Kingmaker 2e Companion NPCs

[Stargrove]

I have been going through the AP and I am curious how to integrate the NPCs in with the main party during play. I have four players but I can see that as they gather more companion NPCs throughout the AP that they will want some to accompany them as the need arises for more difficult missions or for NPC personal quests. I see there are only a few of the NPCs were created as creatures in the Bestiary that is part of the Companion Guide.


My question here is, am I going to need to create all the companions as Characters so they can be added to the party? if not, how should I handle this?

If I do create characters for the NPCs, I can see needing to level them all up as the game goes on as well since I will never know when they might be called upon to help out.

[Macgreine]

They have a companion guide available in the list of modules. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.php?id=PZOSMWPZO2023FG
Maybe this will help?

[Stargrove]

That is the book (Companion Guide) I have been looking through and it does not have the NPCs that can be used as characters.

[Darmok]

Anyone able to find the answer?

[UltimateGM]

I created them as characters versus NPCs. It makes them easier to level in my opinion. I add the NPC's at various points in my story. I might have them held hostage by a group or monsters but really you can introduce them as you see fit. You just cant run their side quest until the PCs reach a certain level. They made it so it is more sandbox oriented and allows GMs to do as they wish.

As far as level goes you can level them to meet whatever level your PCs are at. So if you introduce one when you're group is 8th level you can increase the NPCs level. They make great companions, Kingdom fill ins for whatever roles your players are missing, as well as new adventurers that your players can use in the event a players character is killed. Hope this helps!

[Stargrove]

Anyone able to find the answer?

Never really got one.

I have decided to create an the companions as Characters so I can use them throughout the AP. I have used the Companion Guide as reference and built a few of them in Pathbuilder2e up to the max level they show in the Companion Guide. The guide only shows the NPCs at first and again at the level they should be at for their companion quests. So, even if they are/were in the FGU module that way, there would be no way to effectively use them at all the other levels.

The book is really good at listing what feats they get for each category and most of them lined up quite well in Pathbuilder2e. Once I have them all built I will just add them into FGU and level them up as my players level up. At least then automations that are in the ruleset will work and I will have less to build like I would have if I had created NPC records for them. I don't even think you can level up an NPC, so I would have had to build a seperate record for each character and at each level. No thanks.

[UltimateGM]

I would have if I had created NPC records for them. I don't even think you can level up an NPC, so I would have had to build a seperate record for each character and at each level. No thanks.

And that is what made me create them as PCs rather than NPCs. Just seemed like too much work.

[Stargrove]

I have created a grid to track Companion Influence if anyone wants it.56735

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56735&d=1676864253

I just made it an image record, added an invisible grid to it, and placed letter tokens starting them all at 0 so I can keep better track.

[Darmok]

Thank you for the fast response!

[Darmok]

Thanks Stargrove! I wasn't sure if they had been Prebuilt and ready to drop into FGU and I was just missing something. However, based on yours and UltimateGM's response it doesn't appear that they were. It makes total sense to build them as PC vs NPC for the all the reasons you listed and TBT it'll be nice to have them as PC's as we move from adventure to adventure. Thanks again!!

[Stargrove]

Do you use Pathbuilder 2e (https://pathbuilder2e.com/app.html)? It is only $5 to get access to all the Paizo source material for making characters. Pathbuilder 2e is what my players and I use to make and keep track of our characters. As they level up we first do that in Pathbuilder2e and then put that info into FGU.

I have been working on creating all the NPCs at least up to the level they are in the companion guide. So, far they line up quite well since it seems Paizo followed their own rules when making the NPCs. The only things you don't really know with each intervening level is exactly which feat was chosen at which level...so some of those choices are on you to make. There are a few NPCs that don't have any stats (Harrim, Jaethal, Kalikke & Kanerah, Octavia, and Regongar) and so I have had to improvise with them. Once I have them in Pathbuilder2e I have been adding them into FGU for my campaign.

One of the great things about Pathbuilder 2e is that you can plan out a character all the way up to level 20 (or what ever level you want). You first just set the characters level to 10, make all your selections, and then set the character level back to 1 and it will take out all the higher level stuff.


Here is an example for Amiri: https://pathbuilder2e.com/launch.html?build=364330. She is actually built out to level 11 in Pathbuilder 2e already but starting at level 1.


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