NPCs (PSR Supplement)

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NPCs are "non-protagonist creatures."

These include all creatures other than the protags, from friendly folks to horrible monsters. NPCs are portrayed by the narrator, though special NPCs called cohorts might be controlled by players in some circumstances.

While this page broadly covers NPCs and their attitudes, while the separate Mount and Cohort pages cover special NPCs. An NPC's capabilities, especially in combat, are defined by its Stat Block.

Attitude

In game terms, a given creature's relation to you—or any protag—is a scale of five tiers. From best to worst these are called ally, friend, indifferent, unfriendly, and enemy. Sometimes a effect will affect a creature differently depending on its attitude.

Changing a creature's attitude is rarely easy, but in some cases an Influence action or activity with a successful check might be enough to sway a creature one step in the right direction.

Ally. Allies are willing to fight alongside the protags, usually including mounts, familiars, hired mercenaries, and other protags. A creature can't be a cohort unless it's an ally.

Friend. Friendly creatures have a positive impression of the protags and would be willing to do minor favorable services, such as offering guidance without being prompted, or providing a small discount on wares. In combat, friends are on the same side as the protags, but might have different goals — such as escaping from a monster rather than defeating it. Game effects which affect friendly creatures also affect allies.

Indifferent. These creatures have no significant impression of the protags. Generally an indifferent creature is the most likely to be influenced to become friendly or unfriendly.

Unfriendly. Unfriendly creatures have a negative impression of the protags, but aren’t interested in attempting to fight or otherwise kill them. Unfriendlies would, most likely, rather the protags just leave the area.

Enemy. Enemies, or hostile creatures, include any who are attempting to physically damage or kill the protags — whether for personal hate, monetary gain, or even entirely justified reasons. Protags aren't always the good guys, after all. During an encounter it’s usually easy to tell which creatures are enemies.

Playing NPCs

This advice caters to the narrator.

This system reference may define in detail an NPC’s physical and mental capabilities. However, guidance is deliberately vague on how to actually create memorable characters, and act out a character’s motives and mannerisms. Such advice is system agnostic, and works as well in D&D as in Call of Cthulhu.

Some narrators will prefer to meticulously plan out every possible NPC ahead of time, while others will “wing it” and improvise everything on the fly. Some narrators put on a silly voice and act out an NPC, while others take a more hands-off approach. Any method is good if the table is having fun.

As very basic guidance, how much protags interact with an NPC should dictate how much detail and focus that NPC is given from the narrator, relative to other NPCs.

It’s About the Protags. Although not a hard rule, this system assumes the party consists primarily or exclusively of the protags. Part of the fantasy behind it all emphasizes the players and their actions. This emphasis would diminish if the narrator introduces NPCs who outshine or outdo the protags. The more NPCs there are in the party, the less time and room each player has to shine. If any NPC becomes a long-term part of the party, it should generally be decided entirely by the players themselves — for example if they unanimously ask a friendly NPC to join them. Even then, that NPC is better off in the background than taking the initiative.