Greetings!

I often have the party of Player Characters accompanied by various NPC's, whether such are fellow party members, Henchmen characters, or Hirelings. That's pretty standard for my players to get involved with such NPC's. However, it is always amusing and interesting when Plyer Characters become involved in different kinds of relationships with *other kinds* of Non-Player Characters--such as a strumpet that works in their favourite tavern, a rugged, jaded Watch Investigator that chain-smokes cigarettes and drinks whiskey at nearly every opportunity. This guy is a bachelor; his wife left him many years ago. He's jaded, bitter, hard-bitten, and definitely a bit of an ass, but one of the women in the group loves him like crazy. There's a skilled blacksmith in a local town that one of the Player Characters has become friends with. The Blacksmith smokes a pipe, and has a taste for fine, high-quality pipe tobacco. Then there is an old farmer, middle-aged but still working hard, that a Player Character Cleric has developed a friendship with. The Farmer is a member of the local Church, an often discusses current events as well as theology with the Player Character Cleric. A Player Character Fighter is friends with a local River-Barge operator, and three local woodcutters. All of them are locals of the area, bearded and rough, and very opinionated about local politics and current events. They also seem to be quite familiar with news of newcomers, immigrants, and visitors coming into the nearby town, which they readily discuss with the Player Character Fighter.

And so on. None of these Non-Player Characters are powerful, wealthy, or well-connected in any real political sense, and yet, the Player Characters have a great investment in them.

Do your groups embrace offbeat or ordinary Non-Player Characters in surprising relationships?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Sometimes, and I never know ahead of time which ones will click. 

The players once developed a rivalry with a smart ass gate guard that was so intense that when they relocated to a new town as home base, I had the gate guard fired from his old job and hired at the new town.  The players later learned that he had been fired because his behavior had run off the PCs.  They didn't like the guy, but they got interested in spite of that, and really got to know him.  When that all started, he was just random annoying gate guard that I had to make up a name for on the spot because they reported his behavior to his captain.  In an attack on the town, they fought hard through some dangerous odds to save his bacon, too.  They knew he was so fanatically and literally-minded serious about no one coming through the gate without authorization, that he'd die at his post before retreating even against overwhelming odds.

I had a minor shopkeeper for whom the party got so involved in her tale that they managed to drag her into their own problems, such that she became the center of a blackmail and whispering campaign directed at the PCs.  Some of the players thought she a spy for the other side.  Others thought she was their loyal friend.  One player figured out the truth--she was this innocent that they had drug into their problems by convincing the powers that be that she was either a spy or their agent.  I might have just watched "The Man with One Red Shoe" recently before that story line took off.

Nowadays, I merely throw out NPCs as they come about and see which ones the players latch onto. 

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on October 25, 2021, 09:03:21 AM
Sometimes, and I never know ahead of time which ones will click. 

The players once developed a rivalry with a smart ass gate guard that was so intense that when they relocated to a new town as home base, I had the gate guard fired from his old job and hired at the new town.  The players later learned that he had been fired because his behavior had run off the PCs.  They didn't like the guy, but they got interested in spite of that, and really got to know him.  When that all started, he was just random annoying gate guard that I had to make up a name for on the spot because they reported his behavior to his captain.  In an attack on the town, they fought hard through some dangerous odds to save his bacon, too.  They knew he was so fanatically and literally-minded serious about no one coming through the gate without authorization, that he'd die at his post before retreating even against overwhelming odds.

I had a minor shopkeeper for whom the party got so involved in her tale that they managed to drag her into their own problems, such that she became the center of a blackmail and whispering campaign directed at the PCs.  Some of the players thought she a spy for the other side.  Others thought she was their loyal friend.  One player figured out the truth--she was this innocent that they had drug into their problems by convincing the powers that be that she was either a spy or their agent.  I might have just watched "The Man with One Red Shoe" recently before that story line took off.

Nowadays, I merely throw out NPCs as they come about and see which ones the players latch onto.

Greetings!

Indeed, my friend! I'm often surprised by the characters that the Players take a liking to, and work to develop relationships with. It can be quite unpredictable!

That tendency is a major factor in why I have embraced a sophisticated NPC system, where while possessing considerable depth and detail, remains modular in essential ways. I can quickly determine key characteristics, personalities, descriptions, talents and all that for a group of NPC's on the fly in a short time.

After generating a basic foundation for a particular NPC, I can always go back later and flesh out more details, and make their backgrounds, hobbies, families, social connections and so on as needed.

It definitely provides greater depth and verisimilitude for the campaign!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

I like to broadly sketch out an NPC - base game info + 3 traits is my go-to - and then see how they develop in actual play.

I once had a bard who always told the PC's stories wrong, got their names wrong, but  was very popular so other NPCs far and wide would ask the PCs if they ever heard of these mighty heroes with similar names.

I always loved the Harvey Mudd character from Star Trek, so I had a trader in a Traveller game who would show up in any adventures with merchant actions. Even if the NPC himself didn't appear, it would invariably somehow involve or reference him or his ship regardless how far flung the system.

Quote from: Spinachcat on October 27, 2021, 12:11:43 AM
I like to broadly sketch out an NPC - base game info + 3 traits is my go-to - and then see how they develop in actual play.

I once had a bard who always told the PC's stories wrong, got their names wrong, but  was very popular so other NPCs far and wide would ask the PCs if they ever heard of these mighty heroes with similar names.

I always loved the Harvey Mudd character from Star Trek, so I had a trader in a Traveller game who would show up in any adventures with merchant actions. Even if the NPC himself didn't appear, it would invariably somehow involve or reference him or his ship regardless how far flung the system.

Greetings!

Nice, my friend! Having three main traits is goo, too, for NPC's.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Same. Never know what will take off and what will get offed.

Favourite exampme is Inonnu the eyeless Grimlock/Lovecraftian ghoul-thing the party picked up half way through the Darkness Rising Spelljammer campaign. Leader of one faction who followed the party down to battle the huge neolithid and survived. The group found an old Illithid gauntlet weapon with tentacles. On a successful crit it had a chance to pull out the targets brain for an instakill. The pary didnt want it and so gifted it to Innonu who proceeded to get crit after crit after crit. At least one every battle. The party thought it was great and allowed him to join for the rest of the epic.

On the flip side I was in a group and the DM presented a kobold NPC and for whatever reason the party was so indifferent to him that they stood by and let him get offed by his own pet. (Though to be fair he DID say it was a tame baby dragon. So totally not my fault!)

And through being overcautious the party for 5e was DMing for completely missed the druid they could have saved if had been a little less cautious. They'd wanted a healer as the party had none. So I'd placed one in amongst the prisoners the villainess had their hands on. But because the party dithered two days healing and preparing, she ended up getting offed by said villainess (who through no direct action on my part, tended to stay one step ahead of the party). The party is currently wearing the druid as the villainess had mad her into a wolfpelt cloak. It does have some limted healing property at least. But rather not what the party wanted.

Gamma World on the other hand we picked up alot of NPCs human and non.