NPCing over PCing

[Ezri]

We do send out things like this called "fishbowls" but you won't see more than one or two out at any given time. We run a bunch of these roles every weekend. We offer gobbies for people to write up these little encounters/characters as well (in that paragraph alone you have about 50 gobs worth James if you submit them ).

Often we do give NPCs roles like this (as Mike mentioned) during mealtimes so that they have something fun to RP while eating. Sometimes it's something plot creates, other times we'll let them make something up just for fun and flavor. And yes some of them are recurring, especially if they go over well.

If I had like 50 NPCs per weekend we could do things like this more (and there was a time in HQ where 40+ npcs were the norm... I miss those days). But if we're going to run mods and other encounters we just don't have the resources to have NPCs just hanging out in the tavern all the time.

 

[James Trotta]

I always wondered what a fishbowl was. I assumed it was something where a few people did something meaningless and a bunch of people watched. Anyway, I will write some ideas down and submit them.

 

[Ezri]

Heh. The term fishbowl dates back I believe to the Four Horsemen at HQ. Possibly even earlier. The idea was that they were little random encounters or characters that would be on slips of paper literally sitting in a fishbowl, and whenever there was an NPC who needed something to do, they could pull one out of the bowl and go run it. Things that didn't take a lot of people or resources to run but that would add some flavor to the game (like the stuff you were describing).

I'm not sure whether or not there ever actually WAS a fishbowl, but that was the idea, and the term just stuck. I keep saying that one day I'm going to bring an actual fishbowl to site, I just keep forgetting.

 

[Lugo]

I was at two HQ events over the summer and I rarely saw NPCs in the tavern just hanging out. If every NPC has a roleplaying character did they create it themselves? Do they play the same one each event in order to develop relationships with the PCs? Do they write character histories and get guidance from the plot team on what rumors to spread / stories to tell / historical things to talk about / political views to argue?

This is pretty rare. For the most part there arnt enough warm bodies, or intelligent bodies, or even rapidly cooling bodies to do the writing for things like 'Joe farmer who's going to get breakfast sat morning' x all of NPC camp. Some of the core NPCs (those extra special boys and girls who have been doing nothing but NPCing for a few years) tend to find them selves a reoccurring role, but (and Ill admit this as someone who does this) its frequently so they have something better to say then "Hi, Im Joe farmer, I grow pigs." every time they go get food, and most of the time its not something the writing staff cares too much about. I personally have one that I play as my sat morning breakfast role. And you don't really want to talk to me by sunday morning anyway, as the wind might bite your head off before it gets its coffee.

Sure a few plot things / wave battles might be more important but is there always something more important to do than roleplay in the tavern?

Unless the NPC is broken (and the morale failed to improve after a series of beatings), they usually have other things going on 80% of the time, so sitting around the tavern just isn't an option. Those few plot things tend to be more then what you think. If 60 people go on an aggregate average of 2.5 mods a weekend, that means NPC camp is doing about 25 modules that take 60-90 min per mod to set up and run, and between 4 and 8 NPCs. Subtract the hours taken up by wave battles, logistics, sleep, and food, and its a really busy place; more so when (as is normally the case) we are short NPC numbers. Additionally, good roles need to be written ahead of time, so you can learn some information, names of people & places. The crone who spends an hour telling a story about the first ducal court (which is going to be filled with names and dates) will have a much better reception then Joe Farmer who is thinking about becoming an adventurer too. Not there is anything wrong with Joe the Farmer thinking pigs smell bad, but make great bacon; its just not as fleshed out a role. And the chances of Joe the Farmer coming back in a month, or even tomorrow, are fairly slim, whereas the storytelling crone may well show up once an event for a while to tell embarrassing stories about the duke.

 

[James Trotta]

This excerpt I'm quoting seems a lot like the point I was trying to make. And while I realize NPCs are busy doing mods and wave battles (I've NPCed lots of times, although it's been 10 years or so), I happen to think it would be cool if they were also busy roleplaying in the tavern. Maybe an average of 2.4 mods instead of 2.5 or 3-7 NPCs per mod instead of 4-8.

The crone who spends an hour telling a story about the first ducal court (which is going to be filled with names and dates) will have a much better reception then Joe Farmer who is thinking about becoming an adventurer too. Not there is anything wrong with Joe the Farmer thinking pigs smell bad, but make great bacon; its just not as fleshed out a role. And the chances of Joe the Farmer coming back in a month, or even tomorrow, are fairly slim, whereas the storytelling crone may well show up once an event for a while to tell embarrassing stories about the duke.

 

[Angrydurf]

I really think NPC freedom to RP is dependant on the NPCs in question and the players in the chapter.

Some Chapters all the PCs are really more interested in getting to the next mod and mostly use the tavern as staging for that. Otheres have PCs who don't want to go on tons of mods but want to sit in the tavern and RP.

The NPCs are there to keep the playerbase entertianed if theres a group of artisans who all sit and RP int eh tavern and sell stuff to the adventurers they deserve some NPC time/plot too and one less NPC on a mod will rarely break the mod (barring being very short on NPCs)

But in the end its a thing of what the players want/need out of the game. I will say that while I was on plot we ran alot of mods, and a few RP NPCs I still get comments about the RP stuff. Its much rarer that anyone talks about the mods.

 

[Dreamingfurther]

Another fact is that in many cases mods are simpler. You go, kill the things, find the treasure get out. While obviously there are cool variations and some really unique mods out there this simple formula is fun and easy. (I'm certainly not complaining and enjoy it a lot myself.) But as a result mods often aren't as talked about as the more rare really cool RP NPC that people ran into.

That said, at least in CT which is one of my favorite chapters to PC in I seem to be encountering NPC's who have come in to town just to RP and interact with players almost more than my character enjoys... lol

Justin if you read this... you know which one the CT season closer of last year I'm talking about... Then again it probably doesn't help my case that I play a Dark Elf either.