Have you ever wondered where DMs find inspiration for the different NPCs they come up with? Well, here are some places to look.
When you’re a DM, as well, you know, you’re the whole world. Any time a PC wants to go talk to the bartender or decides they have a sibling or a whole family that’s still alive, you have to play them. Someone wants to know what’s up with that weird little goblin sitting in the corner playing knife hand badly? Well, that’s all you.
It can be tricky to come up with who these people are on the spot. But fortunately, DMs have a lot of places to look for NPC inspiration. Here are some that might help you.
Actual NPCs, You Know, From Video Games
As the old, often misattributed saying goes, good DMs borrow, great DMs steal. And the world if rife with things to steal from. For NPCs, just grab actual NPCs that you arelady know and like. Obviously, I’m not saying you should say “and sitting in the corner of the tavern is Garrus from Mass Effect” – although if you did that I bet your party would be 100% bought in and on board immediately.
What I am saying is that you can use Garrus from Mass Effect, say, as the bones and meat of an NPC that you then play. And simply the act of play and responding to what happens will make it original. There’s a lot of nuance to play with, sure, but if you’re looking for a jumping-off point? An actual NPC is a great way to start.
Celebrity Impression
Famously, you can also use a celebrity impression. And the great thing about this inspiration is it works on either end of the spectrum. If you can do a great Matthew McConaughey impression, then it’s going to be a hit when the disciple of the dragons comes to them with a mission in that unmistakable drawl saying ‘alright alright alright, we have a dragon situation’ or whatever.
If you can’t, then it’s also going to be extremely good. I use a bad Katherine Hepburn (from The Lion in Winter specifically) impression as the fodder for a high cleric. Again, you know the kind of campaign you’re running, and whether or not your Elvis impersonation is going to work for the mysterious assassin or not. But do go through the repertoire and see what might fit!
Archetype Action
Sometimes you just need an NPC to fill a role in the world. Like, scheming advisor. Or a trustworthy duke. Archetypes, in other words. People like the femme fatale or the absent-minded scholar who can never keep their scrolls in order live somewhere deep in the subconscious.
You can use one of these big archetypes because you need a “sturdy bartender” or whatever, and then you go from there. Let play determine the rest.
History
History is full of interesting little weirdos. Big and small. And I will just bet if you’re a DM, there’s at least one slice of history that’s interesting to you. It doesn’t have to be like “the Napoleonic era”; it could be “films of the Jazz Age” or “the weird stuff Mary Shelley had to put up with while she was inventing science fiction”.
The point is find the stuff you’re fascinated by, and with real people, there’s often a quote or an anecdote or something that gives them a voice, that you can then use to be a handy NPC when you need one.
That PC You’ve Always Wanted To Play But Never Had A Chance To
Of course the ultimate DM secret is to just take one of the dozens of characters you know you’ll never have a chance to play and then use them in your game somehow. Though BE CAREFUL when doing this. It’s best if you strip them of their class and other game mechanics and just go with using the personality – because otherwise you might run into DMPC territory, and those are troubling waters indeed to navigate.
How do you come up with your NPCs?
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Source: Bell of Lost Souls
