How do I avoid NPCs becoming more important than the PCs? I am running a so far decent campaign with 2 other PCs, however one is an Operator the other is a Gunlugger, so we have an NPC hardholder because they wanted to belong to a holding. I am considering putting the npc in some crosshairs soon to make her less important, since she has been giving them orders to do some missions for her. I mean as far as that it hasnt been too bad, the focus has indeed been on the PCs, but I am thinking, what if I have to use her gang or something? How would that not take away from the PCs? And on that note, should I just fill out a hardholder character playbook for the npc?
How do I avoid NPCs becoming more important than the PCs?
How do I avoid NPCs becoming more important than the PCs?
Anything that doesn’t directly involve the PCs carries on as it would. Look to the fiction: if the Hardholder’s gang gets in a beef with the raiders, an all out brawl, do they, within the fiction, have the strength to overcome? What is the most likely outcome of that incident? After you have established what is most likely, go with what is most interesting as an offshoot of that. IE: The gang takes on the raiders but the hard-as-nails gangboss took a surprise slug to the face and is dead, now the gang is going through a leadership crisis. If the PCs are involved, then make your moves as normal.
How do you mean ‘more important’? It’s fine for NPCs to be more powerful than the PCs, especially if it’s their boss. Just play to find out what happens. Maybe your Hardholder hesitates to use her gang when she can use the operator’s crew instead.
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I had a similar setup with a Gunlugger and Brainer working for a “twin” holding, but neither of the people running the place were anything more than NPCs (i.e., I wouldn’t use a PC Playbook to describe them).
Although they started doing missions, their mechanical effectiveness soon found them making their own decisions and setting their own goals. Eventually they found one of the ‘holders annoying and the other one dangerous, so they staged a coup and took the place over for themselves.
Unfortunately the game ended before we could deal with the post-coup fallout.
When the hard holder has sent them on jobs how have the PCs responded? Just by toeing the line and doing it without comment? If so, that’s a sign for the hard holder to take as much power in the hold as she can get – I’d expect the PCs to kick back after that (or maybe throw a curve ball and row in as her left/right hand men).
Also consider if any fronts associated with the hold throw any light on the issue.
Thanks for the suggestion. And Donogh McCarthy this is partly what I was worried about. I didn’t want the NPC to become a quest hub like on a video game. But I also didn’t want to make their hardholder become their enemy or something since they might have looked at me as if I was just arbitrarily giving them a hard time on top of their already existing fronts. Perhaps I can capture someone. 🙂
Benjamin Brown
By more important, I just meant, the NPC would do more than the PCs because of her strength+gang+jingle. I am trying to avoid the PCs coming to her for the fix on situations. So far I’ve only allowed her to give them some water, (since their apocalypse involves high temperatures) before sending them on a job to find information near a rival holding. This is more of a future question, the PCs so far have made their own decisions and have merely supported their holding. I don’t think they’ll fall into the trap of relying on the hardholder for everything, but I just wanted to be prepared in case I see it going that direction. In D&D I once ran into that problem when I was still rather new to it, I ended up just killing that character 😛
If they go to her to fix their problems. Great.
I see no way how this could hurt them in the long term. No way at all.