“Characters make your story. If the people come alive, what they do becomes the story.” – Sol Stein
Every character matters, especially those called to act like the conscripts above, but we’re rarely ready for just how much they might matter. As a GM, some non-player characters have a purpose though they might not figure into the greater plot or story until your players decide so. Maybe they loved the voice acting, the personality, or they just fixate on something and now that NPC is a treasure to be protected at all costs. Whether you want a memorable NPC, or just need some stats together quickly, NPC Core is here to help you.
As I said last week before digging into Rival Academies, there are many useful NPCs for you to quickly leverage in game. Chapter 1 provides a number of human NPCs grouped by their role in a story or effectively what you’d want to use them for. Aristan, Courtier, Criminal, Devotee, Downtrodden, Engineer, Explorer, Healer, Laborer, Martial Artist, Maverick, Mercenary, Military, Mystic, Official, Performer, Primalist, Scholar, Seafarer, and Villain. It’s not just a number of NPC stat blocks, let me tell you, but I’ll get there. Chapter 2 is for taking those stat blocks and modifying them for other ancestries as well as providing NPCs for those ancestries that are particularly relevant. We get Catfolk, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Goblins, Halflings, Hobgoblins, Kholo, Kobold, Leshy, Lizardfolk, Orcs, Ratfolk, Tengu, Tripkee, as well as some specific information relevant to particular Human Cultures for those variances. There’s more than stat blocks here too!
I’m going to get the obvious out of the way. The NPC that’s taken the Pathfinder community by storm: the Gunwitch on page 78. I can’t reproduce the stats of course, but I’ll help ya find it easy! Check out that awesome art above. This NPC calls on sympathetic magic through the Occult and wields a gun, a blend of the obscure and obscuring that is indeed truly unconventional but just plain old cool. Honestly, it’s giving variant magus to a degree or certainly a witch archetype. The Bewitched Shot is the core ability at two actions. You use your firearm – your familiar – have a hex bullet loaded. You make a Hex Bullet as one action, basically something you create to hold a spell you’ll cast as part of Bewitched Shot. The spell still provides normal defenses, so you have to hit and they get a save. Of course, that means if you critical with the gun strike their save would be treated as one category worse. That’s pretty grand. They also have a powerful Bullet Storm ability, also requiring that Hex Bullet. It’s two actions and does a rain of projectiles shot forth in a 60’ emanation and doing 8d6 piercing with a basic reflex save. Don’t gang up on the Gunwitch. They’ll teach you a lesson quick! A couple pages later we learn of their weapons, including Musket Staves and Pistol Wands! Specifically we get stats for the level 4 Musket Staff of Force and the Musket Staff of the Void. They’re enchanted firearms and limited spell selection staves, prepared as normal. I expect to see the rules for this quickly considering the popularity already, though I’ve already seen clever players trying to plot out the rules for such. Excitement drives creativity and vice versa. Shout out to whoever crafted this NPC and rules!
Another NPC that jumped out to me is the Mirror Seer on page 101. They have a special magic item as well down on page 107, the Malefic Mirror. This NPC has Evil Queen of Snow White vibes, using her mirror to spy on others while seeking perfection. They are in the Mystic category, sort of a witch as well with a Thaumaturge combination by their use of the mirrors. In fact it’s that large Malefic Mirror they keep at home that allows them to correspond with their patron, get their powers refreshed each day, as well as scry or do some illusory mimicry. That mimicry isn’t just the appearance but capable of giving your Mirror Seer the ability to use the mimic target’s abilities in an illusory fashion. You aren’t attacking with them, but you at least look like you can do the same things, countered by the Perception check of the viewer. She has another duplicative ability on her own called Rightfully Mine that let’s her duplicate a Strike, 4th level spell or lower, or a special action of 2 actions or less. It’s a neat reaction, only usable every 10 minutes, and I think fits her theme well in addition to her occult spells. The big ability is a 3-action Hall of Mirrors that causes all surfaces in a 30’ burst (range 100’) to become reflective for a minute. Creatures in the area get a will save to resist becoming confused while in the area. This NPC is really set up well for a final villain of lower level (she’s level 9) on your way to either the bigger problem or as a side plot. The block may be particularly useful to the Kingmaker game I’m running… Good luck my players.
But let’s turn to the myriad additions in this book that aren’t NPCs. A number of useful tables, roleplay suggestions, and even subsystems are presented. They’re mostly in the area related to the NPCs that’d most need them. Right in the Artisan area (page 10) we get useful Common Guilds you’d find in the world from cartographers to masons. There’s why they might help or hinder, quests they might offer, encounters that could be involved, and even items to find. Extremely useful when characters are moving through a town to learn who and what are there. The Courtiers have a list of noble titles and what they’re used for, tables to dynamically roll up symbols, emblems and heraldry on page 17. But what did I get really excited for? Fan Code! This is a real thing, where in the Elizabethan and Victorian era the use of a fan and how you wielded it sent a message to whom you were directing it toward. You definitely had to watch for prying eyes even then, so learn to be discreet. Tapping twice against the wrist? “Someone’s coming. Change the topic.” There was also a gloves and handkerchief code that gentlemen wielded. I learned about it long ago through a Costuming class in college. Shout out to David Howard at URI! Heck, I took that class so I could better understand period dress when describing it in tabletop gaming.
Jumping to page 41, we have the group of NPCs named the Downtrodden. To support utilizing those NPCs in your story, we get a quick blip on when and where to give a bonus to Gathering Information on the streets. I like the Street Nicknames you might need at a moment’s notice as well as a table for rolling as to the misfortune that has brought this person to the streets. Did rumor-mongering ruin their reputation? Did a gremlin curse them with bad luck? (Pugwampis be damned!) Maybe their political views make them a pariah in their area… Ha, how could that happen. If you meet those NPCs and they’re on the right, you best help them! The Explorer section has some great exploration equipment, some natural features and hazards you might run into, and a great table for the prices of maps you might want as a good reference. I feel this comes up often. Note there are already survey maps, giving a small +1 bonus to your related survival checks. Remember, +1 is good and +2 is amazing. These maps note they give a +1 item bonus but you can always provide a better map as treasure, especially if that extra bonus is only toward something specific. Maybe they find a map that’s good enough to help in general Survival circumstances, but +2 when finding the lost temple of Acavna!
On page 65 you’ll find a table within the Healer group, which includes the Therapeutic Healer above. This table is for a Glimpse Beyond Death when a PC dies. What flash of the Boneyard or something else does the character glimpse? If they aren’t getting raised immediately well maybe it’ll become a whole side adventure until they do. There’s a small table of personal touches and calling cards healers might be associated with like woven bark instead of cloth bandages or dried flowers with an herbalist’s touch rather than medicine. Meanwhile in Laborers at page 71 you can find aids for well, how might a Laborer aid your group given a positive relationship from informing on places they’ve been to provide some training. There’s also a table for why to encounter them like getting attacked by bandits or maybe it’s more that they’re striking. Why? Well perhaps their Union isn’t being respected. We get a great Union Organization adjustment section. I’m sure Gaming Developers and Voice Actors would appreciate this.
The Mercenaries have a page filled with useful tools on page 87. Need to generate a Mercenary Company name? There’s a table for that. What about a bribe they might want? Yep, that too. What crazy superstitions do they believe? Roleplaying detail right here for you. And of course, what mercenary group or famed mercenary doesn’t have a few trophies? There’s suggestions for that as well! Then we jump to Mystic on pages 106. A large table of Superficial Curses that could be levied are given in a 10 item table. As an example every time you see yourself in a reflective surface, your image distorts and shifts, revealing a twisted version of you. Great for a minor curse levied by the Mirror Seer! Slightly more problematic with actual penalties are the Minor Curses. But don’t worry, there are Blessings as well on the next page, including a one time use of Shield at 3rd level or you’re lucky for a bit, gaining a one time use of the Bit of Luck focus spell! The Warding Esoterica table is more about what a mystical character might have on hand to ward against various things, perfect for that spellcaster or thaumaturge.
There’s many more tools I’ll mention quickly! This NPC book is filled with content to support them. Tools for Criminals like our Flamboyant Thief above, and the hilarious 500 Toads first level spell! Details to help your bounty hunting. A quick deity reference. What is the hierarchy at a temple? Need some minor prophecies? Done. Things many gods consider as blasphemy. Updates for firearms or a quick reference while in that Engineer section. What happens when your device malfunctions? Therapy animals that Healers might use. Alternate names and special forbidden knowledge moves for Martial Artists and grandmasters! Need a scoundrel who fights dirty? What about when they retire? Need your lone wolf Maverick to have a cool alias or nickname? There’s a tangible for that! The Military section has various objectives, guerilla adjustments, troop formations, and military slang used in Golarion! Need some corruption rules for your city or country Officials? Page 122 has you covered. There’s judicial punishments around the Inner Sea, how to add flavor to a failure to request or coerce, what some areas might consider a crime that many Adventurers commit, various legal exemptions, and more!
Performers have various plays traveling trouples might be performing as well as two popular songs: The Contenders and the Stone about the Starstone and the Ballad of Cayden Cailean! The Primalists on page 137 have a number of primal ceremonies you could use. Green Faith Orders and their sacred sites, areas of expertise are listed. Need some Holidays or foraged treasures? What about the typical substances Primalists might use? All there! Need some Forbidden Books for dark Scholars? Page 144! What about the politics you might find at a magical university? It’s very useful for Rival Academies! Need a study of speciality for your NPC? Table for that! Oh and what might some wizards decorate their spellbooks with? A great table of 12 ideas is given like a book that sparkles and small rainbows appear whenever the book is opened. Yes, please. You can also find the laws of the sea-faring folk in Seafarer as well as shipboard animals, nautical superstitions, ship names in a table for quick use, and adjustments for your NPCs to make them aquatic.
I’ll highlight another NPC, seen above. The World Ender on page 163. They’re a Villain and have a number of special abilities including primal spells. You see their goal is simple: destroy the world. Here’s a major villain ability for you: Monologue. It’s a free action for once per round that allows the World Ender to expound on their foul plan including the why, the what, and how futile is to try stopping them. It grants the World Ender a +1 status bonus to Will Saves and +2 status bonus to damage with their spells. And they can keep doing it each round, growing the bonuses they get! I won’t tell you how much, but suffice to say no one likes a Villain monologuing! Right after are even more tools like Villainous Motives (d20 table) as to why they’re doing this, some special advantages they might have, as well as their complex, cool, or crazy lairs. Finally some great opening and “exit” lines for when the villain decides to high tail it out. “I must be going. Until next time!”
There’s even more tools in Chapter 2 like Elf Names, Elven Aphorisms (sayings), Tripkee names, Creature Companions, themed spell lists for a group, leshies ya might meet in your travel, and yes, still more. Y’know, I think I need to do the other ancestries justice with a deeper look in their own article… But before I do actually exit, I wanted to call out the Connection subsystem. It’s about creating a connection with an NPC, sometimes good and sometimes bad. The Connection has a type like Bonded, Acquainted, Vindictive… If you’ve bonded with an NPC, don’t make a moderate or major insult against them or they’ll just become Committed. I like this in addition to the Influence system, which is typically more about learning and getting some info or help from an NPC. This is more about relationship building. And with the new NPC Advancement system you’ll also get details on how to grow NPCs so they continue to be of benefit to your heroes. They can’t live in stagnation after all, especially if you want them to feature or your PCs just won’t leave that NPC alone!
The depth and breadth of NPC Core can not be ignored so let’s give some shout out thanks to the team with primary attribution to Logan Bonner and Mark Seifter. Our designers Logan Bonner (lead), Joshua Birdsong, James Case, Ivis K. Flanagan, and Michael Sayre have brought together over 200 pages of NPCs, along with some very useful Appendix tools. The illustrious Wayne Reynolds returns for the lovely cover art with Patrick Hurley as Editing Lead. Of course there’s many authors to make that many NPC stat blocks happen so check out that blog post, and of course additional editors and artists so please remember to check that sidebar in the table of contents. I highly suggest you invest in NPC Core as it’s not just incredibly useful NPCs ready at a moment’s notice, but so many useful GM tools to make your games more rich and keep them moving!
Reminder to keep being great to one another and support this community. Love y’all and stay good out there, keep gaming!
Investing In:
I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!
I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!
Sources
Banner – modified cover, NPC Core, Paizo, art by Wayne Reynolds
- Conscript Squad, NPC Core, Paizo
- Gun Witch, NPC Core, Paizo
- Mirror Witch, NPC Core, Paizo
- Therapeutic Healer, NPC Core, Paizo
- Flamboyant Thief, NPC Core, Paizo
- World Ender, NPC Core, Paizo
- Tumbleweed Leshy Courier, NPC Core, Paizo
