Casting Shadows

Our standard prompt for #RPGaDAY2024’s Day 22 is another subject I am fond of discussing with the groups I am in: NPCs. Whether I am the GM and getting to step into the role of one, or a player asked to take on the role of one for a moment or longer, or a player getting to meet and interact with one, I have a deep fondness for the whole aspect of RPG play which is the NPC.

For this entry, there are two classifications of NPC which I would like to share. These are the NPC who is what you expected when you prepared them, and the NPC who reveals a different interpretation of what you prepared to you, live and in play.

I like them both.

In recent memory, a good example of the former is the NPC Colonial Marine pilot, callsign “Jumper” who appeared regularly in our Alien campaign, What Comes Home to Roost. Dedicated to always bringing her charges back from a drop, she was motivated to flying above and beyond the call of duty and the common understanding of the design specs and limitations of her craft. She was built in the system from the start to reflect a tough upbringing in harsh environment which made the Marine corps a welcome home. She reflected the self-improvement, best of the best, first in last out ethos of the corps in her assurance, in her performance, and in her scars – not fronting. When she entered play, she made an impression. When the crew thought they had lost her, it made an impression.

Whenever I got to play her, she brought me a certain sense of peace in the midst of all the chaos. I’d involve her in a new campaign or the continuation of the old one in a heartbeat. Like her personality, as an NPC she did exactly what was stated on the tin. No fuss, no muss, no screw-ups.

Slightly more recent, an example for the other type of NPC is Prohibition Agent in Charge for Boston, William ‘Bill’ Rainer, a veteran of the Great War. Bill had a completely different personality and outlook on life when I prepared him for the Turn of a New Leaf campaign and I was really looking forward to playing that guy, but it seems like Bill had his own secretive plans. My original idea for Bill was to have him be cautious and clever. He was an amputee after his service abroad and his time in the army had taught him a lot about how his department was to be run. He knew he was outnumbered by the gangs and the drinkers and the addicts. He knew that most of his agents would end up on the take, do nothing, or wind up dead. He knew that with the right guys, the right breaks, and careful intelligence gathering he could roll up the biggest gang in the territory and set off a turf war that would get national attention, a bigger budget, more good agents, and a fighting chance. However, when it was time to speak as Bill for the first time, he was not only happy – in a morose sort of way – he was secretive and appraising. His conversation was self-dismissive, his missing leg kept hidden and a constant patter of conversation helping people forget about the old war wound. He passed himself off as a paper pusher and time card puncher, but he was surrounded by reports that would make your hair turn white. But most of all, he had assembled his squad, and he was ready to let them run. What will they turn up? What will they do with it? Will they work together? Will they see who the funny, self-deprecating man tied to the desk really is?

Bill surprised me from his very first word out of my mouth, and has kept doing it each time he is in a scene. He is the man he seems, but he is not necessarily the man people see.