Creative NPC or Item Help

[blackjack50]

I am wondering how y’all get creative with the NPCs? I’ve found I’m not super good at creating creative NPCs and I’m even worse with unique items. One of my NPCs was awesome (a drunken hedonist who was actually a drunken master). But I’ve never really figured out how to get a few unique or fun ones out there or how to keep track. Same with items. Anything y’all use to help you create them?

[Man_Over_Game]

Find one thing that stands out, figure out why.

For example, say you have a one-eyed Half-Orc who's earnest and friendly. The players might wonder why a battle-hardened half-orc would be such a nice guy, and it turns out that he is a former Paladin of Devotion, left to raise his kids, and he's just happy to be alive. It's simple, but you know what this guy looks like, sounds like, and you want to remember him.

The barmaid? She squints at the dragonborn in the party and treats him rudely.
The gnomish merchant? Seems really eager to talk to your Warforged and ignores anyone else.

Talk only about the stuff that matters the most - the player can fill in the rest with their imagination - and so they'll only remember the important bits. You don't need a paragraph to set a scene, and you don't need an outfit to make a memorable character.


Items are a bit trickier, but that focuses more on history. Give an item one weird piece of history about it, to give it an air of mystery. Things like:
The letters CM scratched into the hilt; a corner seems slightly melted, as if splashed by acid; the shine seems odd, as you can always seem to see your reflection regardless of the angle; the sword doesn't seem interesting, but its scabbard seems to make whatever's in it to glow for a minute after drawn; the smell makes your nosehairs burn, yet it feels intoxicating.

These could just be gibberish until a player mentions that they want to investigate something that could be related to some random thing on an item you gave them. You don't need to know these connections until your players start assuming the connections for you. It's not lazy, it's giving them the worldbuilding they want to assume is already true. Having that information set up first means it's harder to adapt around what the player wants, as you have to sacrifice what you already had planned to do so. So don't make up plans, and now you're not sacrificing anything.

[blackjack50]

Find one thing that stands out, figure out why.

For example, say you have a one-eyed Half-Orc who's earnest and friendly. The players might wonder why a battle-hardened half-orc would be such a nice guy, and it turns out that he is a former Paladin of Devotion, left to raise his kids, and he's just happy to be alive. It's simple, but you know what this guy looks like, sounds like, and you want to remember him.

The barmaid? She squints at the dragonborn in the party and treats him rudely.
The gnomish merchant? Seems really eager to talk to your Warforged and ignores anyone else.

Talk only about the stuff that matters the most - the player can fill in the rest with their imagination - and so they'll only remember the important bits. You don't need a paragraph to set a scene, and you don't need an outfit to make a memorable character.


Items are a bit trickier, but that focuses more on history. Give an item one weird piece of history about it, to give it an air of mystery. Things like:
The letters CM scratched into the hilt; a corner seems slightly melted, as if splashed by acid; the shine seems odd, as you can always seem to see your reflection regardless of the angle; the sword doesn't seem interesting, but its scabbard seems to make whatever's in it to glow for a minute after drawn; the smell makes your nosehairs burn, yet it feels intoxicating.

These could just be gibberish until a player mentions that they want to investigate something that could be related to some random thing on an item you gave them. You don't need to know these connections until your players start assuming the connections for you. It's not lazy, it's giving them the worldbuilding they want to assume is already true. Having that information set up first means it's harder to adapt around what the player wants, as you have to sacrifice what you already had planned to do so. So don't make up plans, and now you're not sacrificing anything.

Thank you SO much. This helps A LOT! I’m trying to get better at this so I can run games more effectively for my friends. Or have better stories.

[Dr. Cliché]

Find one thing that stands out, figure out why.

For example, say you have a one-eyed Half-Orc who's earnest and friendly. The players might wonder why a battle-hardened half-orc would be such a nice guy, and it turns out that he is a former Paladin of Devotion, left to raise his kids, and he's just happy to be alive. It's simple, but you know what this guy looks like, sounds like, and you want to remember him.

The barmaid? She squints at the dragonborn in the party and treats him rudely.
The gnomish merchant? Seems really eager to talk to your Warforged and ignores anyone else.

Talk only about the stuff that matters the most - the player can fill in the rest with their imagination - and so they'll only remember the important bits. You don't need a paragraph to set a scene, and you don't need an outfit to make a memorable character.


Items are a bit trickier, but that focuses more on history. Give an item one weird piece of history about it, to give it an air of mystery. Things like:
The letters CM scratched into the hilt; a corner seems slightly melted, as if splashed by acid; the shine seems odd, as you can always seem to see your reflection regardless of the angle; the sword doesn't seem interesting, but its scabbard seems to make whatever's in it to glow for a minute after drawn; the smell makes your nosehairs burn, yet it feels intoxicating.

These could just be gibberish until a player mentions that they want to investigate something that could be related to some random thing on an item you gave them. You don't need to know these connections until your players start assuming the connections for you. It's not lazy, it's giving them the worldbuilding they want to assume is already true. Having that information set up first means it's harder to adapt around what the player wants, as you have to sacrifice what you already had planned to do so. So don't make up plans, and now you're not sacrificing anything.

Just wanted to say these are some fantastic ideas.