So last time, we talked about some NPCs worked differently and what we need to focus on to make them present their best versions to players. We identified what Core, Service and Local Colour NPCs mean and the traits that we need to focus on.

Today we’re going to continue this very focused look at another set of NPCs with different roles and functions.
Plot NPCs
Ok, so let’s talk about the big elephant in the room. Plot NPCs are the people who move the plot forward. They’re arguably the most classic NPC and as a result can sometimes get short shrift because their function is already decided by you, at least the first scene they are in – give the quest, crash the wedding, arrest the PC’s mother, be a guard for that bandit camp.
However, a plot NPC also needs Potential Latitude and Chronology.
Chonrology because for a plot beat to feel uncontrived and natural, we need to come from somewhere and go somewhere. Who were they before this plot beat happened? Where did they exist? And where are they planning to go? Where is likely their trajectory beyond this one instance? These things that inform an NPC, which we often call backstory and motivation, they form a Chronological throughline that keeps things on the rails.
We also need Potiential Latitude – a way for the plot NPC to be more than just the plot hook. Maybe a little character detail, maybe a idea of what happens when thing don’t happen like the chronology is supposed to go. They need room to grow outside of that one thing, ways to become more than the angle. They might not come up, but that potential being planned for in the background gives the players different ways to interact with them and push buttons in the progression of the plot, meaning that NPC could, in future end up in a very different place to where they were intended.
Worth mentioning a plot NPC can often cross into other categories. A captured Core NPC might be a plot NPC because they need rescuing. Persuading the local mob boss to lend you money to move the plot forward is a Plot/Service NPC mash up. At least to begin with.
Challenge NPCs

These are undoubtedly my favourite NPCs. They are in a story not to push the plot forward but to present a challenge to the players’ way of thinking.
Maybe it’s someone who the PC hurts through their actions, no matter how well-meaning, or maybe it’s someone who is like a mirror of a PC but has a very different moral compass to the PC and challenges those beliefs.
The important thing is not just that they have a Point Of Contention but that they might be right. They can’t simply point out a flaw for the sake of manipulating a person or disagree with them to be a true challenge NPC. The argument they make, must be, from a certain point of view, correct and unshakable.
For example, Anderton, a Ba’ali vampire in my Vampire: The Masquerade campaign, is clearly villainous and only serves what makes him happy. But he’s not playing the games of the elders and is interested in freeing people from limits they’ve imposed upon themselves. He’s unashamedly himself, and that, in vampire society, one where vulnerability and honesty get you killed, is a dangerous idea. But is he wrong? I can use him as a tool to challenge those who have decided the status quo is safety. But he also represents the idea that abandoning all responsibility is dangerous. In the last session I played, he totally flipped the script on a group of vampires by claiming that a cabal of devout bloodsuckers who wished to return to humanity were selfish, judgemental and prepared to manipulate others to save their own souls. He made them question if being good was actually the right choice. And that’s only doable if you as the GM believe in that NPCs argument enough to present it in a way that might be right.
You should also be open to the idea that this NPC may change. Perhaps the resolution of this challenge is a conflict that kills the opposing ideology and its representative. Perhaps instead, it’s a compromise or even an agreement to disagree. But make the PC work for this. Don’t plan, present that challenge and see what happens.
Developmental NPCs

Developmental NPCs are sort of the opposite of a challenge NPC, although an NPC can easily be both. A developmental NPCs point is to allow a PC a place to learn or grow either through the acquisition of skill, or to safely seek advice about themselves as a person. They are the wise mentor who teaches you a new skill set or the friend who gets you through the loss of an important person.
Often the developmental NPC needs a few things. First, they need a Wisdom, something they can impart to a character after the player has formed a relationship. Either they know something that leads to the player growing as a person or in power, sometimes, this is a series of pieces of knowledge that can be staggered throughout a campaign.
They also need to have Needs, as true healthy relationships in the real world are not often one-sided and we want to model that behaviour. A believable NPC will not martyr themselves for someone else unless they are very submissive (and then their need is likely that someone recognises that sacrifice and comments on it positively). So the developmental NPC should have some needs of their own that the player must meet in order for that NPC to remain emotionally regulated in order to keep dispensing aid. Perhaps the informant needs to feel protected, perhaps the swordsmaster requires punctuality or monetary compensation. Perhaps the confidant just needs a friend who will go to bat for them in a time of worry.
An example is The Prince Of Winter, fey patron of one my D&D players. He’s not only here to give out warlock spells, he wants to teach the warlock that they are powerful enough to stand on their own and that there are no limits but what we make ourselves, and that has been a series of revelations and support without asking anything in return. This is his wisdom. His need is more complex – it’s about that love and support being returned and respected. He has at least once called upon the party to actually help him rid his land of dark fey, but mostly he’s more interested in the keeping of faith with him, loyalty and the warlock always being open to self-growth. If she gave up on him or the potential for things to improve, he’d have trouble being able to dispense help because her nihilism would eventually affect him – he is fey after all.
I hope that’s helped us look at different types of NPC over these two articles and we’ve been able to think about what we can concentrate on when creating them, with examples to get us on the same page. There are of course more categories, like ‘straight up comedy bit NPC’ but for now we’re going to stop here. Feel free to think about the NPCs in your games and what category they’re in. Until next time!
Creative Commons art credit: Nature Paladin – Darkest Dungeon style by Loginkey, Vampire by jdtmart and Fey Druid by SabrinaNox.