Designing a Supernatural NPC
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To illustrate how a balanced and interesting supernatural NPC can be designed for an encounter, we use the example of a komainu—a guardian spirit for shrines and temples.
The classic komainu is a large statue of a creature that has attributes of both a lion and a dog and is usually portrayed sitting atop a stone pedestal. In this example, a GM wishes to develop a komainu as the guardian of a lost shrine the PCs intend to explore. The dramatic role the GM envisions for the komainu is that a guardian who awakens and attacks anyone who attempts to enter the shrine without first speaking a particular incantation.
After examining various sources and getting a good understanding of the cultural and mythological background of the komainu, the GM decides a good starting point for it is the Manifest Earth Kami, on page 323 of the core rulebook. The manifest earth kami is, after all, a supernatural being who is essentially composed of, and has the attributes of, animated stone.
After reviewing the entry for the manifest earth kami, the GM decides to make the following changes:
An Earth Ring of 5, rather than the 6 given for the manifest earth kami, is sufficient for the komainu. Instead, the GM wants to portray the komainu as being more given to ferocity in its defense of its shrine, and thus increases the Fire Ring to 3.
Since the komainu is a guardian, the GM decides to increase both its focus and vigilance to 5. The GM reduces its Artisan and Trade skill ranks to 0, since they are not needed for this particular NPC.
The GM decides to change the manifest earth kami’s favored weapon, “stone fists,” to “stone claws and fangs,” altering the range to 0–1, increasing the deadliness to 5, and adding the Razor-Edged item quality, reasoning that these should have an effect similar to that of a katana wielded by a samurai.
None of the listed abilities for the manifest earth kami are really appropriate for the komainu, so the GM keeps it as “an Otherworldly being of silhouette 3,” but otherwise gives it two new abilities that better reflect its nature:
Living Statue: “Before it becomes animate, the komainu is, in all respects, a large stone statue. If it is damaged or even destroyed in this state, upon being triggered to animate, the komainu does so entirely unharmed.” The GM decides that if the PCs decide to destroy the komainu statue before it animates in an effort to neutralize its threat, having it manifest when triggered and attack anyway would be an exciting dramatic event.
Pouncing Attack: “When performing an Attack action check, the komainu may spend as follows: The target suffers the Dazed and Prone conditions.” The GM feels that this does a good job of reflecting the lion-like nature of the komainu in a way that maintains it as a challenging opponent.
Finally, the GM reviews the newly created komainu and decides that keeping the combat conflict rank of 8 and reducing the intrigue conflict rank to 1 is reasonable.
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Celestial Realms · Chapter 3: Power of Worship › Designing Supernatural Encounters › Designing a Supernatural NPC · p. 128 p. 129
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To illustrate how a balanced and interesting supernatural NPC can be designed for an encounter, we use the example of a komainu—a guardian spirit for shrines and temples.
The classic komainu is a large statue of a creature that has attributes of both a lion and a dog and is usually portrayed sitting atop a stone pedestal. In this example, a GM wishes to develop a komainu as the guardian of a lost shrine the PCs intend to explore. The dramatic role the GM envisions for the komainu is that a guardian who awakens and attacks anyone who attempts to enter the shrine without first speaking a particular incantation.
After examining various sources and getting a good understanding of the cultural and mythological background of the komainu, the GM decides a good starting point for it is the Manifest Earth Kami, on page 323 of the core rulebook. The manifest earth kami is, after all, a supernatural being who is essentially composed of, and has the attributes of, animated stone.
After reviewing the entry for the manifest earth kami, the GM decides to make the following changes:
An Earth Ring of 5, rather than the 6 given for the manifest earth kami, is sufficient for the komainu. Instead, the GM wants to portray the komainu as being more given to ferocity in its defense of its shrine, and thus increases the Fire Ring to 3.
Since the komainu is a guardian, the GM decides to increase both its focus and vigilance to 5. The GM reduces its Artisan and Trade skill ranks to 0, since they are not needed for this particular NPC.
The GM decides to change the manifest earth kami’s favored weapon, “stone fists,” to “stone claws and fangs,” altering the range to 0–1, increasing the deadliness to 5, and adding the Razor-Edged item quality, reasoning that these should have an effect similar to that of a katana wielded by a samurai.
None of the listed abilities for the manifest earth kami are really appropriate for the komainu, so the GM keeps it as “an Otherworldly being of silhouette 3,” but otherwise gives it two new abilities that better reflect its nature:
Living Statue: “Before it becomes animate, the komainu is, in all respects, a large stone statue. If it is damaged or even destroyed in this state, upon being triggered to animate, the komainu does so entirely unharmed.” The GM decides that if the PCs decide to destroy the komainu statue before it animates in an effort to neutralize its threat, having it manifest when triggered and attack anyway would be an exciting dramatic event.
Pouncing Attack: “When performing an Attack action check, the komainu may spend as follows: The target suffers the Dazed and Prone conditions.” The GM feels that this does a good job of reflecting the lion-like nature of the komainu in a way that maintains it as a challenging opponent.
Finally, the GM reviews the newly created komainu and decides that keeping the combat conflict rank of 8 and reducing the intrigue conflict rank to 1 is reasonable.