Attitude Trackers For Complex and Realistic NPCs
Attitude Trackers For Complex and Realistic NPCs
Attitude Trackers For Complex and Realistic NPCs
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Introduction
What is This?
There are many ways of making characters “feel How, and to what extent, you apply these concepts
real” in a tabletop roleplaying game. in your gaming group is really a function of the
style of gaming your group enjoys, and the goals
Experienced game masters (GMs) can use
the GM and players have in gaming to begin with.
improvisation to bring life to even the most
Hack-and-slash groups need not even consider this
common NPC. But some GMs, some gaming groups,
sort of formalized approach; groups whose main
might not be good at improv, or may wish to have a
focus is on storytelling and character might benefit
slightly more formalized, thought-out-in-advance
from this sort of tool.
approach to breathing life into NPCs.
This approach is provided free of charge, for two
This document introduces an approach to character
reasons. First, I genuinely feel that this is a useful,
interaction that may help gaming groups of all
interesting alternative to other methods, and it’s
manner. It provides tools for tracking and
worked really well for me over the decades as a GM
managing NPCs and suggesting reactions.
myself.
Although it’s a concept that was developed for use
Second, as a means of introducing GMs and players
with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the
alike to the concept, since it’s used heavily
concepts and tools described here are mostly
throughout all Infinium Game Studio RPG
abstract. Except for explicit skill checks, for
products.
example, nearly all of the tools herein can be
applied to a roleplaying game of any system and Enjoy!
nature.
Attitude Trackers
You can have a great deal of fun at either end of the
Crunch and Fluff spectrum, or anywhere in between! This document
attempts to describe a set of tools that will make it
“Crunch” is a term commonly used to refer to the
easier for GMs to elaborate a great deal of fluff.
dozens of statistics that describe a creature from
the standpoint of raw game mechanics. Although
there is a great deal of flexibility in these stat
Attitude Tracker
blocks being used to convey flavor, demeanor,
Each NPC in your adventure or campaign setting
behavior, and personality, such “softer” yet still
can be given an Attitude Tracker. This is meant to
important game elements are often referred to as
represent an NPC’s current Attitude toward the
“fluff”.
party.
Each GM and player has their own relationship to
Pathfinder uses the five classifications of Hostile,
these game elements, and preferences as to their
Unfriendly, Indifferent, Friendly, and Helpful;
balance in gameplay. Some groups live by crunch,
this adventure introduces a bit more detail into the
and largely ignore fluff; adventures tend to be little equation. The Tracker provided below uses these
more than an organized dungeon crawl, and classifications; for use with another roleplaying
min/maxing your PC’s character options and game system, you can adapt these gradations to
equipment is commonplace. Other groups focus those used by your game.
solely on storytelling, and use game mechanics only
An example of an Attitude Tracker is shown below.
when it’s necessary to introduce a bit of
The GM is encouraged to use pencil to mark the
randomness to the proceedings.
current and changing Attitude of each NPC as the
game progresses.
example: “Each Time the Party Slays a Giant Rat on her means the ensuing conversation would take
the Property: +1”. place with her being Friendly.
Others have maximum effect caps. In the example Modifiers that would take an NPC’s Attitude Value
“Making a Purchase (+1 per 50 gp spent, max 5)”, above 29, or below 1, have no effect.
the NPC in question will grow more fond of the
party the more they buy… but this caps out at +5 Default Attitude Modifiers
for 250 gp spent. The party is of course welcome
to spend more money than that, but it will have no The following is a suggested set of “default”
further effect in terms of the NPC’s Attitude. Attitude Modifiers that would reasonably apply to
most NPCs. A given NPC may have higher or lower
Attitude Modifiers that cause an NPC’s Attitude to specific values of Effect for a given modifier; as
shift to the range for a different classification take well, one or more of these modifiers may simply
immediate effect as it applies to Diplomacy rolls not apply to a certain NPC.
and the like. For example, if an NPC’s Attitude
Value is 18 (Indifferent), and speaking with her The GM is encouraged to use these as a starting
grants +1, this would bump her up from point only for NPCs in your adventures.
Indifferent to Friendly. So, starting a chat with
Type Condition Effect Notes
Action NPC joins party for any +5 Does not stack with subsequent iterations of
length of time itself (maximum effect +5 no matter how many
times NPC joins party)
Action NPC witnesses the PCs -5 Assumes the crime does not involve the NPC;
commit a crime stacks with other modifiers that involve crimes
against the NPC; does not stack with other
“witnesses crime” modifiers
Action NPC witnesses the PCs -10 Assumes the crime does not involve the NPC;
commit murder stacks with other modifiers that involve crimes
against the NPC; does not stack with other
“witnesses crime” modifiers
Action NPC witnesses the PCs -5 Assumes the crime does not involve the NPC;
commit murder in self- stacks with other modifiers that involve crimes
defense against the NPC; does not stack with other
“witnesses crime” modifiers
Action NPC witnesses the PCs +10 Does not stack with other “witness” modifiers
defend a bystander or
innocent against violence
Action PCs agree to help when +4 Per request; maximum +12
asked
Action PCs attack with -10 Does not stack with other attack-based modifiers
provocation
Action PCs attack without -15 Does not stack with other attack-based modifiers
provocation
Action PCs defend this NPC +15 Does not stack with other “witness” modifiers
against violence
Action PCs heal or “boon” NPC +5 Per healing spell/potion/skill check or beneficial
spell or effect; maximum +15
Action PCs refuse to help when -3 Per request; no maximum
asked
Conclusion
Hopefully, these tools are helpful considerations
for your gaming group. If you choose to use them
as-is, may they serve you well. Other GMs may use
them merely as inspiration for their own methods
of fleshing out NPCs.
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