| From: | shadowrn@*********.com (Ice Heart) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Some Quick NPCs |
| Date: | Tue Mar 5 17:50:01 2002 |
it. I accepted caffiene in place of cash royalties. *grin*
Start from an average human attribute value of 3.5
(Every two points of essence you are goping to sacrifice to cyber or bio
will raise this average by 1 point. So a human with 4 essence will have an
attribute average of 4.5)
Now assign an attribute spread around this average, and assign them
(I ususally use 2,3,3,4,4,5)
Add racial mods if they are a metatype
Assign benefits from cyber/bio
(typically I use +1D initiative, +2 Reaction, +1 Bod OR Smartlink, 2 extra
senses such as falre comp and low light...this is for 2 points of essence
spent...expand the list accordingly for more chromed NPCs)
Assign skills. Only bother with skills the NPC would use in interacting
with the PCs. All NPCs receive a special skill that describes their
proffession and is non-combat applicable. (e.g. journalism, cooking,
security) It is rated at 4 + their Prof. rating
They have a number of usefull skills based on their age.
child-14: 1
15-19: 3
20-24: 5
The skill ratings are curved just like attributes. The average is 4.
(so a 20 year old would have 5 useful skills rated 2,3,4,5,6)
Every 5 years after 24, the skill average goes up one.
(so a 26 year old with an average of 5 would have 3,4,5,6,7 and so on)
Assume the NPC speaks a number of languages equal to half Int, round down
Give them some gear and you are done.
Lets make a quick NPC. The players decide their characters are going to a
club and one of them asks about the bouncer. My approach would be this:
I'd Say: "The bouncer looks female, and judging by her mass, she is a troll.
She looks you over cooly, staring at each of your faces for a few
seconds."
I'd Think: 'she is a recovering synthaholic, single mother of two, dislikes
wanna be punks flashing weapons and making trouble, and is named
Susan...Zippy, the bar owner, gave her a break after she got sober, but she
stays outside to cut down on temptations...(roll 5 dice)...she recognizes PC
A from his rep, (consulting dice) but has yet to decide her own opinion
about him...she likes faux jade jewelry'
And while the players decide what to do, get chips, bring me coke, etc. I'd
write down the following.
Susan: Troll, Female, Bouncer, 27 Prof./Threat: 2/4
B: 8(9-dermal), Q: 3, S: 7, C: 2, I: 1(3-booster), W: 3
Cyber/Bio: 2 points
+1D Init, +2 React, low-light, flare comp, vid link, camera, radio,
cerebral boost
Bouncer: 6 (replace perception to notice weapons/potential trouble)
Street Et: 5 (I rolled 5 dice, so this is already set)
Armed: 7
Unarmed: 6
Athletics: 4
Media Et: 3
Armored clothing, form fitted, stun baton, brass knuckles
And she is done. That whole process ate up four minutes of real time. The
only time I put more into an NPC is some arch villain, or critical ally
Korishinzo
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