Non Player Characters

In epic fantasy, and Treacherous Winds, anything from people, institutions, cultures, to magic itself can be a character.

Make an Antagonist Sheet to track the bonds, reputations, drives, questions, and any notes related to the PCs Antagonists. Fill it in as Antagonists are established. Only the player can answer their arc questions and therefore who their antagonist is, but you can introduce NPCs of the appropriate type (Monsters, Zealots, Puppetmasters, Tyrants, …) to give them ample opportunity to answer their Arc questions.

As a GM you’ll do world building through creating non player characters (NPCs) on NPC sheets and NPC cards. Sheets are for the big deep anchors of the world. Make NPC Sheets for all Terrain, Institutions, Movements, and Monsters that anchor the story.

You can make and update these sheets as prep before or between games, and you can make and update these sheets as they become established during play. You can do it yourself as the GM or you can do it collaboratively with the other players. Let your personal style dictate that.

As you play note anything relevant that you’d like to keep track of, especially bonds and reputations. Note questions you’re curious to answer through the course of play

We learn about any of these characters much in the same way that we learn about characters in epic fantasy literature. They may be introduced in a flash or slowly. They may be foreshadowed, disclosing details as hints and clues. A massive claw mark on a cupboard, droppings, a whisper passing through a crowd etc.

NPC Sheets and Cards

NPCs can be combinations of multiple archetypes. For instance a Mercenary Company could be an Army/Guard + Merchant/Craft Guild. An antoganist could be a Dragon + Zealot + Puppetmaster.

For minor characters, create an NPC Card. Write their name, type(s), drive(s), and a question you’re curious about. Make quick notes about their appearance, other NPCs and how they are related, any bonds or reputations. Leave room for more. When you run out of space, decide to either erace some notes that have become irrelevant or upgrade them to an NPC Sheet.

For major characters, create an NPC Sheet by following the procedures listed in the NPC types sections below.

Antagonist Sheet (Maybe this is a connections sheet)

If this is a connections sheet, write character names with lines between them naming bonds, reputations, hopes, plans, etc.

Monster

Write down the Monster drive and questions. Answer the ones you can. Play to learn the answers to the others.

Drive: To erode or destroy humanity.

Questions:

How is the presence of the monster felt?
What are the early signs that a monster is around?
Who can ignore the signs? Who cannot?
What does the monster gain by this?

Dragon

Follow the Monster directions. Write down the Dragon drive and questions. Answer the ones you can. Play to learn the answers to the others.

Drive: To consume and hoard.

Questions:

What is a dragon? Does it breathe fire? Is it intelligent? Magical?
What are its strengths? Weaknesses?
What does it consume? What does it hoard?
Does it communicate or coordinate with people? If so, how?

Institution

Drive: To maintain order. To consolidate power.

Questions:

Who offers and who holds power?
How are they chosen, and how do they keep or lose it?
What is the structure or hierarchy?
What order does the institution create and maintain?
What secrets does it have to keep to maintain order and power?
How is credit and blame determined?

Kingdom/Nation

Drive: To prosper.

Questions:

What unifies the people in the kingdom?
What devides the people in the kingdom? Is the devision by law?
Who struggles with prosperity in this kingdom and who doesn’t?
Who can decide to stay or leave? Why do they make the choice they do?

Religion/Faith/Church

Drive: To convince and console.

Questions:

What morality does it promote and what morality does it follow?
What is its mythology and how are its stories told?
Where do the faithful congregate?
What are their ceremonies, protocols, and rituals?

Animals (To eat, sleep, breed, and…)
- Herd/Flock/School (be overlooked in the crowd)
  - Deer/Elk/Antelope/Gazelles
  - Elephants
  - Boars
  - Buffalo/Bison/Yaks
  - Sheep/Goats
  - Horses/Zebras
  - Fish
  - Birds
- Pack Predators (chase, track, hunt, and kill, together)
  - Wolves/Coyotes/Hyenas/Wild Dogs
  - Mongooses
  - Badgers
  - Lions
  - Otters
  - Orcas/Dolphins
  - Hawks/Falcons
  - Vultures
  - Ravens/Crows
  - Cormorants
- Solitary Predator (chase, track, hunt, and kill, alone)
  - Cat (Tiger, Leopard, Cheetah, Mountain Lion)
  - Bear
  - Wolverine
  - Weasel
  - Snake
  - Alagator
  - Eagle
  - Hawk
  - Falcon
  - Owl
  - Shark
  - Eel
  - Octopuse
  - Seal
- Colony (work, move, and swarm, together)
  - Ants
  - Termites
  - Bees
  - Rats
  - Bats
Monster (To erode or destroy humanity and …)
- Beast (hunt, predate, …) Pick and choose beastly attributes
  - gigantic (impose and smother)
  - wild (brutalize the vulnerable)
  - plague (touch, contaminate, and spread)
  - territorial (to drive out)
- Dragon (consume and hoard) Answer these questions through play if you are curious about them
  - What are dragons?
  - Do they breathe fire?
  - Are they intelligent?
  - Do they communicate with people? If so, how?
- Undead (grasp at and consume life, and …)
  - animated (to shamble towards)
  - lich (live forever)
  - ghost/wraith (to complete a final purpose. What is it?)
  - vampire (to seduce, violate, and drain)
- Shade (to hide, observe, and absorb)
- Horror (To destroy, violate, and terrify)
- Cosmic (to remake the world for their inconcievable needs)
Fey (To play and teach peculiar lessons)
- TBD
Institution (To maintain order and…)
- Religion/Faith/Church (convince and console)
- Kingdom/Nation (prosper)
- City/Town (provide)
- Castle/Keep (defend)
- Inquision (extract confession)
- Army/Guard (destroy and defend)
- Watch (observe and to raise the alarm)
- Tournament/Festival (celebrate, display, and compete)
- Academy/Archive (study, collect, and impress)
- Craft/Merchant Guild (work, create, and trade)
- Tradition (be observed, spread, and reveared)
Movement (To challenge or change an institution)
- Mob (through united urgent impulsive action)
- Rebellion/Revolt (through direct action)
- Revolution (by topling and replacing it)
- War (with terror, violence, and destruction)
- Heresy/Reform/devotion (moral, spiritual proselytism)
- Petition (the coordinated collection of ascent)
- Firebrand (drastic action)
Agent (To strengthen an institution or movement by…)
- Zealot (any means nessesary)
- Administrator (delegation, discussion, and recordkeeping)
- Recruiter (bringing in new members)
- Enforcer (punishing descent and the guilty)
- Infiltrator (earning trust to be used against it)
- Worker (finishing tasks and jobs)
Leader (To gain and maintain power…)
- Royalty (through displays of wealth, clarity of linneage, and tradition)
- Monarch (through displays of nobility, high decree, and judgement)
- Puppet Master (by controlling others)
- Tyrant (through cruelty and oppression)
- Demagogue (by exploiting desires and prejudices)
- Respected (from a group who needs, demands, or expectes leadership)
Terain
- Cliff (To stop, impose)
- River (To direct travle along, separate)
- Forest (To enclose, shade)
- Glen, ravine, cave (To obscure, hide, protect)
- Field, meadow (To expose, welcome)
- Desert (To slow, consume)
- Mountain (To frustrate, challenge)
- Swamp (To trap, pull under)
- Tundra (To freeze, oppose change)
Magic (to shift power)
- Arcane (from the barbaric the studious)
- Natural (from the corrupt to the balanced)
- Faith (from hethens to the true believers)
- Folk (from oppressors to the oppressed)

Names

Wallace
Cadmonton
Luna

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