This week's dispatches from the Ministry of Intrigue
Hello, faithful reader.
We published the following fresh dispatches this week:
Create Better NPCs With a Character Sentence
July 9, 2024, 6:55 a.m.
It will come to no surprise for my readers that my current favorite system to run games in is the Cypher System . I’m very fond of how easy it is to generate NPCs and creatures on the fly, and I love the way it streamlines character creation while still making each PC feel unique. Specifically, the way you can encapsulate an entire character into a single sentence, e.g. “James is an Earnest Explorer Who Dances With Dark Matter.”
A character sentence is as simple as filling in the blanks: “[Character name] is an [Adjective] [Noun] who [Verbs].” In the case of Cypher System PCs, the values that you use to complete the sentence give you your starting abilities, powers, and weaknesses.
While this is great for players, I think my favorite way to use character sentences is during NPC creation. 1
I’ve written before about the importance of vivid NPCs in your games. Specifically, I wrote:
I’m not saying you need a complex backstory for every innkeeper, stable boy, and merchant your players encounter, but in the case of your major NPCs (and perhaps whole factions) you need to know who and where they are, what they want, and what they are prepared to do to get it.
A great starting point for the above is drafting a character sentence. Now, don’t run for the rulebook . I’m not talking about turning all your NPCs into PCs, or even forcing you to always play the Cypher System. Most of the time, the sentences I use may not even include any of the options in the books. What I’m looking for is a north star, separate from their circumstances, that represents the core of the NPC’s personality. A character sentence like “Sera is a Ruthless Survivor who Has Seen Too Much” quickly gives you insight into how they’ll behave even if you haven’t worked out all the details of their backstory yet.
For example, in the first campaign of Explorers Wanted , the primary villain was an entity 2 who I defined in my notes as “an Ancient Manipulator who Hungers”. While I also had plenty of lore into his origins and plans, the sentence was the guidepost for how he would behave in his pursuit of those goals. I knew he would be patient, he would make enforceable deals where the specific language of the agreement could be twisted in his favor, and that all his stratagems would be driven by his desire to consume. For his performance, I knew he would speak slowly, but with charm. He would offer help to his prey to entrap them in contracts, and be utterly without compassion when collecting on his debts. He would display his hunger in various ways and this trait would be passed on to his servants.
You don’t need to tell your players the sentence, and in most cases you probably shouldn’t if you want to keep their motivations a secret. 3 You can absolutely hang a lantern on it if you want, especially with a short-term NPC that’s only there for a session or two. Be careful with that though, as players often latch on to minor NPCs for reasons that are eldritch and strange, so you may find a need to keep them around for much longer. In fact, whenever the players start to fixate on a improvised/throwaway NPC, I’ll quickly write a sentence for them in my notes so that I have something to use as I flesh them out in future sessions.
The best part about this trick is that it can be applied to any game system. You can easily do the same for NPCs in D&D, PbtA, or frankly, any storytelling activity. It’s versatile, simple to do, and most importantly, easy to remember during gameplay.
Give it a shot, and let me know how it works for you.
The Verge on the Death of Redbox
July 9, 2024, 6:18 a.m.
Some great reporting here from The Verge. So many crazy red flags that alone would have been alarming, but the free-fall triggered by the pandemic produced a cavalcade of WTF moments. Lawsuits, vehicle repossession, missed payroll, and this shocking turn.
In mid-June, the company also informed employees via email that it had been dropped by its healthcare provider, and they hadn’t been covered since May. It’s the second time Redbox employees suddenly found themselves without healthcare coverage: at the beginning of this year, Redbox employees discovered that the company-provided health insurance had lapsed in December when Redbox out of the blue switched their health plans to a new provider. The change left employees without coverage for weeks and many with massive bills. Multiple employees told me that their claims eventually got paid, but another employee said that some claims went to collection.
This time around, the company advised employees to proactively watch their healthcare expenses: “We recommend all elective, non-urgent and routine medical appointments be rescheduled,” a company representative wrote in an email to employees. For some, that warning came too late. Multiple employees told me about ongoing medical treatments that could, if not covered by their insurance, bankrupt them personally.
— Janko Roettgers, Why Redbox has been powering down
And that's it!
I first heard of this trick years ago on a podcast, but I can’t remember which one. Maybe some interview with Darcy Ross back in her MCG days? ↩︎
No spoilers for you. ↩︎
In general, I don’t share the sentence with the players until after the campaign. And even then only if they ask. ↩︎
Grave dust and falling leaves.