Creating NPCs and Villians

A nonplayer character is any character controlled by the Dungeon Master. NPCs can be enemies or allies, regular folk or named monsters. They include the local innkeeper, the old wizard who lives in the tower on the outskirts of town, the death knight out to destroy the kingdom, and the dragon counting gold in its cavernous lair.
This chapter shows you how to flesh out nonplayer characters for your game. For guidelines on generating monster-like stat blocks for an NPC, see chapter 9, "Dungeon Master's Workshop."

Designing NPCs

Nothing brings your adventures and campaigns to life better than a cast of well-developed NPCs. That said, NPCs in your game rarely need as much complexity as a well-crafted character in a novel or movie. Most NPCs are bit players in the campaign, whereas the adventurers are the stars.

Quick NPCs

An NPC doesn't need combat statistics unless it poses a threat. Moreover, most NPCs need only one or two qualities to make them memorable. For example, your players will have no trouble remembering the no-nonsense blacksmith with the tattoo of the black rose on his right shoulder or the badly dressed bard with the broken nose.

Detailed NPCs

For NPCs who play larger roles in your adventures, allow more time to flesh out their histories and personalities. As you'll see, ten sentences can sum up the main elements of a memorable NPC, one sentence for each of the following:

• Occupation and history
• Appearance
• Abilities
• Talent
• Mannerism
• Interactions with others
• Useful knowledge
• Ideal
• Bond
• Flaw or secret

Although the material here focuses on humanoid NPCs, you can adjust details to create monstrous NPCs as well.

Occupation and History

In one sentence, describe the NPC's occupation and provide a brief historical note that hints at the character's past. For example, the NPC might have served in an army, been imprisoned for a crime, or adventured years ago.

Appearance

In one sentence, describe the NPC's most distinctive physical features. You can roll on the NPC Appearance table or choose a feature that suits the character.

NPC Appearance

d20 Feature

1. Distinctive jewelry: earrings, necklace, circlet, bracelets
2. Piercings
3. Flamboyant or outlandish clothes
4. Formal, clean clothes
5. Ragged, dirty clothes
6. Pronounced scar
7. Missing teeth
8. Missing fingers
9. Unusual eye color (or two different colors)
10. Tattoos
11. Birthmark
12. Unusual skin color
13. Bald
14. Braided beard or hair
15. Unusual hair color
16. Nervous eye twitch
17. Distinctive nose
18. Distinctive posture (crooked or rigid)
19. Exceptionally beautiful
20. Exceptionally ugly

Abilities

You don't need to roll ability scores for the NPC, but note abilities that are above or below average-great strength or monumental stupidity, for example-and use them to inform the NPC's qualities.

NPC Abilities

d6 High Ability

1. Strength-powerful, brawny, strong as an ox
2. Dexterity-lithe, agile, graceful
3. Constitution-hardy, hale, healthy
4. Intelligence-studious, learned, inquisitive
5. Wisdom-perceptive, spiritual, insightful
6. Charisma-persuasive, forceful, born leader

NPC Low Abilities

d6 Low Ability

1. Strength-feeble, scrawny
2. Dexterity-clumsy, fumbling
3. Constitution-sickly, pale
4. Intelligence-dim-witted, slow
5. Wisdom-oblivious, absentminded
6. Charisma-dull, boring

Talent

In one sentence, describe something that your NPC can do that is special, if anything. Roll on the NPC Talents table or use it to spur your own ideas.

NPC Talents

d20 Talent

1. Plays a musical instrument
2. Speaks several languages fluently
3. Unbelievably lucky
4. Perfect memory
5. Great with animals
6. Great with children
7. Great at solving puzzles
8. Great at one game
9. Great at impersonations
10. Draws beautifully
11. Paints beautifully
12. Sings beautifully
13. Drinks everyone under the table
14. Expert carpenter
15. Expert cook
16. Expert dart thrower and rock skipper
17. Expert juggler
18. Skilled actor and master of disguise
19. Skilled dancer
20. Knows thieves' cant

Mannerism

In one sentence, describe one mannerism that will help players remember the NPC. Roll on the NPC Mannerisms and Quirks table or use it to generate your own ideas.

NPC Mannerisms

d20 Mannerism

1. Prone to singing, whistling, or humming quietly
2. Speaks in rhyme or some other peculiar way
3. Particularly low or high voice
4. Slurs words, lisps, or stutters
5. Enunciates overly clearly
6. Speaks loudly
7. Whispers
8. Uses flowery speech or long words
9. Frequently uses the wrong word
10. Uses colorful oaths and exclamations
11. Makes constant jokes or puns
12. Prone to predictions of doom
13. Fidgets
14. Squints
15. Stares into the distance
16. Chews something
17. Paces
18. Taps fingers
19. Bites fingernails
20. Twirls hair or tugs beard

Interactions with Others

In one sentence, describe how the NPC interacts with others, using the NPC Interaction Traits table if necessary. An NPC's behavior can change depending on who he or she is interacting with. For example, an innkeeper might be friendly toward guests and rude to her staff.

NPC Interaction Traits

d12 Trait

1. Argumentative
2. Arrogant
3. Blustering
4. Rude
5. Curious
6. Friendly
7. Honest
8. Hot tempered
9. Irritable
10. Ponderous
11. Quiet
12. Suspicious

Useful Knowledge

In a sentence, describe one bit of knowledge the NPC possesses that might be of use to the player characters.
The NPC might know something as banal as the best inn in town or as important as a clue needed to solve a murder.

Ideal

In a sentence, describe one ideal that the NPC holds dear and which governs his or her greater actions. Player characters who uncover an NPC's ideal can use what they've learned to influence the NPC in asocial interaction (as discussed in chapter 8, "Running the Game"). Ideals can connect to alignment, as shown on the NPC Ideals table. The alignment connections here are suggestions only; an evil character could have beauty as an ideal, for instance.

Good Ideals

d6 Ideal

1. Beauty
2. Charity
3. Greater good
4. Life
5. Respect
6. Self-sacrifice

Evil Ideals

d6 Ideal

1. Domination
2. Greed
3. Might
4. Pain
5. Retribution
6. Slaughter

Lawful Ideals

d6 Ideal

1. Community
2. Fairness
3. Honor
4. Logic
5. Responsibility
6. Tradition

Chaotic Ideals

d6 Ideal

1. Change
2. Creativity
3. Freedom
4. Independence
5. No limits
6. Whimsy

Neutral Ideals

d6 Ideal

1. Balance
2. Knowledge
3. Live and let live
4. Moderation
5. Neutrality
6. People

Other Ideals

d6 Ideal

1. Aspiration
2. Discovery
3. Glory
4. Nation
5. Redemption
6. Self-knowledge

Bond

In a sentence, summarize the people, places, or things that are especially important to the NPC. The NPC Bonds table offers suggestions in broad categories.
The character backgrounds in the Player's Handbook explore bonds in more detail, and player characters who uncover an NPC's bond can use what they've learned to influence the NPC in a social interaction (as discussed in chapter 8).

NPC Bonds

d10 Bond

1. Dedicated to fulfilling a personal life goal
2. Protective of close family members
3. Protective of colleagues or compatriots
4. Loyal to a benefactor, patron, or employer
5. Captivated by a romantic interest
6. Drawn to a special place
7. Protective of a sentimental keepsake
8. Protective of a valuable possession
9. Out for revenge
10. Roll twice, ignoring result of 10.

Flaw or Secret

In one sentence, describe the NPC's flaw-some element of the character's personality or history that could potentially undermine the character-or a secret that the NPC is trying to hide.
The NPC Flaws and Secrets table provides several ideas. The backgrounds in the Player's Handbook can be used to create more detailed flaws. Player characters who uncover an NPC'sflaw or secret can use what they've learned to influence the NPC in a social interaction (as discussed in chapter 8).

NPC Flaws and Secrets

d12 Flaw or Secret

1. Forbidden love or susceptibility to romance
2. Enjoys decadent pleasures
3. Arrogance
4. Envies another creature's possessions or station
5. Overpowering greed
6. Prone to rage
7. Has a powerful enemy
8. Specific phobia
9. Shameful or scandalous history
10. Secret crime or misdeed
11. Possession of forbidden lore
12. Foolhardy bravery

Villains

By their actions, villains provide job security for heroes. Chapter 3 helps you determine suitable villains for your adventures, while this section helps you flesh out their evil schemes, methods, and weaknesses. Let the tables that follow inspire you.

Villain's Scheme

d8 - Objective - Scheme

1. Immortality (d4)
   1. Acquire a legendary item to prolong life
   2. Ascend to godhood
   3. Become undead or obtain a younger body
   4. Steal a planar creature's essence
2. Influence (d4)
   1. Seize a position of power or title
   2. Win a contest or tournament
   3. Win favor with a powerful individual
   4. Place a pawn in a position of power
3. Magic (d6)
   1. Obtain an ancient artifact
   2. Build a construct or magical device
   3. Carry out a deity's wishes
   4. Offer sacrifices to a deity
   5. Contact a lost deity or power
   6. Open a gate to another world
4. Mayhem (d6)
   1. Fulfill an apocalyptic prophecy
   2. Enact the vengeful will of a god or patron
   3. Spread a vile contagion
   4. Overthrow a government
   5. Trigger a natural disaster
   6. Utterly destroy a bloodline or clan
5. Passion (d4)
   1. Prolong the life of a loved one
   2. Prove worthy of another person's love
   3. Raise or restore a dead loved one
   4. Destroy rivals for another person's affection
6. Power (d4)
   1. Conquer a region or incite a rebellion
   2. Seize control of an army
   3. Become the power behind the throne
   4. Gain the favor of a ruler
7. Revenge (d4)
   1. Avenge a past humiliation or insult
   2. Avenge a past imprisonment or injury
   3. Avenge the death of a loved one
   4. Retrieve stolen property and punish the thief
8. Wealth (d4)
   1. Control natural resources or trade
   2. Marry into wealth
   3. Plunder ancient ruins
   4. Steal land, goods, or money

Villain's Methods

d20 Methods

1. Agricultural devastation
2. Assault or beatings
3. Bounty hunting or assassination
4. Captivity or coercion
5. Confidence scams
6. Defamation
7. Dueling
8. Execution
9. Impersonation or disguise
10. Lying or perjury
11. Magical mayhem
12. Murder
13. Neglect
14. Politics
15. Religion
16. Stalking
17. Theft or Property Crime
18. Torture
19. Vice
20. Warfare

Villain's Secret Weakness

Finding and exploiting a villain's weakness can be very gratifying for players, although a smart villain tries to conceal its weakness. A lich, for example, has a phylactery-a magical receptacle for its soul-that it keeps well hidden. Only by destroying the phylactery can the characters ensure the lich's destruction.

Villain's Weakness

d8 Weakness

1. A hidden object holds the villain's soul.
2. The villain's power is broken if the death of its true love is avenged.
3. The villain is weakened in the presence of a particular artifact.
4. A special weapon deals extra damage when used against the villain.
5. The villain is destroyed if it speaks its true name.
6. An ancient prophecy or riddle reveals how the villain can be overthrown.
7. The villain falls when an ancient enemy forgives its past actions.
8. The villain loses its power if a mystic bargain it struck long ago is completed.