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View Full Version : Roleplaying What to write down for roleplaying as NPCs and antagonists?



CosmicHobbit
2019-03-19, 06:34 PM
I'm currently starting up a campaign which lets you join pirates, the navy, or stay neutral. This means that any NPC can technically become a big antagonist, or become a big help. This, combined with a lack of DMing experience, has lead to a problem. I have no idea what to write down for my NPCs that will help me roleplay as them! Normally I'm good with this kind of stuff, but I seem to have lost any ability to do this. So, playgrounders, any help would be greatly appreciated!

JoeJ
2019-03-19, 07:13 PM
One thing I always write down is a one-sentence quote to help me remember how the character speaks. I could write myself a note describing their speaking style and typical use of language, but I found that in play it's a lot easier for me to just extrapolate from an example.

Lorsa
2019-03-20, 03:30 AM
What to write down is very individual. What you need is not the same as what I need.

What is your basic problem? That you can't figure out what kind of personality your NPCs have, or that you can't remember what personality you gave them without writing it down?

CosmicHobbit
2019-03-20, 05:42 PM
What to write down is very individual. What you need is not the same as what I need.

What is your basic problem? That you can't figure out what kind of personality your NPCs have, or that you can't remember what personality you gave them without writing it down?

My problem is that, while I know what general personality an NPC has, I don't really remember anything beyond the obvious. For example, I'd make a pirate, and remember they want treasure and that they don't care about the law, but I would have a hard time remembering anything else. Maybe that's why my best NPCs are improvised!

Faily
2019-03-20, 09:33 PM
What I often do is:

1. Start with the most defining personality-traits. List three positive and/or three negative. From the last campaign I ran, I had an NPC I could define the following way:

Creative
Pioneer
Driven

Immoral
Insensitive
Obsessed

It gives you a view of how this character might behave and act. But we need a little bit more.

2. Give them a goal or agenda. It can be as simple as the captain's goal being "ensuring a safe voyage and that everyone gets to the destination alive", which also gives you a direction on what sort of person the captain is. A schemer might have several goals and agendas!


3. Don't be afraid to copy, borrow, or take inspiration from characters in books, movies, tv-shows, comics, etc. If you're afraid of it being too much like something else, give it a twist, like "Littlefinger from Game of Thrones, but he's not handsome and walks with a limp" or "like Eleven from Stranger Things, but adult and she has pyrokinetics too."

FabulousFizban
2019-03-21, 09:01 AM
i suggest buying some rory’s story cubes. whenever a pc interacts with an npc, roll a few, and improvise a character on the quick based on what you roll.

The Kool
2019-03-21, 09:11 AM
Something that may work for you: Pick two people you know or know of. The NPC should be some kind of cross between them. This is simple, easy to write down, and distinctive.

Lorsa
2019-03-21, 09:45 AM
My problem is that, while I know what general personality an NPC has, I don't really remember anything beyond the obvious. For example, I'd make a pirate, and remember they want treasure and that they don't care about the law, but I would have a hard time remembering anything else. Maybe that's why my best NPCs are improvised!

Then I say keep improvising.

However, after the session, write down some notes about the NPC. Not the basics that you remember, but the more interesting stuff.

Like:

"Speaks quickly and aggressively"
"Is very loyal to their crew"
"Taps chin while thinking"
"Has a thing for older women"
"Very dark sense of humor"
"Secretly hates rum"

Stuff like that. Saying that a pirate "wants treasure and doesn't care about the law" basically makes them a cardboard cut-out. You need something else that makes them stick out and make them human (or whatever race they might be).