill it up with a quick stat block along with a short role/personality blurb and a list of keywords for each NPC, and then use that very handy CTRL+F function to dig up what you need when you need it. Much easier than searching cards or stacks of paper... though if you are going to go the hard copy route, I cannot recommend coloured paper enough. It just makes keeping everything separate and organized so much easier.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-05-29, 07:17 PM
Definitely go electronic.

Make two files. One should be an Excel File with some basic info on each (name, age, sex, race, Alignment, profession, location) so that you can easily re-arrange the table for when you need to find something (e.g. what was the name of the bartender at the Cowl & Eagle?).

The second one should be a world file which duplicates the info on your Excel File and has a section for additional notes: PC interactions, siblings, subplots and the like.

Note-cards are nice and all but they're not as easily searchable and it is real easy to lose one in the shuffle.

EDIT: Would you believe I didn't even think of my own advice before I looked at this thread? I'm going over my campaign notes and filling out an Excel sheet right now. It looks like it'll be a big help for the future - I wish I had thought of it earlier :smallredface:

TinselCat
2011-05-29, 08:13 PM
Huh. In fact, I was working through the same problem myself just an hour ago. I completely agree with Oracle Hunter:



Make two files. One should be an Excel File with some basic info on each (name, age, sex, race, Alignment, profession, location) so that you can easily re-arrange the table for when you need to find something (e.g. what was the name of the bartender at the Cowl & Eagle?).

The second one should be a world file which duplicates the info on your Excel File and has a section for additional notes: PC interactions, siblings, subplots and the like.

Excel is great for sorting and seeing stats, but for character details, those little cells will be too messy and inconvenient. I did add to mine a short category about relation to PCs, but only have 4 or 5 possible entries for the column, like "Friendly" "Enemy" "Ambivalent" etc. So if I need, say, an NPC with a grudge against the PCs in the small town of Somewhereville, I can find him easily, and when I want the whole story around why he doesn't like them, I look up his name in the word document to see what they did.

Yukitsu
2011-05-29, 08:26 PM
I recommended it first, and was doing it earlier, but Oracle gets the credit. I want to cry. :smallfrown:

On a more serious note, it's also useful to do a print out of characters you plan on bringing out during the session so you don't have to do any searching for NPCs they're likely to talk to on that day.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-05-29, 08:26 PM
Excel is great for sorting and seeing stats, but for character details, those little cells will be too messy and inconvenient. I did add to mine a short category about relation to PCs, but only have 4 or 5 possible entries for the column, like "Friendly" "Enemy" "Ambivalent" etc. So if I need, say, an NPC with a grudge against the PCs in the small town of Somewhereville, I can find him easily, and when I want the whole story around why he doesn't like them, I look up his name in the word document to see what they did.
So... here's what I go so far.
Category headings:
Last Name -- First Name -- Job/Title -- Age -- Sex -- Race -- Alignment -- Location -- Notes

My standard sort is (all are A -> Z):
Location, Last Name, First Name

This sorts the table by location (which is usually easiest to remember) then by name. Since Job/Title is right after name, I can do a visual scan to pick out what I need. For common jobs (e.g. Merchant, Adventurer, Bartender) I make sure to use standardized notation in case I need to search within a job.

At the moment, I'm making the "Notes" section do the most work. Primarily I use it for affiliation since that's a rather big deal for my campaign. For Merchants, I also use it to show what they deal in (or the name of their store, if I have it) - and the level of Enchanting they can do, if Enchanters. For Bartenders, I include the name of their bar. For minor NPCs, the "Notes" section describes the relevant details about them in less than 10 words.
When I make my Master NPC Document, I don't think I'll bother making entries for any but the most important NPCs. I'll also include a section for "Description" there.

In general, when making an Excel table you need to standardize your terminology whenever possible. It makes it easier to query, and therefore more useful.

@Yukitsu - Heh. Ninja'd credit :smallamused:

Also, I don't recommend printing out NPCs. It's much better to use the solely use the electronic version so that you can update their Word Profile in real-time with anything that happens during the session. The fewer papers you need to shuffle to run a game, the better - IMHO :smallsmile:

RebelRogue
2011-05-29, 08:43 PM
Thanks for the replies so far. I'll try organizing my stuff using Excel, then.

Yukitsu
2011-05-29, 08:51 PM
Also, I don't recommend printing out NPCs. It's much better to use the solely use the electronic version so that you can update their Word Profile in real-time with anything that happens during the session. The fewer papers you need to shuffle to run a game, the better - IMHO :smallsmile:

Believe me, you'll want a few paper ones for when murphy's law strikes and your computer has a mountain dew code red spilled all over it by the clumsy guy at the table, and you accidently break it over his back during the politicy scene. At least wet, red paper is somewhat legible. I generally just use recycled scrap paper and adjust them with pencil as I go, then update my electronic stuff after.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-05-29, 08:55 PM
Believe me, you'll want a few paper ones for when murphy's law strikes and your computer has a mountain dew code red spilled all over it by the clumsy guy at the table, and you accidently break it over his back during the politicy scene. At least wet, red paper is somewhat legible. I generally just use recycled scrap paper and adjust them with pencil as I go, then update my electronic stuff after.
This is why I keep my laptop in my lap during games and away from the table proper :smallamused:

A lot depends on how free your printing is, and how comfortable you are at using your laptop to run games. As I am no longer a student (and not yet wealthy) I like to save paper & ink and basically run my 4e games from my laptop. I'm quite comfortable with it now, but I suspect it may be a matter of taste.

YMMV :smallsmile:

Yukitsu
2011-05-29, 09:05 PM
But more stuff gets spilled on my lap than on my computer. :smallfrown:

Oracle_Hunter
2011-05-29, 09:17 PM
But more stuff gets spilled on my lap than on my computer. :smallfrown:
Sounds like you have a drinking problem :smalltongue:

TARDIS
2011-05-29, 09:36 PM
Eh, I really haven't found any real benefit from using a spreadsheet program versus using a word processor... I guess it all depends on your personal preferences, though I find writing up the blocks easier in word than in Excel. If I need to find something, I just drop it into find and search through the document. My one from my last campaign was about 15 pages long, but it worked wonderfully.

Yukitsu
2011-05-29, 10:02 PM
Sounds like you have a drinking problem :smalltongue:

Yes. My problem is I let my freinds drink while we game. :smalltongue:

valadil
2011-05-29, 10:51 PM
Here's how I do it on paper. I use a box full of index cards. Each card lists the NPC's name and race. I also include 3 physical traits and 3 mannerisms.

The index cards are color coded according to the NPC's location or group. So the people of Lyrabar are green, but the thieves guild in Lyrabar is special so they're red.

Now, the part that's overkill. I also have a page in my notebook for each plot. Between each session I write out how that plot advanced. Players usually deal with 2 to 4 plots in your average session, but I've had as many as 10 going at once. They just happened in the background because the PCs couldn't deal with them at once.

Each plot page gets a colored sticker folded over the side of the page, so I can flip to it quickly. Each NPC that's involved in a plot gets the same color folded over the top of his index card. Yes, some NPCs are involved in 3 or 4 plots. The point is, when I turn to a plot's page, I know what's gone on and I can flip through the index cards and very quickly pull out all the relevant NPCs. It works beautifully.

As I said two paragraphs above, this may be overkill. I needed to do this for my Game of Thrones game three years ago. I did it at the beginning of my current 4e game and it wasn't worth the trouble. The players traveled so much that they didn't have as many recurring NPCs, so I wasn't using my old index cards. They've also been quick to decide that one plot is the main plot, so my side plots have been ignored. They're still going on in the background and the players will be punished for ignoring them, but I haven't needed so much paper to manage them.

TinselCat
2011-05-30, 07:47 AM
I recommended it first, and was doing it earlier, but Oracle gets the credit. I want to cry. :smallfrown:

So you did. You're so concise that I missed it entirely.:smallredface:


So... here's what I go so far.
Category headings:
Last Name -- First Name -- Job/Title -- Age -- Sex -- Race -- Alignment -- Location -- Notes


I just lumped "Name" in to one catagory, since I don't have enough family names (that I wouldn't immediately remember) floating around to make the split necessary. I also have a "Status" column for things like "Not met" since I make important NPCs well in advance from when the PCs actually know them, "Known by-" if less than all players knows the NPC, or just "dead" if and when that crops up.

Since I run a large game with another GM, though, there's a nice "Which GM" column to see who takes primary control of that NPC when we play. While we'll remember the important ones, sometime we'll forget the ones we use less.


Now, the part that's overkill.

I was about to completely agree - and then you said it was for a Game of Thrones game. Therefore: completely justified!

DontEatRawHagis
2011-05-30, 11:45 AM
If I had a lot of NPCs I would use note cards or a notebook. Most of the time I use google docs. Though I don't go into as much detail as you. Most of the time it boils down to what is the NPC's goals and what will they do if they don't interact with the PCs.

For Example I have several factions who will send the PCs on the same quest. The faction they don't do it for might end up either pissed off or shadow the PCs. In particular the thieves guild might send a group of rogues to try and steal the item they want from the dungeon. Letting the PCs clear the dungeon for them.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-05-30, 01:20 PM
I just lumped "Name" in to one catagory, since I don't have enough family names (that I wouldn't immediately remember) floating around to make the split necessary.
I made the split when I realized how many different ways I had of naming people. First name only, last name only, nickname/title... for sorting purposes it is easier to search either by first or last. Plus, if I decide to later add a first/last name for a NPC it is helpful to leave a gap.

TinselCat
2011-05-30, 05:20 PM
I made the split when I realized how many different ways I had of naming people. First name only, last name only, nickname/title... for sorting purposes it is easier to search either by first or last. Plus, if I decide to later add a first/last name for a NPC it is helpful to leave a gap.

You're right there. I'll probably start doing that once I have more of them to keep track of. As for nickname/title, I'd likely just stick that in "notes" section since there are more that don't have them than do and they're almost always unique.

Oracle_Hunter
2011-05-31, 01:19 PM
You're right there. I'll probably start doing that once I have more of them to keep track of. As for nickname/title, I'd likely just stick that in "notes" section since there are more that don't have them than do and they're almost always unique.
I place actual titles in the "Job/Title" section. By being next to the "Name" section it is easy to scan & locate and if I can't remember what the "Lord Commander" of Ferox Island does for a living, I'm in trouble :smalltongue:

I only keep track of nicknames in the "Name" section if the nickname is what the PCs generally know him as. For example, I have a Tiefling Enchanter who was referred to the PCs as "Old Scratch." Of course, his real name is Viitor but none of the PCs know that; if they asked about "what's-his-name, that Enchanter for the Order" I could easily give them the name they'd know rather than bobble and give them Viitor because that's what was in the "Name" section.

Also: I encourage picking an ordering schema and sticking with it. Changing things later means re-entering (or at least altering) all of the older entries.

TinselCat
2011-05-31, 04:17 PM
Sounds very thorough. Since the Grand NPC Database for my campaign is yet new, I'll make sure to hash out which categories I'm using now rather than later. With the world travel that my PC's will do it'll be nice to be able to pull up all NPC in or around a certain city and see who's doing what. Even if the PCs don't remember everyone, if the NPCs remember the PCs it'll give them a nice connection to the world. It'll certainly encourage them to be nice to a lot of the shopkeepers, local rulers and other workers they meet.