Template:Playing the NPCs
Playing the NPCs
A "nonplayer character" (NPC) is anyone played by the GM. The GM gets to play dozens of characters throughout an adventure – from chance-met travelers to powerful patrons and villains.
As the GM, you may create your NPCs in any way you like. You should design important NPCs just like player characters, but you can give "cannon fodder" and "bit players" logical abilities by using templates (see Character Templates) or by assigning appropriate traits on the spur of the moment without regard to point value.
Once you create an NPC – major or minor – play the role! Your NPCs will try to earn money, look important and admirable, protect their skins, and achieve their goals – just like anybody else! The more skilled you become at roleplaying, the better a GM you will be and the more fun you (and your players) will have.
Some of your NPCs will automatically be friendly to the PCs; others will be "natural enemies." These reactions will be preset when you work out the scenario. But many NPCs have no "automatic" response to the PCs. Instead, you will use the Reaction Table to see how they respond.
Playing the Adversary
When the GM plays an NPC who is an enemy of the PCs, he should try to limit his knowledge to those things that the NPC would really be aware of. The GM knows all about the party's strengths and weaknesses – but their enemies don't. One good way to solve this problem is to have another person play the adversary characters.
The GM should tell the Adversary as much as possible about the characters he is to play. But the Adversary should know no more than is "realistic" about the overall situation. In particular, he should know very little about the PCs and their abilities – especially at the beginning of an adventure! For total realism, you might even want two Adversary players – one for knowledgeable enemies who are familiar with the party, and one for stupid cannon fodder.
The Adversary is like an "assistant GM." His job is to roleplay the foes as well as possible. He should not play them as mindless killing machines (unless they really are). If the "appropriate" thing for those particular enemies to do is to attack, they should attack. But they might also throw rocks from ambush, shout insults, or even run away immediately!
In any disagreement between the Adversary and the GM, the GM's word is law. But a good GM gives the Adversary as much leeway as possible, and takes any disagreement into another room to avoid distracting the players. Playing the Adversary is a good way to build up experience if you would like to be a GM someday.