Same tbh. Thank, Eric! I actually had the Mother of Unicorns share a name with a party member; they immediately stopped hating her because of it. (They don't like unicorns because one killed the rogue... different story.)
in a current campaign I’m DMing, the party first meets the npc(Ricky)and he’s just a funny guy, cares for others, and a little bit of a weirdo(in the good way). Then at one point point the party goes to his home, he has 3 “kids” and a “wife” but he never confirmed this with the party or said they were, that’s what the party assumed and didn’t say anything. The party stayed at his house and slept there, before they went to sleep I asked them to roll perception, they rolled low so nothing happened. But what happened that night was his “wife” was yelling at him, if they rolled higher they would have heard muffled yelling, the “wife” is actually his abusive mother who was irresponsible as a teen and had a child early, which is Ricky, then at the age of 19-20 she had another 3 kids but the father left just like Ricky’s. The mother would abuse Ricky and only him because he’s the oldest and he should be helping, which he does but his mother puts more pressure and would blame him for everything, Ricky wants to leave but can’t because of his siblings and also his mother is a manipulator who would end up convincing him to stay. The reason he is goofy is because he thinks that if he acts happy he would feel happy even though he isn’t, it’s a mask. And at one point he will lash out and show how he really feels. And the party has yet to find out and I will continue to add more depth into his character so that the party is emotionally invested and attached to him and then… I’ll kill him Btw for the ages of Ricky and his family: Mom is currently 30 Ricky is 16 2/3 of the kids are 10 And the other kid is 11
Best NPCs are family members, as the PCs can hardly kill them, even if they are obnoxious as hell. And you will also never forget the face of the player of that holier than thou paladin, when he finally meets his unknown tiefling half-sister, who is an "exotic dancer" in the lair of the local mob boss...
Ooomg this is gold 😂😂. My players are invested in my npcs, but their families are usually either wholesome, very grey characters (want their family to be well, but otherwise aren't that good) or the player hates them. I guess i have a hard time playing the more ridiculous/obnoxious characters as their family members. But my players love my normal npcs that are very whack/obnoxious, etc.
I definitely think the spontaneous nature of a character makes them interesting. Be it a voice, a personality developed in the first interaction or just their look. My current game, the DM made a tortle shopkeep just as a shop for the town, yet through the first conversation with him, he was developed into a sleazy and shady businessman which we all fell in love with. Thinking back, that was probably more so from us players exploring that backstory rather than it being told to us.
Love this video. Great tips. I used to carefully craft NPCs but now I just bullet point a few key qualities and let the players influence what the NPC evolves into based on their interactions.
As a DM, I think betrayals are super over used 🤣 def when starting a campaign, imo def wait as long as you can. If the first npc the players meet betrays you they develop trust issues
If a video makes me disassociate for the whole 2nd half with ideas swimming around my head, it's a good video.
This is a good video 😂
Glad to be of service! 🤣
Same tbh. Thank, Eric!
I actually had the Mother of Unicorns share a name with a party member; they immediately stopped hating her because of it. (They don't like unicorns because one killed the rogue... different story.)
Same. Had to watch it twice. Great video!
in a current campaign I’m DMing, the party first meets the npc(Ricky)and he’s just a funny guy, cares for others, and a little bit of a weirdo(in the good way). Then at one point point the party goes to his home, he has 3 “kids” and a “wife” but he never confirmed this with the party or said they were, that’s what the party assumed and didn’t say anything. The party stayed at his house and slept there, before they went to sleep I asked them to roll perception, they rolled low so nothing happened. But what happened that night was his “wife” was yelling at him, if they rolled higher they would have heard muffled yelling, the “wife” is actually his abusive mother who was irresponsible as a teen and had a child early, which is Ricky, then at the age of 19-20 she had another 3 kids but the father left just like Ricky’s. The mother would abuse Ricky and only him because he’s the oldest and he should be helping, which he does but his mother puts more pressure and would blame him for everything, Ricky wants to leave but can’t because of his siblings and also his mother is a manipulator who would end up convincing him to stay. The reason he is goofy is because he thinks that if he acts happy he would feel happy even though he isn’t, it’s a mask. And at one point he will lash out and show how he really feels. And the party has yet to find out and I will continue to add more depth into his character so that the party is emotionally invested and attached to him and then… I’ll kill him
Btw for the ages of Ricky and his family:
Mom is currently 30
Ricky is 16
2/3 of the kids are 10
And the other kid is 11
Best NPCs are family members, as the PCs can hardly kill them, even if they are obnoxious as hell. And you will also never forget the face of the player of that holier than thou paladin, when he finally meets his unknown tiefling half-sister, who is an "exotic dancer" in the lair of the local mob boss...
Ooomg this is gold 😂😂. My players are invested in my npcs, but their families are usually either wholesome, very grey characters (want their family to be well, but otherwise aren't that good) or the player hates them. I guess i have a hard time playing the more ridiculous/obnoxious characters as their family members. But my players love my normal npcs that are very whack/obnoxious, etc.
@@couch_philosoph3325 you guys have players who have parents? Wow must be nice
I definitely think the spontaneous nature of a character makes them interesting. Be it a voice, a personality developed in the first interaction or just their look.
My current game, the DM made a tortle shopkeep just as a shop for the town, yet through the first conversation with him, he was developed into a sleazy and shady businessman which we all fell in love with.
Thinking back, that was probably more so from us players exploring that backstory rather than it being told to us.
Love this video. Great tips. I used to carefully craft NPCs but now I just bullet point a few key qualities and let the players influence what the NPC evolves into based on their interactions.
Great video, I like this shorter more concise format.
Betrayal seems like a good way to get PCs invested! Especially if the betrayal happens after the NPC and the PC have been intimate together! >;D
As a DM, I think betrayals are super over used 🤣 def when starting a campaign, imo def wait as long as you can. If the first npc the players meet betrays you they develop trust issues
Main point: build NPCs for the players and PCs, not as a DMPC.
Have the n p c provide something useful to the group. Give them a funny name.