Episode 51

How to Make Life-Like NPC's with Robert from Dungeons, Dragons & Psychology

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. We have a great episode with Robert from Dungeons, Dragons & Psychology. Get Robert's Book Session 0!

Here are some of the questions we asked Robert:

  • Is it necessary to make your NPC’s lifelike
  • What makes a good NPC?
  • What makes a good villain?
  • What makes a good ally?
  • How do you keep track of your NPC’s?

Mentioned in this episode:

Add the Magic of Sound to Your Gameplay

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Monument Studios

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

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Transcript
lewis]:

all right to welcome back to how to be a better d m we have

lewis]:

with us robert here and well you'll hear a little bit more about him in

lewis]:

a second but first robert to help us all get warmed up what is your

lewis]:

done master avatar and kind of explain that a little bit if you had to

lewis]:

create a d and character that personifies how you d

weyland]:

a

lewis]:

m

weyland]:

oh

lewis]:

what would that character look

[robert]:

well

lewis]:

like

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

i would say it's going to have to be probably a bard

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

because i do like to be a story teller

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

in my d ming but it's also probably going to be a trickster for sure

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

because one of my very favorite

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

things to do is

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

a d m

weyland]:

yeah

lewis]:

m yeah

[robert]:

is to incorporate

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

a pretty brutal plot twist at some point so it's going to be a tricky

[robert]:

bard hopefully i would say

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

it's carismatic i at least like to look

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

in the mirror most of the time and say hey yeah you're doing pretty good

[robert]:

you know but

weyland]:

hm

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

not always not every day

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

if nothing else he at least is decent with void is

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

and he can weave an interesting story now this is the type of bard that

[robert]:

is not great on an instrument but he definitely carries them around just to make

[robert]:

people think that he could be

weyland]:

i love

lewis]:

i

weyland]:

it

lewis]:

like it i

weyland]:

it's

lewis]:

like

weyland]:

also

lewis]:

it

weyland]:

very true

lewis]:

that's

weyland]:

to

lewis]:

awesome

weyland]:

most d ms where it's like the players don't realize

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

how much we

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

don't know what we're doing

[robert]:

oh

weyland]:

but they love it regardless

[robert]:

absolutely

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

fake it till you make it is like the motto of every g

weyland]:

okay

[robert]:

m i think

weyland]:

exactly

lewis]:

yeah definitely you want to keep up that curtain and tell people don't pay attention

[robert]:

i've said

weyland]:

yeah

lewis]:

to the

[robert]:

that

lewis]:

man

[robert]:

many

lewis]:

behind

[robert]:

times

lewis]:

the curtain

[robert]:

at the table so i absolutely agree with that

lewis]:

yea

weyland]:

oh oh

lewis]:

i love it one quick follow up question on that but what would you say

lewis]:

has been one of the most brutal plot twists you've pulled

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

on your

[robert]:

so

lewis]:

players

[robert]:

i've actually talked about this recently with one of the players who was involved in

[robert]:

this game on my show and early on in a home brew game that i

[robert]:

ran that we call threads of the desert i had asked

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

one of the other players

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

to be the big bad evil guy but to play through the entire

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

game with the party

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

and we had this this one session

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

where the three party members and there like there

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

forever n p c who was traveling with them were in this room where they

[robert]:

figured it out and they figured

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

it out right at the same time

lewis]:

my

[robert]:

as he stabbed the n p c in the back and murdered her

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

and so all of a sudden

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

we went from four member party

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

to

weyland]:

uh

[robert]:

a two member party

weyland]:

uh

[robert]:

and they realized the person that they've been

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

sharing all of their plots with all of their plans with everything that they were

[robert]:

going to do to

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

bring down the big bad evil guy was now invalid and yet they still had

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

to go face him in his palace next session so

weyland]:

i love it

[robert]:

they were swearing at me a lot at the end of that

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

but

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

it ended up being probably one of our most memorable game moments ever

weyland]:

wow that that's huge

lewis]:

that

weyland]:

so

lewis]:

is

weyland]:

then

lewis]:

awesome

weyland]:

so so i'm very curious about that when you asked that player to essentially be

weyland]:

the big bad like did it take some convincing or a lot of like walking

weyland]:

throg or was he just a gun how

[robert]:

you know

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

like me he's a trickster um

weyland]:

m

[robert]:

and he was definitely in it a hundred percent and he was like well can

[robert]:

i you know can i build the character myself can i do all this and

[robert]:

i pretty much gave him like

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

blanche

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

permission to okay you're going

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

to be a twentieth level character by the time they finally face you at the

[robert]:

end you're going to have

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

two levels in divine rank we were using the three point five deities and demigod

[robert]:

so

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

you could actually build out characters that had divine rank and

weyland]:

now

[robert]:

then he took it and run with it he built it he built himself as

[robert]:

an avatar and that's what was playing with the characters

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

was his avatar

weyland]:

m

[robert]:

and

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

so then as they go to face

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

off him is he's an even more powerful version

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

of the character that had been traveling with them

weyland]:

that's awesome

lewis]:

wow that is that is super cool i bet you picked specifically him because he's

lewis]:

a trixter and that probably went very much in line with

[robert]:

you

lewis]:

what

[robert]:

need

lewis]:

you

[robert]:

a

lewis]:

look

[robert]:

trickster

lewis]:

for

[robert]:

and

lewis]:

right

[robert]:

somebody who's willing to you know stick to the story and keep a secret and

[robert]:

he's always kind of been that guy at the table who doesn't really like to

[robert]:

share too much about his character anyways

weyland]:

m

[robert]:

so it fit really well with him

lewis]:

ah

weyland]:

m so how long

lewis]:

ah

weyland]:

how many sessions

lewis]:

i love it

weyland]:

did he have to play

[robert]:

m

weyland]:

that role

[robert]:

quite

weyland]:

before

[robert]:

a while

weyland]:

was figured out

[robert]:

we we pretty much play a weekly game every week and i think it was

[robert]:

over a year into the game before the reveal

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

finally happened

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

that's that's

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

incredible

lewis]:

yahchesthat

weyland]:

love that

lewis]:

is amazing tanner do you want to ask the second warm up question and then

lewis]:

i will introduce

weyland]:

yes

lewis]:

our guest

weyland]:

um so aside from that awesome moment you just had right there do you have

lewis]:

um

weyland]:

any other favorite

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

d m moments just from your time

[robert]:

yeah for other d m moments i think one of the one of the coolest

[robert]:

things

weyland]:

okay

[robert]:

that i had done was i wrote this adventure path for my characters and it

[robert]:

was very much lowing along the lines of the pathfinder adventure paths it was like

[robert]:

a similar to a d and d moduale um

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

and i wrote this whole thing as a murder mystery um and that was like

[robert]:

probably one of the most difficult things in terms of writing because you have to

[robert]:

think about all the clues and making them

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

obvious enough that the players will move

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

on to the next clue but also

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

not so obvious that they're going to figure it out right from the very beginning

[robert]:

and having that last session of that where they finally figure out who the killer

[robert]:

was

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

and had that final confrontation was a really cool went for me just because it

[robert]:

was like oh yeah i wrote it properly and it didn't give it away before

[robert]:

the final moment and it still led them to where

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

i wanted

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

them to end up

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

the in the when i came up with the idea so seeing like that whole

[robert]:

big thing

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

come together and work out the way that i wanted it to was like a

[robert]:

really proud personal moment

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

m

weyland]:

i would be proud of that too because mysteries are so hard i have

[robert]:

oh

weyland]:

no idea how people write them

[robert]:

it

weyland]:

let

[robert]:

is

weyland]:

alone

[robert]:

definitely the hardest

weyland]:

you know

[robert]:

hardest piece of writing i've had to do as a d m just because there

[robert]:

were so many moving parts

weyland]:

yeah and unlike a writer

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

of a book where you're like oh i can go through it a few times

weyland]:

to make sure it's could as a d m you're like okay i've got this

weyland]:

idea players are going

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

to screw it up

[robert]:

hm

weyland]:

opera and with from that base line

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

and then

lewis]:

m

weyland]:

yeah get on you snap

lewis]:

that's really interesting being a d m is kind of this balancing act because on

lewis]:

one hand it's writing but on the other hand it's experiential well it's like experienced

[robert]:

right

lewis]:

curation i guess it's it's similar to like event planning and that you know you

lewis]:

plan certain things but some things might go off without a hitch of other things

lewis]:

might go one

[robert]:

that's

lewis]:

way or

[robert]:

a good

lewis]:

the other

[robert]:

way to

lewis]:

so

[robert]:

look at it as

lewis]:

that that's really interesting

[robert]:

an event

lewis]:

and actually

[robert]:

planner

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

never thought of that

[robert]:

yeah

weyland]:

like that love

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

that

lewis]:

yeah well my friend is like he was talking to me and he's like you

lewis]:

know i think i might be interested in event planning and i was like maybe

lewis]:

that's kind of how being a d m is because we're like hotel staff for

lewis]:

these

[robert]:

hm

lewis]:

players that come to our hotel and and then were like hear the activities and

lewis]:

you know maybe they don't like

[robert]:

i mean

lewis]:

it

[robert]:

i

lewis]:

or

[robert]:

guess

lewis]:

whatever

[robert]:

it's true

lewis]:

i know

[robert]:

like you're thinking about all the

lewis]:

but

[robert]:

different elements that go into what a player wants in a game and then you're

[robert]:

trying to figure out how to make all of those elements happen in

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

the same game at the same time i mean bringing all of those components together

[robert]:

so i think it's a perfect analogy

weyland]:

h

lewis]:

well

weyland]:

m

lewis]:

thank you i'll have to write it down so i can seem

[robert]:

uh

lewis]:

smart some other time when i bring it back up

[robert]:

uh

lewis]:

but thank you adventurer for coming back and listening to how to be a better

lewis]:

d m like i said we're here with robert w who is one of the

lewis]:

hosts if i understood from the dungeons dragons and psychology podcast and we are lucky

lewis]:

to have him here with us talking today about n p cs and making life

lewis]:

like p c and how that is all done and i think you brought up

lewis]:

one particular topic kind of in your first experience that you shared with us that

lewis]:

of having an forever n p c with your group and i think that's probably

lewis]:

a really good place to start because if you have a forever n p c

lewis]:

with your group they naturally have to be somewhat life

[robert]:

hm

lewis]:

like in order to feel like another member of the party because they wouldn't be

lewis]:

there if you didn't want them to have some sort of emotional connection to all

lewis]:

the players so what are some things you do

weyland]:

m

lewis]:

to really make it so forever n pss aren't just someone

[robert]:

uh

lewis]:

that the party makes fun of like

weyland]:

m

lewis]:

happens

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

sometimes and certain people's group so m not i'm not saying mine but some some

[robert]:

i

lewis]:

groups

[robert]:

think

lewis]:

out there

[robert]:

excuse me i think those are important to like the m p s that can

[robert]:

play comic relief for tense moments in game but i

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

do think one of the most important things about having good mpcsis making them name

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

you're your players come to

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

the table with back stories and ideas of what their life was before and i

[robert]:

think that's a really important piece

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

of an m p c like if they are just

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

very too dimensional maybe you have a voice for them and a place for them

[robert]:

to exist that doesn't really give your players a lot

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

of depth into

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

what that character is and it doesn't really make them that interesting to engage in

[robert]:

if they have quirks and personality traits and they have a back story and they

[robert]:

can tell you stories about their past and things that they've experienced if they feel

[robert]:

like a real person in the way that you would engage with a real person

[robert]:

that's going to be what makes them very interesting and also

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

if they have something that they something that is important to the party that they

[robert]:

provide so be it a service like it's somebody that they come to

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

for magical exchanges or even if

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

it is just a little bit of brevity

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

and they've had a hard time and like oh let's go kick it

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

with you know our good friend the bug bear down at the tavern who always

[robert]:

you know buys us around and makes us laugh around the table i think those

[robert]:

kind

lewis]:

a

[robert]:

of things are also really important to

weyland]:

yeah yeah i

[robert]:

oh

weyland]:

like that and especially

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

what you were kind of saying about they need to have something

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

to offer i haven't thought

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

about it before

lewis]:

ye

weyland]:

but even with interactions with other people to some extent there is that thing where

weyland]:

you're

[robert]:

mhm

weyland]:

you're interacting with them with the idea that oh they fit the specific role in

weyland]:

my life

[robert]:

right

weyland]:

um and if somebody just doesn't have a role that they fill

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

and most often times we don't talk with

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

those people at all right so it's like it makes it very different if you're

weyland]:

talking to an n p c who's just the guy on the side of the

weyland]:

road versus someone you're actually like oh ever time we talk with him there's a

weyland]:

chance i could get something good

[robert]:

right

weyland]:

and so it just adds a lot more energy to the conversation

[robert]:

when i'm when i'm writing an m p c i always try and think of

[robert]:

several things like what

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

is something like a speech pattern that they have or

weyland]:

ah

[robert]:

i mean not just in the way that they sound like i might give them

[robert]:

an accent but what

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

are things that they frequently say like i have one mpcveron in several games and

[robert]:

he always says well you did hear it from me

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

but and you know that's always like okay we know he's going to be our

[robert]:

our source for rumors right because he's always he's always got that little catch phrase

[robert]:

that oh you didn't hear it from me but here's what i've been hearing on

[robert]:

the streets you know and

weyland]:

xactly

[robert]:

but i

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

think things like that things that give them a little bit of

weyland]:

h

[robert]:

depth and uniqueness

weyland]:

m oh

[robert]:

and you know each of your m p c it has something that specifically them

[robert]:

they'll always stand out as though they're an individual rather than just oh it's the

[robert]:

same bartender we've always ever had every time we come into a tavern right

lewis]:

m

weyland]:

yeah

lewis]:

h a faceless bartender number two on every tavern right

[robert]:

exactly

weyland]:

well well that's great so

lewis]:

that's funny

weyland]:

here's my question though justin and i were talking about this earlier in preparation and

weyland]:

the original

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

concept for this kind of discussion

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

was okay how do you make your npcs feel like like my question was do

weyland]:

we do you feel like every n p c needs to feel life like in

weyland]:

a campaign or even just like most of them

[robert]:

i don't think that every n p c needs to feel life like but i

[robert]:

do think every important n p c needs to feel

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

life like so if they are just you know serving the character a drink it's

[robert]:

i think it's

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

perfectly fine just to be just to say oh yeah the bartender drops off your

[robert]:

drinks and sets it on your table and ask for his coin whatever you don't

[robert]:

even need to interact with him let the character be ground just like they are

[robert]:

in the movies right but think

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

of it in terms of the movies if they're giving plot if they're giving purpose

[robert]:

if they're adding to a character's back

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

story if they're if they have

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

written lines in the

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

script of the movie then yeah they need to feel like they have that moment

[robert]:

to speak they need that

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

that uniqueness so that they are actually a character

weyland]:

that's great

lewis]:

that's really insightful if i can add um the way you phrased it kind of

lewis]:

it made me kind of put myself in the play of

weyland]:

m

lewis]:

the players as if you know i go to a restaurant and the waiter sometimes

lewis]:

they come up an they're like what do you have today and then we order

lewis]:

and and then that's at other times they are super interactive

[robert]:

hm

lewis]:

and it probably based on the place they're at or other times the people i'm

lewis]:

with are very interactive with the waiter and things like that so i think one

lewis]:

thing to add to that kind of conversation is that maybe if you're struggling talking

lewis]:

to the listener here if you're struggling with figuring out how to make your p

lewis]:

cs feel life like which ones need to kind of think about your own life

lewis]:

and the interactions you have with your own plot as it were

weyland]:

oh

lewis]:

you know interact with the people at work a whole lot

[robert]:

hm

lewis]:

more versus people at rest ants are people driving on the side of the road

[robert]:

right and i think another kind of little trick that i use before i worry

[robert]:

about if i'm going to give them a voice or a cork or personality trades

[robert]:

or all this is do the players even need to remember this

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

person's name and if the answer is no then i probably don't need to put

[robert]:

that much information

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

or that much work into making that that character dynamic so i want to put

[robert]:

my energy more towards the ones that are important and do have a piece of

[robert]:

the story that's part of their back story

weyland]:

yeah exactly like i find that with one shot sessions

lewis]:

m

weyland]:

i learned the most about making enpcs because they're essentially all throw aways but you're

weyland]:

like okay at least two

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

of the people need to be memorable

[robert]:

right

weyland]:

right most often right

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

and so like the last session that i ran on saturday you know i was

weyland]:

having the same issue were as like okay do i do a weird voice

[robert]:

uh

weyland]:

or something

[robert]:

uh yeah

weyland]:

now and and for the most part i found that i didn't need to and

[robert]:

right

weyland]:

the story went well i think that there's because there's so

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

many excellent podcasts

lewis]:

ye

weyland]:

streams out there where you know these are professionals who put a lot of a

weyland]:

lot of work and every n p c feels amazing

[robert]:

yeah

weyland]:

i think that sometimes for us the more layman you know d ms or g

weyland]:

ms we we feel like we need the same it's like no you know just

weyland]:

put as much effort as you're able to and make a certain number of n

weyland]:

p c is memorable the other ones it's okay if it's filler

[robert]:

and like in in one shot game like you're talking about you're right there's only

[robert]:

really a few mpcs that really need to have that but those are going to

[robert]:

be like your quest

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

givers right or your people who are giving you hints to the plot um or

[robert]:

or a plot hook or something like that but yeah on your other point

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

like the professional voice actors like matt mercer and critical role and

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

one of the things that just constantly amazes me when i listen to that show

[robert]:

is how matt can have an entire

lewis]:

h

[robert]:

race of creatures like like when they're in their dwarf in city everyone of his

[robert]:

dwarfs sounds a little bit different than and so you can pick up like that's

[robert]:

that's incredible to not just okay here's the accident i use for dwarfs he's got

[robert]:

like twenty accents

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

that he uses for dwarfs so they still also in similar but still unique and

[robert]:

that's a very very difficult ask for a person who is not a professional voice

[robert]:

actor but at the same you can do that same kind of thing without using

[robert]:

voices just by giving them patterns of speech or catch phrases that they use that

[robert]:

are different from anyone else so as you're making your notes for you m p

[robert]:

c is instead of saying okay this can have my my typical dwarf in voice

[robert]:

that i use but they can take a lot of long pauses in between answers

[robert]:

where they can sit there and always tap their face or rub their beer you

[robert]:

know that can have something quirky about them that you don't necessarily have to know

[robert]:

twenty different darvan voices you can just have one or two different inflections and different

[robert]:

things that make them look like different characters you know is just little stuff like

[robert]:

that i think an can go a long

lewis]:

um

[robert]:

way

weyland]:

yeah

lewis]:

h one thing that might help the listeners if you're struggling thinking about some of

lewis]:

these things to add to your characters i would say the best thing is to

lewis]:

start looking at your interactions with people like it's kind of a joke between me

lewis]:

and my wife that whenever we go over to my family's house my mom and

lewis]:

my sisters always say it will be good for some reason that's just like their

lewis]:

thing

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

like when they're done talk an they're like yeah we're going to go here we're

lewis]:

gonna go do this it'll be good

[robert]:

right

lewis]:

and we kind of make fun of them for that until i started noticing in

lewis]:

my interactions with my dad i have a catch phrase apparently where he says something

lewis]:

very dadjokish and then i say oh dad

[robert]:

uh

lewis]:

and he actually loves it now because he thinks it's really funny but if or

lewis]:

an m p c that would essentially be my catch ray so i found it

lewis]:

useful to start looking at interactions with people and start seeing some of these commonalities

lewis]:

but i mean you do have to kind of step back from the conversation wild

lewis]:

present which is somewhat difficult

[robert]:

hm

lewis]:

but that might be of use

[robert]:

yeah i mean you definitely bring up a good point because in all your interactions

[robert]:

with people you find that everybody has patterns of speech and everybody has little things

[robert]:

that they say to especially in terms of like if they're feeling nervous don't know

[robert]:

what to say the kind of fall back into those habitual patterns speaking

lewis]:

ah

weyland]:

yeah exactly and

lewis]:

for

weyland]:

i think

lewis]:

sure

weyland]:

that that's

[robert]:

m

weyland]:

that's the nice thing is that if you have no experience with it don't worry

weyland]:

about accents don't worry about anything

[robert]:

hm

weyland]:

like that just worry like hey

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

treat yourself and your many

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

different facets as different people you know

[robert]:

right

weyland]:

because we're all much more real and these npcs don't need to be as real

weyland]:

as one of us

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

so we can kind of like almost take a little part ourselves and kind of

weyland]:

turned them

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

into

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

the different linguistic or other aspects of them but

lewis]:

kay

weyland]:

so i had a question i find that you know when we're talking about making

weyland]:

realistic or memorable n p cs

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

i find that they get very

lewis]:

m

weyland]:

like in terms of motivations they can feel very one to like villains can feel

weyland]:

like oh they're just they're just destroying towns because why the heck not

[robert]:

right

weyland]:

and good people are like oh i apparently

lewis]:

uh

[robert]:

okay

weyland]:

just spend every men of my day thinking about how to help people

[robert]:

right

lewis]:

h

weyland]:

you know it's like how do you

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

how do you make them not as one toned

[robert]:

so one thing that i've that i've done

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

and i mentioned this in my book as well is i like to think of

[robert]:

my heroes as though they believe that my villains as though

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

they believe they are the hero

lewis]:

h

[robert]:

our own story and i think that goes a long

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

way in flashing out a good villain because i think the best villains

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

usually in some way or another are right about what they're doing they're just probably

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

doing it in the wrong way i think you know like than

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

as from the marvel

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

world is a great example of that he's not wrong about you know the number

[robert]:

of resources being limited in the universe and people consuming them in the way that

[robert]:

humans you know kind of like ants destroyed the world that we're living on he's

[robert]:

not he's not wrong about that he's just

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

going about it in the wrong way and so i think that

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

that's a good way to flash out a villain is to have them make a

[robert]:

point that is right make their their drive something that they could see themselves

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

being heroic in doing

weyland]:

okay

[robert]:

but make it kind of obvious that if you're lacking some of the classic hero

[robert]:

traits of like empathy and understanding and concern for other people

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

you're obviously going to go about it the wrong way

lewis]:

so like two or three steps from being a hero that's like a pretty good

lewis]:

villain how do you kind of i guess the best way to say this is

lewis]:

how do you make heroes that aren't the players that like tana was saying don't

lewis]:

seem too good to show but don't also seem corrupt like how do you walk

lewis]:

that

[robert]:

i

lewis]:

balance

[robert]:

think it's just remembering that you know there's light and dark in everything and nobody

[robert]:

is like this perfect shining

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

example of goodness i think it's really one of the things i

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

like to refer back to a lot is i don't

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

know if you remember the old book of vile darkness from from dungeons and dragons

[robert]:

three point five but there's this really great image in there of

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

paladin standing over two female succubuses who are in an embrace of love and he's

[robert]:

standing over them with his sword and the caption underneath it reads something like paladin

[robert]:

must choose between honoring love and destroying evil and i think those kind of things

[robert]:

where you understand that

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

all morality is is a spectrum and that even if you

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

are a paladin it doesn't mean that you can't struggle with darkness even if you're

[robert]:

evil it doesn't mean you can't struggle with light kilo ren is a great example

[robert]:

of that he knows he's a villain and he's trying to extinguish being good from

[robert]:

himself because he thinks that villainy is the only way it's going to bring you

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

know the entire universe together in peace so i think

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

just like

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

thinking

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

of things like that where

lewis]:

ah oh

[robert]:

they're like cleverly done and you can see both the good and the evil inside

[robert]:

a person and find ways to show case that as m p c is don't

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

just make him be all like oh yeah ah i follow my goddess and i'm

[robert]:

like the perfect virtue of harmony and everything that she says i do m just

[robert]:

give them a little bit of humanity make them struggle with

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

my goddesses asking this of me or the priests are asking this of

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

me but i just don't know if it's really what i should be doing is

[robert]:

person i think that kind of thing adds a lot of depth to an n

[robert]:

p c is seeing that they struggle with their own morality

weyland]:

oh

lewis]:

if it's okay i'd like to kind of dove tail the

weyland]:

oh

lewis]:

conversation um thus far

weyland]:

ah

lewis]:

we've kind of been talking mostly about preparing pss what strategies or techniques do you

lewis]:

use when you have to essentially create

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

an m p c on the fly

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

because the group decided to go a completely different way and now

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

they're super interested in guard at the town wall for no reason and you have

lewis]:

to essentially create everything you just said up on the spot what's your what's your

lewis]:

take

[robert]:

so that

lewis]:

on that

[robert]:

that's always the celis heel of every d m right is you have all these

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

plans

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

and they only last until your characters have ideas

lewis]:

yeah oh

[robert]:

so i think

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

for me just practice like practice improvisation and i think

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

one of the best things to practice is coming up

lewis]:

a

[robert]:

with a name on

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

the spot because that's what

weyland]:

ah

[robert]:

players always asked

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

like cool cool what's your

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

name and then you're away tuck in that like hold on let me look at

[robert]:

my name generator or something like this so a trick

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

i have always

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

used and i'm sitting next to one of the

lewis]:

h

[robert]:

people who play in one of my games right now is and

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

i'm gonna give away one of my

weyland]:

ah

[robert]:

greatest

lewis]:

my

[robert]:

d tricks right now is i like scan the room really quick and piece

weyland]:

to

[robert]:

names of things together to come

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

up with a name

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

like o oh there's a hammer over there and die okay well he's like that's

[robert]:

a so he's cube hammer he's lord cubehyou know just some something ridiculous like that

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

but i mean even like i know i've made a character his name like ritz

[robert]:

before because there was a writ cracker box in the corner of the room

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

and so just like things like that pull from whatever you have available

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

and then take notes like that's the biggest part of it if you are going

[robert]:

to create an n p up on the

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

spot you got to make some notes as soon as you do it because if

[robert]:

you happen to create that smash in p

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

c that they all love they're going to keep

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

coming back to him and you're like why this guy was just something

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

i

lewis]:

yes

[robert]:

made up on the spot and they just want to keep hanging out with him

[robert]:

so you want to remember all of those things that they really

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

thought were cool about him in the first place so that you're able to bring

[robert]:

him back and have them

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

still be as as influential to the party as they were the first time that

[robert]:

you played them

lewis]:

on one thing that i actually do another secret is i have often taken the

lewis]:

names of my players first or last and just put them backwards

[robert]:

nice

lewis]:

so

weyland]:

m

lewis]:

katon ottley who used to e used to do stuff on this podcast we have

lewis]:

a character who is katon's last name in the thing and i find that's really

lewis]:

easy because they don't they don't put together but super easy because you just pick

lewis]:

some one and say what's your name backwards the unfortunate thing is we have a

lewis]:

character player whose name is hannah you know it's

weyland]:

ah

lewis]:

the same front wards backwards so that

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

that doesn't work so actually on the on the topic of keeping track you know

lewis]:

van notes that was actually a question we were planning on asking because for me

lewis]:

that is super difficult so so what methods if any do you have for kind

lewis]:

of keeping track of these mpcs do you just kind of jot things down and

lewis]:

then come back or

[robert]:

you

lewis]:

how

[robert]:

know

lewis]:

do you go

[robert]:

i'm

lewis]:

about

[robert]:

actually

lewis]:

that

[robert]:

actually love that you ask me this question because

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

actually built

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

a d m tool that is available on amazon for

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

just a couple but it's just

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

a book

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

of n p c notes it's called the n p c compendium and you just

[robert]:

fill it in it's got like stat blocks and notes about character background

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

the quirks that they use phrases that they use tattoos like it just

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

gives you it's each one's a single page and there's a hundred to the book

[robert]:

and so that's what i like to use and i give it to any of

[robert]:

the d ms who

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

run games for me um just as like a tool for them to have because

[robert]:

it is really useful and there's a table of contents in the front that you

[robert]:

can put the names of all the characters and what pages they're listed on so

[robert]:

that then

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

you can go back and flip

weyland]:

kay

[robert]:

through and find s p

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

c is really easy and i think

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

just even if you don't use that tool something like that is really helpful like

[robert]:

just having a notebook dedicated to your npcs is going to be really useful but

[robert]:

also get in the habit of making the same

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

notes about each m p c so like you're always going to list how do

[robert]:

they sound how do they look how do they act around the players and

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

i think always like

weyland]:

oh

[robert]:

listening are they a or foe of the party and do they have any secret

[robert]:

motivations that the party don't know

lewis]:

a

[robert]:

doesn't

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

know about and i think those kind of things are really important to keep

lewis]:

h

[robert]:

track of

weyland]:

yeah that's great it's great advice especially the idea of just kind of keeping it

weyland]:

a similar format

lewis]:

yah

weyland]:

you know so

[robert]:

hm

weyland]:

you can almost have a rollo dex

lewis]:

h

weyland]:

kind of

[robert]:

yeah

weyland]:

dilio

[robert]:

exactly

weyland]:

for that because i think some people just don't realize it's like hey just because

weyland]:

you use n p cs in different ways it doesn't mean that you know it

weyland]:

wouldn't be helpful they know the same thing about them especially your accents my goodness

[robert]:

right yeah

weyland]:

you know

[robert]:

and that's a big one too because you might

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

pull off an accent when you first

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

introduce an m p c if you don't write that down when

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

you come back to it you can be like what voice was that

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

using for this person and just

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

not be able to give the same experience if you don't have it notated somewhere

weyland]:

yeah and in cases like that honestly what i'd recommend i have a friend who

weyland]:

is very good with accents

lewis]:

ah

weyland]:

and he says

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

that for him he kind of needs a phrase to work his into it

[robert]:

i do the same thing absolutely

weyland]:

exactly

[robert]:

yeah

weyland]:

right so like when you're writing down the accent don't

[robert]:

yeah

weyland]:

just say oh it's this kind of accent be like phrase this

[robert]:

yep

weyland]:

is how you work your way into it

[robert]:

yea for the longest time whenever i

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

had a dwarf

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

i would have to start their conversation by saying great because that was the only

[robert]:

way that could get me into like oh that's great you know like it had

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

to it had to have that word in there somewhere like it's a

lewis]:

classic

[robert]:

great day out here you know and then then i can roll into it

lewis]:

yah

[robert]:

after that but i had to start

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

every interaction with a dwarf early on with that word because it was my

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

key word to get

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

into the accident i think that works really well

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

exactly

lewis]:

that's awesome one actually one other i guess hack that you could probably use with

lewis]:

that roledecx in conjunction with your compendium is you know in different situations you could

lewis]:

probab take some of these npcs obviously from campaign to campaign or session of session

lewis]:

or whatever um and take the same n p c change the name and maybe

lewis]:

the accent keep the character six i guess obviously any you know identifying features but

lewis]:

essentially play them the same way so that way you don't have to necessarily come

lewis]:

up with a completely new character maybe all the bartenders are exactly the same they

lewis]:

all you know one one serves vodka versus

[robert]:

m

lewis]:

one serves ale primarily and you know um just so that way d ms who

lewis]:

don't have as much time they don't they don't feel as pressured too create you

lewis]:

know a full world that they still have these resources and you know i guess

lewis]:

the idea is you don't have to create completely new m

[robert]:

right

lewis]:

p s every time you can just maybe take one change one or two things

lewis]:

and then move

[robert]:

and

lewis]:

forward

[robert]:

in a pinch

lewis]:

you know

[robert]:

you know you can always rely on a generator to pull that up i

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

mean there's ones that have just like m

lewis]:

sure

[robert]:

p c description generators are very useful in just coming up like with quick back

[robert]:

stories or quirks

weyland]:

ah

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

at some he has and i've definitely used those in a pinch especially when characters

[robert]:

are running off on their own and just like hey we want to interact with

[robert]:

another m p c and you're like okay

weyland]:

oh

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

yep

lewis]:

you're like sure whatever um well robert we are coming down to the end of

lewis]:

our time together unfortunately we will definitely have to do this again so well we'll

lewis]:

re connect figure out another time because i'm actually really interested specifically in creating a

lewis]:

murder mystery but

[robert]:

awesome

lewis]:

we'll have to schedule that another time m final words for our audience from tanner

lewis]:

myself you robert and then we'll give you a chance to talk to them about

lewis]:

how they can reach out to you support you see what you're up to m

lewis]:

tanner

weyland]:

yeah

lewis]:

d you want to go first that way robert

weyland]:

absolutely

lewis]:

can have some time to think

weyland]:

with n p

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

c s i think the biggest thing is just making sure

lewis]:

a

weyland]:

quality kind of trumps quantity it's better to have

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

one uh character that you've really worked on that's like really funny versus a few

weyland]:

that's like semi funny and same for like one character that you really connect with

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

versus

[robert]:

m

weyland]:

a few that's like oh they're just generally people i guess you can sympathize with

weyland]:

you know just put in the time um and then do filler for the rest

weyland]:

people expect filler what they don't expect is for you to just knock them off

weyland]:

your off

[robert]:

m

weyland]:

their

lewis]:

yeah

weyland]:

feet

[robert]:

m

weyland]:

well just a really good character

[robert]:

hm

lewis]:

and then i'll go next robert

[robert]:

ah

lewis]:

just so you have just as much time as you want to think and really

lewis]:

prepare one thing i would say is kind of thinking about this all today there's

lewis]:

nothing wrong with just pick people you know in real life and fashioning pss after

lewis]:

those people now that i think about it i think that's something that i really

lewis]:

want to try moving forward for the next little bit just

weyland]:

yeah

lewis]:

to really focus in on what are their call real life corks how do those

lewis]:

come across you know even in small interactions how can i you know put my

lewis]:

dad into you know into d and d with some of his small little quirks

lewis]:

and just kind of personify and i think that will hopefully make me better at

weyland]:

ah

lewis]:

creating npcs and picking up on those those nuances but also making a little bit

lewis]:

more interesting in life like so that's that's one thing i'm going to try and

lewis]:

i would recommend that the listener also try so robert final words for

[robert]:

i would

lewis]:

our

[robert]:

just say

lewis]:

adventurers

[robert]:

one idea that i've played with a few times in the past and has been

[robert]:

really fun that i would suggest maybe giving a shot is when you're having like

[robert]:

your session zero or your characters are building there stores let each one of your

[robert]:

players write an

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

n p c as well and then give that to you to just put into

[robert]:

the game somewhere later on it can be really fun and it makes that n

[robert]:

p c ver meaningful to the

lewis]:

oh

[robert]:

players when they were like oh

lewis]:

yes

[robert]:

that's that's crazy farmer joe that's the one that i wrote

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

you know and and then they get

weyland]:

yeah

[robert]:

to

lewis]:

yes

[robert]:

see that and interact with it and it just

lewis]:

a

[robert]:

kind of

lewis]:

m

[robert]:

brings their attention

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

right to the table so i just think that kind of a fun and unique

[robert]:

way that

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

you guys might want to try it it's been

weyland]:

ye

[robert]:

pretty interesting when i've done it in the past

lewis]:

oh

weyland]:

i love that

lewis]:

i love that anything to help our d ms save time and save money and

lewis]:

i think outsourcing the work to the players is like top

[robert]:

agreed

lewis]:

of the list on that but thank you so much for being here with us

lewis]:

robert how can our audience reach out to you support you and see what

[robert]:

yeah

lewis]:

you're doing

[robert]:

thanks for asking you can definitely check out my book session zero the m g

[robert]:

to writing great campaigns

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

in any system you can

lewis]:

ah

[robert]:

find that on amazon also check out my pod as it's the dungeons dragons and

[robert]:

psychology podcast and you can find that wherever you find any podcast it's on all

[robert]:

the platforms

lewis]:

yeah

[robert]:

and the best place to get in touch with me personally is v email dungeon

[robert]:

dragon psychology at email dot com or on instagram and it's at dungeons underscore dragons

[robert]:

underscore psychology

lewis]:

m oh

weyland]:

perfect

lewis]:

excellent we will get all those up in the show notes as well as the

lewis]:

link to your n p c compendium we don't want o forget that but thank

lewis]:

you so much robert thanks tanner for being here listener adventurer will be here next

lewis]:

week for another great show until then let's go ahead and roll initiative

[robert]:

thank you

lewis]:

some

[robert]:

guys

lewis]:

thanks so much robert i guess i should stop recording

weyland]:

uh

lewis]:

um

weyland]:

h

About the Podcast

Show artwork for How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM
How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM
Make Better Stories Playing DnD

About your hosts

Profile picture for Tanner Weyland

Tanner Weyland

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Justin Lewis

Justin has been playing D&D for about 5 years and has been DMing for the last 2. He is a student of the game and genuinely loves the art of storytelling. In his day-job he performs SEO at an agency called NPDigital, but at night, he furthers the hobby of cooperative storytelling that is Dungeons and Dragons.