Nothing purpose-built for that task, but I like to use the Osho Zen Tarot deck for NPCs. It's a non-traditional deck that has lovely imagery and titles like innocence, flowering, patience, suppression, etc. Generally a set of words that go well toward describing people you encounter.
Todd Zircher Interesting that you mentioned this. I just bought a set online yesterday because I thought Tarot or Oracle cards would make good "oracles" for solo rpgs :P
As far as stress tracks, since that sounds FATE-y, I'll Bettlegeuse Kenneth Norris upon this thread, since he might have cooked something up along the lines you're thinking.
Finally, one system I've seen used to great effect, but that has never been mentioned 'round these parts is Pendragon and its Passion traits.
In Pendragon, you can use your passions to inspire you with a bonus (such as in an entire combat), but if you fail you can do crazy stuff stuff like run into the forest and become a hermit unless you can somehow snap out of it (if you've ever read the Arthurian stories or have seen the movie Excalibur, this is the mechanic for that). Some people don't like that because it takes away from the player's control of their PC, but IMO it would be a great mechanic for solo rpgs.
Yeah, that's how I saw it being used, and it was actually a solo game. Wish I had the link to it on RPGNet. The player kept rolling against the passions to see which way the PC would go, but it would be awesome for NPCs I think.
I got the note Alex Yari . As for Stress Tracks I would keep them simple. It might be interesting to try for a 2 sided track. Generous vs. Greed for example.
A Miser might be high in Greed and would need to succed a Generous check to give money for their neighbour who's hit hard times.
Different bonuses / penalties could come into effect like Good Mood, Friend, and the like. I would keep the bonuses to non-trait items unless there is a good reason for them to be there. Empthay vs. Aloofness could affect the Generous vs. Greed traits.
I might steal from myself and expand upon this idea for my blog's NPC season.
The opposed traits add to 20. Anything that is rated 15 or less is non controlling and you basically do not need to roll to act as you wish, though you might gain a 'check' on that trait.. 16 and above you would need a failed roll against that trait to act the opposite. Interesting.
Nothing purpose-built for that task, but I like to use the Osho Zen Tarot deck for NPCs. It's a non-traditional deck that has lovely imagery and titles like innocence, flowering, patience, suppression, etc. Generally a set of words that go well toward describing people you encounter.
ReplyDeleteTodd Zircher Interesting that you mentioned this. I just bought a set online yesterday because I thought Tarot or Oracle cards would make good "oracles" for solo rpgs :P
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like a lot of Moebius Adventure's products. Things like adding appearance is pretty cool too.
ReplyDeleteJames Smith what is UNE?
ReplyDeleteZach Best let us know when it's online!
I was rather thinking of personality traits, beliefs and stress tracks that could be used to gauge what an NPC would do in a certain situation.
UNE is the Universal NPC Emulator. It's available at:http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/92029/une-universal-npc-emulator although Zach Best may be putting a newer version up on drivethrurpg.
ReplyDeleteI think UNE's got you covered on beliefs and personality traits. You could also check out this method that +John Fiore devised: http://www.gnomestew.com/tools-for-gms/quick-npc-backstories-with-rorys-story-cubes/
ReplyDeleteAs far as stress tracks, since that sounds FATE-y, I'll Bettlegeuse Kenneth Norris upon this thread, since he might have cooked something up along the lines you're thinking.
Finally, one system I've seen used to great effect, but that has never been mentioned 'round these parts is Pendragon and its Passion traits.
Thanks I'll check Pendragon! I also seem to remember something from an old D&D Gazeteer..
ReplyDeleteIn Pendragon, you can use your passions to inspire you with a bonus (such as in an entire combat), but if you fail you can do crazy stuff stuff like run into the forest and become a hermit unless you can somehow snap out of it (if you've ever read the Arthurian stories or have seen the movie Excalibur, this is the mechanic for that). Some people don't like that because it takes away from the player's control of their PC, but IMO it would be a great mechanic for solo rpgs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's how I saw it being used, and it was actually a solo game. Wish I had the link to it on RPGNet. The player kept rolling against the passions to see which way the PC would go, but it would be awesome for NPCs I think.
ReplyDeleteI got the note Alex Yari . As for Stress Tracks I would keep them simple. It might be interesting to try for a 2 sided track. Generous vs. Greed for example.
ReplyDeleteA Miser might be high in Greed and would need to succed a Generous check to give money for their neighbour who's hit hard times.
Different bonuses / penalties could come into effect like Good Mood, Friend, and the like. I would keep the bonuses to non-trait items unless there is a good reason for them to be there. Empthay vs. Aloofness could affect the Generous vs. Greed traits.
I might steal from myself and expand upon this idea for my blog's NPC season.
Kenneth Norris Yes, I was thinking about those lines! Does Pendragon work like that?
ReplyDeleteI was imagining stress tracks to act as contextual modifiers to a number of Traits (Generous <--> Greed)
One more link explaining traits: http://www.thekeep.org/cgi/amber?action=browse&id=Pendragon/TraitsAndPassions&revision=10
ReplyDeleteThe opposed traits add to 20. Anything that is rated 15 or less is non controlling and you basically do not need to roll to act as you wish, though you might gain a 'check' on that trait.. 16 and above you would need a failed roll against that trait to act the opposite. Interesting.
Excellent Zach Best perhaps you should also create a separate post so more people see it.
ReplyDelete