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Our discussion of the Universal NPC Roleplaying Template has mostly focused on the effort that goes into originally prepping the NPC for the first time that you use them. For most NPCs, this is probably all you need: Most NPCs, after all, have a shelf life. They’ll be used once and then slip away into the night, vanishing along with the scenario which gave birth to them.

But some NPCs, of course, will become recurring characters, interacting with the PCs again and again, building long-term relationships — whether for weal or woe — that can endure for the entire campaign. (Or, in even rarer circumstances, persevering across multiple campaigns.)

What’s needed, as these long-term characters develop through play, is a new section for our NPC template: the activity log.

The quick version is that this is just a place for you to record the NPC’s interactions with the PCs — and possibly the wider campaign world as a whole — so that you can easily reference these events and keep the character’s continuity straight.

For example:

CARRINA – ACTIVITY LOG

• 9/24: Deputizes the PCs and gives them the Commissar’s Decree. PCs brief her on cult hot spots and tell her about the Banewarrens.
• 10/4: Carrina questions them about St. Thessina’s Chapel and tells them the chapel exploded. (They do not tell her about Yaeshla.) She’s told about bone devils escaping from Banewarrens. She orders the PCs to investigate the Blue Arsonists.
• 10/6: Carrina briefed on the upcoming Blue Arsonist attack.
• 10/6: Carrina briefed about Mrathrach. She needs more evidence.
• 10/12: Carrina told about purple wraith escape.
• 10/14: Carrina assigns Eliavra to help them with chaos cults.
• 10/17: Eliavra complains to Carrina about the screw-ups she’s been assigned to. She gets assignment to bodyguard Goldshields investigating tolling bell manifestations.
• 10/19: Mrathrach Raids. Carrina arrests them and strips them of their deputization. PCs manage to make peace with Carrina. Deputization reinstated.
• 10/20: PCs warn Carrina that there’s a rat in the city watch.
• 10/22: Carrina pays large bonus to the PCs. Refuses to intervene with Rehobath/Church Delvers.
• 10/22 (afternoon): Carrina summons them to deal with purple wraiths at St. Chausle’s Chapel.

The level of detail you want to use for your activity log is entirely up to you, and will probably vary depending on both circumstance and the character in question.

(For context, this log covers developments over roughly 80 sessions of play.)

Personally, I still run most of my games at the table from paper notes, and I’ll print my NPC briefing sheets on separate sheets of paper. My activity logs, therefore, are often somewhat informal, with the briefing sheets just accumulating handwritten notes over time as living artifacts of the campaign. (The back of the briefing sheet — which is often blank — can be a great place for note-taking!) But whether you’re running your campaign from a VTT, a wiki, or a Notions board, you should find it fairly easy to create an ACTIVITY LOG section on the character’s page and do the same.

AUDITING THE ACTIVITY LOG

If these notes become sufficiently unruly, of course, it can be valuable to recompile them, edit them, and bring them back under control. It’s important to remember that one of the primary goals of the NPC Roleplaying Template is to keep information related to the NPC succinct, well-organized, and easy-to-reference, and this remains true of the activity log, too.

It can be useful to remember that your goal is not to write a short story describing these events to some third party audience: You’re creating a quick reference for jogging your memory, making sure you don’t forget anything, and keeping the continuity straight.

Along similar lines, detailed information that was relevant a dozen sessions ago can often be reduced to a single sentence referencing those events now that time has passed.

On the other hand, in reviewing your notes, you may also discover that there’s stuff you should have written down that you didn’t. It’s usually easy enough to add the missing information to make sure you have it in the future.

I usually find a simple timeline — as in the example with Carrina, above — to be the best format for the log, but your mileage may vary. (And may also, of course, depend on the specific NPC.)

BACKGROUND – SINCE LAST WE MET

In my experience, it’s far from unusual for an NPC to disappear from the campaign for a bit and then reappear at a later date, whether because the PCs spontaneously seek them out or because they’ve become relevant to some new scenario you’re prepping. (Don’t forget Neel Krishnaswami’s Law of the Conservation of NPCs!)

Just like old friends getting together, you’ll probably want to know what the NPC has been up to in the interim. (Unless they were literally stuck in a cryo-stasis chamber for the duration.) Knowing that NPCs are “doing stuff” even when they’re not in their direct line of sight will make the game world truly feel alive for your players.

When prepping the NPC for their new appearance, therefore, you may find it useful to include a BACKGROUND – SINCE LAST WE MET subsection to their briefing sheet. You could just integrate this into a single updated Background section, but this, “What have you been up to?” material — although often not Key Info — is nevertheless something I’ll usually want to make a point of using, and therefore find useful to separate out a bit for easy reference.

(If it is Key Info, of course, you can just drop it down there, instead.)

The amount of detail you want to dive into with this will, again, vary a lot depending on the situation, but a little will go a long way here: One or two anecdotes, which can usually be no more than a sentence or two, will almost always get the job done.

Once you’ve actually used this material (e.g., they’ve told the PCs all about their adventures in the secret reptoid caverns behind Niagara Falls), you can then incorporate it into the NPC’s Activity Log. (Although this stuff technically didn’t happen while they were directly interacting with the PCs, it’s still part of the NPC’s personal, evolving continuity in the campaign.)

CAST OF CHARACTERS

A final thing I’ll mention here is that if you’re running a campaign with a big, rotating cast of recurring NPCs, you may find it very useful to maintain a cast of characters module in your campaign status document.

This is something I discuss in more detail in Campaign Status Module: Supporting Cast.

How you organize this list — whether alphabetically, by faction, by utility, or something else entirely — will obviously depend on your specific needs for the current campaign, but when you combine this with either a file folder or three-ring-binder or indexed wiki page of NPC briefing sheets, you should have everything you need to fill your world with fascinating characters who your players can form deep and meaningful relationships with.

FURTHER READING
Quick NPC Roleplaying Templates
Campaign Status Module: Supporting Cast
Random GM Tip: Memorable NPCs
Advanced Gamemastery: Universal Roleplaying Template

Thanks to Frolmaster and Olivia Bullocks on Youtube for recommending the topic for this article!

DISCUSSING
In the Shadow of the Spire – Session 36A: The Knighting of Tor

And in this way, Tor did service upon the Eight Stations and swore the Eight Oaths. The gathered knights lowered their blades and Sir Gemmell laid his own blade upon Tor’s shoulders.

“Rise, Sir Torland.”

A procession was then formed, led by the priests and followed by Sir Gemmell and Sir Tor. They passed through the gates of the Godskeep and then into the inner passages. Tor was guided by a secret way into the basement of the keep itself, and there taken to a chamber where the Statue of Vehthyl stood.

Here the last of the water from the cups of mithril were washed across the feet of Vehthyl and into a final cup of taurum. And from this Tor drank deep.

I’ve previously discussed how I design fictional rituals for my game worlds.

But why would you want to do this? Why not just say something like, “You go to the Godskeep in the morning and, in a formal ceremony in front of all the other knights, Sir Lagenn begins the ritual of officially knighting you… but then Rehobath shows up.” Isn’t that enough detail to play through the scene? Is it really worth your time to invent an entire religious ceremony?

The truth is that it often will be more than enough, and there’ll be no reason to recite an entire liturgy or script a full sermon just because the PCs happen to be walking through a church.

Conversely, though, there are also a lot of situations in which I think it’s absolutely worth the extra effort.

It can emphasize a moment or, alternatively, reflect and respect the emphasis which is already being given to a moment. In this session, for example, Tor is achieving — through perhaps the unlikeliest series of events — major goal that his player had set for the character when she created him. That’s huge! We don’t want to just toss that moment away; we should revel in it and make it feel like a real payoff.

Along similar lines, you can also use rituals like these as a reward. In some cases, just the experience of the ritual itself will be rewarding in its own right, but it’s also quite possibly to build literal mechanical or material rewards into the ritual. For example, perhaps joining an organization gives you access to unique character abilities. Or perhaps every knight receives the magic sword with which they were knighted as a gift.

Rituals can also serve as exposition. Having the players actually roleplay through a call-and-response ritual, for example, is a great way to get them to actually focus on and care about that content. Rituals in the real world have a wide reach and can touch every aspects of our lives, so whether you want to establish facts about religion, history, politics, or even just daily life, it’s pretty easy to find a way to inject that stuff into a ritual.

Similarly, rituals can also set up or emphasize the themes of your campaign. If you’re playing in a campaign that emphasizes oathbreaking, for example, then getting your players to literally swear oaths is a pretty literal invocation of theme. Or you might build a ritual around a legendary tale in which the Trickster God deceived his mother.

For an example of this from another medium, consider the final montage in The Godfather, in which Michael Corleone is show baptizing his child at the same time that he’s having the rival mob bosses assassinated.

This example from The Godfather also shows us how rituals can be a great way of structuring a scene: The cuts between baptism and murder provide a staccato rhythm and regularity to the sequence. (I’ve also talked about this scene in Scenario Structure Challenge: The RPG Montage, if you’d like a more detailed look at how you can pull off similar effects at the gaming table.)

Of course, a montage is not the only way you can use the ritual as a structure. For example, I once ran an exorcism scenario in which the PCs had to (a) research the ritual required for exorcism and then (b) actually perform the ritual during the final scene. The trick was that at least one PC (and player) had to be chanting at all times or the ritual would fail, but there were, of course, a bunch of things that would be interfering with their ability to do that. So, in practice, the scene became structured around the players swapping in and out of the ritual, while also trying to deal with all the demonic incursions and other interference that was happening throughout the ritual.

Campaign Journal: Session 36B – Running the Campaign: Secrets of the All-Key
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE

SESSION 36A: THE KNIGHTING OF TOR

January 24th, 2009
The 19th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Going downstairs, Ranthir discovered that he had overslept – it was now midmorning on the 19^th. Tellith had yet another letter for them, this one having arrived earlier that morning.

NOTE FROM ZAVERE

I have at least some of the information you requested. Attend me at Castle Shard at your leisure.

                                                                                – Zavere

He returned to the others, who were still awaiting his return in the antechamber of the Banewarrens. While Elestra refreshed the alarm spell on the sealed door, they discussed their plans for the day: They gave up on the idea of tracing the teleport (concluding that too much time had passed for a useful pursuit to be raised), but they still needed to follow up on the letters from both Zavere and Mahdoth’s Asylum. And, of course, Tor was to be knighted.

They decided to split up.

THE KNIGHTING OF TOR

The Godskeep

Tor left the others and rode Blue to the Cathedral of Athor. There, at the doors of the church, he was met by Sir Gemmell. From the Cathedral he was taken to the Godskeep and through its double-gates.

A pavilion had been raised in the square north of the Godskeep. Twenty red-sashed members of the Order had been gathered in two flanking ranks, facing a raised dais onto which Gemmell and Tor emerged. The knights raised their swords in salute, and kept them raised.

Atop the western and eastern towers of the Godskeep stood the great statues of Athor the Father and Crissa the Mother. With the knights of the Order saluting him, Tor watched as priests poured holy water across the feet of the twin statues. This water passed down through channels crafted into the bas reliefs upon the northern wall of the Godskeep and caught in vessels of the true silver, mithril.

Into these vessels were first dipped cups of the true gold, taurum, and these were brought forth.

Sir Gemmell gestured for Tor to kneel. “Squire, will you take the oaths?”

“I will.”

Sir Gemmell dipped his fingers into the water touched by the Father and upon Tor’s brow drew the sign of the Knight’s Cross.

May my purpose be governed by the wisdom of Athor, Father of All Things.

Tor repeated the oath as it was said to him.

Sir Gemmell dipped his fingers into the second cup and drew the Arms of the Mother, Crissa’s holy ankh.

May my service be shaped by the compassion of Crissa, Mother of All Things.

The twin vessels of mithril were taken to the statues of the other gods, and some slight amount of it poured over their feet and into similar cups of taurum. And these, too, were brought forth.

The Sword and Chalice…

May my blade be guided by the honor of Itor, Warrior Unparred.

The Daggered Cross…

May my mind be honed by the cunning of Itehl, that my sight never be clouded.

The Wheel of Night…

May my heart be opened by Sarathyn, that my actions be true.

The Wheel of Light…

May my life be blessed by Sayl, that my service may be long.

The Crescent Moon…

May my soul be resonant with the touch of Tohlen, that my works may nurture.

The Eye of the Veil…

May my fate be true to the will of Bahl, that I take no life in vain.

And in this way, Tor did service upon the Eight Stations and swore the Eight Oaths. The gathered knights lowered their blades and Sir Gemmell laid his own blade upon Tor’s shoulders.

“Rise, Sir Torland.”

A procession was then formed, led by the priests and followed by Sir Gemmell and Sir Tor. They passed through the gates of the Godskeep and then into the inner passages. Tor was guided by a secret way into the basement of the keep itself, and there taken to a chamber where the Statue of Vehthyl stood.

Here the last of the water from the cups of mithril were washed across the feet of Vehthyl and into a final cup of taurum. And from this Tor drank deep.

May I be held worthy in the eyes of silver mastery, that my path may stand as one with those of the Nine Gods and the Church Which Is Their Voice.

And from the wall Sir Gemmell drew down the Sword of the Order and approached Tor to perform the True Knighting.

But as he did, a figure appeared from out of the shadows. “I would be honored if you would allow me to finish this ceremony, Sir Gemmell.”

It was Rehobath. Sir Gemmell yielded the sword to him, and Rehobath placed the blade lightly upon Tor’s shoulders.

When Tor had risen once more, Rehobath smiled at him. “Sir Torland, I am glad to see the ranks of the Order so quickly refreshed. The treason of Sir Kabel has hurt us grievously, and it is good to see one of those wounds begin to heal.”

“Thank you, milord.”

“If there is any favor that I might do for you, name it.”

“There is one thing,” Tor said hesitantly. “I would like my daughters to know that I have been knighted. If word could be sent to them…”

“I will see to it.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, I know that both you and the Chosen of Vehthyl are busy about the business of the Church. And so I shall let you return to it.”

Rehobath left. And after Sir Gemmell and several of the other knights assembled had given him their own congratulations, Tor left as well.

THE THIRD LORD OF CASTLE SHARD

The others, meanwhile, had headed up to Castle Shard. Kadmus, of course, was waiting for them at the end of the drawbridge when they arrived. As they passed through the entry hall, they saw that the bas reliefs had changed once again. They now depicted, on one side, squat figures bearing a heavy boulder and, on the opposite side, winged figures chained to a boulder by chains.

“That’s ominous,” Tee said.

But Lord Zavere greeted them with his familiar smile.

“Have you had any luck questioning Tavan Zith?” Tee asked.

“No,” Zavere said. “He remains quite mad. And uncooperative.”

But Zavere had looked through the archives of the Castle for information on the Banewarrens. Like Jevicca, he told them about Alchestrin, who had once been the Third Lord of Castle Shard. “He became obsessed with the hidden secrets of the Spire and bent all the power of the Shard towards discovering its secrets.

“Unfortunately,” Zavere went on to say, “Most of the actual lorebooks and artifacts he collected are missing from the archives. It’s possible, given the… poor circumstances under which he left the Castle, that he took these resources with him.

“I know little of Alchestrin’s fate after he left the Castle. But I do know that his tomb is located in the Necropolis, somewhere on Darklock Hill. It’s reputedly a rather large complex, but I have no record of where it might lie precisely. However, it would have been marked with Alchestrin’s sigil.”

Running the Campaign: Using Rituals – Campaign Journal: Session 36B
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

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