NPC Profile Breakdown

GMs can, of course, invent their own NPCs, but many printed materials provide premade NPCs, along with the various rules needed to make the most of them in play. An NPC profile consists of the following elements:

NPC Type: This denotes the importance of the NPC in the story.

– Minions are minor characters, who have simplified profiles for ease of use.

– Adversaries are narratively weighty characters, who have rules similar to a PC.

Conflict Rank: Each NPC has a rank in two categories (combat and intrigue ). These are estimates of the NPC’s capabilities in each of those spheres (See page 310 for details).

Rings: Each NPC has a set of ring values (see The Five Rings, on page 32).

Attributes: Each NPC has a set of attributes, just as a player character does (see Derived Attributes, on page 36).

Demeanor: This section offers a simplified snapshot of an NPC’s personality, providing their responses to different approaches to Social skills (See page 310 for details).

Advantages and Disadvantages: NPCs can be given prewritten advantages and disadvantages (see page 99), but printed NPC profiles usually have specialized advantages and disadvantages that do not appear in that chapter. These are treated as distinctions (or adversities) that apply as the GM deems appropriate.

Skill Ranks: Each NPC has ranks in skill groups or skills that apply to their checks (see Chapter

3: Skills, on page 140).

Favored Weapons and Gear: Any items the NPC is likely to have on their person, potentially including weapons they are likely to wield. Most own other possessions, but this section covers those most pertinent to their interactions with the PCs.

Abilities: NPCs possess abilities, which sometimes include techniques also available to player characters and at other times consist of wholly new powers and effects. An NPC’s techniques sometimes differ from the versions available to player characters.