Have you looked at this?
Go to NPC Gallery.
Or check out the excellent NPC section at www.d20pfsrd.com for even more NPCs.
These two links are entirely useful. In addition not sure if anyone has pointed you in this direction: Dingle Games Pathfinder NPC Generator. It's a relatively quick and painless NPC generator, which is pretty customizable. Not as customizable as doing it by hand, but then again you said you were looking for speed as opposed to detail.
Another tool you might want to think about is Kyle Olson's Combat Manager. This multi-faceted tool for the GM combines a host of time saving tips and tools all in one easy to use program. Kyle is a member of the boards, and frequently updates the program, even taking into account the suggestions and wishes of others. He just added a large NPC gallery, and with a Monster Advancer built in, you can adjust NPCs quickly on the fly to make sure they are of a proper CR for your PCs.
Hope this helps! I don't want to see anyone giving up on Pathfinder.
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Good Stuff
Welcome to the boards, Aigh! You're absolutely right, at least in my estimation. IT is way, WAY better to build your NPC's, at least for a while. After you do that for awhile, though, I think that Herolab is a fine way to go to save yourself time.
Too bad it's...well, I don't want to say too expensive, because they do put a lot of work into it, but...it is expensive. And it gets more expensive with every passing book.
Takes me about a minute to stat up an NPC. I can do it on the fly in the game too. I'm not anal about having everything work, especially for an NPC that shows up once in a scene and never again. I don't need to explain to my players how that Orc with the Falchion had such a high hit bonus. Maybe he had a High BAB, drank potion, high strength, rage or favored enemy. Some how the orc hit good and hard and the party took him out. It's not worth stating out completely
I still don't get the "it's too expensive" meme. If you absolutely MUST have the 3-4 feats and 7-10 traits in every new race/region book, maybe, but even then the price per splatbook isn't very much. System (with core PRPG) is $30. APG is like $10, and for DMs add in the bestiary for what, $15? Barely more than the cover price of just the core rulebook. With just these you can make monsters with class levels and uncountable dozens of player race NPCs. Everything you really ever need. And building these NPCs is SO much faster and easier than with paper and pencil.
Now, specifically to the OP's point, just the base PRPG set includes (at no additional cost) the NPCs from the GMG and the NPC guide. He wanted NPCs, there are hundreds right there, all for the base price of just the software.
You don't pay for every rules update. You pay once for each game system. As an example you would pay for pathfinder once, 4th edition once, and so on.
Once you pay the 20 or 30 for a system you don't have to pay for it again.I just double checked; it IS a little more affordable than I originally thought.
How's the tech support for pathfinder? I found a bug in the WoD package that crashes the game, and when I asked for help with it I was simply ignored. It's one thing to do that when I get something for free; but if I paid for it; I should get support when your program starts crashing.
Lone Wolf's PF support is pretty good. (I wish I could say the same for the other RPGs they currently support - I'm growing increasingly frustrated with their lack of progress getting support for 4E in working order, though I realize that the DDi Compendium updates make their job a lot harder. I might feel differently if the devs would acknowledge some of the complaints, though, such as lack of support for the Essentials material.)
The additional cost associated with add-on data sets for PFRPG can be prohibitive for thrifty-minded users. I ponied up for the Bestiary and APG, but I'm not likely to pay for much else beyond that. One good thing about HL, though, is that they do work hard to add playtest material like the Ultimate Combat classes into the builder until they are officially released - at which point they're removed and sold as part of the new dataset.
It's been discussed poorly in other threads, by people spreading misinformation (intentionally or not), and repeated by others who had their facts wrong.
20 minutes? It takes me roughly 20 minutes per level of the character. Then again, I am a little obsessive and have to have everything just right.
+1
I think that sounds about right for me.
I've struggled with the same issue, but I think you've had lots of awesome advice.
You should also take a look at this series of Gnome Stew articles on 'prep-lite wireframing', i.e. stat only stats you need, not the entire NPC:
Link
Link
Link
Plus, Athas.org has a compendium of 3.5 NPCs for Dark Sun as a free download: Face of the Forgotten North
In line with the last product and James Jacobs' mention of a 'Rival's Guide', I really do think that there needs to be more such NPC 'Monster Manuals' for time-starved GMs.
my advice, from someone who revels in the minutae of character design, but detests spending hours building an NPC whose ultimate fate is walking convience store...cheat sheets, they worked for you in high school, make them work for you now.
I create a NPC template for every game I run. Depending on the power level of the game, I come up with 2-3 stat blocks for varying levels of monsters/NPCs, as well as any other bonuses or penalties as fits the games, all with varying levels of CR negatives and pluses depending on their value. That handles stats
Skills: I no longer figure out the exact skills a NPC has, most likely they won't live long enough to use more than two anyhow, so I just assign skill rankings per attribute, then depending on the skill points per level that NPC would recieve determind what those ratings are. For instance a NPC that gets 6+ skill points/level gets to max out 3 attribute (as if maxed ranks and a class skill) and the rest take a -3. So a 4th level ranger may look like; Str +9, Dex +10, Int +5, Wis +8, Cha +4. So if I need to use a wisdom based skill I just roll with a +8 bonus and go from there.
Feats: really no help here, unless you have a good memory, I just build on a simple concept, the NPCs need to be effective but more importantly memorable, focus on one schtick and go from there (ie, big hitter, two weapon prodigy, unkillable) stick to one feat tree. I look through the books a lot in my off time, so I have a good grasp of the feats and what they do, so if I decide to make an unkillable Orc, he gets Toughness, Endurance, Diehard, Thick Hide, Improved Natural armor, etc...
Spells: pick their controlling stat mod in spells per level or the maximum per day, whichever is lower, most likely won't be alive to cast more than that, plus it keeps the baddie from blowing his entire load in one fight, which can be unfair for the PCs as they have to micromanage their resources.
Gear: again, memory and theme are your friend, the real only important part is to consider what happens when the PC get the gear, because that is what the encounter is destined to do. If it won't unbalance your game, give the NPC a little more loot than normal, just as long as it fits the NPCs theme, it's all good.
Personally I write my NPC up on a 3x5 index card, stats, bab, cmb, speed, ac, hp, cmd, saves, attack (and damages), skills, feats and equipment, plus any relevant special abilities (darkvision and the like), takes me about 10 minutes. Keep these characters, reskin and reuse, eventually you'll create such a library that you could probably run 7 games without needing to waste lead writing up another.
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Lots of good advice here, so far.
I would definitely second the use of "base monster stats" found HERE
and also the "Pathfinder page 42" a take-off from 4e's "suggested DC's by CR" table - a valuable resource for winging it HERE
As far as obsessing over every little +1 and +2 here and there...for mooks or other throwaway characters, I hardly bother. Feats are selected for static bonus before anything else (Toughness, Weapon Focus, Dodge, Power Attack as an example for a Lvl 2 Human Fighter NPC), and spells generally in the order of "In-Combat-Casting/Pre-Combat-Casting/Healing/Fleeing". I tend to shy away from summoners and other "pet" classes as NPCs, simply for the extra time they take at the table.
If you can swing it, HeroLab is very nice for calculating all those fiddly little bits, and makes it easier to pick spells/feats/skills.
Remember: NPC's and monsters are expected to live about 3-5 rounds, in most cases, so you should judge how much time away from the game is worth those 30-60 minutes at the table.
Finally, if you get in the habit of creating these NPC's in a GoogleDocs file or similar sort of off-site-storage, you can access them whenever the muse strikes you. Have a wicked good idea for an evil knight type guy, but you're at your buddy's house? Hop online real quick, and throw the idea you had on your "NPC Gallery File" - you can come back to it and format the numbers as needed later.
Herolabs needs to put that on their website. I was about to get it for pathfinder.
Edit:It is on the site on the pathfinder page. here
My god that's a lot of packages one has to order if you want the whole thing.
It would be nice if they had an "all of the above" package so you don't have to download each one separately.
(And it would also be nice if you could pay a one time fee and automatically be covered for the life of the game.)
I find myself constantly wishing that Pathfinder either had a better collection of NPCs and Variations of the same Monster at different CRs, or that they had a character builder that rivaled the D&D4e Character Builder so that I could painlessly hammer out a level 10 NPC in about 10 minutes.
did you tray to use the NPC from the Game Mastering Guide?
You can easily adapt them. I need some Orc Bandits, simply use the Bandit NPC and add the Orc template - done
Quick NPC stats:
1. Pick the level of the NPC
2. "best attack" = Lvl + 3 (dmg 1d6 + 1/2 lvl)
3. "secondary attack" = lvl (dmg 1d6)
4. Good skill = Lvl + 5
5. secondary skill = 1 + 1/2 Lvl
6. Good Save = Lvl + 2
7. Bad Save = 1/2 Lvl
8. hit points = Lvl x 5
9. AC = Lvl + 10
10. Tweak as you feel is appropriate.
So, "Bob" the 4th level torchbearer is AC14, hp20, +7 shortsword 1d6+2, +2 sling 1d6, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2.
Works fine until level 10, I couldn't tell you after that ;)
Quick NPC stats:
1. Pick the level of the NPC
2. "best attack" = Lvl + 3 (dmg 1d6 + 1/2 lvl)
3. "secondary attack" = lvl (dmg 1d6)
4. Good skill = Lvl + 5
5. secondary skill = 1 + 1/2 Lvl
6. Good Save = Lvl + 2
7. Bad Save = 1/2 Lvl
8. hit points = Lvl x 5
9. AC = Lvl + 10
10. Tweak as you feel is appropriate.So, "Bob" the 4th level torchbearer is AC14, hp20, +7 shortsword 1d6+2, +2 sling 1d6, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2.
Works fine until level 10, I couldn't tell you after that ;)
So Bob can get 1v1'd by a level one fighter/rogue?
ummmm
Quick NPC stats:
1. Pick the level of the NPC
2. "best attack" = Lvl + 3 (dmg 1d6 + 1/2 lvl)
3. "secondary attack" = lvl (dmg 1d6)
4. Good skill = Lvl + 5
5. secondary skill = 1 + 1/2 Lvl
6. Good Save = Lvl + 2
7. Bad Save = 1/2 Lvl
8. hit points = Lvl x 5
9. AC = Lvl + 10
10. Tweak as you feel is appropriate.So, "Bob" the 4th level torchbearer is AC14, hp20, +7 shortsword 1d6+2, +2 sling 1d6, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2.
Works fine until level 10, I couldn't tell you after that ;)
So Bob can get 1v1'd by a level one fighter/rogue?
ummmm
Yes, because they are heros and bob is only a NPC
Yes, because they are heros and bob is only a NPCQuick NPC stats:
1. Pick the level of the NPC
2. "best attack" = Lvl + 3 (dmg 1d6 + 1/2 lvl)
3. "secondary attack" = lvl (dmg 1d6)
4. Good skill = Lvl + 5
5. secondary skill = 1 + 1/2 Lvl
6. Good Save = Lvl + 2
7. Bad Save = 1/2 Lvl
8. hit points = Lvl x 5
9. AC = Lvl + 10
10. Tweak as you feel is appropriate.So, "Bob" the 4th level torchbearer is AC14, hp20, +7 shortsword 1d6+2, +2 sling 1d6, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2.
Works fine until level 10, I couldn't tell you after that ;)
So Bob can get 1v1'd by a level one fighter/rogue?
ummmm
a 1st level fighter should hardly be able to hit a 4th level anything
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Or check out the excellent NPC section at www.d20pfsrd.com for even more NPCs.Have you looked at this?
Go to NPC Gallery.
There's also about forty or so Faction NPCs here, ranging from 3rd to 7th level (with a few skewing the curve because of odd racial choices like 'awakened oak tree' or 'half-fiendish dire worg').
They're not official, but I tried to flesh them out and make them mechanically interesting.
My pet hobby for NPC / BBEG creation is to try and make challenging end fights with non-spellcasters. Every single adventure in creation seems to end with a spellcasting BBEG, and I could just rip off one of them, if I was in a hurry, but it's more fun to come up with something funky, like a Fighter who uses bleed/wounding attacks, poison, whirlwind attack and combat expertise to inflict 'damage over time' wounds on everyone around him, and then 'turtles' with combat expertise / total defense to become almost impossible to hit while everyone around him is taking bleed damage and ability damage. (Combine with combat reflexes so that he can still AoO people near him, even while 'total defending')
Granted, that specific tactic is less useful in PF than it was in 3.X, due to Channel Energy's potential to AoE heal people, but it was a brutal shock for my Freeport party when I sprung it on them. :)
Messageboards are always a decent source of NPC ideas. The CharOps forums at WotC had tons of interesting 'chain tripper' or whatever builds that made decent foes to throw at the party (although you could spend hours weeding out the ill-conceived or broken builds), and the DPR Olympics thread here on the Paizo messageboards can be a decent place to find useful fighter / monk / ranger / etc. builds.
Quick NPC stats:
1. Pick the level of the NPC
2. "best attack" = Lvl + 3 (dmg 1d6 + 1/2 lvl)
3. "secondary attack" = lvl (dmg 1d6)
4. Good skill = Lvl + 5
5. secondary skill = 1 + 1/2 Lvl
6. Good Save = Lvl + 2
7. Bad Save = 1/2 Lvl
8. hit points = Lvl x 5
9. AC = Lvl + 10
10. Tweak as you feel is appropriate.So, "Bob" the 4th level torchbearer is AC14, hp20, +7 shortsword 1d6+2, +2 sling 1d6, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2.
Works fine until level 10, I couldn't tell you after that ;)
So Bob can get 1v1'd by a level one fighter/rogue?
ummmm
Yes, unless you choose to use step 10 to make Bob the torchbearer into a badass PC-slayer for some reason. And wouldn't a fighter/rogue be level 2? :)
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It's been discussed poorly in other threads, by people spreading misinformation (intentionally or not), and repeated by others who had their facts wrong.
OK, well, it's like this, for me at least - I have 2 kids and a mortgage, and although I work a decent job, times are tight. $100 is a lot of money for me, and that's roughly what it would cost me as a GM, at least for a baseline. I don't have that kind of money to just drop on something. Ergo, the product is expensive, which I see as a subjective concept.
For someone with no money at all, something that's $20 is expensive. For a millionaire, $20 might be used for toilet paper.
For me, $100 is expensive. Not, as I said earlier, TOO expensive...but expensive. If I do come up with $100, I'd rather buy toys for my kids, in all honesty.
Yes, unless you choose to use step 10 to make Bob the torchbearer into a badass PC-slayer for some reason. And wouldn't a fighter/rogue be level 2? :)Quick NPC stats:
1. Pick the level of the NPC
2. "best attack" = Lvl + 3 (dmg 1d6 + 1/2 lvl)
3. "secondary attack" = lvl (dmg 1d6)
4. Good skill = Lvl + 5
5. secondary skill = 1 + 1/2 Lvl
6. Good Save = Lvl + 2
7. Bad Save = 1/2 Lvl
8. hit points = Lvl x 5
9. AC = Lvl + 10
10. Tweak as you feel is appropriate.So, "Bob" the 4th level torchbearer is AC14, hp20, +7 shortsword 1d6+2, +2 sling 1d6, Perception +9, Stealth +3, Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2.
Works fine until level 10, I couldn't tell you after that ;)
So Bob can get 1v1'd by a level one fighter/rogue?
ummmm
fighter or rogue, sorry
but i mean what is that, a 10/11 Dex, no dodge, a chain shirt and no shield?
Dex 12 = 15 AC
Dodge = 16 AC
small shield = 17 AC
large shield = 18 AC
any of those changed seems reasonable for a 4th level dude
I have found rules lite systems let you get away from the crunch and focus on the story. There is a diverse enough selection to find just the right amount of crunch.
I would ask what the "other games you have been playing lately" were. Prep work for Dark Hearsy, Shadowrun, and portions of my OWoD games were much more time heavy for me, then 3.5/Pathfinder. For me..a minor NPC, if I don't just wing it takes me a few minutes..20 tops if <s>he is important. A major NPC that will combat the party is typically an hour...maybe longer if there is spell selection.
Unless there is some reason to know EXACTLY what every skill bonus is, or whatever..its not worth the time..wing it based on similir NPCs of that type/level..or just go with what feels right. A minor walk-in part does not need maxed out feats, or even exact saves, unless their actions are crucial to the story as a whole.
Herolabs needs to put that on their website. I was about to get it for pathfinder.
Edit:It is on the site on the pathfinder page. here
My god that's a lot of packages one has to order if you want the whole thing.
It would be nice if they had an "all of the above" package so you don't have to download each one separately.
(And it would also be nice if you could pay a one time fee and automatically be covered for the life of the game.)
They actually do sell Companion and Campaign Setting bundles, where you can download the whole thing as one package and save $5 each. It's a bit confusing if you look at the whole list of available downloads, as they are each listed separately and as bundles.
I must confess I follow a simple credo when I have to create an NPC, especially at short notice ... I wing it.
How many feats are they likely to have that the party will find out about in one encounter? That's how many they need. What skills to they need to interact with the party in the way they do? That's what they have.
I don't work out every detail because I don't need to unless the PCs are going to work with the character in the long term.
They actually do sell Companion and Campaign Setting bundles, where you can download the whole thing as one package and save $5 each. It's a bit confusing if you look at the whole list of available downloads, as they are each listed separately and as bundles.Herolabs needs to put that on their website. I was about to get it for pathfinder.
Edit:It is on the site on the pathfinder page. here
My god that's a lot of packages one has to order if you want the whole thing.
It would be nice if they had an "all of the above" package so you don't have to download each one separately.
(And it would also be nice if you could pay a one time fee and automatically be covered for the life of the game.)
Yeah, but I don't want to buy multiple bundles. I want one price for everything combined.
"Often when I'm running my sandbox-style Sandpoint game,...
*Gogutz, the halfling druid rides through James' Sandpoint on a Stegosaurus, leaving town riddled with pointless rumors.*
We've also got "Rival Guide" coming out pretty soon; this book has 40 NPC stat blocs ranging from CR 2 up to CR 19—LOTS of various NPCs to use in there, either alone or as full parties.
Hopefully this is NEW content and not reprinted stuff from the back of the GameMastery Guide?
Speaking of which, the GameMastery Guide also has a large section (20-30 pages approx.) of pre-built generic NPCs by profession.
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With Hero Labs this took me about 3-5 minutes total. I can add a spellcasting class and it might take me another 5 minutes total. Using Herolabs makes it that much easier for me and I can import any stock NPC that is in the Gamemastery Guide (Which comes free with the Pathfinder Core Rules system for Hero Labs) or the NPC guide, not to mention any that I have created and kept.
Test NPC CR 4
Male Dhampir Antipaladin 5
CE Medium Humanoid (Dhampir)
Init +2; Senses Darkvision (60 feet), Low-Light Vision; Perception +7
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 22, touch 11, flat-footed 21. . (+11 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 34 (5d10)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +7
Defensive Abilities Negative Energy Affinity; Resist Undead Resistance
Weakness Light Sensitivity
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 20 ft.
Melee +2 Longsword +9 (1d8+4/19-20/x2) and
. . Gauntlet (from Armor) +7 (1d3+2/20/x2) and
. . Unarmed Strike +7 (1d3+2/20/x2)
Ranged Masterwork Crossbow, Heavy +4 (1d10/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks Smite Good (2/day)
Spell-Like Abilities Detect Good (At will), Detect Undead (3/day)
Antipaladin Spells Known (CL 2, 7 melee touch, 7 ranged touch):
1 (2/day) Protection from Good, Magic Weapon
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 15, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 16
Base Atk +5; CMB +7 (+9 Sundering); CMD 18 (20 vs. Sunder)
Feats Improved Sunder, Power Attack -2/+4, Weapon Focus: Falchion
Skills Acrobatics -3, Bluff +5, Climb -3, Escape Artist -3, Fly -3, Perception +7, Ride -3, Spellcraft +7, Stealth -3, Swim -3
Languages Common
SQ Aura of Cowardice (Su), Aura of Evil (Ex), Channel Negative Energy 3d6 (2/day) (DC 15) (Su), Cruelty: Sickened (5r) (DC 15) (Su), Fiendish Weapon +1 (5 minutes) (1/day) (Sp), Hero Points (1), Resist Level Drain (Ex), Touch of Corruption (2d6) (5/day) (Su), Unholy Resilience (Su)
Combat Gear +2 Longsword, Masterwork Crossbow, Heavy, Bolts, Crossbow (20), +2 Hellknight Plate;
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
Bolts, Crossbow - 0/20
Channel Negative Energy 3d6 (2/day) (DC 15) (Su) - 0/2
Detect Undead (3/day) (Sp) - 0/3
Fiendish Weapon +1 (5 minutes) (1/day) (Sp) - 0/1
Smite Good (2/day) (Su) - 0/2
Touch of Corruption (2d6) (5/day) (Su) - 0/5
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
Aura of Cowardice (Su) Enemies within 10 ft. are not Immune to fear and take -4 to saves vs. fear effects.
Aura of Evil (Ex) The antipaladin has an Aura of Evil with power equal to her class level.
Channel Negative Energy 3d6 (2/day) (DC 15) (Su) A good cleric can channel positive energy to heal the living and injure the undead; an evil cleric can channel negative energy to injure the living and heal the undead.
Cruelty: Sickened (5r) (DC 15) (Su) When you use your Touch of Corruption ability, you may also make your target sickened for 1r/Antipaladin level
You may only apply a single Cruelty ability to each use of Touch of Corruption, chosen when used.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Detect Good (At will) (Sp) You can use Detect Good at will (as the spell).
Fiendish Weapon +1 (5 minutes) (1/day) (Sp) You can enhance your weapon for 1 minute per level one or more times per day.
Improved Sunder You Sunder at +4 and don't cause an attack of opportunity.
Light Sensitivity (Ex) Dazzled as long as they remain in bright light.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Negative Energy Affinity (Ex) The creature alive, but reacts to positive and negative energy as if it were undead - positive energy harms it, negative energy heals it.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Resist Level Drain (Ex) A dhampir takes no penalties from energy draining effects, though he can still be killed if he accrues more negative levels then he has Hit Dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels a dhampir takes are removed without the need for an additional savin
Smite Good (2/day) (Su) +3 to hit, +5 to damage, +3 deflection bonus to AC when used.
Touch of Corruption (2d6) (5/day) (Su) You can inflict 2d6 damage, 5/day
Undead Resistance +2 save vs. disease, mind affecting
Unholy Resilience (Su) You gain your Charisma Bonus as a bonus to all saving throws.
Created With Hero Lab® - try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com!
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It's been discussed poorly in other threads, by people spreading misinformation (intentionally or not), and repeated by others who had their facts wrong.
OK, well, it's like this, for me at least - I have 2 kids and a mortgage, and although I work a decent job, times are tight. $100 is a lot of money for me, and that's roughly what it would cost me as a GM, at least for a baseline. I don't have that kind of money to just drop on something. Ergo, the product is expensive, which I see as a subjective concept.
For someone with no money at all, something that's $20 is expensive. For a millionaire, $20 might be used for toilet paper.
For me, $100 is expensive. Not, as I said earlier, TOO expensive...but expensive. If I do come up with $100, I'd rather buy toys for my kids, in all honesty.
I totally agree that $100 in this day and age is a big expense... but I do disagree that it is THAT difficult even with kids and a mortgage. You just have to break it down. For one thing Two Wolves did say that for the base price alone of 29.99 you get the Gamemastery Guide, the Adventure Paths, the Core Rules AND the NPC guide with the price. So that is fairly inexpensive and a one time cost.
You can add the rest in increments and over time instead of buying them all at once and while yes the cost does not decrease even with the cost spread out it does become easier to pay for then. Not all of it is needed as a DM nor as a Player and if you are like me then you have to have it all then yes the cost gets up there but lets face it.. not ALL of the Hero Labs supplements are needed to be able to run a game. If you feel you do then spread the cost out over time and set some money aside as you can... then it is easier and you do not have to worry about buying the toys for the kids all the time when you can buy an occasional toy for yourself too.
Try using http://www.dinglesgames.com/ Basic NPCs are free, and there's a $15 per year membership fee to unlock all the features.
Try using http://www.dinglesgames.com/ Basic NPCs are free, and there's a $15 per year membership fee to unlock all the features.
i.e. LVL 5 Barbarian Were-Tiger Ape
Name
Ape Weretiger, Human form CR 11
XP 12800
Neutral Large Animal
Barbarian level 5 (skill points 5) Barbarian
Init +6; Senses Low-light Vision, Scent, Empathy Tiger, Low-light Vision, Scent; Perception +8DEFENSEAC 16, Touch 11, flat footed 14 (+ No Armour, + Shield, none)
(+2 Dex, +5 Natural, -1 size)
hp 142 (4d8+6d8+5d12+45+5+15);
Fort +16, Ref +12, Will +9
OFFENSESpeed 40, climb 30ft.
Melee
Single Attack Claw +15 (1d8+8)
Full Attack
2 Claw +15 (1d8+8)
Bite +15 (1d6+8)
Space 10ft.; Reach 10ft.
Special Attacks
Rage +4 con +4 Str +2 +2 will save -2 AC per day 10
Rage Power Number = 2
STATISTICSStr 26, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 16, Chr 7
Base Attack 8 CMB 17; CMD 29
Feats
Armour prof light,
Armour prof medium,
Improved Initiative: +4 Initiative checks,
Improved Natural Attack: Attack damage goes up 1 size ,
Iron Will: +2 on will saves,
Martial Weap Prof,
Shield Proficiency: Can use shields,
Simple Weapon Proficiency,
Skill focus (Perception): +3 perception,
Toughness: +3 Hit points or +1 per hd
Skills Acrobatics 5, Climb 14, Handle Animal -2, Intimidate 3, Know nature -4, Perception 8, Ride 2, Stealth 3, Survival 3, Swim 8
Languages
ECOLOGYEnvironment Warm forests
Organization Solitary, Pair, Company 3-5
Treasure None
SPECIAL ABILITIESAlternate form
Fast movement Land Movement raised by 10
Improved Uncanny Dodge Can no longer be flanked 1
Trap Sense Reflex save and AC when dealing with traps bonus 1
Uncanny Dodge Retains Dex bonus if flat footed 1
MAGIC ITEMS (max value 12750)
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I totally agree that $100 in this day and age is a big expense... but I do disagree that it is THAT difficult even with kids and a mortgage. You just have to break it down. For one thing Two Wolves did say that for the base price alone of 29.99 you get the Gamemastery Guide, the Adventure Paths, the Core Rules AND the NPC guide with the price. So that is fairly inexpensive and a one time cost.
You can add the rest in increments and over time instead of buying them all at once and while yes the cost does not decrease even with the cost spread out it does become easier to pay for then. Not all of it is needed as a DM nor as a Player and if you are like me then you have to have it all then yes the cost gets up there but lets face it.. not ALL of the Hero Labs supplements are needed to be able to run a game. If you feel you do then spread the cost out over time and set some money aside as you can... then it is easier and you do not have to worry about buying the toys for the kids all the time when you can buy an occasional toy for yourself too.
Oh, Dammit all, good sales pitch. I went and bought the Core Rules and the APG. I will, as you suggest, whittle away at the rest. Can't let technology pass me by!
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Oh, Dammit all, good sales pitch. I went and bought the Core Rules and the APG. I will, as you suggest, whittle away at the rest. Can't let technology pass me by!I totally agree that $100 in this day and age is a big expense... but I do disagree that it is THAT difficult even with kids and a mortgage. You just have to break it down. For one thing Two Wolves did say that for the base price alone of 29.99 you get the Gamemastery Guide, the Adventure Paths, the Core Rules AND the NPC guide with the price. So that is fairly inexpensive and a one time cost.
You can add the rest in increments and over time instead of buying them all at once and while yes the cost does not decrease even with the cost spread out it does become easier to pay for then. Not all of it is needed as a DM nor as a Player and if you are like me then you have to have it all then yes the cost gets up there but lets face it.. not ALL of the Hero Labs supplements are needed to be able to run a game. If you feel you do then spread the cost out over time and set some money aside as you can... then it is easier and you do not have to worry about buying the toys for the kids all the time when you can buy an occasional toy for yourself too.
I am so glad that you chose to buy it.. you will find that it is well worth it especially when you start using it to the point where it just becomes so easy to set up an NPC on the fly with in a matter of seconds if you need one during a game you are running. I personally hit the import stock hero and viola I got one in a matter of a couple of clicks.
As a DM I pretty much run exclusively from this and use the tactical console because of the conditions and spell adjustments that are sometimes so hard to use all the time and make the adjustments needed as a DM on the fly like that. I used to dread when a PC did a level drain or even something simple as an ability point drain. With Hero Labs it is a matter of a click or two and bingo.. all the math is done for me :)It is rather nice!!
Enjoy it!
-jon
I find myself constantly wishing that Pathfinder either had a better collection of NPCs and Variations of the same Monster at different CRs, or that they had a character builder that rivaled the D&D4e Character Builder so that I could painlessly hammer out a level 10 NPC in about 10 minutes.did you tray to use the NPC from the Game Mastering Guide?
You can easily adapt them. I need some Orc Bandits, simply use the Bandit NPC and add the Orc template - done
I thought the NPC Gallery in the GameMastery Guide was pretty impressive when I saw it. I still do. It's like a bestiary for human characters. Page 256 to page 309 with each two-page spread featuring three NPCs. That's eighty-one pre-generated human NPCs, I think.
Now, say, combine those 81 NPCs with Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary (an all-template book) and you're good to go for a bunch of monsters too. (Sure, Advanced Bestiary is for 3.5e, but creatures built with it still show up in RPRG materials occasionally.)
Those 81 NPCs might also be available in the PRD, I haven't looked.
What I did when I ran 3.5 games was to write every feat, spell, and skill on index cards, and then when I needed to create an NPC, I could just deal out the appropriate number of feats and spells, and enough skill cards to use up their skill points.
This saved a lot of time, and I learned a lot about feats and spells that I otherwise would not have thought of. Plus, I did not have to agonize over whether to take the Power Attack-Cleave feat tree, or the Two Weapon Fighting feat tree. Perhaps the NPCs were not all ideally maximized for their potential, but as I explained to one player, NPC sorcerers are not necessarily thinking about how they can best kill things and take their loot.
But sometime around the time the Complete Scimitar-Wielder came out, I figured out two things: 1) I could not keep up with all the feats and spells coming out, and 2) there were so many different options that it was almost like I could write almost anything on an NPC sheet, and there would be some way to build an NPC with those stats.
So I learned that I could relax and just stat what I needed. In one battle, the PCs fought guys who only existed as rolls of d6's. I roll five dice, and the result on each die was the combat bonus of that NPC. That was all I needed.
When I have time, I like to create fully statted NPC's, and it is a good way to learn the ins and outs of the game and get a rich source of ideas. When I got an idea, I'd make an NPC, and put it in a folder for use when I needed one. I also stole NPCs from modules, and every where else I could get them.
I also saved my PCs for use as possible NPCs.
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What I did when I ran 3.5 games was to write every feat, spell, and skill on index cards, and then when I needed to create an NPC, I could just deal out the appropriate number of feats and spells, and enough skill cards to use up their skill points.
That would take *forever* though. Especially if you wrote them by hand... I mean I suppose over multiple campaigns it would save you time, but the up-front time requirement would be ginormous.
I approach the problem from another angle:
I try to make NPC generation as much a part of roleplaying as possible. That means I do not flesh out any NPC until the chance that she comes into conflict with the PCs is pretty high.
If so then I think about the theme and tactics I would like to employ first and follow up with only the needed crunch afterwards.
So if I introduced a sage-type and it is likely that the PCs come into conflict I decide upon a theme (illusionist) and tactics (baffle the PCs to make an escape) and choose 3-4 key spells accordingly. Then I give it AC + saves + HPs as fits along the line of the PCs in the group and thats it.
Takes about 3-5 minutes and most of this time is even fluff.
BUT, if you are hellbend on statting out every detail, using mostly pregens and/or herolab is a must have in my opinion
Honestly, it sounds like the OP GM is approaching burnout.
It happens.
If you're putting that much attention into the NPCs, probably what you really want to do is play once in a while.
Put your game on hold, and find one to play in for a few weeks. Try to end on a session everyone will want to come back to.
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Honestly, it sounds like the OP GM is approaching burnout.
It happens.
If you're putting that much attention into the NPCs, probably what you really want to do is play once in a while.
Put your game on hold, and find one to play in for a few weeks. Try to end on a session everyone will want to come back to.
Currently Playing a campaign Thursdays and Fridays, and Running one Tuesdays. Thursday is Changeling the Lost; and Friday is 4e with alot of houserules in 2e planescape setting.
But yeah; I'm getting kindof burned out about DMing in general as well; tis true I could use a break. I've been DMing since september.
But when I get back to it ill be using these tips to cut down on the prep work. :) So any more advice/suggestions how you do it would be awesomely helpful.
Can a Mod change the topic title to "Pathfinder GM Burnout: There must be a faster way to do NPCs!"
Has anyone gone and collected all the statblocks from adventure paths and compiled them? Only the names are not OGL; right?
Now, say, combine those 81 NPCs with Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary (an all-template book) and you're good to go for a bunch of monsters too. (Sure, Advanced Bestiary is for 3.5e, but creatures built with it still show up in RPRG materials occasionally.)
I have to give a big +1 for the Advanced Bestiary. I have rated this the #1 non-core book for me as a DM back in 3.5, and it's still got great legs now. Paizo has used dozens of templates from this book in their APs, and for good reason. You don't need dozens of monster books, just one (maye two) and THIS book.
Currently Playing a campaign Thursdays and Fridays, and Running one Tuesdays. Thursday is Changeling the Lost; and Friday is 4e with alot of houserules in 2e planescape setting.
Wow, if I played that much I'd get burnt out. O_O
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Since september? I've been GMing Age of Worms since July last year, my group has just finished the whole shebang. Now i am GM ing them in a small campaign with mid-level characters, and in a month or so, we begin the savage tide...And we started Age of worms just as we have finished Shackled city. So, i've been GMing for more than a year, every sunday. And playing with a different friend every friday...no burning out still, but converting monsters and NPCs from 3.5 to pathfinder is getting to be a little tedious. So tedius in fact that i have decided not to convert creatures of lower than 3rd level.
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Wow, if I played that much I'd get burnt out. O_O
And I am getting burnt out. lol. But I just need to hold out a few weeks, then 2 of the 3 campaigns will end.
I'm part of a University RPG Club (We built one last year cause it's hard to find other gamers, and cause we wanted to book empty classrooms for gaming.)We have 96 Members; So there's at least one game every day of the week, with 3-7 players. The three games I'm in all have separate players but one. The guy who runs changeling is in my pfrpg campaign.
Since september? I've been GMing Age of Worms since July last year, my group has just finished the whole shebang. Now i am GM ing them in a small campaign with mid-level characters, and in a month or so, we begin the savage tide...And we started Age of worms just as we have finished Shackled city. So, i've been GMing for more than a year, every sunday. And playing with a different friend every friday...no burning out still, but converting monsters and NPCs from 3.5 to pathfinder is getting to be a little tedious. So tedius in fact that i have decided not to convert creatures of lower than 3rd level.
Maybe it's a combination of lots of prepwork, the fact that I'm not using an adventure path, and a general lack of time. Plus; all the pre-campaign prep work died with my harddrive in january, so I have been having to figure out everything on short notice based on what I remember since then.
Last year I ran Second Darkness (the first 4 of them) and didn't get burnt out. - 1 month hiatus before this campaign started in september.
I have found rules lite systems let you get away from the crunch and focus on the story. There is a diverse enough selection to find just the right amount of crunch.
+1
]And I am getting burnt out. lol. But I just need to hold out a few weeks, then 2 of the 3 campaigns will end.
I'm part of a University RPG Club (We built one last year cause it's hard to find other gamers, and cause we wanted to book empty classrooms for gaming.)We have 96 Members; So there's at least one game every day of the week, with 3-7 players. The three games I'm in all have separate players but one. The guy who runs changeling is in my pfrpg campaign.
That sounds about how I was a month ago. I just finished up a campaign that made it to level 30... and admittedly that burnt me out. I'm already fast at work on my next campaign but it'll be a few months before it's played.
Sadly my friends and I only are able to get together once a week. We've been able to get fresh blood from time to time and try two games a week, but usually the second game falls apart.
What I did when I ran 3.5 games was to write every feat, spell, and skill on index cards, and then when I needed to create an NPC, I could just deal out the appropriate number of feats and spells, and enough skill cards to use up their skill points.That would take *forever* though. Especially if you wrote them by hand... I mean I suppose over multiple campaigns it would save you time, but the up-front time requirement would be ginormous.
It wasn't so bad because when I started with just the Core books, it didn't take that long, and I did it while watching TV. Then when I bought later books, I added those feats and spells.
Eventually I got behind, and only a fraction of the feats and spells from my books got into the cards. Part of that was spending a lot of money on D&D books.
I haven't done this with Pathfinder, yet. I'm thinking maybe I'll code up something in Python to randomly generate NPCs.
I feel the OP on this. I have Hero Lab, the GMG, and the NPC Guide and it is still quite a burden on me to create (and run well) higher level NPCs. I also look longingly at E6, if only my group would tolerate it (I am running advancement so slow, they make cracks that my campaign is already E6...) I steal liberally from other APs etc etc., but I feel like eventually I'm going to run out of original-enough stuff and have to run something else or take a break from GMing.
I like Pathfinder and haven't been entirely happy with other more rules light options like Savage Worlds, but I would not shed any tears if Pathfinder Basic, or an eventual Pathfinder 2.0, or whatever dialed back the complexity by about 50%. Otherwise you'll eventually have a game that just the 10 freakiest rules wonks from the playtest forums here actually play.
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I feel the OP on this. I have Hero Lab, the GMG, and the NPC Guide and it is still quite a burden on me to create (and run well) higher level NPCs. I also look longingly at E6, if only my group would tolerate it (I am running advancement so slow, they make cracks that my campaign is already E6...) I steal liberally from other APs etc etc., but I feel like eventually I'm going to run out of original-enough stuff and have to run something else or take a break from GMing.
I like Pathfinder and haven't been entirely happy with other more rules light options like Savage Worlds, but I would not shed any tears if Pathfinder Basic, or an eventual Pathfinder 2.0, or whatever dialed back the complexity by about 50%. Otherwise you'll eventually have a game that just the 10 freakiest rules wonks from the playtest forums here actually play.
I dont care for savage worlds much either; or Cortex for that matter. I'm starting to find I really like Cinematic Unisystem though. I think I'll be running my next campaign in that for something a little lighter on my brain.
As for E6: E6 is a decent power level range (though with how pathfinder classes are designed you'd likely be better off playing e8 and using the level 8 abilities as capstones), but you have the problem of level-shelves. If you go down to a smaller power range in pathfinder leveling up becomes kindof choppy. I think If I were to run an e6 setup I'd want to turn pathfinder into a point buy that tracks levels (and uses those levels to determine the maximum number of points you can have in something)and ditch classes. *shrug*
You'd get exp as you level up and use the exp to buy things; from new class skills, to skill ranks, to hit points (on a 1 for 1 basis) to ability raises, to feats, to class abilities, etc; and once you accumulated enough total experience you'd level up. All leveling would do is raise your maximums in stuff.
Alternately to do it faster than changing the leveling system; I'd use Cinematic Uni with my pathfinder sourcebooks and some of those quick conversion guides I've found online; and just have the players convert whatever they want to take to the other system as they go.
Sadly my friends and I only are able to get together once a week. We've been able to get fresh blood from time to time and try two games a week, but usually the second game falls apart.
The trick is to be less picky who you game with. Most of the games I'm in have 1 person who is my friend. I rarely go through more than one campaign that's made up mostly of the same group. They're totally different people nearly every time. Sometimes there's a 1 or 2 person carry over.
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I feel the OP on this. I have Hero Lab, the GMG, and the NPC Guide and it is still quite a burden on me to create (and run well) higher level NPCs. I also look longingly at E6, if only my group would tolerate it (I am running advancement so slow, they make cracks that my campaign is already E6...) I steal liberally from other APs etc etc., but I feel like eventually I'm going to run out of original-enough stuff and have to run something else or take a break from GMing.
I like Pathfinder and haven't been entirely happy with other more rules light options like Savage Worlds, but I would not shed any tears if Pathfinder Basic, or an eventual Pathfinder 2.0, or whatever dialed back the complexity by about 50%. Otherwise you'll eventually have a game that just the 10 freakiest rules wonks from the playtest forums here actually play.
I play Wed night, Run my own game on Friday night and Saturday night, and then run a Pathfinder Society event on Sundays. I use Hero Labs for both of the games I run and I use Hero Labs for Pathfinder Society as well just for stats is all and not the combat itself. Hero Labs handles all of this nicely!
You saying that Pathfinder needs to dial back the complication or at least they do in basic or the next version is a bit of an overkill in my opinion though. Especially when you say that only ten of the more dedicated players and I am being a lot nicer then you were in my statement. If you do not like the complication of Pathfinder that much, you should be playing a game that is known for it's simplicity such as (need I mention the actual system here?).