TableTop Tips: Making A Memorable NPC Or Character
Before you make any critical hits you must engage in a character blitz
When prepping to tell a story, write a novel, or craft a custom RPG setting, the thing that readers and players will latch onto, more so than any fancy or creative world building and plot, is an exciting and beloved character. From noble heroes to dastardly villains, nothing is better than a well-written and fleshed-out character that an audience can empathize with. If you want your story to drive deep into the heart of readers or players, it MUST be character driven. So how do you build a character that can make people care? Join me on this first issue of tabletop tips to make a character worth writing.
In this article, I have created an example character whose in-character responses will be italicized and in quotes.
The Essentials At The Start
Character Name
"I am Kajiid Coeurlson"
Age
"I stopped counting at four hundred. That was a few centuries ago."
Role In The Story
“I was born to be a magical merchant and immortal seer. I also offer timely advice to adventurers... for a price."
After you have nailed down the character's role in the story, you can use it to dictate all of the following traits and character-building processes. Names, ages, ethnicities, and the like can come organically later if needed.
The Backstory
For a realistic character, they have to come from somewhere. No one spawns from nothing as a fully developed person, and if they did, then why? Characters need to have their own beliefs, fears, and much more. A past and childhood are something every person has, and to feel like a 'real' somebody, a backstory is essential.
To get yourself started, write a few scenes from your character's perspective on their childhood, major traumatic events, and where their beliefs come from; whether you will use these scenes or not, they can inform your character better than any template or guide. Once you have an idea of the character, ask them the following questions and answer them from the character's point of view.
What Is Your Belief?
"Everything has a price. Even mortal lives."
As humans, we shape all our decisions on our personal beliefs. Does your character believe in a heroic ideal, or are they a brooding nihilist? Everyone has an opinion, and discovering your character's beliefs will inform everything you use to make them memorable.
Why Do You Believe That?
"I've lived too long, met too many, and had too few friends to care for anything but my legacy."
Always ask your characters why. Perhaps they have a history of abuse and want to be the hero of others, or they are fearless due to having lost everything and are missing something to live for.
What Is Your Greatest Fear?
"Often, I'd say I fear nothing but death. But that's a lie. My greatest fear is to be forgotten."
Whether it is a failure, death, or something deeply personal, we all have fears, and a fearless character is nothing more than a hollow shell that will struggle to engage with the conflict and resolve an arc.
What Is Your Most Significant Criticism Of Others?
"Mortals are remarkably short-sighted. They can't see beyond their minute lives. It must be suffocating to be so small-minded, and for that, I pity them."
Everyone has a bias, be they good or bad. Criticism can be positive and harmful, depending on your character's approach. Further, ask your character why they feel the need to draw a line at that particular critique.
How Do You Respond To Pain, Both Physical And Emotional?
"Pain? I tend to drink it away. Like all things, it will pass; I simply don't enjoy being present for the healing part."
Pain is essential to making a compelling character arc, and everyone has rough times, even those who put on a strong face. Moreso than physical pain, emotional pain can devastate even the most strong-minded individuals. Does your character react with anger, peace, or something different altogether?
What Matters Most To You?
"The future is the only thing that truly matters to me."
Without something to hold onto, a character is passive rather than active and makes for uninteresting or bland blank slates without something important to them. For some, this may be a person, a particular artifact with sentimental value, or simply money. Moreover, what they lack can make for some excellent character motivation.
What Is Your Greatest Secret?
"I don't have a mother or a father. I have a parent. And they are a god."
Secrets may not make for friends, but they can make for motivation and twists along a character's arc. Often this secret will come back to bite them for failing to trust someone with a particular piece of the character's mystery.
Why Do You Matter?
If You want to craft a relatable, hatable, or lovable character, there are three essentials to building an active and enticing fictional persona that uses their backstory to display growth.
Goals- Ambition and drive are what move characters forward. Without a solid plan or goals, a character can't be active in the story. For example, the entire driving force behind the Lord of the Rings is getting the ring to Mordor, a singular goal that spawned a dozen other character arcs and subplot goals. The purpose should relate to what is most important to the character.
"My goal? To understand the universe and find order in this chaotic cosmos."
Flaws- No one is perfect. The best characters are those who have mental scars or biases that hold them back and must be accepted or overcome to conquer the main plot of your narrative. Flaws set your characters apart from the others and dictate their journey.
"I have no family or anyone I can call a friend. Not from lack of trying, but because I outlive them or push them away in fear of watching them die."
Character Arc- Your character has a goal, but how do they reach it? A character or NPC must change over time as they are affected by the world around them and how they interact with those closest to them. Not every character needs an arc, but those who are essential to the story, like the villains, heroes, and side characters showing growth, are essential to telling a memorable story.
"I don't want to admit it. But I must let these adventurers show me what life means and find beauty in its fragility."
What Are Your Character Relationships?
Does your character have a family? If not, what happened to them? How do they interact with those who matter to them? If they don't have any close relationships, then why is that? The relationships that characters create and develop over time make them interesting, likable, and hatable and help your audience to connect with them, even if they aren't the protagonist.
Furthermore, to deepen their relationships is how they interact with people. Are they standoffish, loving, kind, or spiteful? Knowing how a character or NPC will interact with players or others can inform your audience about their backstory, beliefs, goals, flaws, ext., by showing rather than telling.
What Is Your Quirk Or Defining Feature
Finally, what is it that makes your character or NPC unique? What are their little mannerisms that go unnoticed and give subtle cues to their overall character? Some examples include:
Shy characters may be unwilling to interact with others or hide from social situations.
Some people may collect certain types of objects that entertain them or fill some void.
Brash and brazen characters, like particular bardic blogger, may be loud and obnoxious in a vain attempt to garner some attention.
A million different character quirks can easily display what a character is about in as little as a single sentence. So pick a few to respond to any of the questions above and make yourself a unique, memorable, and beloved character for your next campaign or story.
"This? This here is my wagon. I've spent decades delicately carving the magical runes into its framework to allow it to travel to distant planes of existence so I can expand my ever-growing collection of esoteric merchandise. No. You may not touch it."
Character Creation Template:
Answer all of these questions in character. If your character is a charlatan or deceitful, answer them twice, first with their false persona and second with the answers they would never admit, even to themselves.
What's Your Name?
(For deeper character analysis, choose a name that reflects their personality or character arc.)
How Old Are You?
What Species, Race, Or Nationality Are You?
(And does it matter to the story)
What Gender Do You Identify With, If Any?
What Is Your Role In The Story?
(Antagonist, mentor, friend, protagonist, rival... ext.)
(Also, ask if that role can be covered by another, already existing character, as redundant roles can become dull and cause a character to lack individuality)
What Are Your Beliefs?
(These need not be religious, but they can be)
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Why Do You Believe These Things?
What Are Your Greatest Fears?
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What Is Your Most Significant Criticism Of Others?
How Do You Respond To Pain?
Physical Pain:
Emotional Pain:
What Matters Most To You?
What Is Your Greatest Secret?
What Are Your Goals?
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What Are Your Flaws?
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Where Is Your Arc Headed?
What Are Your Most Important Relationships At The Start Of The Narrative?
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What Are Your Most Important Relationships At The End Of The Narrative?
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Why Did These Relationships Change?
How Do You Treat Those Closest To You?
How Do You Treat Others Beyond Those Close To You?
What Is Unique About You?
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And that’s it. This is my process for creating believable and relatable characters in my works of fiction along with NPCs for tabletop roleplaying games. For more TTRPG and nerd culture content check out the rest of Brazenbard.com
Come back every Thursday for more Tabletop Tips and every Sunday for new Brazen Blog post. Until next time.
“Asukah, please, put that down. You can’t be trusted with a Holy Avenger.” - Kajiid
