Your NPC quest-giver can open the players to new possibilities and keep the game fresh with organic forward momentum. Remember, players respond to the world, so if they’re not moving-give them a reason to move. It’s our job as Dungeon Masters to keep the world in motion as a living, functioning entity. In these “dead times” in the story, the players can quickly become bored or lose motivation to participate at the table or drive their own character arcs forward. Immediate threats are no longer readily available, as the players have killed them all (or so they think.) Little do they know, there’s a lich preparing his phylactery in the next kingdom over, or a supervillain gearing up for a prison break. Usually right after big story arcs come to a close, there’s a dead spot in the story. This conundrum usually happens in the mid-tier levels, after the players have vanquished their first big villain, be it a bandit chief that was plaguing a town, a dragon in a mountain, or a rogue space pirate pillaging the local mining belt. This is a great opportunity to introduce an NPC to act as a guiding force or mentor to the adventurers, and can also present a chance to introduce new story arcs, lore, and hooks to the world. If the players have found themselves in a situation that they can’t justifiably work themselves out of, it doesn’t automatically have to spell the end of the campaign. These are all examples of great opportunities to introduce an NPC to act as a guiding force. Or maybe they’re floating adrift in the void of space, fuel, and food running low. Maybe the group’s wizard fudged a teleportation spell and now they’re in the depths of a forest with no idea which way is north. Maybe your adventuring party has found themselves deep behind enemy lines with little hope of navigating a hostile, unfamiliar landscape. Let’s talk about appropriate situations to introduce NPCs, and how they should behave in said situations. (And everyone knows the villain is always cooler than the hero.) But you get to play EVERYBODY ELSE which can be way cooler and more interesting than just being a single hero. They are the heroes of the story, which means you are not. So here are some tips for getting it right! Playing NPCs the Right WayĪs a DM you can’t be a player. But it can spell disaster for your campaign if you get it wrong. And there are also ways to be a player in your campaign if you share DM responsibilities. You can, however, make your NPC a party member or just let them tag along.
NPCs are handled differently in the game and do not gain XP, level up or share rewards like PCs do.
Any character the Dungeon Master plays while DMing is called an NPC (non-player character). If only to steer my players away from certain doom. As a Dungeon Master, I’ve found there are many occasions where I wanted to be a player as well.