How to run a KUP game #10 - Non-player characters
The focus of this post is how NPCs have their in-game relevance. These characters not only enrich the adventures of the PCs, but also help to define and give a sense of plausibility to the whole setting. For this reason, NPCs are not to be considered as disposable elements (you need one then you create it just for this situation), but to give life to a dynamic context in which the PCs move. This means that an NPC does not remain motionless in the state in which the PCs meet him (like in early RPG videogames) but acts with the context in which he lives and can even be the instigator of certain situations: a concrete example is a recent episode in which the PCs decided to poison the trained dogs of an NPC who was threatening a village. This was done without the NPC knowing that the PCs had arrived in the village, and it provoked such a reaction from the NPC that it endangered the lives of the villagers. In order to give the non-player characters the depth they deserve, the Personæ supplement will be revised; this supplement is specifically designed to keep track of all the NPCs encountered during the game, who may return later to have iterations with the PCs. This does not mean that every NPC must always have a precise and peculiar definition for each of the items listed below; a specific description is only necessary for the really special aspects: for example, if the NPC has no special affections, it is not necessary to fill in this detail. This approach applies to the NPC definition activity whether the GM uses Personæ or not.
Appearance: the appearance of the NPC can be described, in particular any distinguishing features such as scars, unusual color of eye or hair, or other peculiarities.
Social Class: social class can be defined as a standard input (i.e. without any peculiarities) or as a case that emerges from the context in which the character is acting, e.g. a fallen nobleman who has lost all his possessions but not his gestures and education.
Place of origin: the same reasoning as for social class applies to the place of origin; it can be mentioned as a detail without any particular added value, or it can be considered as a distinguishing feature.
Purpose: an NPC does not necessarily have to have a reason that motivates him, in many cases it can be a trivial motivation (i.e. earning money to survive); in these cases it is not necessary to specify this in the NPC's profile, but if the purpose is characteristic, this aspect is a detail that adds great depth to the character.
Personality: a description of the personality is always useful, whether it is simple or complex.
Affections: like for purpose, it is not necessary for the NPC to have deep affections or troubled sentimental histories; the GM is free to create these histories to enrich the context of interpersonal relationships with NPCs.
Occupation (present and past): this detail is given in order to place the NPC in the game world; the character's occupation may be of various utility or interest; in this sense, utility also applies to past occupations.
Interests: as with purpose, this detail does not necessarily have to be explicit and interesting for the purposes of the game; it is possible to have NPCs with strong personal interests as well as NPCs with weak interests that add no value.
Traits and quirks: again, mentioning certain aspects of the NPC is valid if they have some relevance, otherwise these aspects can be left out, as with the other items described above.