Rules to NPC By
by Travis "Elwin" Wilcox
Good day everyone! With such an influx of new players and their generosity in donating their time as NPCs, I thought it would be a good idea to write up a little list of guidelines to follow when you are playing a crunchie NPC for another event holder. This is by far not a comprehensive list, but it will get a lot of the bad habits out of the way and allow for a good time to be had by all.
1.
Remember we are doing this to make sure the
players are having fun. That doesn't mean you can't have fun as well, but
chances are you got a reduced cost to get into the event and you are helping
the game as a whole by playing an NPC.
2.
You should never backstab players to kill them.
No one likes to just die without having a chance to defend themselves. Sure, a
leg shot here and there is fine to remind them to keep their head on a swivel,
but it is unsportsmanlike to just drum roll someone’s back.
3.
Remember to always fight as your monster. If
they are a goblin, they shouldn't be a super soldier fighting above all other
players out there even if you as a player a physically capable of doing so.
Tone it down, you have a ton of lives the players have very limited.
4.
In that same vein, you shouldn't machine gun as
a crunchie. Take the shot and pull back. If you slip inside that shield man's
guard don't just go crazy in there. Give them a chance to correct their guard
and keep fighting. One missed block shouldn't equal death on a fully armored
fighter.
5.
As important as it is on a quest for the players
to take their hits, it is infinitely more important for an NPC to do so. Like
above, you have a ton of lives where the players have few. It hurts nothing for
you to over call and take a death on accident then to miss a shot and end up
killing a player.
6.
You are the interactive piece to the world that
the characters see. If you are a goblin act like a goblin, if you are a troll
act like a troll. It is important to get into that character as much as you can
to bring the world to life for the other players.
7.
Pace yourself. Depending on how many NPCs are in
your group you may have a hard day's work ahead of you. There are times when
you need to be constantly fighting on the field for an hour or more. Make sure
you take care of yourself and drink plenty of water. Grab a snack to keep your
energy up and remember, it is okay to slow down a little bit if you are getting
tired. Mistakes happen when you are fatigued, and no one wants anyone else to
get hurt.
8.
Make sure you ask your Event Holder or Head NPC
how the special calls work on you and how you should respond to them. Things
like Enfeeble Being, Fighter's Intuition, and Ritual of Banishment, make a
world of difference to the players casting them and it feels bad for them if
they just get a “No Effect” or a shrug from the NPC.
9.
Finally, I would like to stress that many of
these can be overruled by an event holder so that they can try and better tell
their story. Unless they are asking you to break a safety rule, it is their
decision if they want you to fight at full ability or backstab without warning.
Just make sure they are the ones giving you that call, and you are not taking
that liberty upon yourself.