Captain Emu Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Greeting again, In developing my setting for "The Unremarkables" I found myself asking, "how much do I really need to do up front to make this work well?" More specifically, how many and what sort of NPCs are good to have fleshed out before even attempting to run such a game? Now some of this may be answered in the Dark Champions book but, alas, I do not have it and am operating mostly on core rule books at this time. I was wondering what other have done and what sort of NPCs and denizens they had ready at the beginning. Also, I am running this game on a seriously tight budget, so any online or even personal resources that might have some material I could use would be infinitely useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkwleisemann Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Re: Who's on 1st...Avenue that is? Mmm... personal taste, I'd say the big things to come up with are: 1 - Power figures. You don't need to stat them out necessarily, but you want details enough to interact with them. Mayor, maybe, police chief, certain prominent members of the more immediately local community, that sorta thing. The local police captain, and especially what his take is on these strange vigilantes. 2 - Villain figures! We're not talking about Dr. Destroyer sorts here obviously, but the local gang bangers, leading criminals... maybe there are some 'Unremarkable' enemies? A Mr. Glass sort, perhaps.... 3 - A few 'local color' figures. Poppa Marcioli, who runs the Italian restaurant down the street. Nosy Ms. McCreedy, the old spinster who constantly sticks her nose in other people's business (and gossips about it with Granny Strong during their weekly bridge game, of course!) Again - few if any of them really need to be statted out, but you want to have descriptions handy so that the players know who they're talking to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolon Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Re: Who's on 1st...Avenue that is? If you don't have a campaign city, then use your hometown. You and the players have a common frame of reference. Even in Hudson City or New York , most of the people are extras so you can make your town or village as big as you want. Get a map of the hometown and then just look at what your characters would be able to do. If you need a forensic lab, then the local force with Barney and Andy is now a 400 member force with all departments. Tell the players they need to help you in this but you are now in the megametropolis of Smalltown, Wherever. The key to doing your homework is learning your characters. I have a campaign starting with a thief/martial artist and a forensic cop with a vendetta. I have to know that. Why would they fight gang bangers to start with? I think I will give them a serial killer to start. Grab a phone book for important character names and just write them down. I might have your standard cop, thug, kid, person available if you don't have something with them in. You might want to draw out the scene of the crime place and leave the rest to just imagine. The players never take you where you want to go when you want to get there. I remember taking 3 weeks on something I thought would take a couple of hours and then 2 hours on something that should have taken 3 sessions. Just to tell you to relax and go with the flow. I know scenarios where the gm put them away for 3 sessions until the characters get back to it or where the characters kill that NPC that should never die. You can figure your way out. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Emu Posted May 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 Re: Who's on 1st...Avenue that is? So, brainstorming a bit, I've decided to set my game i nthe main Champions universe but in a new city, name still pending, but I'm thinking somethign that sounds a bit haunting. So far the cast I've come up with for the main neighborhood are - The good cop The bad cop Local burned out police detective Pro girl with a heart Good street kid Bag Lady Mysterious professional in the neighborhood The wierd kid Bleeding heart that runs the shelter Priest Old man who's never left the neighborhood since Roosevelt was pres Goth chick Waitress with pretty, sad eyes Local merchant who likes to help The list grows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 Re: Who's on 1st...Avenue that is? you need a scientist, a librarian and some one with knowlage of things man was not ment to know or at least thats teh formula in every low level super show i ever saw buffy had giles and willow the X files had the lone gunmen think cookey occult book store owner conspiracy theory writer high school science teacher fallen from grace from the big leagues bookish but extrenly well read librarian gamer with way to much free time and excellent google fu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Emu Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Re: Who's on 1st...Avenue that is? I have a cool idea for a mysterious burrito vendor who seems to know everything but really never says anything. Sit down for a buritto and chat with him and suddenly things fall into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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