jrh18
December 14th, 2017, 15:31
Has anyone created a module like DOE's organizations and locations modules that supports recurring NPCs separate from the NPCs area?
As I develop a story I quickly run into the problem of organizing recurring NPCs. NPCs to me are individuals in the game that players have talked to and could reappear later. Blacksmiths, bell hops, tavern owners, villians, etc. They can be monsters from a monster manual, or a NPC created the same as a player character is created. Right now I see two options for creating these individuals.
Adding them to the Player characters area. This is not ideal because the players are not searchable or sortable, furthermore it confuses the individual with the actual players in the game.
Adding them to the NPC list. This is not ideal because NPCs do not have all of the same options as a PC. You can't upgrade them other than just adding to their stats block. The NPCs are not searchable in a way that is useful for recurring NPCs. You can't search by location they are in, what organization they are affiliated with, etc. Couple this with the fact that if you have multiple module that add example monsters you could have thousands of entries here.
What I am thinking is that either NPCs need to be separated into recurring NPCs and NPC templates or Monsters as part of the core product, or a module like DOE's locations and organizations needs to be created that allows for recurring characters. I created and idea https://fg2app.idea.informer.com/proj/?ia=115381 to add a separation from what I consider Monster templates (currently called NPCs). And I am wondering if I should try to work on something like DOE's locations for this idea (not sure I have the right skill set to do that).
What do others think of this idea? Do you have a different way of managing NPCs? I have read some threads where people keep a google spreadsheet of NPCs with basic information. That feels like a fine solution, but requires multiple programs running and switching between tabs in the middle of the game to remind you of people. It also limits what information you can add about an NPC.
I would also love to be able to use things like Xanathar's list of names to auto create NPCs from a monster templates pulling from another table. I think it could really help DMs quickly add names to random NPCs in a game when players just start talking to random people.
As I develop a story I quickly run into the problem of organizing recurring NPCs. NPCs to me are individuals in the game that players have talked to and could reappear later. Blacksmiths, bell hops, tavern owners, villians, etc. They can be monsters from a monster manual, or a NPC created the same as a player character is created. Right now I see two options for creating these individuals.
Adding them to the Player characters area. This is not ideal because the players are not searchable or sortable, furthermore it confuses the individual with the actual players in the game.
Adding them to the NPC list. This is not ideal because NPCs do not have all of the same options as a PC. You can't upgrade them other than just adding to their stats block. The NPCs are not searchable in a way that is useful for recurring NPCs. You can't search by location they are in, what organization they are affiliated with, etc. Couple this with the fact that if you have multiple module that add example monsters you could have thousands of entries here.
What I am thinking is that either NPCs need to be separated into recurring NPCs and NPC templates or Monsters as part of the core product, or a module like DOE's locations and organizations needs to be created that allows for recurring characters. I created and idea https://fg2app.idea.informer.com/proj/?ia=115381 to add a separation from what I consider Monster templates (currently called NPCs). And I am wondering if I should try to work on something like DOE's locations for this idea (not sure I have the right skill set to do that).
What do others think of this idea? Do you have a different way of managing NPCs? I have read some threads where people keep a google spreadsheet of NPCs with basic information. That feels like a fine solution, but requires multiple programs running and switching between tabs in the middle of the game to remind you of people. It also limits what information you can add about an NPC.
I would also love to be able to use things like Xanathar's list of names to auto create NPCs from a monster templates pulling from another table. I think it could really help DMs quickly add names to random NPCs in a game when players just start talking to random people.