Let me give some details- the party has encountered an old woman in an abandoned church, whose only purpose game-wise is to reveal the name of the villain. She's suffering from shock, and only mutters. The party has decided to try and save her, and I support this- they're the good guys, and in my campaigns saving the lives of random NPCs is just as good as killing off the bad guys. (They've left her in a safe spot for now, and I have time to decide how this goes.)
That said, I can take this in two directions and would like input. What I want is to deliver the maximum emotional impact- should I turn this NPC into someone who will have far more information to reveal, or should she just be another friendly face the PCs can encounter next time they're in town?
On one hand, making her essential to the plot is handy, but on the other hand I don't feel like EVERYTHING needs to be connected to the story. I like to add small moments in my campaign where the PCs have time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. It's not uncommon in my campaigns for the party to build connections with NPCs, but this is a brand-new group and they don't know my style.
Well let them know your style. Making this woman more important than she seems will subconsciously incentivize further nice things in the future, even if it means helping people for no benefit other than being nice. Also, It seems like you are at the beginning of the campaign so it makes sense if this NPC has a lot of information to give out. If it is the beginning you'll have plenty of time to make those smell the roses type things you were talking about.
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"Uh, I have Illusory Script. I think I can read that."
Might I offer option 3: Give her some skills or connections the party could benefit from later. For instance, next time they are in town she might give them a gift that provides a minor mechanical bonus - e.g. a knitted jumper that reduces cold damage taken by 3, or some cookies that heal people for 5 hp per cookie, or makes a good luck charm that acts as 1 luck point per day. Alternatively, maybe she knows the high priest of some far off temple and can make and introduction for them, or maybe she's an archivist and will happily do research for them while they are adventuring.
That said, I can take this in two directions and would like input. What I want is to deliver the maximum emotional impact- should I turn this NPC into someone who will have far more information to reveal, or should she just be another friendly face the PCs can encounter next time they're in town?
What is the ratio of the typical NPC you have? Are they usually there to just give a quick clue, or do they usually have more information and provide a friendly face?
Use this NPC to skew the ratio. You probably don't want a 5/50 split, but you don't want a 100% - 0% split either.
I vote making her into someone significant in the future. Maybe she joins the party in some way in a supportive capacity: managing their bastion, working at their favorite bar, finding them jobs, that kind of thing. Let them grow attached to her so that she becomes someone to them rather than changing her retroactively to be someone.
Let me give some details- the party has encountered an old woman in an abandoned church, whose only purpose game-wise is to reveal the name of the villain. She's suffering from shock, and only mutters. The party has decided to try and save her, and I support this- they're the good guys, and in my campaigns saving the lives of random NPCs is just as good as killing off the bad guys. (They've left her in a safe spot for now, and I have time to decide how this goes.)
That said, I can take this in two directions and would like input. What I want is to deliver the maximum emotional impact- should I turn this NPC into someone who will have far more information to reveal, or should she just be another friendly face the PCs can encounter next time they're in town?
On one hand, making her essential to the plot is handy, but on the other hand I don't feel like EVERYTHING needs to be connected to the story. I like to add small moments in my campaign where the PCs have time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. It's not uncommon in my campaigns for the party to build connections with NPCs, but this is a brand-new group and they don't know my style.
If you want to make her meaningful without being bash-them-on-the-head IMPORTANT with a lore dump, have the old woman be related to an NPC who will become important down the road -- the mother or grandmother of a future ally, the retired nanny of the king from when he was a boy, something along those lines
Keep the connection in your back pocket until after the party has met the NPC, and you can use it as the thing that tips scales toward the NPC being willing to help them
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I would not give her immediate additional importance, but would toss her into the "potential recurring NPC" bin; if at some later point you need an NPC to give the PCs some information or something, it's nice to have someone who already has history.
Why not both? I like when NPC turns out to be far more important in a story than they first appear to be sort of like Fizban first show up in DRAGONLANCE.
This old woman could start by revealing the name of the villain and be a friendly face in town that happen to reveal more information as the story unfold. It could be something else than they think.
It reminds me in my last GREYHAWK campaign, in Hommlet was a old granny druidess who help the party and to whom they would return for spell components or weird oddities her small shop had. And she turned out to know much more they they originally thought, and help out locate a hidden Fey Crossing, reveal things about criminals from Nulb she would give them adventure leads, or infosmations, buy or sell poisons, healer's kit, potions yet she was in fact a hag, part of a coven of 3 sisters powerful in the region...
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Let me give some details- the party has encountered an old woman in an abandoned church, whose only purpose game-wise is to reveal the name of the villain. She's suffering from shock, and only mutters. The party has decided to try and save her, and I support this- they're the good guys, and in my campaigns saving the lives of random NPCs is just as good as killing off the bad guys. (They've left her in a safe spot for now, and I have time to decide how this goes.)
That said, I can take this in two directions and would like input. What I want is to deliver the maximum emotional impact- should I turn this NPC into someone who will have far more information to reveal, or should she just be another friendly face the PCs can encounter next time they're in town?
On one hand, making her essential to the plot is handy, but on the other hand I don't feel like EVERYTHING needs to be connected to the story. I like to add small moments in my campaign where the PCs have time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. It's not uncommon in my campaigns for the party to build connections with NPCs, but this is a brand-new group and they don't know my style.
Well let them know your style. Making this woman more important than she seems will subconsciously incentivize further nice things in the future, even if it means helping people for no benefit other than being nice. Also, It seems like you are at the beginning of the campaign so it makes sense if this NPC has a lot of information to give out. If it is the beginning you'll have plenty of time to make those smell the roses type things you were talking about.
"Uh, I have Illusory Script. I think I can read that."
Might I offer option 3: Give her some skills or connections the party could benefit from later. For instance, next time they are in town she might give them a gift that provides a minor mechanical bonus - e.g. a knitted jumper that reduces cold damage taken by 3, or some cookies that heal people for 5 hp per cookie, or makes a good luck charm that acts as 1 luck point per day. Alternatively, maybe she knows the high priest of some far off temple and can make and introduction for them, or maybe she's an archivist and will happily do research for them while they are adventuring.
What is the ratio of the typical NPC you have? Are they usually there to just give a quick clue, or do they usually have more information and provide a friendly face?
Use this NPC to skew the ratio. You probably don't want a 5/50 split, but you don't want a 100% - 0% split either.
I vote making her into someone significant in the future. Maybe she joins the party in some way in a supportive capacity: managing their bastion, working at their favorite bar, finding them jobs, that kind of thing. Let them grow attached to her so that she becomes someone to them rather than changing her retroactively to be someone.
If you want to make her meaningful without being bash-them-on-the-head IMPORTANT with a lore dump, have the old woman be related to an NPC who will become important down the road -- the mother or grandmother of a future ally, the retired nanny of the king from when he was a boy, something along those lines
Keep the connection in your back pocket until after the party has met the NPC, and you can use it as the thing that tips scales toward the NPC being willing to help them
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I would not give her immediate additional importance, but would toss her into the "potential recurring NPC" bin; if at some later point you need an NPC to give the PCs some information or something, it's nice to have someone who already has history.
Why not both? I like when NPC turns out to be far more important in a story than they first appear to be sort of like Fizban first show up in DRAGONLANCE.
This old woman could start by revealing the name of the villain and be a friendly face in town that happen to reveal more information as the story unfold. It could be something else than they think.
It reminds me in my last GREYHAWK campaign, in Hommlet was a old granny druidess who help the party and to whom they would return for spell components or weird oddities her small shop had. And she turned out to know much more they they originally thought, and help out locate a hidden Fey Crossing, reveal things about criminals from Nulb she would give them adventure leads, or infosmations, buy or sell poisons, healer's kit, potions yet she was in fact a hag, part of a coven of 3 sisters powerful in the region...