Source:Non-Player Characters Have Feelings, Too
| This page is a verbatim reproduction of original source material and should not be edited except for maintenance. | |
| Description |
"Non-Player Characters Have Feelings, Too", an article by Rick Krebs published in Dragon magazine #29. |
|---|---|
| Source | |
| Date |
September 1979 |
| Author | |
| License |
Permission has kindly been granted by the copyright holder for this copyrighted item to appear in the not-for-profit Eamon Wiki website. Permission granted by Rick Krebs in email with Huw Williams, 10 January 2021 |
| Other versions | |
Non-Player Characters Have Feelings, Too
Non-player characters should be more than a string of numbers, especially in regards to how and why they react to player characters. What follows is a basic format for rounding out the NPCs in your villages or dungeons.
Roll a 6 sided die:
- Fears, afraid of
- Loves
- Dislikes
- Likes
- Hates
- Roll 1 love and 1 hate
If desired, simply decide NPC's general nature. If strong, use love, hate, if mild nature, use like, dislike, and roll for each on table 2. Then roll a 6 sided die again. If a 1 is rolled, the character also has a phobia to be rolled on table 2. Once likes, dislikes, fears, etc. are rolled on chart 1, consult chart 2 for the specific nature. Reroll any contradictory characteristics.
Table 2: Use percentage dice (2d20)
| 01–02 | Dwarves |
| 03–04 | Elves |
| 05–06 | Halflings |
| 07–09 | Clerics/religion |
| 10–13 | Magic Users/magic |
| 14–16 | Illusionists |
| 17–18 | Assassins |
| 19–22 | Thieves |
| 23–25 | Druids |
| 26–28 | Bards/the Arts |
| 29–31 | Monks |
| 32–33 | Paladins |
| 34–35 | Gems |
| 36–37 | Jewels |
| 38–39 | Gold |
| 40–41 | Work |
| 42–43 | Ruler |
| 44–45 | Alcohol |
| 48–49 | Men |
| 50–51 | Beautiful Women |
| 52–53 | Ugly Females |
| 54–55 | Children |
| 56–57 | Strangers |
| 58–60 | Fightingmen |
| 61–62 | Rangers |
| 63–64 | Barbarians |
| 65–66 | Amazons |
| 67–68 | Pets |
| 69–70 | Insects |
| 71–72 | Reptiles |
| 73–74 | Lawful Characters |
| 75–76 | Neutral Characters |
| 77–78 | Chaotic Characters |
| 79–80 | Sailors, soldiers |
| 81–82 | Silver |
| 83–84 | Plants/plant life |
| 85–86 | Gossip/rumors |
| 87–88 | Education/knowledge |
| 89–90 | Higher levels |
| 91–92 | Slavery |
| 93–94 | Mixed races (½ elves, ½ Orcs, etc.) |
| 95–96 | Water |
| 97–98 | Users of Magic Items |
| 99 | Pick any one |
| 00 | Everything/everybody |
Examples of tables usage:
Option 1:
Salbeluut, owner of an Inn, receives a roll of 2 on table 1, we consult table 2, where on he rolls a 21. He loves thieves. Expanding on this we decide that his inn will become a drop for the thieves guild. Allowing a safe haven and a "fence" for footpads and their gains.
Option 2:
Aphfoy, another Inn owner, is given a mild nature (likes, dislikes). He rolls a 36 for likes (jewels), and a 40 for dislikes (work). His roll for fears is a 1 indicating he has some fears, phobia. A roll of 70 indicates he fears insects. So a party of adventurers arrives at Aphfoy's Inn, and they need an additional member of the party. Using tales of fabulous jewels found in a nearby dungeon, it is easy to get Aphfoy to close the inn (all work and no play...) and join the party. But if the party encounters any insects in the dungeon they better not count on Aphfoy sticking around.
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