I guess I'll name him... Willam!

One of the most demanding and most necessary jobs that a GM has is the creation of NPCs. It is the GMs responsibility not only to create the important people of his world, and to portray those people in any roleplaying situations the story calls for, but to be able to do that on the fly when the players run into randomtown to speak to Micky the Bartender.

It has been my experience that, for whatever reason, players never get as attached to deeply thought out NPCs as they do to the random ones that seem to come out of nowhere during a game session. For example, in a recent session, my group was doing a skill challenge to find the location of a dungeon in a large wooded area. The bard of the group jokingly asked if she could use Diplomacy on the trees. I decided to let her try, and when she succeeded, the party came across a fairie circle where they met a little pixie-sprite named Jingle. With just a few visual details, and a belief in the healing power of muffins, Jingle became an instant group favorite. So much so, that the Bard asked if she could take Jingle as her familiar.

What was is about this random little sprite that made such a connection? Well, firstly he was a result of player action. Players will always warm up more to NPCs that they have uncovered rather than those the GM has foisted off on them. Secondly, he was memorable. All it takes is a single trait to make a NPC unforgetable. I personally like to make that trait slightly run against the grain of the campaign. For instance, in a serious campaign, having a NPC that provides a little needed levity is one that is more likely to gain the PC's attention than someone who blends into the rest of the world.

The other thing to focus on, is to not push an NPC on the party too much. This is one fault that all GMs are guilty of at one point or another. You come up with a certain NPC that is totally cool, and if you are not careful you can easily make this cool NPC show up the PCs. The best way of handling this sort of thing, is to make sure that the NPCs remain in a position of aid or information to the PCs, who should be the active characters in the story.

However, even using your NPCs as support for the PCs can come as a problem at times. The danger here is to make your NPC the voice of the GM, able and willing to supply all the information that the PCs dont have or have failed to get. The problem with this is that it forms a safety net for the players, one that can either make them lazy or make it seem like they are never really in the position of problems solvers. In the first case, you will get players who will stop caring about the adventures and the problems and will wait for the inevitable NPC-briefing that will give them their assignments. The second case, makes the players feel like their contributions and plans are not as worthwhile as the information that is given to them by the NPCs, which leads to resentment both for the NPCs and possibly for the GM.

If used correctly, a NPC can serve to inform, entertain and to help showcase the immersive nature of the game world. If used incorrectly, they can show the holes and weak points in the world and basically make the characters feel powerless. It is important to keep in mind how long-reaching an effect that these seemingly minor characters can have, and to practice creating and portraying them in a manner that leads to the enjoyment of the players and the growth of the campaign world.