DNPC writeups

[Syberdwarf2]

Recently, after a relatively successful get-your-feet-wet first adventure, I started working on the post-game paperwork (adventure recaps, etc.)

 

I had kinda thrown the adventure together. Even though it went well, and everyone had a good time, I've still got a lot of work to do on fleshing it all out. I figured a good place to start would be those people and places which are most important to the players; DNPCs and Hunteds.

 

Hunteds are easy. Most of them are straight out of the book. DNPCs are where I have the most hangups. I guess my question is this;

 

How do you do it? Do you start with a given number of points, or would you go off of the examples for 'Average Persons' listed in FREd? Or would you just give them whatever sounds good and points be damned?

 

If I were building a HERO character (PC or main NPC, regardless of genre) I try to start with filling out a bio sheet (Resource Kit) and then working out the stats. But when I try to do DNPCs, I find myself using stat 'blocks' from the book. The problem is that the characters made thusly become cookie-cut clones. They end up the same.

 

So, again...

How would you do it?

[zornwil]

I just figure out what kind of DNPC would "fit" the character. For example...

 

the Urban Druid had (among many other urban-based powers) the ability to command various urban animals, namely rats, pigeons, cats, and dogs. So his DNPC was a capable cat that he befriended.

 

Blazing Arrow has a sort of "roaming" DNPC (more of a Psych Lim but anyway) where he will save any animal endangered by people (at least unduly, he'd allow a "fair" hunter).

 

Peter Parker having Aunt May made sense given his back story. Other characters could tie in the same.

 

We have a character in our game whom I got to do a disad DNPC for. Given his unique self-reproducing body, I made his left hand sentient and separable. It became his sort of son.

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by zornwil

I just figure out what kind of DNPC would "fit" the character. For example...

 

the Urban Druid had (among many other urban-based powers) the ability to command various urban animals, namely rats, pigeons, cats, and dogs. So his DNPC was a capable cat that he befriended.

 

Blazing Arrow has a sort of "roaming" DNPC (more of a Psych Lim but anyway) where he will save any animal endangered by people (at least unduly, he'd allow a "fair" hunter).

 

Peter Parker having Aunt May made sense given his back story. Other characters could tie in the same.

 

We have a character in our game whom I got to do a disad DNPC for. Given his unique self-reproducing body, I made his left hand sentient and separable. It became his sort of son.

 

why do i have a mental image of Gomez yelling at Thing to stop stuttering?

 

Seriously, I mean... I know who the character is supposed to be. For example, one of the players has a DNPC mother, age 40+. Okay. Simple right? So I turn to page 223 of FREd and look up 'senior citizen'. Now what? Said example writeup has almost nothing in it. I know that, the rules being what they are, take what works and throw out the rest. Make the rest up. That part I understand.

 

I guess that I'm really asking "How man points would you build the DNPC on?" Also, would you base 'normal' characters on the pre-built examples, use the 'character types guidelines tables' from the front of FREd, or just do a bio sheet/ background writeup and throw away concern over point levels as long as it fits the concept?

 

Thanx again in advance.

[TheEmerged]

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2

I guess that I'm really asking "How man points would you build the DNPC on?" Also, would you base 'normal' characters on the pre-built examples, use the 'character types guidelines tables' from the front of FREd, or just do a bio sheet/ background writeup and throw away concern over point levels as long as it fits the concept?

 

Thanx again in advance.

 

Well, personally I rule that a DNPC must be at least 1 step -- and preferrably 2 or 3 steps -- down the chart in point value. I also rule that there must be a compelling reason why the DNPC is a disadvantage -- for example, they must have Lois Lane's fetish for becoming a hostage or somesuch. This figures into their writeups of course.

 

After that, I start with either the Area Man or Area Woman template (0-point characters) I established for the campaign. I either build up or down as appropriate. Generally I use a score of 8 (not 10) to determine the "average" for non-heroic characters.

 

One decent-but-not-great source is Normals Unbound, printed under 4th Edition. The book didn't use a consistent scale for what the attributes mean (for example, a hooker described as being ignorant has a higher INT than a "gun moll" described as being sharper than she seems), but it can get you started in the right direction.

[Ghost who Walks]

Good topic.

 

First of all, DNPCs have to be interesting if they are to stay around.

 

In comics, their purpose is often to anchor the hero to reality/mortal affairs. Spiderman and Superman both spring to mind for this.

 

Where would Clark be without his normal parents?

 

Spiderman would be the vigilante most think him, without his flock of DNPCs.

 

Most DNPCs I use are at least competant. 50 points, +50 in disadvantages. This is mostly because I have to play them, and want them to be interesting. Always approve any DNPC a player makes.

 

Skilled normals are around 25 points, with another +25 points in disadvantages.

 

Normals start at 0 points, with another +25 points in disadvantages.

 

I have had less luck with the incompetant DNPC, unless it is in kid/baby form. Having a kid is a great reason to have a secret ID, btw. Give it some unpredictable powers, if you are feeling very sadistic. My current favorite is superstrength and teleportion.

 

Where does one get ideas for DNPCs? Surprisingly, television is a very good source. Many characters on it are only two dimensional ...it is easy to visualize them with just a couple of skills, and a few stats above/below normal.

 

Any DNPC should fill a roll in the campaign. Remember them showing up just means they are mentioned.

 

Example #1: Superman joins the Justice League. His mother (Martha) sends him a box of cookies to share with his "new friends". Batman, who happened to be on "monitor duty", signs for the cookies when the FedEx package is delivered. Noting there is no return address, he suspects the package is actually a bomb. He puts the box in a secure room, and amuzes himself by taking it apart with robotic arms. The cookies fail to detonate, and Batman manishes to eat them all before the meeting begins that afternoon.

 

This all happens because Superman rolled his DNPC roll that game session.

 

Example #2: Spiderman is out twipping around, beating up street punks. His cellphone rings, and his aunt May calls. She tells him she has locked herself out of the house and wonders if he could come over? Realizing that his personal life is more important than stopping the Kingpin, Spidey changes back into Parker, visits his aunt May, and "hangs out" with the lonely woman for the day.

 

Like a hunted, the DNPC doesn't have to actually show up and appear with the character. I once had a very fun part of the session, where the characters were on a stakeout. One of the PC's hunteds called him on his cellphone, having hacked into the Phone Companies database. They of course start insulting each other over the telephone, with the villain bragging about his scheme (not scheduled to appear in the game for another couple of sessions) and the hero boasting how he had stopped the last scheme.

[Syberdwarf2]

Going off of the suggestion from TheEmerged, I think I may go with building the DNPCs a few levels down the chart as far as point levels.

 

The problem isn't so much the character concept, as how to build it to suit with only 25 or fewer points. Do I throw in the ingredients and salt to taste? Or do I go by the recipe and build the DNPC as listed on the PCs sheet? The PC has her listed as an Incompetent Normal.

[zornwil]

Originally posted by Syberdwarf2

Going off of the suggestion from TheEmerged, I think I may go with building the DNPCs a few levels down the chart as far as point levels.

 

The problem isn't so much the character concept, as how to build it to suit with only 25 or fewer points. Do I throw in the ingredients and salt to taste? Or do I go by the recipe and build the DNPC as listed on the PCs sheet? The PC has her listed as an Incompetent Normal.

 

I rarely write up DNPCs at all, other than their personality, interests, etc., unless of course they will have some positive addition to the character in addition to being a disad. For your example, I wouldn't write her up at all beyond noting her own disads and skills, i wouldn't even worry about points.

 

However, I respect your writing the DNPC up, so in that light I'd suggest taking the generic write-up from the normals in 5th and flavoring it with skills, disads, and tweaking the points values. Also, I think if you look around the web you'll find some normals written up like Aunt Mae, that may be helpful.

[Syberdwarf2]

Thanx Everyone,

You've been really helpful. As a sidenote, for those of you who may have been trying to view my webpage, I will (eventually) be getting the campaign info up there.

 

I now leave the debating floor open....

[Tech]

I have a general idea of what the DNPC's stats are in my game but unless specifically needed, which I haven't run into, they don't get written up. The DNPC's match the activity of the heroes. Captain Star who lives in the country isn't going to have a lawyer DNPC in the city. The DNPC should be in the general vincinity of the hero, IMHO.

[Blue]

I just find the one thing they should be able to do, build that first, then construct the rest of the character to fill up the remaining points.

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by Tech

I have a general idea of what the DNPC's stats are in my game but unless specifically needed, which I haven't run into, they don't get written up. The DNPC's match the activity of the heroes. Captain Star who lives in the country isn't going to have a lawyer DNPC in the city. The DNPC should be in the general vincinity of the hero, IMHO.

 

I see your point. But I'm not just writing them up for the sake of doing it. That would be a waste of my time and my players' time. I look at it this way; by constructing the DNPC as I would any other character (concept wise) and then writing them up, I am better able to do two things;

 

1) Develop the campaign based on the people that live in it guided by my initial preconceptions of the setting.

 

and

 

2)Develop those parts of the setting which relate not necessesarily directly to the PCs, but which are probably most important to them anyway.

 

This also, in theory, makes plot hooks a lil easier and a lot closer to home.

 

When I do a character, I don't just create a stat sheet or a background that gets thrown out the window the minute play starts. I try to use everything about a character to enhance my campaign and my players' enjoyment of the game.