Is it possible to create an NPC that can be used by multiple players?

[HavocSmurf]

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

If you are a player in DM Havoc's 'Bards Tale' campaign, you probably want to ditch out of this thread so that you don't reveal some possible end game surprises! You have been warned ( and begged not to read this )

[Trenloe]

1) Yes. With the usual sharing of NPC limitations. e.g. no players can edit the NPC, just "use" it.
2) There may be further limitations depending on the ruleset you're using.

[HavocSmurf]

Onto my question. Is it possible to create an NPC that players can use to perform rolls and actions? My scenario is this:

I'm planning a pirate ship chase scene. The PC's are passengers on board a vessel that gets attacked by pirates. Knowing that there are many places on the ship that the players can man, such as crows nest lookout for obstactles, manning the wheel if the NPC sailor get's eliminated, trimming sails and rigging, working catapults and ballista's, etc. It was my thought to create two NPC's ( the two ships) and have the players take control of one, that way I can create some Actions and rollable checks and keep track of the ships HP's etc as they attempt to outmaneuver and fight each other. I thought it would be way cooler if the players could each roll some of the ships Actions each round, instead of doing generic checks off their character sheets.

Alternately, I may be able to create a PC 'ship' for the same effect, but can multiple players access the character sheet for rolls at the same time?

Anyone ever try something like this, is it doable?

[HavocSmurf]

Hey Trenloe, I'm using 5E as the ruleset.

Would I 'share' the NPC like I would an image or map file? How does it work?

[Trenloe]

Would I 'share' the NPC like I would an image or map file? How does it work?
There are quite a few threads around that discuss this. Basic steps:

Put the NPC on the combat tracker.
Change their faction to friendly (green helmet).
Drag the link from the Combat Tracker to each individual PC portrait on the desktop. This will share the NPC with the owner of that PC.
Put the NPC token on the map. This helps the players to re-open the NPC sheet (if they close it) by double-clicking on the token on the map.

[HavocSmurf]

Awesome, thanks for the info. Just did some testing with my kid, and it works as advertised! This is going to be awesome.

[dragonheels]

There are quite a few threads around that discuss this. Basic steps:

Put the NPC on the combat tracker.
Change their faction to friendly (green helmet).
Drag the link from the Combat Tracker to each individual PC portrait on the desktop. This will share the NPC with the owner of that PC.
Put the NPC token on the map. This helps the players to re-open the NPC sheet (if they close it) by double-clicking on the token on the map.


I didn't know this one. I've just tried with the new Cthulhu ruleset and it works !
I thought it was only possible in the Savage Worlds ruleset, in which there are an 'ally' space on the character sheet.
Thanks for the tip !

[wthrasherb]

totally found an old thread about this first and asked if there was a way to do this... oh well :)

[Trenloe]

totally found an old thread about this first and asked if there was a way to do this... oh well :)
It can be done. The steps required are in post #5 above, and more info here (with a video): https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?37573-How-do-I-give-players-control-of-NPCs&p=330233&viewfull=1#post330233

[Knuckleball Ned]

So, there is no way to allow the players to edit NPC's in campaign? Our campaigns tend to get large, with players gaining several henchmen each. The main reason we switched from pen & paper to VTT was to help facilitate these long, drawn-out battles with 30+ combatants on each side. I've figured out how to share the NPC's with the players so they can make dice rolls for them. But, when it's time to divide up loot, i have to personally add items to their NPC cards, not to mention tallying XP. So, after every battle, i have to add new equipment and XP to 30+ NPC's instead of 5-8 players dividing that job up and speeding up play. Then after the session, i have to export a module to each of the players with their respective NPC's so they can spend XP for them. And re-adding the NPC's back to the campaign with another module when the players are done with record keeping.

Also, i run 2 parallel campaigns with separate players within the same world using a shared NPC module. So in order to transfer NPC's that have changes made to them between campaigns, i have to make copies of the edited NPC's in order to transfer them easily from campaign to campaign without having to drag each one to the Export page. When i make a copy FG adds "(copy)" to the name of the NPC. Despite editing out this 'copy' manually, it reappears in the NPC name in the next campaign when i load the transferred module. After 2 transfers (back and forth) the name may read "Roland (copy) (copy). This seemed like a recent change. Anyway to fix this?

[Zacchaeus]

If you are wanting to level up, give out XP etc then create the Henchmen as PCs.

[damned]

Agree with Zacchaeus

If they are sticking around and evolving and they are controlled by the players then they are Player Characters and you should set them up as such.
Copy is appended because there was no way of knowing what was the original when duping entries. It cant be fixed as such. I personally prefer the old way but both have advantages and disadvantages.
You can definitely remove the (Copy) while you are editing other things.

[Knuckleball Ned]

How much room does 30+ portraits take up on my screen? Space is already limited unfortunately.

[damned]

How much room does 30+ portraits take up on my screen? Space is already limited unfortunately.

Dont know. Its not the type of game I run.
Players can only edit database records that they own and they cant own NPCs.

Some suggestions for you - feel free to disregard them - you will have a much better idea if they will work or if they will help or if they suit what you want from your games:

1. Use PCs for the important ones. Dont worry about leveling all the NPCs or just level some of them or just level them in basic ways.
2. Continue using NPCs and try to reduce the detail.
3. Change the game to use less NPCs.

None of those are the answer you seek... sorry.

[LordEntrails]

If you make all changes to the NPCs in a third camapign (the module development campaign) and only update them there, then you can re-export the module as needed and the NPCs will update in both play campaigns.

Again, not what you are hoping for, but it might be something you prefer to the current method. Though normally I would suggest they be created as PC's instead, you would then have to export/import back and forth and you get the portrait issue. Also, you can put windows over the top of the pportraits, so imo it doesn't really matter how many are there.

[Trenloe]

@Knuckleball Ned - I haven't seen you mention which RPG system you're using (unless I've missed it somewhere). Depending which RPG system you're using, there may not be a clear process for levelling up NPCs - D&D 5E, for example, doesn't really have this as NPCs aren't created with the same rules as PCs (whereas D&D 3.5E did do this). So, depending on the system you're running, it may be better to use PCs anyway - if you really want to track XP, more easily level up, give players control, etc.. The downside, as you've stated, is that you'd see a lot of portraits on the desktop and it may be difficult for you to access the portrait actions of the base PCs. I think you have to try this for yourself and see which approach works best for you.

[Valarian]

You can create a PC character sheet for the NPC (editable by the owner and can be treated as part of the party) instead of sharing an NPC sheet (which is read-only). A player can switch between their character and the NPC with a right-click of the portrait. The GM can clear the owner of the NPC sheet if another player needs to take control of the NPC for a session. I've used this approach for retainers on occasion.