CREATING NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
In a STAR FRONTIERS adventure, any character played by the referee and not controlled by a player is called a non-player character or NPC. Non-player characters are the opponents, friends, sources of information and randomly encountered characters in an adventure. Once the referee has outlined the adventure, he must create the NPCs. Non-player characters can be any of the four major races, or an intelligent alien being.
If an NPC has a major role in the adventure, the referee should design him carefully, giving him all of his ability scores as well as a personality and temperament. Minor NPCs do not need to be as detailed. The following step-by-step method can be used to create either type of NPC.
What is already known about the NPC?
You already know some things about a character that will help determine what other information is needed to use the NPC. You know the character's purpose in the adventure --- to fight the player characters, to help them or to annoy them. You also know how the characterwill actwhen encountered. You should knowthe character's race. A character's race will alter his abilities, give him special abilities and affect the way he reacts.
Why does the NPC act the way he does?
NPCs always should have a reason to do the things they do. A guard stops intruders because that is his job. A criminal tries to avoid police because they will put him in jail. Townspeople want to be left alone because they feel threatened by strangers.
An NPC's motive should be closely related to his purpose in the adventure. Sathar NPCs usually are used as enemies that must be fought, so their actions will be based on their hatred for the other races. More complex motives add interest and mysteryto a character; a man might have become a pirate to find his kidnaped sister and get revenge, and he may be willing to help the player characters.
How will the NPC react to the player characters?
An NPC's reaction to player characters can be based on his purpose in the adventure and his motives. The referee should decide beforehand how major NPCs will react. He can use the rules for random NPC reactions described under NPC Reactions for minor NPCs.
What are the NPC's ability scores?
In many cases, the referee does not need to know all of an NPC's ability scores. Sometimes, none of them are needed. The only ability scores that matter in combat are Stamina, Dexterity and Initiative modifier. Logic, Personality and Leadership are almost never needed for NPCs. The referee can create these scores on the spot as they are needed. If the NPC is a major character, however, knowing all of his ability scores will help define his personality.
Average ability scores for all eight abilities and all five races are shown on the table below. These can be used to create NPCs quickly.
In many situations this question can be ignored because the NPC will not have a chance to use a skill. In combat or other situations where an NPC has a chance to use a skill, skills and levels should be assigned.
The typical colonist or clerk will have little or no skill with weapons. Police, government agents and other people who commonly carry weapons will have level 2 skill with them. Leaders will have higher skill levels or skill with several types of weapons. Only about 1 in 10 characters will have any skill with melee weapons or in martial arts. Other skills can be assigned based on the needs of the encounter. In general, though NPCs with high-level skills should be rare.
Sometimes the referee will need to decide what equipment an NPC has. This decision should be based on the NPC's job and his purpose in the adventure. For example, police need weapons and characters with special skills need toolkits. Some NPCs may have things that would be usefull to the player characters. If an NPC has a piece of equipment that uses energy, the referee should decide how much energy the item contains. This also applies to weapon ammunition and medkit drugs.
Depending on the NPC's purpose in the adventure, he might have or know something that will give the players a clue, a missing bit of information or an important piece of equipment. The referee also must decide how the player characters can get what they need from the NPC.
1. What is already known about the NPC?
2. Why does the NPC act the way he does?
3. How will the NPC react to the player characters?
4. What are the NPC's ability scores?
5. What skills does the NPC have?
6. How is the NPC equipped?
7. Does the NPC have anything the player characters need?
When player characters hire NPCs, add the levels of all of the player character's skills. Compare this to the total of all of the NPC's skill levels. If the player character does not have at least twice as many skill levels as the NPC he is hiring, he must pay 20 Cr/day extra.
The referee can create pay requirements for any other specialists he desires.
--- The first time an NPC's life is put in danger.
--- The NPC sees that his team is losing a fight or in some other dangerous situation
--- The NPC is offered a bribe that is at least twice his weekly pay.
--- The referee thinks the player characters are taking unfair advantage of the NPC.
When an NPC's loyalty must be checked, the player character that hired the NPC makes a Leadership check. This check can be modified by the size of a bribe, the danger of the immediate situation, the treatment the NPC has received from the characters and the NPC's personality. If the check is successful, the NPC remains loyal. If the check fails, the NPC will ask for more pay, refuse to follow orders, run away or quit; the referee should decide the specific action based on the situation. If the NPC's employer dies or is killed, the NPC will quit unless another character tries to rehire him.
