BUT WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO FOR US?!: Generating actionable NPCs to get players out in the world

 

Michah Ulrich

In my current home campaign, each cleric according to the 90 + 10 Edict must have a sponsor in the Abbey in order to reside there and maintain good standing. Those sponsors are drawn from the Obedientray- senior monks who have additional duties and skills within the Abbey. In-game, this is a way for the Church to maintain further control on its martial component. Out-of-game, it was a way for me to create NPCs the players could go to for help.

But as the campaign as taken root, I've have a couple of problem flower in my head as well.

PROBLEM 1: Since the campaign will be starting its 5th session this week (yeah!), I wanted to make sure that it is not so cleric-centered that other classes could not easily fit in if one cleric is killed.

SOLUTION 1: Open up the world to be more than just Dyson's Delve. This would allow me to throw out other interesting things which could catch the players' attention and provide fuel for other classes.

PROBLEM 2: A. So how do I naturally get them out into the world? "Natural" here means as a result of player choices, not the DM just dropping another plot point in. 

SOLUTION 2: Because the clerics are resupplying through reaction rolls with their obedientaries, maybe I'll just have these NPCs have other wants, needs, and desires out in the world. They can't get to them due to obligations at the Abbey, so they send the PCs.

And because I need a bunch of unique NPCs, I can use Evlyn Moreau's Fabulous Pocket Guild which I've been meaning to use more. So I just draw 10 cards for each obedientary. Then look up some names for them. And I just need to give them a want.

PROBLEM 3: Also, what is this "world"-- is it homebrew or some repurposed campaign?

SOLUTION 3: Lets use Beyond the Borderlands as a setting for this campaign. Its something I already own like the the Fabulous Pocket Guild. Alex Damaceno did a great job expanding upon a will worn classic module. Converting it into six section, 36 hex, hexcrawl. And since the theme of this campagin is linking me, my newphew, and older brother together-- its a perfect fit-- new spin on the old.

RESULTS

Each obediantary is represented by two rows of the NPC cards (top: 1-5; bottom: 6-10). The cards themselves give me basic looks, equipment, and they ooze with personality. People even have pets: sheep, a donkey, floating skulls...

The black hexs represent where their "want" is located in Beyond the Borderlands. And the red text is my attempt at quickly sketching out something interesting between the NPC and a hex feature. Don't want to spend a lot of time because it might not come up. Its just a seed to get me going incase the players say, "Alright will you give us X if we help you with your problem Y?"

I tried to create a range of problems from the seemingly mundane (setting the accounts), to finding special items (a flute that controls animals), to the very personal (lost a piece of their soul).

Beyond the Borderlands- the world
I put Dyson's Delve in hex 4,1 where there are already ruins