Introducing the NPC

Quick Summary

1. Set the mood and expectations.
2. Set the stage by building anticipation and introducing the tactical context.
3. Spotlight them for their great reveal.
4. Let the players explore the NPC. (optional)
5. Set things in motion and call the players to action.

Overview

There is an art to introducing those special non-player characters (NPCs) that are important to the narrative. They deserve specially prepared introductions that create the space and time that enable players to build their own impressions and narrative context on the NPC through their own experiences and discoveries. This section explores how planning can help a GM plan an interactive player experience that accomplishes these objectives without overwhelming players and long monologues.

The interactive experiences of players are at the core of any tabletop game. This guide explores ways to create memorable NPC introductions like in movies and books by planning a sequence of scenes that use interactive game elements.

1) Set the mood and expectations

Before introducing the NPC, set the stage for their entry by building the mood and providing hints about what is coming. Most movies and games signal that something important is about to happen before it happens. The scene normally changes in a way that plays with your emotions by using mood elements like highlighting things or building anticipation through the actions of minor characters in the scene. Sending a forward scouting team only to find their remains among blood pools and spatters is a good way to convey the danger of an upcoming encounter. Another similar analogy is creating a calm before the storm to create anticipation or dread. 

The objective of a scene that sets the mood and expectations is to emphasize important information, help the players understand their situation. This scene should focus on communicating information about dangers, tactical considerations, and peripheral information about the NPC, like any backstory elements important to the current context. If the NPC is part of a faction or has a position important to the narrative, then this scene might be about learning about those elements. If encountering the NPC is dangerous or has significant narrative consequences, this scene should help the players understand it. This helps players make informed choices about their current and future actions. It also creates opportunities to reward players for using their skills and engaging with your environment in a way that could give them advantages in the upcoming encounter.

Convey a tone and mood

• Create contrast through a change in scene, pacing, or environment to get the attention of players.
• Place obvious points of interest and highlight them to your players.
• Reduce emphasis on actions that detract from the setting by keeping responses and checks for detracting elements minimal. This signals to players that their line of action does not move towards the solution.
• If a player is on the wrong track, consider their proficient skills and have them passively notice something that draws them towards your intended track. This is a signal they could use that skill to check for a clue.
• Never require a skill check for information that the players must know.

Help players understand their situation and the narrative context

• Share all important pieces of information with players when they engage with your obvious points of interest. 
• Help the players by continuing to highlight any missed points of interest. This is like that shiny item in the background of games that draws your attention.
• Create a list of interesting but optional information the players can gather, like information about the upcoming NPC or tactical information.
• Assign each item of optional information in the list a base DC to find it. 
• If the way a player approaches a check is exceptionally likely or unlikely to be successful but still up to chance, adjust your assigned base DC by 2 or 5, depending on the magnitude.
• Reward successful skill checks from player actions with an appropriate piece of optional information.

2) Set the stage by building anticipation and introducing the tactical context

Allowing players to be introduced to the setting where the NPC will be revealed creates an opportunity for players to learn information specific to the NPC and build anticipation for their introduction. This step is similar to the last one, but shifts the emphasis exclusively to the NPC and tactical context if necessary. Using background NPCs and points of interest to highlight important information about the NPC gives players time to absorb key details and gives the player the space they need to consider how their character should react. Emphasizing features of the upcoming encounter, like terrain features or objects, gives players time to note their importance and make a plan on how to use them. Altogether, spending time to introduce the scene builds anticipation for the NPC’s introduction and makes it more likely to engage with any dynamic elements in the pending encounter.

The following sections suggest ways to prepare and convey information to share important information while building anticipation for the NPC’s introduction. Following the suggested preparatory steps, merge them into a single section so that all mandatory information can be communicated with the smallest set of interactions possible.

Build anticipation for the NPC by communicating important information about them

• Create a short list of information about the NPC that players must know.
• Create a list of interesting but optional details about the NPC that the players might learn, and assign them a base DC that represents how hard it should be to acquire.
• Plan how you will convey all the information that players must know. 
• For interactive elements, you can create points of interest or share them through a background NPC or through a player character with the appropriate skill proficiency without a roll.
• You can share some mandatory information through NPC actions, such as creating chatter among NPCs that players overhear.
• Reward successful skill checks from player actions with an appropriate piece of optional information. Don’t plan these out! Use any opportunity to share information from the optional list and just modify the DC accordingly. 

Emphasize features important to the upcoming encounter

• List all important features of the encounter, like terrain or objects and what players must learn about them.
• Plan optional clues and information that players could learn that are more detailed, and assign them a DC.
• Plan how you will introduce each feature and any important context around it.
• Consider using background NPCs to demonstrate or share important information.
• Adding points of interest, like notes or writing, is another way to share important information.
• Reward successful skill checks from player actions with an appropriate piece of optional information. Don’t plan these out! Use any opportunity to share information from the optional list and just modify the DC accordingly. 

3) Spotlight them for their great reveal

When the party first meets the NPC, it is important to give them focus. Make them stand out by creating contrast that makes their presence dominate the scene. Monologues and verbose introductions create lengthy introductions better suited for books than multiplayer games. Instead of using NPC dialogue to convey your message, consider an introductory scene that plays out in a way that helps your players conclude the same thing. If you have done steps 1 and 2, then players should already have all the necessary information for the encounter. The previous steps can also amplify the emotional impact of the great reveal. In this stage, we focus only on creating an introduction that maximizes emotional impact and makes it memorable.   

For example, if you have an NPC that you want to be seen as heartless, it’s more impactful to show them manipulating a child to harm themselves than praising them, than to have them talk about past or present evil actions or bring up their reputation through other means. This also creates a narrative context that compels the players to act.

Minimize dialogue by choosing to show over tell

• Mind-map how you want the NPC to be perceived by your players. 
• Create a concept for a brief introduction scene that could convey as many of those views as possible when it plays out.
• Flesh out the scene by creating the minimal set of settings and NPC elements necessary for the scenario.
• Adapt the pre-existing encounter creatures and map to include those elements.
• Keep it as short as possible. Move anything that would be nice to have but isn’t necessary out of the introduction, and make them potentially play out in a sequence afterwards, depending on player interaction.

Create Contrast

• Move anything that isn’t part of the intro to a previous step.
• Once the introduction begins, keep the spotlight on it.
• If a player attempts to gather information on something outside the spotlight, put the response on hold until after the scene has played out. Make it clear that it’s parked and you will get back to it.
• Make all the key elements stand out as more interesting to the character’s senses.
• Consider making some of the information that makes an element interesting specific to character skill training, so it feels personalized. 

4) Let the players explore the NPC

After the introduction sequence is done, it’s important to allow the players to observe and potentially socially interact with the NPC. This phase should be combined with the next phase for encounters that do not include combat. This step creates one last opportunity to learn any specific details that could only be learned by observing and interacting with the NPC before combat begins. It can also provide an opportunity for players to negotiate and avoid combat.

• List all important additional details about the NPC that require their physical presence to learn, like insignias, equipment, tattoos, or behaviours.
• Plan optional clues and information that players could learn that are more detailed, and assign them a DC.
• Plan how you will introduce each detail and any important context around it.
• Consider drawing attention to a detail on the NPC or having them say or do something to highlight a behaviour.
• Reward successful skill checks from player actions with an appropriate piece of optional information. Don’t plan these out! Use any opportunity to share information from the optional list and just modify the DC accordingly. 

5) Set things in motion and call the players to action

Once the NPC has been introduced, it’s time to shift the spotlight back to the players by having the NPC engage with them. The purpose of this step is to highlight the players’ recommended options for action and drive them to act. The NPC should create a sense of urgency for the players to act by engaging with them in a way that demands a response. This could be initiating a dialogue with players, making a move affecting the players, or disengaging. This creates a sense of urgency and compels players to act. 

Decide on the NPCs to drive the encounter to the active phase.

• Decide on how the encounter should start.
• Consider what actions the NPC can take to press the players into action based on the narrative context.
• Choose the action that is the best fit to connect the great reveal to the encounter.

Prepare TWO recommended options for the players

• Make sure the table knows that the options you present are not their only options, just recommendations.
• Create only two recommended options for players with the expectation that they may choose neither.
• Indecisive players can move the story along by accepting one of the suggested options.
• Players who want to take a different approach can use the suggested options and context to inform their choices.
• Presenting only two choices works to remove choice paralysis.

Video Inspiration