DISCUSSING
In the Shadow of the Spire – Session 35A: Birds of Black Feather

Once they had emerged from the sewers, they sold the unclaimed items in various shops across Midtown and the North Market. Then they headed to the Cathedral and received divine healing, mystically purging their poison-wracked bodies. They also took the opportunity to stock up on a variety of portable curatives so that they would be able to deal with poison on site in the future. (“This probably won’t be the last time we’ll be dealing with the Brotherhood of Venom.”)

They had completed these tasks as a matter of urgency and necessity, but now that the dinner hour was approaching, they realized they were still variously caked with sewer sludge, crusted blood, and other various foulnesses. And so they headed toward the bathhouse on Tavern Row.

I’ve previously discussed expedition-based play, but the quick version is that:

1. The party gathers resources in order to…
2. Venture forth in pursuit of a goal, during which…
3. They will attempt to use their resources to best effect in order maximize the progress and/or payoff of their expedition.

The resources in question might be either practical supplies (e.g., rations or gasoline) or mechanical benefits (e.g., hit points and spell slots). The goal might be either specific (e.g., root out of the cultists) or general (e.g, loot as much treasure as possible).

The fun of expedition-based play comes from the challenge of maximizing the return on your investment. At some point, though, you’ll burn through your resources and be forced to return to your home base so that you can gather fresh resources for the next expedition.

This dynamic, however, can lead to expedition-based play being characterized as the PCs always losing and needing to run away with their tails tucked between their legs. When it’s perceived in this way, of course, expedition-based play can seem incredibly frustrating: “We failed again!”

As we can see at the end of the last session and the beginning of this one, however, the real secret to expedition-based play is figuring out when to beat a jubilant strategic withdrawal just BEFORE you hit the challenge that depletes your resources and leaves you fleeing in abject desperation. In fact, finding that moment of jubilant withdrawal is one of the great joys of dungeon exploration: You have fought the good fight. You have reaped your rewards. You have laid the groundwork for the even greater success of your next expedition!

That is, without a doubt, a triumph, and must be seen as such.

You won’t always find that perfect moment, of course. That’s OK. If there weren’t setbacks, the victories wouldn’t taste as sweet.

Finding the perfect moment, of course, is a matter of experience. And, honestly, I find it to be as much art as science.

Some may believe that they can outthink the problem by simply leaving long before their supplies run out. “If we never put ourselves at risk, then we can never fail!” goes the logic.

Such an overabundance of caution, however, is really just a different kind of failure. If nothing else, it’s a failure to realize your potential. On a more practical level, overly frequent retreats can be particularly devastating – ranging from the frustrating to the disastrous – if the GM is running a dynamic dungeon that responds to the PCs’ actions. In those circumstances, the overly-cautious group may find it incredibly difficult to make any real progress towards their goals, instead finding themselves fighting over the same dungeon rooms again and again and again, like some sort of subterranean reenactment of World War I trench warfare.

But when you find the sweet spot! That’s a glorious moment! You leave your foes broken behind you and emerge back into the warmth of the sun, looking around the table to see the grinning faces of your fellow adventures. And then you count your coins and gems, marvel at your new magic items, and tally your experience points.

You have reached the top of one pinnacle, and now it is time to prepare for the next!

Campaign Journal: Session 35B – Running the Campaign: Weaving the Background
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE

SESSION 35A: BIRDS OF A BLACK FEATHER

January 18th, 2009
The 18th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Once they had reached a position of relative safety (i.e., far away from the chaos temple), Ranthir magically attuned his vision. Looking over the items they had looted from the cultists, he saw several arcane auras. These items, combined with the various coins and gems, constituted a small fortune.

“They were well equipped,” Tor said.

One of the items, in particular, held particular interest for the fighter: Gavele’s preternatural speed was explained by the enchanted boots she wore. Tor, who had struggled to keep up with the long, powerful strides of Agnarr’s barbarian-bred legs, claimed both these and a shirt of finely crafted and mage-touched chain.

Once they had emerged from the sewers, they sold the unclaimed items in various shops across Midtown and the North Market. Then they headed to the Cathedral and received divine healing, mystically purging their poison-wracked bodies. They also took the opportunity to stock up on a variety of portable curatives so that they would be able to deal with poison on site in the future. (“This probably won’t be the last time we’ll be dealing with the Brotherhood of Venom.”)

They had completed these chores as a matter of urgency and necessity, but now that the dinner hour was approaching, they realized they were still variously caked with sewer sludge, crusted blood, and other various foulnesses. And so they headed toward the bathhouse on Tavern Row.

BIRDS OF A BLACK FEATHER

When they arrived at the Row Bathhouse, however, they found a small crowd gathered around its gaping door. A carpet of black feathers covered a broad swath of the street directly in front of the building.

Ranthir turned to Elestra. “What type of feathers are they? Raven or crow?”

“I don’t know, I’m an urban druid.”

But Ranthir was thinking about what Elestra had told them of her experiences at Nadar’s Pub: Sir Kabel had dismissed the possibility that she had been a messenger from the Killravens explicitly because she had been too small to be a raven.

They approached one of the men gathered around the scene. “What happened?”

“I hardly know. I was just walking down the street when a huge flock of birds flew into the bathhouse. Several people ran out, most of them screaming their fool heads off. And then the bird flew back out again.”

“What type of birds were they?”

“I don’t know. They were just black birds.”

“Wait,” Ranthir said. “Were they crows, ravens, or blackbirds?”

Dominic sighed. “I don’t think he knows.”

With a shrug, Tor and Tee headed into the bathhouse. They found Derra, the proprietress of the bathhouse, being questioned by a watchman. Tee took the opportunity to sneak through the far door and into the baths themselves.

She found the pools tainted with blood – crimson tendrils eddying between black feathers. She poked around for a bit, but didn’t find anything notable.

As she came back into the front office, the watchman spotted her and kicked them out onto the street. As they emerged from the door, they spotted a raven watching them from the roof on the opposite side of the Row. Seeing that it had been noticed, the raven took off and began to fly away to the south.

Reacting instantly, Elestra called upon the Spirit of the City and transformed into a hawk. She winged her way quickly after the errant raven. The crafty creature managed to dodge her first attempt to snag it, but on her second pass she was able to clasp it in her talons. She winged her way back towards the others—

And then flew past them on her way to the Ghostly Minstrel.

“Where’s she going?”

Tee was exasperated. “She’s like a magpie! But instead of shiny things, it’s bad guys.”

TELLITH’S TROUBLES

Elestra flew in through the window of her room. The others followed on foot.

But when they opened the front door of the Ghostly Minstrel, they found Tellith being confronted by a large ogre and three thugs.

“—and don’t think your delver friends will help you,” the ogre growled.

“Delver friends like us?” Tee stabbed him in the back.

With a roar of pain, the ogre whirled around and lowered his hands. From the tips of his fingers a wave of fire poured forth, bursting through the front doors of the Minstrel.

But Tee, reacting in the flicker of an eye, had flattened herself against the wall – avoiding the flames completely. Stepping forward again and coming en garde, she smiled, “You shouldn’t talk to Miss Tellith like that.” She backed out of the way as Agnarr and Tor, pushing their way through the door, closed in.

The ogre growled, backing away cautiously. “Kill the woman! Now!”

One of the thugs headed towards Tellith. She screamed and ducked under the front desk.”

“Seeaeti!” Agnarr called.

The ogre was pretty much blocking the entire front hall, so Seeaeti – being a clever hound – leapt through the front window, landed in a cascade of glass on a table, jumped from there onto the floor, ducked under a club swung by the nearest thug, and then harried his leg – keeping him away from Tellith.

Two more of the thugs were heading towards Tor. Tor eased into a defensive posture and then, in a flurry of sudden motion, beheaded the two thugs and gutted the ogre. All three of them fell dead.

Ranthir gaped. “That was amazing…”

“Keep one of them alive!” Tee pushed her way to the front of their line and thrust her dragon pistol into the face of the last thug. “Surrender!”

“No problem! No problem at all! I’m just the hired help!”

Without taking her eyes off him, Tee called over her shoulder. “Are you all right, Tellith?”

“I think so… Is it safe to come out?” Tellith crawled out from under the desk and patted Seeaeti on the nose. “Good dog!”

Questioning the thug they discovered that he and the other two had been hired by the ogre – who had been named Fatok – to provide an intimidating front. (“The ogre wasn’t intimidating enough?” Dominic wondered aloud. “Strength in numbers, I guess,” said the thug. “I just took the cash.”) They’d been extorting various businesses up and down Tavern Row in the name of the Killravens when Fatok had decided that the Ghostly Minstrel was a rich and tempting target.

They cut him loose with a message for the Killravens: Stay away from the Minstrel.

Dominic healed the other two thugs and got them on their feet – they had, after all, just been hired help.

By the time he was done, a member of the watch had shown up. Looking at them, the watchman smirked. “You again? I thought you were keeping your noses clean.”

It was the same watchmen they’d run into so many times on their second day in town. He briefly questioned them and Tellith, and then took the two thugs into custody.

“What about him?” Tee asked, nudging the ogre with her foot.

“Huh…” The watchmen looked down. “Well, he’s too heavy for me to carry. I’ll grab some of the others and come back to haul him out of here.”

After the watchman left, they quickly searched Fatok’s body. They found that he wore an ebon ring shaped like a curved feather. (“We need to get rings,” Dominic said.) They were discussing how they could move him to some place secure where they could revive him and question him, but then the watchman returned with help and hauled the corpse away.

Running the Campaign: Withdrawing in Victory – Campaign Journal: Session 35B
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

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A few years back I shared the Universal NPC Roleplaying Template that I’d developed for recording NPCs in my campaign in a way that both (a) focused prep on the essential elements for running a great character and (b) organized that information into a format that makes it easy to pick up the NPC during a session and play them with confidence.

(And also to rapidly swap between multiple NPCs in a single scene.)

It’s probably worth checking out the full breakdown of the template, but it basically involves splitting the NPC’s description into four major categories:

• Appearance
• Roleplaying
• Background
• Key Info

And, generally speaking, the result will be a briefing sheet for each NPC. You can attach a photo or illustration of the character if you’d like, and then you’re good to go.

I’ve used this template for years to great success. You can find it in a bunch of different published scenarios I’ve written or developed. I’ve gotten feedback from a lot of GMs who have had tons of success with it.

But there is one question about the template that I’m asked perhaps more than any other:

“You expect me to do this for every NPC in my campaign?!”

And the short answer is: Nope.

The template is intended for significant NPCs: Ones who will either be the primary focus of a scene (e.g., a major suspect being interrogated) or a supporting cast member who will be featured across multiple scenes (or possibly even multiple scenarios).

Obviously, there are lots of other NPCs in the world, and they don’t all require the same level of care and attention. Your goal with these NPCs should be to keep your prep tightly focused and as short as possible.

THREE BULLET POINTS

For quick NPCs, whether prepped ahead of time or spun up on demand during a session, I’m generally aiming to capture the essentials of the character in three bullet points. Each bullet point should generally have no more than 1-2 sentences, and each bullet point actually corresponds to one of the categories in the Universal NPC Roleplaying Template:

• Appearance
• Roleplaying
• Background

The “Roleplaying” bullet point is a good example of my intention here: The full template features multiple roleplaying bullet points, but with a quick NPC I’m looking to boil that down to just one essential bullet point. Because the type of information you need to run the NPC hasn’t fundamentally changed; you’re just trying to keep that information short, simple, and to the point.

Here are some quick examples:

KAIRA LIGHTBURN

• Appearance: Blond hair, but with half her head shaved to reveal a large, blue, runic tattoo.
• Roleplaying: Kaira closes her right eye when thinking about something or considering a deal.
• Background: Kaira has managed the Annodyne Armory weapons shop for mercs on Lytenol Station since her father was killed by Imperial troops during the Union Riots of 2432.

CJ ASSANTE

• Appearance: Pale, coppery skin with large blue eyes. He wears an immaculate Brioni suit.
• Roleplaying: Believes that Matani is innocent. Will react very badly to anyone suggesting otherwise.
• Background: His parents were Palestinian refugees. He worked his way through Yale, then worked his way up, and now owns CJA Investments.

PAUL ASAFIELD

• Appearance: African American man in his late ‘50s. A cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
• Roleplaying: A wracking cough.
• Background: Works in Manhattan’s 7^th Knows his partner, Kira Butterfield, is on the take for the Bonetti Family, but isn’t willing to put his neck out.

Appearance is just a quick sketch, usually focused on a single detail that will evoke the character in the players’ imagination and let them fill in the rest.

Roleplaying for a quick NPC is something I usually default to a mannerism. For me, that’s the most useful hook, and I find that the rest of the character will usually flow easily through that mannerism. Your mileage may vary, but try to identify what that actionable hook is for you.

Background is very much just the broad concept of the character. Just enough to give them a specific place in the world and perhaps just the lightest hint of what their life is like. You can, of course, improvise more details on top of this barebones foundation as needed.

Tip: If you’re wondering how to pick names for NPCs you improvise during a session, I recommend prepping a list of generic names that you can grab from as needed. Check out Fantasy Names for a sample list and some of the tricks I use.

KEY INFO

Conspicuously absent from our bullet points is the Key Info section, which is used to separate and highlight the key information an NPC has which is required by the scenario. (Which helps make sure you don’t miss this key information while running the scenario.)

Even though these are minor NPCs, they can — and arguably should! — still play key roles in how your scenarios play out. For example, a passerby on the street can still give vital information about the bank robbery in their eyewitness report during a mystery scenario. Or a goblin cult leader might have a useful map they’d be willing to trade in a dungeon scenario.

What this really boils down to is that if you an NPC has Key Info, then that should be handled in a distinct section which contains whatever amount of information (and however many bullet points) are needed for the information in question.

In other words, Key Info for a quick NPC is going to be handled exactly like it’s handled in the full roleplaying template.

EXPANDING THE QUICK TEMPLATE

As you’re roleplaying these quick NPCs, you’re quite likely to discover things about them: Where did CJ Assante and Matani first met? What was the name of Kaira’s father? What brand of cigarettes does Detective Asafield smoke?

You can just jot this stuff down in the margins next to the NPC’s bullet points.

The next thing that’ll happen is Neel Krishnaswami’s Law of the Conservation of NPCs kicking in: You’ll need a rich kidnap victim… couldn’t that be CJ Assante? And what if Asafield was assigned to the case?

In fact, a piece of advice I frequently give is to pay attention to which NPCs “click” at the table: Which characters do the players really respond to? Which ones do you have a ton of fun roleplaying? Which ones do you notice the players keep talking about even after they’ve left the scene?

It’s almost always a good idea to grab those characters and figure out how to bring them back.

All of which is to say that, at some point, you’ll almost certainly find a minor NPC blossoming into a major one. When that happens, of course, you’ll likely want to expand their write-up into a full universal roleplaying template.

And because the quick NPC template has a structure that mirrors the full template, it’s super easy to make the swap. You just take the bullet points from your quick NPC write-up — plus the notes you’ve been making! — and split ‘em up into separate sections. Then you can just fill in the gaps!

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

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