NPC
From Shadowrun: Awakened
Non-player characters are any character in the game not controlled by a player.
Game Rules Descriptions
Characters in Shadowrun encompass not just players, but also character controlled by the gamemaster. These include important story actors, extras mentioned in urban scenes, and teammates provided by the gamemaster. In Shadowrun Awakened, non-player characters will be put to similar purpose.
The emphasis on story in SRA means writers will be forced to flesh out NPCs as much as possible; consider their parents, their lovers, their hopes, their fears. Why are they doing what they are doing? How did they learn the skills to do it? Who are they doing it for? The writer should attempt to make the characters a participant in a web of relationships. What is the character really willing to do day-to-day? What are they willing to do when the chips are down and their life is on the line?
Characters are participants in a world based on realistic psychology, but painted over with fantasy. Is the character non-human? How do they feel about that? How did it affect their childhood? How did it affect their parents? People aren't just killing machines. They have hobbies, they were educated somewhere, and they have their own goals. Part of being in the Shadowrun universe means being defined by the themes and motifs of Shadowrun's genre. In-depth discussion of Shadowrun's themes are contained in the Writing guide.
Shadowrun 4th edition presented a comprehensive set of rules concerning NPCs, many of which will directly influence NPCs in game. Shadowrun henchmen and guards are never presented as superhuman and rarely fight to the last man; they are usually the quintessential punch clock villain. The first quality of NPCs in combat is cowardice, exactly how much damage a character need to take before they run, and how many losses a team must take before they disband is tracked using a quality called 'Professional Rating'. Preservation of one's self will always be the NPC's primary concern. If the player ever encounters an enemy willing to die to defeat them, then they should be jarred by the situation and deeply threatened. Such an event should be very rare, but very dramatic.
Technical Implementation
Implementing non-player character behavior is a many faceted task that requires not only converting Shadowrun rules into constraints on NPCs, but also contriving artificial intelligence and scripting facilities that will allow the system to autonomously act as a gamemaster to carry out the designs of content creators. The subject of characters and what they can do is likely to be an ongoing areas of refinement in game engine.
Not all NPCs are created equal. In game terms, there are specific differences in SR4 concerning "Grunts" and "Prime Runners". These are two natural categories for NPCs to inhabit, some that are expendable, some that are investments. While we will work to recognize the differences in rules presented by SR4, the primary goal will be to ensure that the system invests the most resources into the important NPCs and attempt to streamline the footprint of unimportant NPCs. The two categories are currently known as Major and Minor NPCs.
Minor NPCs are the generic henchmen, faceless shopkeepers, and one-time informants in the game. They can talk, fight, and are not necessarily uninteresting characters. The main point is that these NPCs do not form lasting relationships with the player and are intended to exist within only a single area of the game. Minor NPCs are able to:
- Have a name, race, attributes, skills, and equipment
- May engage in conversations with players
- May engage in transactions with players (such as buying/selling)
- May engage in combat
- They may have a social reaction based on qualities intrinsic to a player character, see Attitude
- May form groups and work as a team, such as when groups of guards repel invaders
- Minor NPCs only exist within one zone and may not leave it because their existence is managed entirely at the level of the zone. This means that when a zone is loaded, it will usually spawn a standard set of NPCs in the area. If the zone is persisted to memory, all minor NPCs will be persisted along with the zone, and they will be removed from the world as long as the zone is removed.
Examples of Major NPCs in Shadowrun include: Mr. Johnson, a player character's contacts and enemies, and any story actors that participate in the plot of a mission. Not only can they talk and fight, they serve an important purpose in a player's time in the game and form relationships. Major NPCs are able to:
- Perform points 1-6 for Minor NPCs
- Major NPCs are managed at the world-level, meaning they can cross amongst many zones. They are able to chase players around the world across zones.
- Can be scripted to save information that can be recalled and acted upon later; this data is preserved for a particular player and only accessible during interactions with them. This memory is in addition to being able to examine intrinsic qualities via the Attitude mechanic. Primarily, this memory can be used to save player's decisions to be acted on later on in missions and campaigns.
NPCs in the game may also exist for a short time in the world or may exist in the same place forever. A permanent NPC is one that always stays in the same zone, either moving or stationary. Shopkeepers, bartenders, and guards might fit this description. They might also be used, on some occasions, to participate in conversations during a missions. Transient NPCs come and go, either within one zone or many. They are spawned to serve some purpose then removed from the zone. They may re-appear later, or even elsewhere, but the main point is that their existence is controlled by scripting and they are subject to creation and destruction at various times.
