How do you play NPC's in battle ?

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tmbn
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How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by tmbn »

Usually my player group have about 4-5 NPC's in their group and on important battles I do some dice roll on them. But when the player group battle 10 Orc's I usually dont want to waste time rolling on all the NPC's. So I have some % rolls to see if they win their match or not. Most of the time it seems to take too much time to roll on NPC so they are sometimes "ignored" doing it the easy way. But I want to try to make some kind of rolling system to easily be able to roll them to. Also that system should handle their + in Strike, Parry and Damage

Do you have any tips on how to easily handle your NPC's in battle without not being to time consuming ? I would very much like to hear how you handle, as a GM, handle this.

Thanks!
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Alrik Vas »

I roll everything for all NPCs in combat as per the rules. Yes it can take a long time, but narration in reporting results as they happen tends to be entertaining enough that people aren't spending the whole time on their phones playing video games...

...any more than normal...
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

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Alrik Vas wrote:I roll everything for all NPCs in combat as per the rules. Yes it can take a long time, but narration in reporting results as they happen tends to be entertaining enough that people aren't spending the whole time on their phones playing video games...

...any more than normal...

If its a smaller number of npc's I will have specific coloured dice for npcs and their opponents and roll them all at once.

If its a large group I use my mass combat rules and only roll it out properly where the players are.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Alrik Vas »

What is the minimum number you need to use your mass combat rules?

I've run combat with around 40 characters between allies and enemies. Though the most allied NPC's I will include in rolling is 5 unless the situation specifically requires more (like they're part of a unit with a certain number, but there are only 3 PCs for instance).
Mark Hall wrote:Y'all seem to assume that Palladium books are written with the same exacting precision with which they are analyzed. I think that is... ambitious.

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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by kiralon »

Alrik Vas wrote:What is the minimum number you need to use your mass combat rules?

Mostly depends on the situation, if there are multiple similar groups fighting ill use the mass combat, if there are more then 30 odd combatants ill tend to use it as well, but I mostly design my encounters to either be one or the other.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Alrik Vas »

Makes sense. Though I don't roll for any combats where the PCs aren't actually present (unless the NPC's involved are super important and one of them dying can affect the story or the disposition of the players). What I mean is, say they're defending a castle and the PCs are on one wall and their NPC allies are on another. I generally wouldn't do more than just make a check to see how it was going unless the PCs went over there.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by The Dark Elf »

Ok, so firstly - do you NEED all those NPCs?? totally up to you and your style, no wrong answers. But-

I try to have minimal NPCs, usually just one or none. If Ive more than that at any time it wont be for long. I try to focus on the players and not take time away playing NPCs against NPCs. My advice is to do the same - youve enough to be focusing on wit the enemy and the other players...

When in battle for any NPC teammates or a player that hasnt turned up that session I usually throw in an extra 1 on 1 bad guy for them to fight away from the crowd so again, I can focus on the players and their characters and their fun. then after they win(?) I'll usually say "the NPC defeats his enemy too and rejoins you..." or similar.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Alrik Vas »

Managing NPCs can be a chore, but it isn't a waste of time. There have been, and continue to be, NPC allies in games I've run that the PCs are all about. They cheer when the NPC does something awesome, they go the extra mile to save them from bad situations. They treat the NPCs like they treat each other, because they're all characters.

I don't take away from what my players do, they're always the center of the action. Doesn't mean they can't have friends along with them just because they're controlled by the GM.

That's my take, anyway.
Mark Hall wrote:Y'all seem to assume that Palladium books are written with the same exacting precision with which they are analyzed. I think that is... ambitious.

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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Stone Gargoyle »

I play them all individually. It's more work, but it's worth it to me and my players. It's not just about the combat rolls either.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Misfit KotLD »

I give my players abbreviated sheets for some NPCs, particularly those attached to their PCs. This usually allows me to focus on the villains while the PCs have more investment in staying awake through the battle.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Whiskeyjack »

If there are only a couple of NPCs I play them as a character through the combat. Any more than that I tend to have a preconceived idea of what they are doing and the end result. I'll allow openings for the PCs to intervene if they are close enough.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

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I take NPC abilities into account, and whether or not I need them to survive for story purposes, then I narrate their actions without rolling any dice. It adds a little color to a scene without increasing the amount of information I need to keep track of.
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Re: How do you play NPC's in battle ?

Unread post by Goliath Strongarm »

I'm going to break this down into a few different things, and address them point by point...

tmbn wrote:Usually my player group have about 4-5 NPC's in their group


Why so many? NPCs in the party should only be there for one (or preferably more) of the following reasons-
1) There's a "empty spot"- there is no PC mage, sneaker, warrior, healer... so, you need an NPC to round out the party.
2) REALLY small (like 2 or 3) player group... Even then, if it's experienced players, I've found having them run 2 characters each is better than me running multiple party-NPCs
3) It's a plot element- such as escorting an NPC noble, or scholar, or something like that

As a GM, you have 1,000,000 NPCs to run- you have the entire WORLD to run... you don't need to be running stuff for the party as well, if it can be avoided. You'll end up missing things, or forgetting things, or get something mixed into the wrong spot, or.. you get the idea.



tmbn wrote:But when the player group battle 10 Orc's I usually dont want to waste time rolling on all the NPC's.


If the PCs are just there to be flavor, then, depending on OCC, you can fully justify something like them hiding, cowering, etc. Scholar? Hides. Noble? In the back, barking out useless orders, while making sure he doesn't have to fight.

If they are part of the group? Then they should NEED to be there, and then them rolling and fighting should be included just as much as any other character.

If they don't NEED to be there, but are plot/story elements, and they are of an OCC that can't justify holding back for some reason, then, see below.

tmbn wrote:Do you have any tips on how to easily handle your NPC's in battle without not being to time consuming ? I would very much like to hear how you handle, as a GM, handle this.


Fighter types-
attacks: 2 +1/4 levels.
Strike/Parry/dodge: 1+1every odd level, additional +1 at levels 4, 8, 12
Damage: +2, +1 at 4, 7, 11, 14
SDC: call it 15-25, average 20
HP: call is 10+ 4*level


Caster types-
Attacks: 2+1/5 levels.
S/P/D: 1+1 every third level.
SDC: call it 10-20, average 15
HP: 7+ 3*level
But the important thing is the spells... and no, there's not really a "quick" guide for that.... there's little stuff to do, but, really, it's an individual GM flavor thing... my best guidance on it is to make a "theme", build a spell list around it, and every time you need someone for that, use that list... eventually, you'll end up like me, and have about 100 lists, for different themes and levels..


Prayers, Miracles, ect-
You have to play by ear, or actually play as written...

BTW, the bonuses above work as a quick rule of thumb for friendlies or enemies.. the only thing to consider is racial modifiers (the above is for humans).

Hope all that helps
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