Hey i am a new DM and my players know this, they have been very patient with me for most things. But i really wanted to get your advice on how to run non-combat encounters. Could any of you run me through an example of what you might do for an RP encounter? or someplace that might have game write ups? Also how do you handle general non-story important NPCs? do you just throw them in there? most of my PCs are just playing this as a video game, "On to the next spot" and if they come up with a problem they always blaze to who they think is the important NPC without ever talking to non story important NPCs. How can i help encourage my PCs to make 'friends' with other NPCs just for more immersion purposes and how do you guys even play those out? ... i really just need to find some examples lol, that would help the most.
Also i wanted some to know how you guys implement Maps in your games? i've recently been running players through the "Crimson Throne" Adventure path, and there is this beautiful city map, i bought the city guide and have been using that as supplement to try to immerse the players. But so far i have been failing. If they need to go from the very north of the city to say the south, how would you handle this? do you make them choose their path on the map? i don't really see its use other than "This is what the city looks like" I really want to use every resource i can but it may not be helpful.
Personally, I would ask the PCs to help create some NPCs:
Have each of them give a one line description for 3 commoners, 1 specialist and 1 aristocrat in your town. If they would like to provide a more detailed description for one or more of these (a paragraph say).
Example:
1. Richard "Corncob" Drywreath. Commoner 1 (profession miller). A good man turned notorious drunk after losing his wife and children in a fire.
2. Elizabeth Fenton. Common 1 (profession baker). The baker's eldest daughter, known for practical jokes involving baking the victim's keys into a pie.
3. Marcos Alonso. Commoner 3/Warrior 1 (profession blacksmith). A refugee from a far away war he's found a home in the town working as a blacksmith, turning out fine swords as a hobby when he can.
4. Terry Swenton. Expert 2 (Master Brewer). Terry is the brewmaster of The Burnished Shield Brewing Co., a smallish operation that has recently started looking for larger markets.
5. Sir Douglass Macabee. Aristocrat 3/Cavalier 2. A genuinely decent noble, respectful and kind to his people but considers adventurers with a weary eye.
You'll of course flesh out the specifics of the NPCs and how they relate to one another but the players will feel much more a part of a world that they had a hand in building.
edit: Also, I would give out some small in game boon to the player that comes up with the best NPC personality. Say, +2 to knowledge (local) checks in town to the PC with the best NPC and +1 to perception checks inside town to the PC with the second best NPC.
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Check online for resources. I have found alot of NPC's online and even if they are 3.0 or 3.5 if it is not a combat situation you do not need to make alot of adjustments. You can also find monster advancers online as well.
Here are some I use alot.
Here is a huge list from DnD wiki
Here is Pathfinder NPC gallery shows all types of classes and CR's but no history or names.
Here is a list from PF database. These come with names and histories and cover a wide range of CRs.
As a Dm I always have a yellow pad of at least one page with a sentence or two of "side quests" that may take a few minutes to a few hours. For a city I would roll up possible random events they could perceive and follow up on if they wanted.
EX:
The Orphan child/rogue who ask for money/food/etc... while another Orphan attempts to pick their pockets... if they see it it could lead to a city chase to an alley where more larger and tougher Rogues and Thugs await the PC's.
- another example of this is a gang of orphans running down the street and they just swarm through the PC's spaces giggling and playing (and picking pockets) due to so many of them you could give the PCs negatives to their perceptions as a situational bonus.
Another random event would be some type of nature disaster.
- House/business fire - PC would use their abilities but not against other players. Saving a child in a burning house on a 3rd floor requeires teamwork at lower levels.
* Could lead to them being award in game accolades from the town government for their actions. (Titles, special privileges, ability to buy/own land and so on...).
- Tsunamis if it by a wharf district. Saving NPCS, with maybe a random monster accidently washed in and angry about it?
- Tornado
- A fun one I had one time was a stampede. A storm spooked a bunch of cattle outside of town and they ran down the middle of the street.
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Do some reading. Pick up the Game Mastery Guide. I know its 3.5 but the Dungeon masters guide II is a great book in my opinion. You may be able to find one online or at a used bookstore. Also, grab your favorite novels and flip to dialogue between characters. Sometimes I even put on my favorite Television shows or movies ahead of time to get me thinking about encounters and role playing.
You may need to have your NPCs grab the attention of the players. Have the town simpleton run into one of them in the market and play out the guy being confused and needing help. Maybe have kids playing stick ball in the alley and ask the players to join in their game. Think of ways to bring to life the world even if the NPCs have no significant part to play.
Know your audience too. Maybe you are doing just fine but the players are not buying what you are selling? Maybe all they want to do is "move on to the next spot." Make sure to ask for feedback from them. Good luck and have fun!
I'd suggest you try to look at the city not as a back-drop for what the characters are trying to do, but as a living and breathing ecosystem where things are still occurring when the PCs are absent. This is the best way, I think, to get the players to want to engage with the environment.
This will also allow an organic means of foreshadowing future plot hooks and elements to the current story.
Downside, this take alot more preparation for the GM... Something that is bound to fail on the winging it department.
List out for yourself, multiple small scale story-lines that are occurring within the town. None of these need to be 'noteworthy' from the perspective of an adventuring party, but any one of them can provide a small bit of theater that can unfold before the characters when they are in town.
(Love triangle, local organized crime muscling shop keepers, wealthy family celebrating a marriage, feud between families)
If you aren't on an 'epic' adventure path that is dragging you from point to point, list out a few potential 'Side quests' that might interest an adventuring party.
Combine the individuals that are entwined with your story-lines with believable ways to begin each side quest.
The player character can only unearth the in game reward of the side quests (complete with additional XP and equipment from treasure) if they take the time and effort to interact with and engage the unfolding story-lines in town.
Set the interaction up that if the players are just blazing past the town because they don't want to care about anyone or anything there, they can..... If you 'really' want them to start working to engage the Role Playing elements, let them know that this "area" takes a suspicious view of 'outsiders' and anyone trying to buy and sell faces penalties to the buyback percentages that merchants will pay, and increased prices from the book value on anything. Significant penalties apply to all diplomacy and intimidation checks. This can easily be avoided by cultivating contacts in the town that will vouchsafe the reputation of the party, but this is a story element that can't be accomplished with a simple die roll.
That gives you both the 'carrot' and the 'stick' in how to motivate a party to want to interact.
Needless to say, if you aren't ready when they start trying to engage the scenery in conversation, they will stop trying.