Make amazing NPCs even under pressure with these top tips

Are your players always going on random shopping trips that require ten new NPCs as they run from a general store to an apothecary? Or do you find yourself needing to add in a random encounter with bandits after some unexpected travelling takes too long? Or maybe you set up a festival for players to enjoy but they’re suddenly very chatty and want to meet everyone attending?

If so, you might have fallen into the classic GM struggle of frantically racking your brain for a personality, or even just a name to create an NPC out of thin air. There are only so many elves called Bob running around after all.

Luckily, Liv and Maddie have some great ways to create amazing NPCs, whether you’re developing them in advance to populate your story, or you have to come up with them on the spot. They discuss everything from simply creating a list of names to draw from at any time, to developing relationships between your players and NPCs - which are only sometimes romantic. So, if you’re ready to add some game-changing NPCs to your next session, check out the video for all of their tips.

If you want to see Liv and others DMing some amazing NPCs, you can also find many actual plays of RPGs over on the YouTube channel, from the new Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep Dungeons & Dragons setting to improv comedy RPG Paradox Perfect, and everything in between. There’s also a ton of other RPG advice for GMs and players, from creating the best villains to developing characters you’ll love.