NPC Creation

[Arthur_Telluria]

I'm pretty new to Hero System, and now that I'm into serious preperation of some campaigning, I've come up with the question of how to best create some nice NPCs.

The campaigns I'm preparing are heroic, the PCs get the usual 75/75 treatment.

So, my cyberpunk heroes should get some gang members and corporate guards to go up against. Now I've created a 25/25 skilled normal as a random gangmember, warts (disabs), full set of skills and all.

As I lack the experience of running a fully fledged Hero System campaign, I'm kinda asking myself if I'm doing it right.

Of course, those characters can be used properly, and are even useful outside the realm of a simple opposing force in combat situations, still I wonder wether there is a simpler way of doing this, and wether it's not going to be a bit complicated handling those characters in combat. Also I can't really measure how challenging this would be, which is really just due to lacking experience with Hero. I'd just like to prevent getting my PCs killed by a group of random thugs in the first session just because I suck at planning this through. Just as much as I'd like to prevent my PCs wading through hordes of goons without a scratch or any real feeling of threat.

Any advice for a newbie? Some rules of thumb as to how many points "random goon" NPCs should have for heroic campaigns would be a nice starting point.

[gojira]

Re: NPC Creation

 

I wouldn't worry about points to start with. Just give NPCs what skills and equipment you think they would need to do their job.

 

It's been a long time since I've GM'd a game, but I'd make two base NPCs, then for the first add a short list of skills with titles like "Fixer" or "Streetdoc". Just give them a couple of things like Persuasion or PS: Medicine, First Aid and Electronics to get them going. If you find they are too bad (or too good) at their jobs, you can always tune them during play.

 

For combat, use the second base NPC, and set their combat powers and skills a little below where the lowest PC is. Then make up for it a bit in numbers, like twice the number of PCs. Have two identical groups ready to go. If the first group goes down too easily, have the second group jump out of the shadows and charge. If the first group takes more than one turn, you should probably skip the second group, unless it's supposed to be a big battle.

[Lucius]

Re: NPC Creation

 

Suggested values:

 

Random low level mook, gang member, security guard:

 

DEX 11

SPD 2 or 3

Maybe 1 level with a weapon

 

These are the kind of NPCs that your 75+75 heroes will probably wade through easily if they were built to fight.

 

Competent agents:

 

DEX 14

SPD 3

Depending on what kind of character it is, and how tough you want them to be,

Martial Arts, A few combat levels, heavier weapons, maybe body armor and or "Combat Luck."

 

 

Be sure to look at what your players bring to the table. If they all have SPD 4 and martial arts and Combat Luck, then they can probably whip a small army of SPD 2 ordinary mooks. If they're heavy on the non combat skills instead you may want to arrange ways they can sneak or talk their way around fights, and/or give them opponents who don't outnumber them by much and aren't so powerful.

 

 

Try getting them together for what I have heard called an "arena session." Say up front you want to figure out what's a good challenge for them and play through some set piece battles against different opponents and see how they fare. Maybe begin with a gang of DEX 11, SPD 3 thugs armed with baseball bats and switchblades - not necessarily built on even 25 pts, but definitely better than the "average person" in game terms. Wiping them out (and your team will almost certainly have little trouble with that) will impress upon them how heroic their characters really are. Then erase everyone's damage, change the battlefield around, and try some more serious opponents. If the heroes get clobberred, you know you are using too many bad guys or made them too strong; if nothing you throw at them hurts them, you need to upgrade your opponents. None of this is really part of the story "continuity." You may want to award XP for it, but it's considered to have "not really happened."

 

Also, pay attention to HOW the fights are won and lost. If your characters can't hit the heroes, or can't seem to dodge the heroes' attacks to save their lives (perhaps literally....) they need more DEX or levels or perhaps martial manuevers. If they hit but can't seem to seriously hurt the characters, they need more STR, bigger weapons, martial arts, or something to help them "hit harder." If the heroes hit the thugs but can't put them down, tone down the bad guys' defenses or CON.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Combat Palindromedary

[Killer Shrike]

Re: NPC Creation

 

This document is specifically to help people coming from D&D to HERO, but the general advice on HERO opposition should still be useful for you:

 

Opposition

[Thia Halmades]

Re: NPC Creation

 

There's a whole bunch of ways to do this; the best right now is just to make sure they have reasonable armaments, very little (if any) body armor, and don't worry about much. You may not even use the hit location table early on, although it's very useful if the PCs want to start making called shots.

[Arthur_Telluria]

Re: NPC Creation

 

Thanks for the advices. 8)

That's something I can work with.

Everything else will then come with experience eventually.