The way I do npc's is that I make barebone minimum for side characters and explore them more deeply once my players get interrested in an originally soulless collection of a few random traits. There are some exceptions, of course- mostly npcs important to the plot, such as quest givers, bbeg's allies/minions, faction leaders, some factions' secondary leaders and temporary companions.
This is the first channel in ages I watched one video and it was so well put together I was like "oh I'll watch the rest" and then there weren't any yet. I'm incredibly eager for everything you make going forward.
I know, right? These videos are so great and that it feels like somebody with a lot of experience in video making (and scripting and of course dnd experience) is making it.
Clutching the summoning orb, a pale giant covered in tattoos smiles at you. "I'm Dr. Clockzo! The Rock'n'roll Artificer!" Screeches the mad-eyed Goliath, suddenly shoving a handful of white powder into his face. He sniffs deep, blood trickling from his dusted nose as the various gadgets festooning his armor begin to whir to life. *"AND I DO COCAINE!"*
@@ahero8101 Dr. Clockzo is a good example of the hero levels concept. He's based off the typical bandit captain stat block, with ability scores adjusted for a Goliath, plus racial features. Then I took 5 of the monster's HD & turned them into generic (no subclass) Artificer levels. With an INT modifier of 2, he's not much of a caster, but he's quick with buffs, which are flavored as different varieties of magical cocaine. Sometimes tossing exploding bags of powder at his minions. With 3 attacks from a magical +1 mace (one of his 2 infusions) he's actually quite dangerous. But I play him more as an overly excitable eccentric with a drug problem than a serious rival, & my players haven't had the heart to kill him. He's even fought on their side a few times by now, & is currently sober... but is instead fighting with the depression he was self medicating to deal with.
My favourite hobby is to add unnecessary humanization on the fly. My party ran into a lost fire giant and instead of fighting the fire giant, they decided to talk to him. They found out he was sent on a mission to find some magic metal, but he actually didn't want too, he'd much rather quit and start a pottery studio. All in all they made friends with him and helped him find the metal, but instead he allowed the part to take it as he was sick of doing work he wasn't passionate about.... The fun thing is that I made his personality on the fly, he originally was just a fire giant trying to find metal. All it takes is one character trait and you go from there.
a useful think i like to keep in mind: worldbuilding and lore are what we do as DMs and writers to entertain ourselves, to keep us invested. the players are under no obligation to care whatsoever about it, and will probably only do so if there is a reward involved or a threat to their character-the carrot and the stick. if you want your players to want to care about a dungeon, tell them one of the magic items at the end of it (bonus points if it has a name and is unique; i.e. Melbane, the Kingslayer) to pique their interest if you want your players to be forced to care about something, make it so that they can only progress if they go get the Key of Progression from Talkto’Me, over in Gohere or else the world will end and the PCs die of worldenditis.
The algorithm is being very kind to a new channel for once, and I am so glad for that. You deserve all the success that's gonna be coming your way with this level of quality.
"When the world needed Ahero the most, he vanished." Hopefully you're doing okay and you return one day, I've really come to love this channel and the work you've put into it. It has helped me a ton. Be safe and be well.
something that i've noticed is that if you do this part well enough, your party will excuse a maybe slightly boring fight. it doesnt matter if the minis are just standing in the same spot whacking eachother if they REALLY hate the villain or if they're exchanging one liners. obviously you should strive to have both but there's some food for thought
The worst thing about this channel is that there isn't yet a backlog of videos for me to watch. The best thing about this channel is that every video so far is dope.
Ways to make party intressted in a npc by my experience. 1. Funny voice 2. Talk to the party first to spare anxiety 3. Have a unuiqe skill or quirk. (Crazy, potion maker, scammer, riddler. Exc) 4. Unuiqe race to the setting (dossent matter what just something party dont see often to help leave a memory) 5. Flirty. (Pcs loves npcs praising their character)
Excellent videos sir. I like your little touch of rolling the dice on screen. It really helps to sell the idea of the Ttrpg table experince. One problem I have with the final encounter - The rougue appears from invisibility to steal the ring from beneath the rogue's fingers is dramatic if its been foreshadowed properly but without context, it just seems like a deus-ex machina. If my DM announced that a mysterious figure appears out of no where to steal the magic item from the end of a dungeon, I'd be mad at the DM not the NPC. However, your points on the Rings of self and how to hook players with varying degrees of importance was really insightful. Thanks for sharing.
I like giving important Npc's things they can do to improvre the players gear or giving them new abilities for the party so the player care. i had an Npc inmy last game called "sensei". he had a real name but no one called him by it. he was an ecpert and old warrior who was the former mentor of the bbeg. Sensei had the ability to give players battle master maneuvers. they where very connected to him because he was an ally that they spent alot of time with, but i didnt force them to talk or even spend time with him, but because of the unique buff he gave to player training with him i could get them to connect with him organically. another example was the fighter who had a close bond with the town's blacksmith because he was the only one who upgraded greatswords. also, this vid is great! keep up the good work, can't wait to see what else you will post in the future
@@DB-xr9nt if a player spent a weak of downtime training with sensei, the either gain 1 battle master maneuver or 1 battle maneuver dice(so it takes 2 weaks to actually get something form the teachings) character's can spend more downtime to earn more dice or lern more maneuvers. the dice return on a long rest
I feel like if you keep putting the same time, care, effort, and love into all of your videos from here on out, things will go very well for your channel AHero. Many people like myself will be ready to watch and improve our D&D games whenever you upload. Looking forward to the next vid!
Loved the first video, love this one too ! ^^ I'll go further and add that when crafting an NPC, you should also focus on their relations, and what they say/show vs the reality... Also, and that's when creating lore in general, to not feed the player information they didn't ask for. Don't force an NPC you've spent time crafting if the party isn't interested, it'll feel too railroad-y. Instead, find reasons to make anything interesting, like using those "circles" you mentionned, and create a mystery the players will want to uncover. I love having NPCs making mistakes on myths and legends, or having theories that prove to be wrong later. It makes them more "human" and real, and can also make for a good surprise later, when the truth is revealed. (Additionally, it breaks the RPG tropes of "Every legend is true")
The best and most memorable NPCs I’ve created have come from my players. They start out as barebones, mostly nameless side characters intending to be scrapped after an encounter or two, or existing as a quest giver or for plot, which I develop from there based on player interest. Let your players guide you, see who they gel with, then work your DM magic!
Insightful commentary. It really isn't efficient to put a lot of effort into an NPC the players couldn't care less about. Whereas players will latch onto NPCs you invented on the spot. It's just how the game goes. Constructive Criticism: Having on-screen text that deviated wildly from the spoken commentary made it difficult to follow along with the point of the video. In future videos, it would be nice if the two were either matching, or "extra" text commentary kept to the minimum.
To add to the constructive criticism - I think the deviating text is fine, because it is left up on screen for a time, so that's following normal presentation guidelines. If the text was going by faster, I would agree it should match. However, I do wish each paragraph would simply fade in quickly instead of this awkward, distracting "typed out" style. It takes about 23 seconds to type in two sentences on the Humanization screen. Also, why is the Humanization text in red? The background is odd and low resolution for the text only shots, the text is a too big unless you're on a phone and the text content went from questions that help explain the subject, in the case of Motivation, to simply telling us not to "overdo it" for Humanization and that Memorability is "so so important," which are not as helpful as questions to ensure that Humanization and Memorability is even happening in the first place. This looks like a lot of criticism but it's really only for the text based sections, and only because I see a lot of potential. The addition of combat sounds to the pan up through the dungeon at the end was unique, and the overall pacing of the video is pretty good. You also speak clearly and quickly which is great.
Why do I feel like this is the first dnd video I've watched where I learned something practical, I feel like most other people hmm... haa around while you are direct and get to the point and a really learn it
One of my favorite NPC’s is a dwarf cleric who was tasked with keeping the party from dying on their first adventure, but nothing else consequently he was of a much higher level and later became the parties primary guild contact.
This system works very well for a more linear style of running games, but it is very similar to my own method for sandbox npc prep. So I think it's worth talking about *how much* prep is good for npcs and factions with sandbox play. Said amount is about an index card. At least to start with. When players interact with things more, then you can expand on them between sessions. However, all you *need* for most things are Bonds(who this character is related to and how they fit into society), Ideals(the ethics or philosophy this character or group holds, or their opinions towards important topics), Flaws(what failing does this character or group have. This can be moral, monetary, ethical, whatever) and goals (what, if left alone, will this character or group work towards, and potentially do). Once you have those, you can pull random npcs out of factions based on them sharing at least 2 of those things with the faction. As well as generate quests that feel much more fluid and can track the ripple effects of player actions and influences much easier.
All of the tips are super useful. They're like things that make common sense once they're pointed out to you, but something you don't realize otherwise. I've had a bit of trouble getting my characters to care about any npcs that weren't characters they created in their backstories and maybe this can help.
I'm calling it now, this channel is gonna blow up in popularity in the not so distant future. Such a well put together guide with genuinely helpful tips! I won't be surprised when the next time I tune in I see over 15K subscribers.
When my players finally got the main hub and went into the tavern, I gave a long description of all the other customers, including a mysterious cloaked figure at the corner table smoking a pipe - totally ripping off Aragorn in the Prancing Pony. The party completely ignored him lol. They changed their minds 5 sessions later when they finally noticed all the bounty posters offering 7,000 gold pieces for the guy's head.
I saw your first video no more than 3 hours ago, you make some great content man. It may take a while but I hope the algorithm picks you up because you deserve it already.
The most beloved NPC in any campaign ive ever run was a chicken that the monk stole from a halfling. The halfling protected the chicken like the one ring, so did the monk. it survived until the last session. The druid started talking to it and it was great.
I have a NPC in my hombrew "prison escape" campaign called Fred. He's a short, chubby Scaletooth (basically lizardfolk) who 'guarded' the inmate contraband all the while dealing with his crippling anxiety. Well they kidnapped him and are essentially soft forcing / black mailing him to guide them.
This has to be brennan lee muligan using a Voice Mod program! All jokes aside, great video. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow to the enormous size that it actually deserves!
Wow...actually crazy how well put together these are. I watched the first video after finding it in recommend thinking there would be a bunch of vids. Only to sadly see only 2. Your video quality is damn amazing and i look forward to seeing more content from you. Definitely subscribing
Many thanks for your wisdom, O mysterious Hero. This really struck home for me and my campaign, I really can't express how much I think this will improve our game. So, thanks man! Looking forward to the next why your monsters suck and other masterclasses! And I hope your channel grows fast!
An npc is like a movie carechter, not a novel carechter. They are there to get the party to do something. Any additional traits are made up either on the spot, or are gags that I had for their introduction. Personality is largely derived from what voice I end up doing for them
I made a world and a bit of a story. I then made more and more to the point where I didn’t want to run it because I didn’t think I could do my story justice so I’ve just been making an in-depth world and story that is multicultural, drama Ladin, filled with trickery and tragedy and there is still so much more to do. Came for dm stayed cause world
Good job man you have a perfect understanding of player motivations and DM structures really looking forward to seeing more hope you produce a ton of content cuz I'm liking what I see
You explained in a 10 minute video what a lot of youtubers need 20 to do, I loved this! My players dont care about a character I made, so I will use the MHM to make the new one
I just want to say that after just watching your other video, instant sub. Watching this, it's just so useful and insightful. Looking forward to the next few videos that's for sure!
I made an NPC who was a ghoul, who was named 'ghoul', and could only say "ghoul", he died then the party started and went on an entire quest to revive him...
So way back i ran a small town style campaign where everything happened in a single city, and each of the "regular" npc's adapted and changed over the course of the campaign. So to help in the prepp work for that, i read trough some dungeon master guides, the ultimate intrigue book (for pathfinder), as well as watched plenty of videos related to NPC's. What i learned from that is making a special NPC sheet is helpful, i wrote down the critical traits, wants/needs/weaknesses etc.etc.etc. on that sheet (not nesseserly their class abilities and so on, that i had a separate sheet for). And what i learned after running and finishing that campaign was that players dont give a shit about all the shit you have written down on their character sheet, so all other NPC's after that i have taken the shotgun approach to critical NPC's, now most my NPC's are made up on the fly using esensally my version of your way of going about it: Personality (how do they sound/speak?) Theme, Wants and Relevance. Then after ive done the introduction, i note down their name and their stick, and if the players come back to that NPC, or if i find a place to put that NPC back in, i will do a little more fleshing out, adding a little more each time they interact with said NPC. This approach has made making NPC much easier for me, and given me much more memorable NPC, including my tables favorite, the fabled merchant of mystery! Hin Kukenski! a flamboyant interdimensional magic item merchant, doing deals with whoever he can to pull a profit, but still has a kind spot in his hearth for his friends. He even has his own theme song. It started with me introducing a magic shop out in the middle of nowhere because my players were in need of some stuff, and they were way to far out from society and probly wouldn't get there in the predictable future, i pulled up a nice tune and a random shop stall, and pulled off an goofy accent and a welcoming speech about how much he appreciated his loyal costumers, and after a few years he has become the great friend of all adventurers with a fully fleshed out backstory, big enough to be a book.
Looking forward to next week, also thanks for the last video’s firepower mechanic and this videos npc guide. I ironically have an npc similar to the example one whom I was trying to figure out how to put into the story for my players, a surprise boss could be a fun idea
The three rings approach isn’t the only metric by which a player is interested in material you put in the world. The level of detail can draw them too. There is some amount of metagaming involved here, but when you take the time to describe something more, there is a greater chance the players will think you're signaling a carrot for them to follow. Like if they're in a dungeon or multi-room building and you have been just casually mentioning objects in each room as they explore, then suddenly give description to say a dresser, they will probably go to investigate it. Same with NPCs, you can detail your edge-lord more and it signals that he might be a quest-relevant character.
I do believe a lot of these are great ways to build up a character in some key directions, I think the caricature aspect is surprising accurate. Give the character a BIG identifier that the party can latch onto and don’t be shocked if that becomes their name even after a proper introduction. My group is fond of finding “mascots” and bending the plot around keeping them alive or making them stronger.
I just started putting together a campaign for my friends and family. As a first time DM, your channel is going to be an amazing tool for me. Thank you for teaching me so much!
Meanwhile one of my players chooses random NPCs I only created to populate the world, and decides that person I only spent two seconds deciding what he's doing and makes him important to the plot.
Yesterday you have appeared in my recommended and today the same thing happened and i haven't even realized that you have this little subs and just starting out :D I was about to watch more of your stuff and i was surprised when i saw only two videos :D Keep up the good work, this is some good quality content :D
The first character my most recent party connected with was a barrel mimic they could strike a deal with after saving it from a fire, which I found incredibly funny. They care more about this mimic than the captain of their ship that sent them to this location to begin with
im not sure if this counts, but in one of my quests for my campaign, i have prepared an super mega epic hero. the kind with way too many titles that the king would briefly reminence about. later they will find the super mega epic hero down in the tombs that are swallowing this world and find him in a broken state. his body is falling apart and he will kindly ask them to help him to his tomb. if they dont help him, he wont hold a grudge as its his fault he came to be this way. there isnt much point killing him as no one in the party would benefit from his gear which is breaking apart. if they help him, he gives an item which he will infuse with his remaining strengh as a gift and praise them as true heros unlike him. all he did was slay epic beasts and evil armies. they helped a man who was completly helpless
Though I a dm I don't have many to many notable npcs But the one I can talk about is a drow who *was* a part of a very hostile drow house. But because he had honor(like an oath for power) and he tried to kill the pc's in a duel. But only because he was not and immediate prick(unlike most underdark residents) so they made effort to use diplomacy mid fight After a lot of talking and high persuasion checks they paused the fight after killing the backup assassins. They talked and made more difficult persuasion checks, and they had him join their side to stop a larger threat I'm surprised they were so nice to this Fex Yenph, he said "I'm going to kill all you myself, meet me here". And they wound up befriending him Similar thing with a small rock elemental that perma joined the party(still alive with like 12hp at lv5! Found him while lv1)
I've been writing a campaign for just over a year now, and when I started, I was definitely guilty of over-planning my NPCs. Every encounter had to have reason and a detailed description behind it. I realised about a few months ago that not only was this wasting my time, but my players' time as well. Now, I simply denote some simple traits, and rely on my knowledge of my world to fill in the rest. Some NPCs are slightly explained for questlines, but none get more than a small paragraph. It's helped me plan much more content, and stops me from railroading my players into boring DMNPC encounters without realising.
You formalized really well a lot of implicit knowledge that experienced GMs follow but not necessarily knows by heart. Great way to help the unexperienced while also ringing true to the ones that already faced that problem and developed their own answers. As a rule of thumb, the rings of self are great. It may be one of the easiest ways to engage your players with NPCs. However, throwing in a few NPCs that are out of the rings is a great way of showing that the world is bigger than the players journey. They don't need to be as fleshed out as the characters within the rings and provide a great opportunity for anticipation, as you can bring them into the rings midstory. Keep up the good work!
I'll just say this, maybe again, but dear God you make QUALITY content, and i now have more trust in smaller creators. Also you're amazing dude, keep g993
Your example for a bad NPC was spot on cause already 15 seconds into the video I'm like "Wait; was his name Blackflame, or Blackmage?" (It's Blackmane.) It sucks when I'm a DM and players don't care about an NPC I'm invested in; but also as a player, it sucks harder when the DM has obviously wants us to interact with an NPC when they've given us absolutely no reason to care about them.
Very well illustrated. (It seemed a bit indulgent to call things "theory" and "principle", I think). Good examples and I love that you keep these videos concise. It shows respect for your viewer's time to not make these be 30mins+ essays.
The way I do npc's is that I make barebone minimum for side characters and explore them more deeply once my players get interrested in an originally soulless collection of a few random traits. There are some exceptions, of course- mostly npcs important to the plot, such as quest givers, bbeg's allies/minions, faction leaders, some factions' secondary leaders and temporary companions.
This is the first channel in ages I watched one video and it was so well put together I was like "oh I'll watch the rest" and then there weren't any yet. I'm incredibly eager for everything you make going forward.
Same
I know, right? These videos are so great and that it feels like somebody with a lot of experience in video making (and scripting and of course dnd experience) is making it.
Literally the same here. :D
I just realized it once you pointed it out.
"We will be watching your career with great interest." - everyone
Clutching the summoning orb, a pale giant covered in tattoos smiles at you. "I'm Dr. Clockzo! The Rock'n'roll Artificer!" Screeches the mad-eyed Goliath, suddenly shoving a handful of white powder into his face. He sniffs deep, blood trickling from his dusted nose as the various gadgets festooning his armor begin to whir to life. *"AND I DO COCAINE!"*
Bro was off on one making this guy XD
HAHA :D
@@ahero8101
Dr. Clockzo is a good example of the hero levels concept. He's based off the typical bandit captain stat block, with ability scores adjusted for a Goliath, plus racial features. Then I took 5 of the monster's HD & turned them into generic (no subclass) Artificer levels. With an INT modifier of 2, he's not much of a caster, but he's quick with buffs, which are flavored as different varieties of magical cocaine. Sometimes tossing exploding bags of powder at his minions.
With 3 attacks from a magical +1 mace (one of his 2 infusions) he's actually quite dangerous. But I play him more as an overly excitable eccentric with a drug problem than a serious rival, & my players haven't had the heart to kill him. He's even fought on their side a few times by now, & is currently sober... but is instead fighting with the depression he was self medicating to deal with.
@@TrollOfReason I love Clockzo!
@@ahero8101
You have permission to steal him. XD
My favourite hobby is to add unnecessary humanization on the fly. My party ran into a lost fire giant and instead of fighting the fire giant, they decided to talk to him. They found out he was sent on a mission to find some magic metal, but he actually didn't want too, he'd much rather quit and start a pottery studio. All in all they made friends with him and helped him find the metal, but instead he allowed the part to take it as he was sick of doing work he wasn't passionate about.... The fun thing is that I made his personality on the fly, he originally was just a fire giant trying to find metal. All it takes is one character trait and you go from there.
I feel like this channel is going to be something great
Agreed. Can't wait to see where this keeps going, amazing content.
For real. I subbed to a like three second old channel that had literally one video because of that one video.
@@enixxe same
@@enixxe yeah, same thing for me
It's so entertaining
a useful think i like to keep in mind: worldbuilding and lore are what we do as DMs and writers to entertain ourselves, to keep us invested. the players are under no obligation to care whatsoever about it, and will probably only do so if there is a reward involved or a threat to their character-the carrot and the stick.
if you want your players to want to care about a dungeon, tell them one of the magic items at the end of it (bonus points if it has a name and is unique; i.e. Melbane, the Kingslayer) to pique their interest
if you want your players to be forced to care about something, make it so that they can only progress if they go get the Key of Progression from Talkto’Me, over in Gohere or else the world will end and the PCs die of worldenditis.
Worldenditis: An inflammation of the end of the world. Can be cured with world-class antibiotics.
You are dealing with bad players then...
The algorithm is being very kind to a new channel for once, and I am so glad for that. You deserve all the success that's gonna be coming your way with this level of quality.
Very kind words, thank you!
Def made the right choice subbing after that first video! Another fantastic addition to the catalogue today, thank you very much!
Welcome aboard!
I could not agree more, I have a feeling that I will be sticking around for a hot minute if this is the quality that we can expect going forward.
“We will watch your career with great interest”
One of the biggest challenges for a GM is taking a bunch of murder hobos and forging them into heroes.
"When the world needed Ahero the most, he vanished." Hopefully you're doing okay and you return one day, I've really come to love this channel and the work you've put into it. It has helped me a ton. Be safe and be well.
Adding this to the selection of "DnD Channels That Are Gonna Pop Off Real Soon"
something that i've noticed is that if you do this part well enough, your party will excuse a maybe slightly boring fight. it doesnt matter if the minis are just standing in the same spot whacking eachother if they REALLY hate the villain or if they're exchanging one liners. obviously you should strive to have both but there's some food for thought
You've saved my one-shot next week with this video. I can now actually grasp why all my NPCs felt so boring as I wrote them.
Your two videos helped me so much, thank you sir!
Glad to hear it! :D
The worst thing about this channel is that there isn't yet a backlog of videos for me to watch. The best thing about this channel is that every video so far is dope.
Ways to make party intressted in a npc by my experience.
1. Funny voice
2. Talk to the party first to spare anxiety
3. Have a unuiqe skill or quirk. (Crazy, potion maker, scammer, riddler. Exc)
4. Unuiqe race to the setting (dossent matter what just something party dont see often to help leave a memory)
5. Flirty. (Pcs loves npcs praising their character)
Excellent videos sir. I like your little touch of rolling the dice on screen. It really helps to sell the idea of the Ttrpg table experince.
One problem I have with the final encounter - The rougue appears from invisibility to steal the ring from beneath the rogue's fingers is dramatic if its been foreshadowed properly but without context, it just seems like a deus-ex machina.
If my DM announced that a mysterious figure appears out of no where to steal the magic item from the end of a dungeon, I'd be mad at the DM not the NPC.
However, your points on the Rings of self and how to hook players with varying degrees of importance was really insightful. Thanks for sharing.
I was originally going to have a version where Arathorn was foreshadowed more but I also didn't go with it for reasons I myself... forgot. LOL
@@ahero8101 all good. This is an example, not a real D&D game. We can imagine that the real game had the foreshadowing.
I like giving important Npc's things they can do to improvre the players gear or giving them new abilities for the party so the player care. i had an Npc inmy last game called "sensei". he had a real name but no one called him by it. he was an ecpert and old warrior who was the former mentor of the bbeg. Sensei had the ability to give players battle master maneuvers. they where very connected to him because he was an ally that they spent alot of time with, but i didnt force them to talk or even spend time with him, but because of the unique buff he gave to player training with him i could get them to connect with him organically. another example was the fighter who had a close bond with the town's blacksmith because he was the only one who upgraded greatswords.
also, this vid is great! keep up the good work, can't wait to see what else you will post in the future
@@DB-xr9nt if a player spent a weak of downtime training with sensei, the either gain 1 battle master maneuver or 1 battle maneuver dice(so it takes 2 weaks to actually get something form the teachings) character's can spend more downtime to earn more dice or lern more maneuvers. the dice return on a long rest
I feel like if you keep putting the same time, care, effort, and love into all of your videos from here on out, things will go very well for your channel AHero. Many people like myself will be ready to watch and improve our D&D games whenever you upload. Looking forward to the next vid!
You already know this channel is going places
Loved the first video, love this one too ! ^^
I'll go further and add that when crafting an NPC, you should also focus on their relations, and what they say/show vs the reality...
Also, and that's when creating lore in general, to not feed the player information they didn't ask for. Don't force an NPC you've spent time crafting if the party isn't interested, it'll feel too railroad-y. Instead, find reasons to make anything interesting, like using those "circles" you mentionned, and create a mystery the players will want to uncover. I love having NPCs making mistakes on myths and legends, or having theories that prove to be wrong later.
It makes them more "human" and real, and can also make for a good surprise later, when the truth is revealed. (Additionally, it breaks the RPG tropes of "Every legend is true")
Watched your first episode earlier today and was disappointed there weren't any others. Then Bam!
The best and most memorable NPCs I’ve created have come from my players. They start out as barebones, mostly nameless side characters intending to be scrapped after an encounter or two, or existing as a quest giver or for plot, which I develop from there based on player interest. Let your players guide you, see who they gel with, then work your DM magic!
How has this channel, that just uploaded their first two videos, produced two that are both amazing. WTF im blown away
Insightful commentary. It really isn't efficient to put a lot of effort into an NPC the players couldn't care less about. Whereas players will latch onto NPCs you invented on the spot. It's just how the game goes.
Constructive Criticism: Having on-screen text that deviated wildly from the spoken commentary made it difficult to follow along with the point of the video. In future videos, it would be nice if the two were either matching, or "extra" text commentary kept to the minimum.
To add to the constructive criticism - I think the deviating text is fine, because it is left up on screen for a time, so that's following normal presentation guidelines. If the text was going by faster, I would agree it should match. However, I do wish each paragraph would simply fade in quickly instead of this awkward, distracting "typed out" style. It takes about 23 seconds to type in two sentences on the Humanization screen. Also, why is the Humanization text in red? The background is odd and low resolution for the text only shots, the text is a too big unless you're on a phone and the text content went from questions that help explain the subject, in the case of Motivation, to simply telling us not to "overdo it" for Humanization and that Memorability is "so so important," which are not as helpful as questions to ensure that Humanization and Memorability is even happening in the first place.
This looks like a lot of criticism but it's really only for the text based sections, and only because I see a lot of potential. The addition of combat sounds to the pan up through the dungeon at the end was unique, and the overall pacing of the video is pretty good. You also speak clearly and quickly which is great.
I absolutely love the detail of the rogue rolling a 4 on a sleight of hand check and it being modified into a 22
Love this channel and there’s only 2 episodes so far, can’t wait for more!
This is really encouraging, I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day.
Why do I feel like this is the first dnd video I've watched where I learned something practical, I feel like most other people hmm... haa around while you are direct and get to the point and a really learn it
I don't run dungeons, but I do like writing in general. This is all really good advice for written media as well as D&D. Excellent channel!
2 bangers back to back, can't wait to see what else you decide to post.
One of my favorite NPC’s is a dwarf cleric who was tasked with keeping the party from dying on their first adventure, but nothing else consequently he was of a much higher level and later became the parties primary guild contact.
Oh this. This channel is gonna be real damn good. This is gonna be an absolutely banger channel isn't it
Thanks so much.
Man is coming in like Oversimplified. No intro, no context. Just walking on in and dropping good content from vid 1
god i love the inclusion of "all hail shadow", you have no idea how many ideas that song alone gave me
This channel is actually amazing, thank you for making this videos.
This system works very well for a more linear style of running games, but it is very similar to my own method for sandbox npc prep. So I think it's worth talking about *how much* prep is good for npcs and factions with sandbox play.
Said amount is about an index card. At least to start with. When players interact with things more, then you can expand on them between sessions. However, all you *need* for most things are Bonds(who this character is related to and how they fit into society), Ideals(the ethics or philosophy this character or group holds, or their opinions towards important topics), Flaws(what failing does this character or group have. This can be moral, monetary, ethical, whatever) and goals (what, if left alone, will this character or group work towards, and potentially do).
Once you have those, you can pull random npcs out of factions based on them sharing at least 2 of those things with the faction. As well as generate quests that feel much more fluid and can track the ripple effects of player actions and influences much easier.
All of the tips are super useful. They're like things that make common sense once they're pointed out to you, but something you don't realize otherwise. I've had a bit of trouble getting my characters to care about any npcs that weren't characters they created in their backstories and maybe this can help.
I'm calling it now, this channel is gonna blow up in popularity in the not so distant future. Such a well put together guide with genuinely helpful tips! I won't be surprised when the next time I tune in I see over 15K subscribers.
Great video!
I think you're well on your way to being one of the great TTRPG advice givers!
Thanks for the tips!
You bet!
When my players finally got the main hub and went into the tavern, I gave a long description of all the other customers, including a mysterious cloaked figure at the corner table smoking a pipe - totally ripping off Aragorn in the Prancing Pony. The party completely ignored him lol. They changed their minds 5 sessions later when they finally noticed all the bounty posters offering 7,000 gold pieces for the guy's head.
I saw your first video no more than 3 hours ago, you make some great content man. It may take a while but I hope the algorithm picks you up because you deserve it already.
I appreciate that! :D
Bro your editing in this video is top notch. This is one of the highest quality dnd videos I have seen in a long time.
The most beloved NPC in any campaign ive ever run was a chicken that the monk stole from a halfling. The halfling protected the chicken like the one ring, so did the monk. it survived until the last session. The druid started talking to it and it was great.
Absolutely crazy how well made ur vids are bro keep up the good work
The algorithm has blessed us with a new recommended channel, and a solid one at that! All hail the TH-cam gods!
Quality man quality. Subbed. Looking forward to more videos!
just watch all the why your blank sucks videos, they really good and it instanly help me figure out issues I've had as a DM. keep up the great work.
Now this has potential
I have a NPC in my hombrew "prison escape" campaign called Fred. He's a short, chubby Scaletooth (basically lizardfolk) who 'guarded' the inmate contraband all the while dealing with his crippling anxiety. Well they kidnapped him and are essentially soft forcing / black mailing him to guide them.
Your videos are so well put together, I'm glad the algorithm threw you at me before you make it big time! Keep it up man, thank you for all the help!
Damn this is literally hitting the pressure points of my campaign. Quality video!
*Aggressively sends to my DM*
This has to be brennan lee muligan using a Voice Mod program!
All jokes aside, great video. Looking forward to seeing your channel grow to the enormous size that it actually deserves!
I’m in on the ground floor waiting for this to place explode in popularity. Fuck yeah this shit rocks good job mate.
Thanks so much!
This is an amazing channel. Very well condensed content into digestible portions. Keep up the great work AHero!!
This is some really good advice!
Fantastic points, Excellent Cadence, Short, Simple, Effective.
You got yourself a Sub!
Wow...actually crazy how well put together these are.
I watched the first video after finding it in recommend thinking there would be a bunch of vids.
Only to sadly see only 2.
Your video quality is damn amazing and i look forward to seeing more content from you.
Definitely subscribing
Many thanks for your wisdom, O mysterious Hero.
This really struck home for me and my campaign, I really can't express how much I think this will improve our game.
So, thanks man! Looking forward to the next why your monsters suck and other masterclasses! And I hope your channel grows fast!
I really like the MHM method. It efficiently deepens an NPC. Great stuff. I'm a new sub, looking forward for more of the same quality!
I cant wait till you make alot more! Thanks for this gem!
Looking forward to all the future cool videos!
Glad you like them!
This is the best channel I've seen in ages. Please keep making content!! Sharing you with friends now
Havent watched this yet, but if it’s as good as your first video, you have the making of a fantastic channel!
An npc is like a movie carechter, not a novel carechter. They are there to get the party to do something. Any additional traits are made up either on the spot, or are gags that I had for their introduction. Personality is largely derived from what voice I end up doing for them
Fantastic formatting, narration, humor and tone!
I made a world and a bit of a story. I then made more and more to the point where I didn’t want to run it because I didn’t think I could do my story justice so I’ve just been making an in-depth world and story that is multicultural, drama Ladin, filled with trickery and tragedy and there is still so much more to do. Came for dm stayed cause world
Shiny new channel with 2 out of 2 great videos. Looking forward to seeing what’s next! :)
Good job man you have a perfect understanding of player motivations and DM structures really looking forward to seeing more hope you produce a ton of content cuz I'm liking what I see
I love your theory, but in the end the most efficient way to make a NPC likeable is to make it cute. :)
Works every bloody time.
Bro I swear to god I better see more uploads from you!! I love your videos dammit!
You explained in a 10 minute video what a lot of youtubers need 20 to do, I loved this! My players dont care about a character I made, so I will use the MHM to make the new one
You can tell what you want about the algorithm, but TH-cam suggested you monster video to me yesterday.
I just want to say that after just watching your other video, instant sub. Watching this, it's just so useful and insightful.
Looking forward to the next few videos that's for sure!
I made an NPC who was a ghoul, who was named 'ghoul', and could only say "ghoul", he died then the party started and went on an entire quest to revive him...
So glad to have discovered you just as you start the channel B-)
keep up the great work!
Great video! I think the example you did was super helpful in getting me to truly understand your points. Subscribed and can’t wait to see more!
So way back i ran a small town style campaign where everything happened in a single city, and each of the "regular" npc's adapted and changed over the course of the campaign. So to help in the prepp work for that, i read trough some dungeon master guides, the ultimate intrigue book (for pathfinder), as well as watched plenty of videos related to NPC's.
What i learned from that is making a special NPC sheet is helpful, i wrote down the critical traits, wants/needs/weaknesses etc.etc.etc. on that sheet (not nesseserly their class abilities and so on, that i had a separate sheet for).
And what i learned after running and finishing that campaign was that players dont give a shit about all the shit you have written down on their character sheet, so all other NPC's after that i have taken the shotgun approach to critical NPC's, now most my NPC's are made up on the fly using esensally my version of your way of going about it: Personality (how do they sound/speak?) Theme, Wants and Relevance.
Then after ive done the introduction, i note down their name and their stick, and if the players come back to that NPC, or if i find a place to put that NPC back in, i will do a little more fleshing out, adding a little more each time they interact with said NPC.
This approach has made making NPC much easier for me, and given me much more memorable NPC, including my tables favorite, the fabled merchant of mystery! Hin Kukenski! a flamboyant interdimensional magic item merchant, doing deals with whoever he can to pull a profit, but still has a kind spot in his hearth for his friends. He even has his own theme song.
It started with me introducing a magic shop out in the middle of nowhere because my players were in need of some stuff, and they were way to far out from society and probly wouldn't get there in the predictable future, i pulled up a nice tune and a random shop stall, and pulled off an goofy accent and a welcoming speech about how much he appreciated his loyal costumers, and after a few years he has become the great friend of all adventurers with a fully fleshed out backstory, big enough to be a book.
Looking forward to next week, also thanks for the last video’s firepower mechanic and this videos npc guide. I ironically have an npc similar to the example one whom I was trying to figure out how to put into the story for my players, a surprise boss could be a fun idea
The three rings approach isn’t the only metric by which a player is interested in material you put in the world. The level of detail can draw them too. There is some amount of metagaming involved here, but when you take the time to describe something more, there is a greater chance the players will think you're signaling a carrot for them to follow. Like if they're in a dungeon or multi-room building and you have been just casually mentioning objects in each room as they explore, then suddenly give description to say a dresser, they will probably go to investigate it. Same with NPCs, you can detail your edge-lord more and it signals that he might be a quest-relevant character.
I do believe a lot of these are great ways to build up a character in some key directions, I think the caricature aspect is surprising accurate. Give the character a BIG identifier that the party can latch onto and don’t be shocked if that becomes their name even after a proper introduction. My group is fond of finding “mascots” and bending the plot around keeping them alive or making them stronger.
I just started putting together a campaign for my friends and family. As a first time DM, your channel is going to be an amazing tool for me. Thank you for teaching me so much!
Meanwhile one of my players chooses random NPCs I only created to populate the world, and decides that person I only spent two seconds deciding what he's doing and makes him important to the plot.
Yesterday you have appeared in my recommended and today the same thing happened and i haven't even realized that you have this little subs and just starting out :D I was about to watch more of your stuff and i was surprised when i saw only two videos :D Keep up the good work, this is some good quality content :D
+ you gave me a quest idea :D
Welcome aboard! :D
I love this channel, can't wait to see more great videos!!
I genuinely can't wait to see this channel grow, the quality and wisdom localised in this one video made every second an utterly exceptional watch.
The first character my most recent party connected with was a barrel mimic they could strike a deal with after saving it from a fire, which I found incredibly funny. They care more about this mimic than the captain of their ship that sent them to this location to begin with
im not sure if this counts, but in one of my quests for my campaign, i have prepared an super mega epic hero. the kind with way too many titles that the king would briefly reminence about. later they will find the super mega epic hero down in the tombs that are swallowing this world and find him in a broken state. his body is falling apart and he will kindly ask them to help him to his tomb. if they dont help him, he wont hold a grudge as its his fault he came to be this way. there isnt much point killing him as no one in the party would benefit from his gear which is breaking apart. if they help him, he gives an item which he will infuse with his remaining strengh as a gift and praise them as true heros unlike him. all he did was slay epic beasts and evil armies. they helped a man who was completly helpless
Though I a dm I don't have many to many notable npcs
But the one I can talk about is a drow who *was* a part of a very hostile drow house. But because he had honor(like an oath for power) and he tried to kill the pc's in a duel. But only because he was not and immediate prick(unlike most underdark residents) so they made effort to use diplomacy mid fight
After a lot of talking and high persuasion checks they paused the fight after killing the backup assassins. They talked and made more difficult persuasion checks, and they had him join their side to stop a larger threat
I'm surprised they were so nice to this Fex Yenph, he said "I'm going to kill all you myself, meet me here". And they wound up befriending him
Similar thing with a small rock elemental that perma joined the party(still alive with like 12hp at lv5! Found him while lv1)
*4 on the die*
that's aaa... 21!
fucking brilliant
I've been writing a campaign for just over a year now, and when I started, I was definitely guilty of over-planning my NPCs. Every encounter had to have reason and a detailed description behind it. I realised about a few months ago that not only was this wasting my time, but my players' time as well. Now, I simply denote some simple traits, and rely on my knowledge of my world to fill in the rest. Some NPCs are slightly explained for questlines, but none get more than a small paragraph. It's helped me plan much more content, and stops me from railroading my players into boring DMNPC encounters without realising.
You formalized really well a lot of implicit knowledge that experienced GMs follow but not necessarily knows by heart. Great way to help the unexperienced while also ringing true to the ones that already faced that problem and developed their own answers.
As a rule of thumb, the rings of self are great. It may be one of the easiest ways to engage your players with NPCs. However, throwing in a few NPCs that are out of the rings is a great way of showing that the world is bigger than the players journey. They don't need to be as fleshed out as the characters within the rings and provide a great opportunity for anticipation, as you can bring them into the rings midstory.
Keep up the good work!
I'll just say this, maybe again, but dear God you make QUALITY content, and i now have more trust in smaller creators. Also you're amazing dude, keep g993
Your example for a bad NPC was spot on cause already 15 seconds into the video I'm like "Wait; was his name Blackflame, or Blackmage?" (It's Blackmane.)
It sucks when I'm a DM and players don't care about an NPC I'm invested in; but also as a player, it sucks harder when the DM has obviously wants us to interact with an NPC when they've given us absolutely no reason to care about them.
Love the advice. I've fallen to that same cardinal sin so many time in my campaign. Haha so sincerely, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
I was so stoked for the second video! Masterclass indeed, can't wait for the next one!
Very well illustrated. (It seemed a bit indulgent to call things "theory" and "principle", I think). Good examples and I love that you keep these videos concise. It shows respect for your viewer's time to not make these be 30mins+ essays.
Gonna jump on the bandwagon and say that this is one of the fastest subs I hit. Amazing work.
Its so cool finding such an awesome channel in its early stages! Absolutely love your ideas and suggestions. This is giving me some really fun ideas!