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Character creation goes *very* fast for me, because I do it a lot for fun, just trying out different 'builds.' I remember being all aflutter when Mike Mearls said that it took him 45 minutes to 2 hours to build some things, since I usually spend 45 minutes writing up all of the encounters for an entire Sunday game session (and don't end up using some encounters, since I almost always overprepare).
If it's slow for you, the only way to speed it up is to do it more. But hey, if you don't have time for that, you're in good company, with Mike Mearls, no less!
My advice is to only use the stats you plan on needing. If this NPC isn't going to do anything other than haggle over pottery prices, you only need to know his Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy & Sense Motive scores, really. Everything else is gravy. If you get the impression that he's going to be a 'recurring character,' you can go stat him up as a 3rd level Expert or whatever, and give him the Int, Skill Focus feat(s), Expert levels, etc. to match the skill numbers you gave him in that earlier encounter (more or less. They'll never know if you end up a few numbers different here and there. Maybe he had a circumstance bonus last time they where there. Maybe he was sick and had a -2 to his rolls, and they walked all over him. Maybe he's gained an Expert level since then and picked up a Skill Focus, and they will find him driving a MUCH harder bargain this time!).
Just wing it. If the merchant doesn't need combat stats, don't give him any. If they attack him anyway, assume he has an AC 12 because of his decent Dexterity and 12 hit points. It doesn't matter. They weren't supposed to fight him, and it isn't him that's going to be the problem. He'll die fast enough, but the town guard will be a bigger challenge...
If it's a combat encounter, you can completely ignore their skills, for most characters, since most characters don't use skills in combat anyway. Sure, you'll want a Perform score for a Bard, or to know the Concentration number for a spellcaster, but does it matter if the evil Cleric has maxed ranks of Heal? No. He'll never have any reason to use it in the 4 rounds that he'll be alive from the time the PCs enter his inner sanctum. You can also skimp on Feats by just giving NPCs Toughness or something, if you don't want to bother with figuring out choices for them as if they were 'real characters.'
The short-short version;
***Figure out what purpose the NPC serves in the scene, as source of information, as 'local flavor,' as adversary or challenge to be overcome (socially or violently), and only jot down the numbers that are important.***
If your caravan guard, Mustafa, suddenly needs more complicated stats, flip open the Monster Manual to 'Hobgoblin' and use those stats. Close enough for government work. The players aren't going to see that junk anyway.
I'd advise to focus your creative energies on giving Mustafa a distinctive look or personality, since that's what the PCs will 'see,' not his skill ranks or Feat selection. I use movies, books, people I've met in real life, family, friends, random passersby, etc. for inspiration. The world is full of distinctive and unforgettable characters (far too many of them related to me, it sometimes seems...), all of them fodder for making quirky and memorable NPC encounters.
My advice?
-Assign arbitrary stats. There are not set point thresholds for NPCs; if you want a cocky aristocratic fencer, it's okay to just say "STR 13, DEX 16, CON 11, INT 14, WIS 8, CHA 13", completely off the top of your head. Lean a little on the conservative side, but if you occasionally want to give someone an 18 strength and 18 dex, that's okay too.
-Don't split up skillpoints. If our fencer above is a 4th level human fighter, just pick 5 skills. Climb, Acrobatics, Bluff, Intimidate, Knowledge (local). They don't even have to all be class skills. Acrobatics +7*, Climb +8*, Bluff +5, Intimidate +8, Ks (local) +6. Remember armorcheck when you go to equip him and you're done.
In fact- and this is cheating a bit, but it works- you don't even have to do that much. You could just give him Bluff and Acrobatics, and assume he's spent the rest on out-of-combat skills, profession, craft, whatever.
-Similarly don't antagonize over feats or equipment. He's got six feats: Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Lunge. That took me like fifteen seconds. They don't have to be optimal, and as above you don't even have to choose all of them (you could just ignore the few feats that a dwarf Paladin has, assuming them to be non-combat feats).
Likewise, if an NPC is supposed to have X gear, just aim for the ballpark. If you feel like you're done equipping him but he still has wealth left over, don't sweat it. Conversely, if whim dictates that he wield a frost weapon but that would put him a few thousand over, don't worry about it.
This may feel like you're winging it, but you really aren't- NPC's don't need to have exactly the same stats as PCs, they don't have to have carefully-considered skill or feat arrays, and they aren't supposed to all have the exact same amount of treasure. Don't sweat the small stuff.
Play a different game, or find some pre-made NPCs.
It's an acknowledged flaw of D&D 3e.
Nice. Totally dismissive with a hint of denigration, without being helpful at all.
As well as completely ignoring the fact that OP already aknowledged the fact that he knows it to be a problem and was asking for advice and tips on how to mitigate the time needed.
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Likewise, if an NPC is supposed to have X gear, just aim for the ballpark. If you feel like you're done equipping him but he still has wealth left over, don't sweat it. Conversely, if whim dictates that he wield a frost weapon but that would put him a few thousand over, don't worry about it.
Yes to what he said, with one caveat;
The one place my fast-and-dirty NPC advice would fall down is that I always seemed to over-equip my bad-guys. It's *shocking* how fast those Masterwork weapons add up, and I was agonizing over whether or not to arrange some horrible cash-sucking encounter with a rust monster or something to bring my player's characters back to an appropriate wealth for their level.
My last game was set in Freeport, and, being city-based, for the most part, they fought lots of armed & armored & equipped human(ish) foes, which ended up being a bit too generous on my account. Note to self; less dudes in armor with swords, more dire rats!
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Seriously, find some pre-made NPCs. A LOT of them.
DM Tools has some, but it's not updated at the moment. I'm sure there are other websites out there with various NPCs, or you could just whip open various adventures for 3.X and recycle NPCs from these sources.
Even the Iconics can be used. The standard starting PC gear, skills and recommended feats in the PHB make a perfectly serviceable 1st level Barbarian. Give the sucker 12 Str, Dex and Con and 10 Int, Wis and Chat, and be done with it.
Number one source for premade NPCS?
***Pages 112-128 of the DMG will cover any NPC higher than 1st level nicely. Just copy 'em right out of the book, onto an index card, and leave them in the adventure or whatever as a bookmark, ready for when you get to that section.***
Seriously, find some pre-made NPCs. A LOT of them.DM Tools has some, but it's not updated at the moment. I'm sure there are other websites out there with various NPCs, or you could just whip open various adventures for 3.X and recycle NPCs from these sources.
Even the Iconics can be used. The standard starting PC gear, skills and recommended feats in the PHB make a perfectly serviceable 1st level Barbarian. Give the sucker 12 Str, Dex and Con and 10 Int, Wis and Chat, and be done with it.
Number one source for premade NPCS?
***Pages 112-128 of the DMG will cover any NPC higher than 1st level nicely. Just copy 'em right out of the book, onto an index card, and leave them in the adventure or whatever as a bookmark, ready for when you get to that section.***I fill out 3x5 cards for all of the encounters in each module or adventure. Recurring things (like the goblins in Burnt Offerings) get one card for the whole group (though the commandos, bards, etc each get a separate card).
I include:
Class, Race, Level
AC, Touch, Flatfoot
Init
HD/HP
Attacks and Damage (Including CMB/CMD)
Fort/Ref/Will
And then I put down Perception and a generic Average for all physical skills. If there are important specific skills then I put them down as well.
Finally, treasure and magic.I do the same for new NPCs. (I'm running Into the Haunted Woods for 5-6 players, so I had to add 2 members to the Company of the Black Banner. Did the same thing for their stats.)
I don;t bother with the ST/DX/CN/IN/WI/CH for most of them because you can just wing it or quickly figure it out from the numbers you have. Or just write them in order on the back of the card.
It only takes a minute or two and when I'm done I have an easy reference for the game AND a reusable NPC for later on.
The old 3.5 DMG also has a hoarde of NPCs already statted out with magic. All of the basic character classes from Levels 1-20 in fact. Its easy enough to convert them.
And isn't there a pathfinder book coming out with NPC stats too?
I do kinda miss the old days...sometimes.
ORC: AC 7 HTK 5hps Damage 1-6
However I'm a believer in you get put of the game what you put in. Do the slog and your game will be richer and better for it. Perhaps using the old Redblade character generator which is free will give a starting point. Its 3.5 but close enough to help.
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I fill out 3x5 cards
Wow, 3x5 cards. How quaint! ;-)
Takes me back though, to the days of doing all my prep work on paper. Major pain when you misplace that single sheet of paper!
I migrated to DM Genie years ago (about 2003?) and because that tool has fallen onto bad times, I've moved to MapTool. MapTool doesn't have the overarching campaign building tools, but it's great for the minutia of a combat encounter. And I make tokens for even non-combat NPCs as a place to store my "3x5 cards".
I migrated to DM Genie years ago (about 2003?) and because that tool has fallen onto bad times, I've moved to MapTool. MapTool doesn't have the overarching campaign building tools, but it's great for the minutia of a combat encounter. And I make tokens for even non-combat NPCs as a place to store my "3x5 cards".
I wondered if you were the same guy from the Maptool forums...
Obviously I use Maptool as well, and while it isn't perfect, with some of the macros and the like the community has created, it's fairly powerful. My group loves it, even though it's made me kind of lazy in the flavor descriptions of stuff. And the developer(s) and community actually follow up on bug reports, which make me happy to research and submit them.But the same quick-stat generation suggestions above apply, you just end up keying them all into the program so when you're trying to remember what AC you gave that goblin king, you can just hover over the token instead of referring to an index card.