I got an e-mail from a listener (Neal Dalton, to be specific) about BS! Episode 112 and my comments on how I make NPCs. Neal’s succinct letter reads:

I just wanted to let you know that I really liked your (I’m assuming that Rob is the one that monitors the contacts) method of making NPCs. I was wondering if you had considered posting it on you blog or in some other written format. It is definitely something I would steal for myself.

Well, who am I not to give our listeners what they request? After the break you can read my method of turning NPC creation over to your players.

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I had a conversation recently about Character Backstory. This particular GM was rewarding his players per page of backstory submitted to him. I used to do the same thing, but when he mentioned he was doing this I felt bile in my throat. I don’t know when this happened but sometime recently I started loathing fully written backstories. I’m sure I’ve been this way for a while now but suddenly something triggers a very negative reaction from me. I’ve stopped asking for backstories from my players a long time ago, but recently I did something that I grew very fond of very quickly. Instead of asking for a backstory, I had the players fill out a Survey about their characters. There is an entire process to this that I’ll explain after the break.

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I have two standard “Mechanics” that are in effect in any game I ever run. Both are stolen from other games and I would like to thank the creators for putting these genius “rules” down on paper. I reprint them here, with alterations to generic them up, for your consideration.

Let it Ride!

Stolen from Burning Wheel

The Let it Ride! rule says that Game Masters should Let one roll stand for the scenario/situation. Perception tests, Stealth tests, Persuasion tests, any skill or stat that is repeated being tested during a scenario, should be tested once at the beginning. The successes from that test count for the rest of the scenario. But, when conditions change, or players change their course of action, let/make them test anew. If a player succeeds on her Perception test, then that success counts toward all instances where dice would be tossed for Perception for the duration of the scenario until things change. Sometimes that means you will always notice things, whereas other times you will be a dunce. This is not to say you won’t make the same test multiple times, the important thing is that the Game Master describes the scenario changing. No calling for three Stealth tests in a row to sneak across town without explaining why you’re making three rolls.

When your Game Master calls for the SAME roll for a second time without describing how your conditions have changed then its your job to yell out “LET IT RIDE!” and repeat your last results to him. Of course if that first roll was piss poor you might want to just keep your fool mouth shut.

Don’t be a Dick

Stolen from Houses of the Blooded

This rule states that if you find a way to interpret a rule that clearly damages the play environment, sabotages other people’s fun or is just plain nonsensical, don’t use the rule in that way. I fully endorse taking stuff from players who decide to be dicks. Of course, a warning is fair. Sometimes, we get caught up in the drama of the moment. Sometimes, our characters’ motivations seep into our own. Sometimes, those characters we play just get the better of us. But, we have to remember that what we’re doing is building a story, and sometimes, the hero doesn’t win. Sometimes, the hero loses. But then, sometimes, the player is just a dick. Don’t be a dick.

The first Systemless Mechanics piece was on Detective Points, a style of bid-and-create for investigations. While I still feel that is a great system of limited player involvement in an investigation sometimes you might want a more abstract system that emphasizes the time it takes over the clues it gathers.  With the release of Rogue Trader there was an interesting mechanical system in there for Exploration and Investigation. There were a couple things about it I didn’t care for but over all I liked the general idea. What follows is a similar system based on the framework of Rogue Trader’s Exploration and Investigation rules. Enjoy.

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There are all sorts of important resources that you’ll have to manage in a survival situation. Most games simply aren’t built to handle survival issues. It just isn’t a primary focus of very many games. Maybe there is an easy system that can be dropped in, on top of any other system, to help generate that struggle for survival feeling. There should be ways to tie these mechanics into existing mechanics but since the focus of this article is to provide a non-system specific framework those will be left up to the reader’s imagination.

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Are you sick and tired of your Game Master handing out clues that only drag you by their leash to the end of their mystery? Are you tired of creating intricate mysteries for your Players only to have them yawn every time you give them a new hint? Detective Points remove the leash from the mystery while still leaving the details in the Game Master’s seat. Every player at the table gets a chance to help create the mystery, even the Game Master.

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