The three types of NPC characters you should you have in your campaign

We have discussed the basic idea of NPCss in one of our previous articles. You can go and check it here. Today however we are going to take a closer look and share some practical advice on how to use NPC characters in your TTRPG campaigns.
So for all the people new to tabletop role-playing games, NPC's (non player characters) are basically like film extras, in fact some systems like Savage Worlds do call them "extras". (of course some NPC's can and will technically be Wild Cards).

How many NPCs should you have in your campaign ?

We would suggest that you have 3 categories of NPCs and each of the categories will have 3 NPCs. This comes to a total of 9. That would be a manageable number. Of course we are talking about proper supporting roles. This NPCs will have their stats, history etc. We are not discussing all the NPCs your adventurers will meet / see in the background. These 9 are the extras your characters will be interacting with more often.

What are the three main types of NPC characters.

Allies

These will be the main 3 NPC characters directly or indirectly supporting your players. So for example this could be a trusted quest giver, a sidekick or powerful merchant. The idea with allies is that they will (unlike others) always be helpful to the players. We keep the number to three so characters can remember them better and build meaningful connections over the course of campaign. It's easier and better than constantly coming with a new NPC which players and the GM will forget about two sessions later. The allies will always (or almost always) be friendly and supportive to our players. They can supply them with information, quests, magical items etc.

Enemies

These are classics. We're talking about the bad guys opposing your team. It could be a main boss and his minions, a powerful monster or a combination of the above. Again, just like with the allies, the idea is we can develop these non player characters in more details and make them so much more memorable for our players. Of course, as the name suggests the enemies will be hostile to our players.

Neutrals

As the name suggests, these are neither friends nor foes. It could be a shopkeeper in one of the main cities, perhaps a guild master. Essentially, someone your players will regularly be in contact with. The neutrals will be driven by their own goals and interests. Unlike the allies, they will not offer help to our players unless it benefits them or for a payment.