DIY critters, items, and NPC's

[SirWilliam]

I'm posting this mainly because I'm curious.

 

I've seen a lot of postings where a GM will be wondering how to get such and such an effect and how much it will cost. Or people will post critters (aka cannon fodder) fully developed complete with disads.

 

Do most people do this?

 

For myself, most of my baddies (aka the grunts, cannon fodder, and brutes) are just a note with OCV, DCV, Stun, and Body. A lot of times I don't even bother with figuring END. Disads and such are left to main personalities.

 

When I build a spell or weapon for an NPC I just give it the effects I want and don't worry too much about Limitations. I figure that it's not like I have a point limit I have to work with.

 

Treasure the players get on the other hand is fully pointed out, although they rarely (if ever) get the full story on an item.

 

Like I said, I'm just curious.

[McCoy]

For myself, I try to work out the limitations and disadvantages on the NPC's. Gives the PC's an incentive to look for the weaknesses and try to exploit them. Also seems to make the NPC's less cardboard.

 

Maybe this is like the actor who works out a full back story for his character who has no lines, but it helps me think of them as something other than pop-up targets.

 

Just my style, YMMV.

[Bartman]

I haven't run a FH campaign in a bit over 2 years. None the less I am constant;y tweeking the campaign world, adding NPCs fleshing out spells, cultures, creatures, items, places, etc. This means that when I next run a campaign a number of things I wouldn't have fleshed out for just a single adventure.

 

No doubt some of this has to do with the reasons McCoy pointed out. I want to know exactly what these things do. It makes them seem more real to me. And hopefully more real to the players.

[Vanguard00]

I'm pretty much the same way you are, SirWilliam. If it's not someone I intend or expect to use, I only worry about the stats I need and fudge the rest. Same with spells, vehicles, animals, bases, whatever. Unless it comes up again I don't need to worry about it.

 

However, there are times when for some reason or another what I thougth was a throwaway NPC or item becomes important. Then and only then do I actually do a write-up, and for that reason I keep notes on all my throwaway NPCs and items now.

 

~~vanguard

[Lord Liaden]

A few pertinent combat notes are all I require for the typical "grunt" that the player characters wade through and never personally interact with. For "name" characters that the PCs will encounter again and again, or unusual and distinctive creatures or effects, I like to develop them fully as characters. Partly it's for the reason McCoy mentioned: this helps the characters become more fully visualized and "alive" for me. Partly it's because having a detailed writeup in front of me will often suggest innovative and interesting ways to use the character or effect that might not have occurred to me from just looking at a combat summary. And finally, the ability of the HERO System to customize things to be exactly how you want them tempts me to develop something until it's "just right."

[Markdoc]

For simple targets, I tend not to worry too much. So the guard at the gate doesn't have a complex set of psychological limitations (or often even a name).

 

But he does have STUN, END, REC etc all worked out.

 

I work stuff out in detail, because that way I know it.

 

I like to treat my players fairly: if they try something unexpected I can respond appropriately. If they try to dispel a spell, I know precisely how much they need, instead of just trying to guess.

 

If they try approaches to NPCs other than straight out assault, I have a good idea how to play it and smart player can often exploit things they learn to give them an edge in game play.

 

Likewise, I don't need to know how many shoemakers there are in Tabriz, but I do need to know where it is, how many people live there, where the roads and temples are, etc etc.

 

You could say that's a lot of work, but I LIKE this stuff...

 

cheers, Mark

[Nightshade]

I do what I call a character sketch. I list the stats, but then just general abilities for each NPC, monster, whatever. Then, for the major bad-guys, I will do a character sheet. It allows me to keep track of who goes first, how much body, stun, etc.

 

Nightshade

[Talon]

I prefer full writeups because you have all your bases covered; if something happens that you weren't expecting (PC pulls a mental attack out of his VPP, etc.), you have the numbers to resolve it. I don't worry about point balancing overmuch, but I do like to have the full writeups as a resource. Also I like making characters. For thugs and minor encounters I'll do minimal notes if time is short.

[Citizen Keen]

Generally, I do a lot of thugs as pure combat notes. However, since I'm new to HERO, I write EVERYTHING up since I don't know what a "decent" OCV is, or whatever.

[Chuk]

I often do just notes, sometimes even listing mooks as "one-hit" or "two-hit" characters. I also often use (sometimes modified) stats from the Bestiary or other Hero books (I only have the 4th edition Bestiary -- I'm still saving up for the FHonebook.)

 

I do some writeups, but those are mostly just when I have time or if I know the character's going to be around a lot (like the group's current NPC companion).

[The Mad GM]

Usually, I have a complete writeup of a "Guard" or an "Orc" or whatever, then some standard variations (+/- 10 to 15 points) so they aren't all identical. I usually try to think of 10 variations, but I've found I use alot of the same ten (the Drunkard, the Slimeball, the Youth, the Cranky ex-Soldier, etc) for virtually anything. I use ten because I can roll 2d6, subtract 1 and get my number. If I roll boxcars, I add about 20-25 points and call him a Sergeant, or whatever is appropriate. I use to try to come up with 15 variants (for 3d6 - 2, 18 is a Sergeant) but it seems like too much work, and a stiffer bellcurve.

 

Then I try to vary how I play them somewhat so the players don't catch on too easily.

 

During a big combat, I frequently don't even do that, just treat them all the same unless there's a good reason not to. All of this is just for times when they approach individuals and attempt to interact with them.

 

I had thought of making some tables, but it gets too complicated for in-game use, and I'm not too good at programming.

 

Of course, main NPCs and Bad Guys get their own writeup.

[Mordacius]

Lately, I've taken to just jotting down what I need, but it's a time constraint issue. I like having full stat blocks for everything.

[OddHat]

Grunts get a standard full write-up with a few unspent points in case I somehow need to customize the character later. As someone else posted, Guard Type One, Guard Type Two, Minor Mage Type One, Combat Mage, etc. Major NPCs get a full write up, and I tend to point ballance all but the most powerful; I don't always give them the full X points of disads, but in a 150 point campaign most of the name oposition will top out at 150 points, with only major villains or heroes getting a blank check.

 

As Liaden said, this gives me lots of little details to work with, suggests adventure ideas, makes the world seem more "real." Also, I've always felt that at a certain point it becomes unfair to impose limits on PCs that you don't impose on NPCs. Yes, the Archmage of the Golden Sun Cult can have as many points as he needs, including his massive Plot Device Pool. On the other hand, his lieutenants should not (imo) be built on that many more points than the PCs, and the old 20th Level Tavern Keeper syndrome is a sign of crappy game design. Similarly, if an NPC wizard can cast a Spell Of Stopping Time And Removing My Enemies Pantaloons, the PCs should generally be able to save up the points to do so as well, with the understanding that true game-breakers are effectively unlearnable (or uncastable).

[Briguy123]

In the past I created write ups for variuos generic thugs (warrior, cultist, street tough . . . etc.) I used these write ups to cover a variety of situations. For example, the warrior template could be a town gaurd, an orc soldier or a bandit. Just apply the appropriate equipment and attitude and voila.

 

I use to be a fanatic about accounting for points on unique monsters. However, I think all the mix and match options that are provided in the 5th ed. bestiary are going to make my job a lot easier.