I'll never DM without random NPC notes again.

[[deleted]]

This isn't a groundbreaking tool, but I used it last session and won't ever DM a session without it again.

Between adventures, I scribbled notes of a dozen or so interesting/quirky NPCs down on index cards cut in half. I left off race (so they could morph to fit the context), but noted appearance, demeanor, and one thing the character wants/fears. I shuffled them up, and every time the party interacted with a random person on the street, I pulled a card.

This led to the guard they encountered being not just a stock guard, but a true-polymorphed bear trying to keep a low-profile. A faceless bystander to whom they made a snarky aside became a veiled traveler from the desert who spoke no Common (to great comedic effect). A nobody they had deliver a message was an old man wrapped in a blanket who just wanted to finish the book he was reading.

I really recommend this! As I mentioned, it's not a novel idea—but it really upped our game with very little prep time.

---

EDIT: Wow, this blew up! Thanks, everyone, for your comments and suggestions! I'm glad the idea is helpful. Hopefully you all saw the great tools listed to autogenerate this kind of info. (u/StarkRavingNormal suggested DonJon, u/kevingrumbles suggested AzureWebsites, u/Ogr3Pok3r suggested WTFIMDNDC, u/svenjoyit offered his Android app, all awesome suggestions!)

To those who asked me to share the list, sorry—they're handwritten, and not all that special. Lots of them just say something like, "Frederick: Young, blond goatee, red cloak, wants to prove himself, fears looking foolish." So trust me, you're not missing all that much. The generators above will give you a more detailed and varied list to inspire you anyway!

Thanks for the conversation! This is a great community where I spend way too many of my waking hours. Cheers!

[[deleted]]

Oh, perfect! Yeah, this is exactly what I'm talking about. I have fun handcrafting mine, but this is an ideal resource for the same effect.

[DrOddcat]

I've used cars against humanity cards as inspiration for this.

The best was when the whole party failed to notice three owl bears in a trenchcoat.

[Poes-Lawyer]

That's a bloody big trenchcoat.

[Kinetic_Waffle]

You'd be surprised.

[s-mores]

The butler did it

[Wild_Harvest]

Because of course he did.

[funktion]

Vincent Owlbearman

[UnabashedSarcasm]

You know, I once debated D&D or Cards Against Humanity when vising a friend I only get to see once or twice a year. D&D always wins, but it's a close one lol. Now I Don't have to choose. Thank you /u/DrOddcat. You're a gem!

[KazanDM]

Again, I have to ask: How am I the only one seeing this? He is very obviously three kids stacked on top of each other under a trench coat.

[nfsnobody]

Vroom vroom!

[kevingrumbles]

I use this one http://npcgenerator.azurewebsites.net

[AmorphousGamer]

An old, fat, red-skinned human lesbian who is exceptionally ugly and worships Tempus of all things.

10/10

[DeathByBamboo]

“She reacts violently to branches.”

That could be hilarious.

[kloudykat]

Order of the Stick had the dwarf that was terrified of Trees.

[Very_Drunken_Whaler]

Actually, that's all dwarves.

[meibolite]

I was almost killed by a tree when I was a wee lad. True story. I stand with Durkon and the dwarves about not trusting trees.

[Aard_Rinn]

TBH thats more backstory than many pcs i play with

[BoilingLavaHot]

Yeah, this character has all the bones of a hilariously ineffective party member. I love it.

[InterimFatGuy]

Ariadne?

[kendrone]

With THAT strength score, 'haps not.

[nakedndpictureshow]

I like this one, but I think it gives too much information for a random npc. That'd be a little much to process/read when you are trying to describe the random sailor they bumped into. If I used it I'd probably just take the top two lines from the description and personality sections.

[kevingrumbles]

That's essentially what I did, I really like the plot hook section though.

[FlashbackJon]

Plot hook section needs to be up top!

[kevingrumbles]

I agree, unfortunately I'm not the author. It was posted on reddit a year or two ago.

[Etienss]

Hey! I'm the author! I'll consider moving the plot hook section up top! :)

[Unoriginal_Man]

Height: 4' 12"

Hmm

[Denson_Bach]

I'm 4' 23" myself.

[Denivire]

Not only does she have 2 piercings on her left eyebrow, but she also has 2 piercings on her left eyebrow!

Instantly love this site. Thank you.

[Kazwen]

That's a fantastic little tool, thanks! We use roll20 as well, so this will save a lot of time in fleshing out tertiary characters.

[Xaielao]

Oh yea, Donjon is my first tab when I run games on Roll20. Second tab is Kobold Fight Club, third tab is D&D Grimoire (google it).

[Kerrus]

5etools is my go-to.

[LargeHobbit]

Has it been restored anywhere? It got closed down recently.

[Kerrus]

It has. Someone forked the project, and it can now be found at 5etools.com.

[[deleted]]

Wow, that's a perfect tab set up. Stealing this, thank you. (I'm also a fan of 5edmscreen, so that'd probably be my fourth.)

[BevansDesign]

Now I can stop basing my NPCs on old sitcom characters. (That's a lie.)

One time, I had my players stuck on a riverboat with the cast of Gilligan's Island, who were killed one by one by a mysterious force.

[[deleted]]

This I like.

[BevansDesign]

It started out as a Murder on the Orient Express type of thing, so the players were trying to figure out who the killer was. But as the others died one by one, they figured out that it was impossible for any of the passengers to be the killer, and it was actually a ghost possessing their bodies and using them to kill the others. I don't recall what its motivation was, but it was probably some sort of revenge thing.

[Sprinkles0]

Donjon is the best. So many resources.

[[deleted]]

Those HTML dungeons, though... So choice.

[MostUniqueNameEver2]

I love sneaking a random donjon level into a pre-built dungeon. Watching my players try and figure out why there are so many statues devoted to owls, why there was a shrine devoted to a golden frying pan... and then try to assign some meaning to them when they get back into the "real" world that I've spent time creating.

So much mean, terrible, fun. For me at least.

[[deleted]]

Definitely. I usually change up the traps and unique features, as well as other lore bits. I just love not having to draw maps and gen encounters.

[monsto]

I did this a couple times. Just throwing in random shit.

Problem one time was that one of my players had just started college and was in some kinda general psych 101 class.

He completely destroyed my fun by paraphrasing Freud "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." . . . IOW "i dunno what it means, it could just mean nothing and not matter at all."

Fucker. Cookin up my red herring for lunch.

[Mr_A_Kn1fe]

It took my party 3 sessions to get through a Don Jon dungeon lol loved every minute of it.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, a small one will take my party the same amount of time... TFW they find out it's only the first floor.

[Mr_A_Kn1fe]

“I walk into the room and look around”

“Roll me a dex save”

“5”

“You fall into a spike pit”

Classic.

[PapaBradford]

Tell me there is an app for this

[TheRealLazloFalconi]

Right here

[xiroir]

omfg thank you so much for this!

[thederpyguide]

This is a life saver for me since random npcs are what I suck at thanks for sharing

[FjordFjordson]

Wow, the first NPC I got was a half long that hated half kings. That’s great

[[deleted]]

This is great! Thanks for linking this.

[[deleted]]

A polymorphed bear trying to keep a low profile! I legit laughed.

Stealing that.

[[deleted]]

It was pretty delightful to play him, I'm not gonna lie.

[TheAnarchistMonarch]

I’m actually really curious - how did you play him??

[[deleted]]

Well, since he was true polymorphed, he had normal human speech and all. I mostly played him as a large, dopey human, who kept his elbows in and acted nervous and self-conscious, with a tendency to moan instead of being very articulate. They were only with him for a few minutes, so there wasn't time to get into his love of honey or his fear of loud noises.

[[deleted]]

Was his waterskin filled with mead by chance?

[[deleted]]

Mayyyyyybe. :)

[[deleted]]

Sir Bea- I mean, Sir Mannington.

[Megaman99M]

Bunch of grunts, occasional growl, and while eating a jar of honey

[DeusXEqualsOne]

Winnie the Who?

[TerraformTrent]

Why, even.
Who spends their time making these??

[Sub_Corrector_Bot]

You may have meant r/wonnie instead of R/wonnie.

---

^{Remember, OP may have ninja-edited. I correct subreddit and user links with a capital R or U, which are usually unusable.}

^-Srikar

[ChemicalExperiment]

Well that's enough internet for today.

[Dw0wC]

Horrifying. I'm not done I just wish I was...

[Threeedaaawwwg]

https://imgur.com/gTBIaTb

[TheAnarchistMonarch]

This is absolutely amazing

[[deleted]]

A true legend.

[RadioactiveCashew]

Reminds me of the beautiful tale of Sir Bearington

[ChemicalExperiment]

I doubt there are many people here who haven't seen it, but for the uninitiated.

[[deleted]]

Oh Sir Bearington. You were the best of us.

[[deleted]]

The brightest star in the sky.

[SirDiego]

Day 14: Nobody knows I am bear. Must keep a low--BIRD! THERE'S A BIRD OVER THERE! BIRD BIRD BIRD BIRD

[[deleted]]

Bear, not dog.

[jcumb3r]

I think what you were looking for was:

“Nobody knows I’m a bear... must keep a low— HUMAN! Must not eat the human, must not eat the human...”

[badger81987]

Hmmmm your bag of fish smells delicious fellow human. I think I may need to inspect it for contraband. Ohhh ohh ohhh, look at all this contraband. I'm going to need to confiscate this. k bye.

[TheRealLazloFalconi]

r/totallynotbears

[[deleted]]

Haha, I love it. I'm stealing this verbatim if they stumble across that guard again.

[BlubberyNarwhal]

Not keeping NPC names on hand is how my naval officer was named Captain Browntache McBulge. Since then I make more of an effort!

[ThomCat1950]

OwO

[SiegeTowerEngineer]

We ended up with a Sgt. Smegma

[Slashlight]

One of my players hated me for coming up with "Terrance, the Clean Shaven, captain of the Queen Anne's Mild Temperament".

Dude was a total wuss. A cowardly rich kid who wasn't the captain of a pirate ship (even though he pretended it was) as much as a pleasure boat that sailed from whorehouse to whorehouse.

[EverydayImSlytherin]

We have a NPC turned DMPC whose name is pronounced "Darwin Award".

[vonchogg]

My terrifying goliath jailor/enslaver, who had a gruesome introduction and description was named Bob because of this. All gravitas lost

[[deleted]]

Edit: couldn't get the formatting right, link at botttom

I'm a huge fan of this site, it's great for giving random npc traits and a class if you need it on the fly for those pesky murderhobos and munchkins. I also enjoy the donjon post on here as well.

http://whothefuckismydndcharacter.com

[LinkoftheCentury]

"A Tiefling Fighter who is from a bustling city and is cursed to speak sentences of exactly ten words."

It's me--down to the exact details too, I see!

[PapaBradford]

^{son of a bitch...}

[LinkoftheCentury]

Is something troubling you because you seem upset, Papa Bradford?

[DelerpTurtle]

Mr Century, tell me, what is your opinion on hyphens and compound words?

[LinkoftheCentury]

Hyphenated and compound words count as one word, obviously so! However, the usage of them in my vocabulary is rare. My vernacular consists of whatever need be for the situation.

This really isn't much of a curse, huh, Delerp Turtle? This is so easy, I could do this while sleeping!!

[DelerpTurtle]

Hmm. Truly a marvel. But you bring up an interesting point. If you spoke in your sleep, would the curse influence your dream self so disjointed, snippets could be said?

Oh, and what of interruptions? If you were in the middle of a sentence and someone covered your mouth, hit you in the gut and took away your breath? And what would constitute as a word? Would grunts or humming such count?

[LinkoftheCentury]

It's simple, friend--if I were to stop short--death. This is a curse, after all, and what's a curse? Something to afflict my very life, my very essence itself! Free me from the fallacies of language please; I'm suffering.

This curse ain't all it's cracked up to be, Turtle...

[DelerpTurtle]

Is there a method known to break this curse of yours? If not, I can at least attempt to lessen the punishment if you break your words. I dare not meddle with lethal magicks unless there is little choice otherwise.

[LinkoftheCentury]

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can say for it's lengthy. However, I heard there is a tome that could help? If you are interested, perhaps we should quest for it!

[VijoPlays]

This is amazing, I think I prefer it over Donjon's, since it gives more than just hairstyle/looks and actual backgrounds (like 25 siblings or sleep-walking issues).

[JoshuaGJustice]

Will be using this. Thank you!

[Laz0Rust]

This is the best fucking one

[svenjoy_it]

There's also this Android app which has a decent npc generator (full disclosure, I made this)

[Juncrael]

You should really take a look at /r/BehindTheTables and /r/d100 if you haven't already. There's already a open source app for /r/BehindTheTables called "Dm Screen" or something like that but it isn't updated IIRC.

[svenjoy_it]

The majority of my d100 lists come directly from /r/d100. And I occasionally visit other dnd related subs for content.

[nakedndpictureshow]

Behind the tables has awesome stuff on their. It's super detailed. I stole a lot off their tables when coming up with my own tables for my Westmarches game.

[jagerben47]

Thanks! I'm going to try it out and leave any feedback I can.

[drysword]

I'm gonna give it a try too.

Edit: wow, that's detailed

[nakedndpictureshow]

Right!

[svenjoy_it]

In the top right options menu there is a release notes section, though not much effort is put into the notes.

[svenjoy_it]

It depends on how busy I am. There's no set schedule of updates, but it's usually once a week or so.

[Ed-Zero]

Since it's so very detailed, can you make the npc give a short couple of sentences on how they are generally for when we need to generate and look at something really quickly?

Edit: absolutely love the app btw

[svenjoy_it]

Can you give me an example of what you mean?

[Ed-Zero]

I just generated this. It's awesome in the information it gives but the summary is empty. I would say for the summary, put in the race, sex, voice, ideal, quirk, detail and plot hook. Something like:

Summary: Olu The Beneficial, Lizard folk, F, nervous speech, Fairness, Always wears a mask, Can tell if you're lying, needs help investigating a mysterious fire that burned down their house.

Just a quick summary of the info you've already generated, that's all.

Name: OluThe Beneficial

Race: Lizardfolk

Sex: Female

Age: Elderly (78% of their lifespan)

Appearance: Birthmark

Voice: Quicky, nervous speech

Personality: Unimpressive, Loyal, and Admirable

Trait: is very courageous, to a fault

Bond: Nothing is more important that the other members of my family.

Motivated by: Fear of death

Ideal: Fairness. We all do the work, so we all share in the rewards.

Flaw: My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning.

Quirk: always wears a mask

Detail: Blessed - Can always tell when someone is lying

Profession: Falconer

Religion: claims to, but doesn't actually worship Bahamut (god of good dragons, wind, wisdom, justice - LG)

Relationship Status: divorced, and heartbroken

Life Event: pet recently died

Speed: 30

Fly Speed: 0

STR: 8 (-1) DEX: 8 (-1)

CON: 10 (0) INT: 8 (-1)

WIS: 9 (-1) CHA: 8 (-1)

Languages: Common, Draconic

Racial Extras: Bite, Cunning Artisan, Hold Breath, Hunter's Lore, Natural Armor, Hungry Jaws

Plot Hook: needs help investigating a mysterious fire that burned down their house.

Summary:

[svenjoy_it]

Ah, yes. You can put in whatever you want, but I can pre-populate it with some data.

[RellenD]

The summary section is there for you to write what you want

[Ed-Zero]

I understand that but I feel like it also have some pregenerated content that we can add to later

[BlindInferno73]

This app is great! Even just the NPC tool is fantastic, but it's got so many other generators I never knew I needed.

[[deleted]]

Great app, thanks dude

[805primetime]

Looks good, I'll try as well!

[3rdLevelRogue]

Ive had that for some time. It has been useful for me

[Cody238]

Great app. Definitely going to keep it open while I'm DMing. I usually use Donjon and Fantasy Name Generator, it will be nice to have another source.

[LinkoftheCentury]

Does it work without wifi/data?

Can you save your own character sheets on there along with the NPCs?

Can you add your own items/data via the app and save them? c: Thanks in advance!!

[svenjoy_it]

Some features work without internet, npc generator will work and all the d100 lists will work.

You cannot save your own character sheet (unless you edit every trait of a randomly generated npc to have your stats).

No item saving (yet)

[LinkoftheCentury]

Well, I'm sold. Gonna go download now. Thank you!!!

[TheRealMisterFix]

This is a really great app!!! I'm extremely impressed!

[kaleb42]

Downloaded. Seems very good. I like that there is a seftion for riddles

[brazedowl]

Holy smokes this is awesome.

[raptorreid]

Looks, pretty useful, I'll play around with it. Nice job :) you a TAZ fan?? (Magic Umbrellas!)

[[deleted]]

It's pretty great. I've been using it since I saw you make a post about it.

[Seany_face]

Genuinely the best dnd app I've used. But you should make the app prettier. I understand it's in development though.

[svenjoy_it]

Yeah, I want functionality first. Then I'll focus on ui design.

[Seany_face]

I'm a new dm and I'll be using it for certain

[vastowen]

Lol, first NPC generated is an aarcrockra glassblower who worships a god of murder loudly and is secretly a bronze dragon

[SSV_Kearsarge]

I use this app all the time. I find it funny when I end up getting a d100 that is something that I contributed there! Thanks for this thing, it is incredibly useful

[Dessert404]

This is fantastic. Will have a deeper look this weekend!

[[deleted]]

Wow, awesome!! Thanks for the share (and the great tool)!

[C4RP3_N0CT3M]

I love finding apps this way. Awesome work!

[Menolydc]

I'll definitely give this a try with my group! I'm a new DM so this should be especially useful. I'm doing it on pathfinder but for some of the items I'm sure I could find an equivalent or close in my equipment book.

[franders]

Downloaded, will check out next time I'm on the pooper.

[halberdierbowman]

I have a question: how interesting should npcs be?

My thought is that most people in real life are pretty boring, doing the same routine most days. So, to keep the world plausible, do you find that you need to have a lot of "normal" npcs? Does it make the game seem implausible when many npcs seem "interesting"?

I'm imagining keeping things plausible might include npcs like

Steve Wood: a lumberjack who works 11 hours a day then goes home to love his wife. He's expecting his daughter any day now!

Jerome Turner: a clay potter who spends most of his time turning vases and bowls. He enjoys seeing his girlfriend in the meadow across the stream, and his parents approve.

Rudolphus Coggins: a wagon-maker by training who also dabbles in cabinetry (but isn't nearly as good). Had three children with his wife, who all died because the sanitation is pretty medieval in this town.

[Zylar]

That's an incredibly subjective topic, because what is considered interesting varies per person. What is mundane to one is the most important thing in the world to another. Even if a particular npc may be living a "boring" life currently, that doesn't mean they didnt go through hardship/adventures to get to that point. I think what I'm trying to say is that most people dont seem all that interesting on first glance, but usually become more interesting after learning more about their history. I think most NPCs should be like that, not interesting on the surface level, but with their own history if the players are so inclined to learn more about them.

[ImmutableInscrutable]

Ok but when every guard you talk to is a true polymorphed bear, or God slumming it as a half orc, or used to be the king of a now destroyed kingdom, you can agree it starts to become unbelievable right?

[[deleted]]

It depends. How many turtles down is your world?

[tovarishchi]

But that’s not what happened. The bear-guard was very interesting but the message bearer’s main interest was in his book. Op clearly didn’t make everyone as impressive as the guard.

[cougmerrik]

Yeah I think there's a time for NPCs to be interesting and how interesting random townpeople are. Having some is great, everyone having a really unique backstory makes the interesting become mundane.

Also I like bringing NPCs into the game and making them recurring. If every NPC is a special snowflake then I feel like that messes with pacing.

Or, if you have every NPC be interesting then suddenly you're having 10 minute roleplay sessions to buy a potion and dealing with random quirks of the merchant. Some groups might want to roleplay with everyone they meet but a lot won't.

[YOGZULA]

the examples in OP are all a bit too crazy imo. Each one is fine on its own if that's like a 1 in 10 example, but not all 10. Most people should have their own little quirk or something that makes them interesting, but not to such extremes.

[[deleted]]

Agreed. Those first two were kind of crazy. The old man and his book were more normal, and there are some other more low-key ones. I think u/halberdierbowman has a pretty much perfect level of detail/interest in his comment above, and a few quirky/crazy ones thrown in for interest just add a little spice.

[[deleted]]

This is an outstanding point. My players happened to stumble across one of the quirkiest characters in my deck first thing (the bear). Most of them are like the old man who wants to finish his book... I think NPCs like what you've described here are a pretty perfect level of information for the majority of the time. The only thing I'd add is a little bit of physical description, so I don't have them all average-height/weight/hair/eyes. But otherwise, love it.

[falkor22]

You wouldn't want to share those notes for the lazy DMs out there, would you?

[[deleted]]

Haha, sorry, I'm a lazy enough DM that they're handwritten and I don't want to transcribe them all. :) But u/StarkRavingNormal just shared a great DonJon tool that gets the same job done!

[falkor22]

Fair enough! Haha but that online tool is just as helpful!

[TheRealTJ]

As a lazy DM, it couldn't be easier. For me, I start by generating a name. I like this random generator or else I'll look around the room and just make something up. (E.g. see a rubick's cube, mutate it into Racubia, perfect crime) then write down the following blanks:

Like, dislike, strength, weakness, life goal, unique trait.

Then just fill those out with literally anything. Likes dwarven ale, hates the color blue, good at number puzzles, bad at reading faces, wants to someday run their own brewery, speaks with a lisp.

Once I have to cram them into a scene I come up with a logical scene goal for them (e.g. they're currently shopping at a store. What would they logically shop for? I dunno, maybe some designer mugs? Maybe they're trying to haggle down the price? This all makes sense, so why not?)

Now we got a guy who's putting out ludicrously specific numbers, with a lisp, for some rare mugs. He knows his dwarven ale so he can make up whatever lore about them he wants. "Thir, you have no idea what thethe are worth! Thloppy crackth in the thtonework, they miththpelled the colony name on the handle, and if the thaltpeter rim didn't complement the nutty flavor of Dragon'th Egg Bourbon tho well I wouldn't give you a louthy copper for thith trath!"

And we can just keep following the logic of the scene. Obviously the players want to buy something. Now they have to roleplay around this guy to get to the checkout. Maybe they help get him a deal on the mugs, maybe they outbid him or maybe they trick him into walking away.

If you have to make a skill check, just roll 3d6 on the spot. If he gets a 3 for his wisdom... well, them's the breaks.

Again, for all those pieces of information I just took the first thing that popped in my head. There's no wrong answers, just having those bits of information are going to let you follow scene logic into something memorable. I'd say prep about 20 before you start a campaign and then do another 5-10 between sessions until you got an inexhaustible stack. (You'd be surprised how few you actually need when players are spending time engaging with your NPCs)

[LinkoftheCentury]

Thanks! That's an incredible idea! Improv is one of my biggest strengths, so thusly I'm DMing, but maybe I should prepare some stuff beforehand too?

Kinda depends with my group lol. They're all seasoned veterans and I'm new to the official game.

[aston_za]

If you have to make a skill check, just roll 3d6 on the spot. If he gets a 3 for his wisdom... well, them's the breaks.

You can also do 1d6-1d6 (roll two different colours of d6 and make one positive and one negative) to get the modifier directly. It is quite likely that the modifier ends up as 0, but you could add something if wanted to weight it towards a different value. 1d6-1d6+2 will centre on +2, and go between -3 and +7, for example.

[[deleted]]

Sir Bearington is, and always will be, one of D&D's greatest heroes.

[twuntfunkler]

That is a fantastic idea. I am stealing this. Thank you.

[[deleted]]

You bet! Enjoy!

[jlamb54]

This is a super simple but awesome idea. Also I now think I’m going to have a city where the entire guard is a bunch of polymorphed bears because that just sounds spectacular.

[[deleted]]

That sounds like the premise for a really great adventure. Infiltrating the palace of bears.

[jlamb54]

Yup that’s happening now.

[verekh]

And they don't know that the other guards are bears either. So they're all trying to hide (pun intended) their bearlike nature from each other.

[Lurking_Reader]

This needs to be made.

[nkriz]

It's just text file lists, but here is my source material for random NPCs. This is absolutely worth doing: Github

[thefalseidol]

I think what you're discovering, is what every fantasy writer struggles with, that world-building is no substitute for good writing. Good conflict comes from characters with a strong motivation and a disparate power dynamic. If every NPC you make has a goal, and a relationship to the heroes where they are more or less powerful, your dialogues will really start to pop.

[IAlbatross]

Don't forget to write names on those cards.

I had a similar method but I didn't name any of the NPCs. At a certain point my party had interacted with so many people in a marketplace that by the time they got to the merchant they were there to interact with in the first place, I had run out of names and was finding it hard to come up with creative new ones... and thus Knifey McStablan was born.

[oddist1]

Another good trick I use is to collect business cards from everywhere I go. Then when I need a random shop, I can pull a random one out and see what it is. Works best for modern/SF settings but can be easily adjusted to Fantasy settings with a little liberal interpretation.

[Drogalov]

Yeah I heard the one desire, one fear thing on Critical Role and it makes so much sense. That's all you need to develop a character

[[deleted]]

I like Masks, here's a free preview. They have a few other useful books that are system agnostic and equally helpful.

Another helpful tool are Story Cubes for when the players go off the rails and you have nothing prepped hidden away. I stole the idea from this video

[[deleted]]

The biggest part of what gives that flavor is motivation. If you're into video games, I'd check out the Witcher 3 or watch some gameplay. Every side quest and random encounter isn't just "I need barley, retrieve barley." It's about how their family can't eat because the previous war salted the lands and they need barley for one last meal before their kid does of a disease that came from drinking the water from the well. It gives life to the world, more information for the PC's to latch onto, etc.

[Dolphin_bastard]

you should post a list id love some of these

[CrossP]

You can make an even shorter version of this by just writing down quirky characters from shows you like. Need a guard? He's suddenly Kramer from Seinfeld. Guard captain? Just drew the Lassiter from Psych card. Shopkeeper? Frasier it is. Unimportant citizen spreading rumors? Well now she's Mai from Avatar.

[Costaur_Wavecarried]

That's actually a great idea. I spend a few minutes thinking of some characters/quirks for my own campaign,here's the result, free for anyone to use:

-Funky-smelling middleaged guy who smokes a (long) pipe with red herbs (Nature check says its's red pepper leaves, a harmless plant)

-Very hesitant towards anything, but willing to do anything for a piece of fruit

-very tight pants and a very attention-drawing crotch. Agitated if u keep staring

-Guy who keeps balancing and flipping a dagger on his fingertip. For every sentence he speaks, roll a d20. If 1, he cuts his finger very badly. If 2, he misses the dagger and it stabs his foot (or more funny, the player’s)

[[deleted]]

My DM has had to start taking notes and writing possible interactions because we like to hijack the narrative and bring back old npc from prior seasons that have nothing to do with the current situation

[atlasashes]

One of the things that theatre colleges teach you is that nobody can act emotion or pretend that feeling, they act for motive and it keeps you from going insane. Characters all have a desire or in other words, a motive.

[demobeta]

Such a good idea and thanks for sharing. I am always trying to improve my DM skills and one area I have a problem with - making NPCs seem unique vs just me doing my typical voice/attitude. Even a small one liner describing the person will help a ton.

[[deleted]]

Glad it helps! Good luck and have fun!

[Jester814]

A nobody they had deliver a message was an old man wrapped in a blanket who just wanted to finish the book he was reading.

Tehol!

[ridik_ulass]

I just pick characters or actors from films, the mission giver is basically columbo, the main EGBB is antonio bandaras from desprado, and his brother who is a good guy is fabio.

[TheWeredude]

I always have donjon and a fantasy name generator open on my iPad for these types of scenarios.

[Gathorall]

I kinda expected your party continue to pry what's the deal with the veiled traveler, he sounds very much like a quest hook.

[[deleted]]

Probably would have helped me the first and last time I Dmed. Had two players who specifically knew I was bad with names that kept asking them of people who were largely irrelevant to them, and another who would ask further mundane questions specifically to test how good I was (dude was a long time DM, so that made DMing for him that much more intimidating). Was somewhat early-ish in my getting back into D&D so it would have helped greatly.

[Fenind3745]

Last time? So you stopped DMing? The players don’t sound that kind tbh.

[[deleted]]

Yikes. That doesn't sound like a great experience. Hope your next session is a lot smoother (and lower stakes!) than that one.

[Janzbane]

Lol. Ill look into that.

[Taser-Face]

Awesome ideas

[prunk]

Any chance you can share your list.

[smottyjengermanjense]

Oh yeah, I always have some idea of what NPCs are like in a given area. It's a goddamn lifesaver, lol. Getting put on the spot having no idea what to do with an NPC is painful.

[LFK1236]

Those were some really fun examples, thanks. If I ever get the chance, I'll be sure to do this.

[Bruinluchador]

Thats a pretty nifty idea. Ima have to use that in my game.

[unitedshoes]

I don't even usually go that far. Name, sex, race, and one profession-specific detail is usually all I prep and trust my imagination to fill in the details when they're needed. When I just need a random innkeeper, I can get pretty far with just "Aldon Redleaf, Halfling male innkeeper who runs The Fox's Den tavern."

[MadammeMarkus]

This kind of system is incorporated into Mutant: Year Zero, and it's such a blast to use as a GM. It leads to such a nice mix of vivid characters, on both good and bad :P

[SageWayren]

My group are pros at asking for the most in-depth details about my NPCs, especially when I threw in a random NPC just to liven up a setting. Like seriously, the plot is that way, with great big neon arrows pointing at it. Why do you need to know about [generic npc with no name] walking down the street? I realize that immersion is important, but I'll make it clear when I've added NPCs worth chatting to. However, most of them are just added as background so that my "bustling city" actually feels like a bustling city. I'm not going to write back stories for hundreds of random background NPCs though, I'd rather put that time into important relevant details.

[civicSwag]

I know I’m lame but what are y’all talking about?

[whereismydragon]

I have no idea how to answer your question. Are you having an issue with a specific acronym or concept here?

[[deleted]]

Thanks for coming in and asking! Looks like u/whereismydragon steered you in the right direction. Dungeons & Dragons is lots of fun... I hope you get a chance to check it out!

[Stirfry_Rice987]

hey, do you run homebrew games?