Today we will be looking at how to make my NPCs more fleshed out and memorable to the party. I’m going to read out my NPC introduction and you can let me know if it makes a strong first impression, or let me know what's to improve it and make each NPC more memorable!
The party has made their way to the small fishing village of Roost, met a few of the locals and then the following happens...
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As you make your way across the rain slick wooden walkways of Roost a trio of unusual Heran Folk approach you.
One of them stands out immediately. He is huge, towering over the other two and his bamboo armor clicks and clacks with each step. A great bow is slung across his broad back and long arrows bristle from a quiver slung over his shoulder.
Beside him, moving like a feral alley cat is a female Heran Folk, her long black beak and face are a shadow and golden glittering eyes watch you coldly. She lightly holds a spear in each hand.
On the huge Heran Folks other side is another male, quite short for his kind, with vivid orange beak and bright blue feathers edged in red. As he draws closer you notice the air shimmers and shifts around him. He seems to be nodding to himself.
The trio stop in front of you. The towering Heran gives you a friendly nod.
It is the female however who speaks first.
“This is them” she hisses with a sneer “Just more souls to feed the swamp, no doubt”
The small Blue Heran Folk shrugs as something insubstantial snakes across his face “The spirits tell me they are capable.”
The Tall Heran Folk nods amiably. “Better than sending out what's left of our students at any rate.”
The female nods sharply. “Yes, no more students.” She turns to the party. “If you find the soul of a creature made of the dark and a thousand spears, you bring it to me. Otherwise, out there,” she hisses as she nods across to the mist, “ Stay out of my way.”
There is a snap of wind and suddenly she is gone.
The big man sighs and says “That was Whispering Wind, she's quite intense, but when you get to know her, well, she gets more intense.”
The small man beside him seemed distracted, head cocked to one side.
“And this is Master Weave” continued the Big Heran Folk. “Sorry, he spends most of his time talking to the spirits that surround him.”
Master Weave, glances at the party briefly “We welcome you” he says with a small bow.
“And I am Heavy Rain” says the towering Heran Folk, “Called so, for my skill with the great bow and many arrows I rain down on our enemies.”
Come Outsiders, let us show you around.”
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Ok, what do you think? Can you remember each of the 3 masters and get their general vibe? Or has that intro lost you - let me know and i’ll go through the NPCs and how I put them together.
My approach is to Have 3 layers ready
A strong first impression
Another layer if they dig a little deeper
Finally the core, the stuff under the hood that drives the NPC that will influence their decisions but would take the players a much longer time to understand.
Strong first impression
Something that makes an impact on the player, mainly so they can remember who they dealt with in a previous session - so each NPC needs a hook - be it visually, a name, a voice or even the events that surround the initial meeting - bring something unique to each important NPC so players can separate them in their head.
An example is The Big hulking Heran Folk Master known as Heavy Rain, who wears bamboo armor that clinks and clacks when he moves and howls like pan pipes in a strong wind. So he has a clear name to remember which he earned as an exceptional archer that rains arrows on his enemies - and has a unique look to him, a huge Heran in this distinctive armor.
(Note: Clear names I think is very important, I'm playing "Rime of Frost Maiden" at the moment and their names are crazy complicated and no one remembers them and we end up making weird variations every time.
You can let the lesser NPCs fade into the background but even then maybe have some random Cores on hand and who knows, that unimportant NPC might become someone important to the party and an entire adventure comes from it. I had a random NPC whose quirk was he collected corks - and my whole campaign got sidetracked as they helped him complete his collection and went to many dangerous places to find the rare ones. (So probably be careful on how interesting you make them i guess!)
Digging a little deeper
If it becomes a recurring character you will want some more personality to reveal if the party digs a little digger. It might even be things other NPCs tell you about this person and things that have happened to them.
An example of this is Master Weave who can talk to the spirits and often stops conversations with the party to take the advice of whispering souls. If the party digs a little deeper they might learn that other Heran Folk suspect Master Weave makes up a lot of these conversations to give weight to his own opinions and push his own agenda, These small insights will add another layer to the players interactions next time they meet!
The Core
Lets go into more depth with the 3rd Master, The Grim and obsessed Mistress "Whispering Wind" and build her from the ground up, drilling down to her Core and her secret guilt and why she is the way she is.
Her Strong first Impression
Mistress Whispering Wind, often just called “Wind” is a lean, hard looking female Heran Folk. Her long dagger like beak and head feathers are completely black, cloaking her face in shadow. Only her gold glittering eyes can be seen, locking you in a cold flat stare that gives nothing away.
She wears two long spears across her back and walks with a fluid grace that leaves no sound. There is a threat in those elegant movements, as if they could erupt at any moment into violent action, like a tightly coiled spring.
She says little, her words clipped and sharp and seldom inviting further conversation. There is a distance to her, a coldness that keeps her apart, even from her closest students.
So here we have given her a strong personality and a simple name. Also the coldness and disdain she will hold to the party will separate her from all the other welcoming Heran Folk they will meet.
If the party ask others about her, or perhaps spend more time with her, they may discover some of the following, by digging a little deeper.
Wind wasn’t always like this, she had close friends, a family and even shared jokes with her students. That was until her sister was lost to the swamp on a hunting expedition and never seen again. Wind is certain that her sisters soul is trapped in the misery of the swamp and every night the master travels deep into the marshlands searching for her. It has become her obsession and all that she lives for.
When she isn’t in the swamp she trains relentlessly, mastering the 2 spear technique, preparing herself to overcome the many dangers the swamp holds.
Wind works alone and finds working with others restricting, especially those that are slow and noisy. She holds a special disdain for heavy armour wearers, seeing them as cowards hiding in their own small fortress, not trusting their skills.
She sees adventurers as a tool to bring back lost souls from the swamp, perhaps even her sisters soul, but she understands the risks of sending untested adventurers out there and potentially adding to the lost souls trapped in its misery. This is a big reason for Winds distance. Only those who have proven themselves might catch a glint of approval from her eye.
Finally there is another layer, a highly protected one that the Dungeon Master can draw on to guide the actions of this obsessed NPC. They players may never learn of this, but it becomes a useful layer for the DM use for Winds underlying motivations. We call this…
The Core
Wind has lost people, first her sister and then later, through her obsession, her own students. Her dark secret is she knows she pushed students too far and too early to join her in her forays into the swamp. There they encountered the terrifying Hungering Dark, a Blightsoul that hunts only at night and traps souls into its shadowy embrace.
Wind has lost her closest students to the Hunter, and the Hungering Dark grows stronger with each soul it traps. Now Wind will only travel alone, seeking the elusive Blightsoul by herself. She pushes herself everyday to be stronger, hoping to match the powerful Blightsoul when she finally corners it. She has fought it before and seen something in the way it fights and moves. Wind has become convinced that the Hungering Dark is in fact powered by the soul of her sister.
So thats a glimpse of Whispering Wind, one of the many NPCs to be found in our upcoming adventure “The Swamp of Souls”. Thanks for reading and I'll catch ya later!
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