Stock NPCs
“Do not fear weapons, magic, or strategy. Fear desperation.”
— “Blackjack” Jones, werewolf
Vampires are not the only predators in the World of Darkness. Other creatures prowl the shadows and stalk their prey, threatening man and vampire alike. Some are allies, some are enemies, and some defy simple definitions.
This chapter presents basic material on some of the other supernatural denizens of the World of Darkness, as well as ideas for using them in a Mind’s Eye Theatre: Vampire The Masquerade game.
Contents
Stock NPC Generation
Important antagonists should have detailed statistics in order to challenge your players and provide depth to their interactions. However, you don’t need a complete character sheet for every bartender, police officer, or street hustler that your players meet. Sometimes, a Storyteller simply needs a few simple antagonists, monsters to fight, or victims for a complex scenario. When creating stock non-player characters, or NPCs, Storytellers can utilize this quick generation system.
NPC Rating
To create a Stock NPC, you must first assign your Stock NPC a rating between 1 and 5. This rating indicates the level of challenge, or difficulty, represented by that NPC. When an NPC makes tests, the NPC’s test pool is double its rating. For example, if a bartender with an NPC rating of 3 tries to punch a player, she will have a test pool of 6 for the opposed challenge.
NPC Specializations
Each Stock NPC has a number of specializations equal to its rating. Mortal NPCs can only possess skill specializations. Vampire, ghoul, and other supernatural NPCs (such as werewolves) can choose a combination of skill and discipline specializations.
Skill Specializations
When an NPC attempts a challenge that utilizes one of her skill specializations, she receives a +5 bonus to that test pool. For example, if a bartender with an NPC rating of 3 has a specialization in Brawl, she bids 11 traits (instead of the normal 6) in Brawl-related opposed challenges.
When it is important to know how many 'dots' an NPC has in a skill, they have a number of dots equal to their NPC Rating on any skill they have a specialty in.
Discipline Specializations
Vampires, ghouls, and other supernaturals can specialize in a discipline. This allows the NPC to possess a number of dots of that discipline equal to her NPC rating. For example, if our 3-point bartender NPC was a ghoul, she could place one of her specializations into Potence. Doing so gives her access to the first 3 dots of the Potence discipline (Prowess, Might, and Vigor).
Stock NPCs cannot learn elder powers or techniques, and they should have reasonable justification for their supernatural abilities. NPCs who specialize in a path of Necromancy or Thaumaturgy do not gain access to rituals. Stock NPCs do not have attribute focuses and cannot use the focus effects for any discipline powers they possess.
Storyteller Stock NPCs can possess more than 1 discipline. PC's NPCs (such as retainers) can only have 1.
Willpower and Blood
Stock NPCs do not have Willpower and cannot retest failed challenges unless they are capable of overbidding their opponent. Further, mortal and partially mortal Stock NPCs have a Blood pool of 5. Ghouls may spend this Blood on supernatural powers. Fully supernatural creatures (such as vampires) can hold 10 points of Blood. Stock NPCs may spend 1 point of Blood per turn.
Health Levels
Stock NPCs generally have health levels equal to their NPC rating. For example, an NPC with a rating of 2 has 2 effective health levels. Dealing 2 points of damage to such an NPC will cause her to be knocked out of the fight, but the NPC is not necessarily dead. She may be knocked unconscious, paralyzed, or too wounded to fight, at the Storyteller’s discretion. There are some types of NPCs who may have more Health Levels.
Example Stock NPC
Here is an example of a Stock NPC.
Bob the Brujah
4 Point Stock NPC
Potence, Presence, Brawl, Dodge.
Bob would have 8 on most challenges (2x his rating of 4), 13 to punch or dodge someone (8+5 for the specialty, not including any extra benefit from Potence), and 8 to use Presence on someone (No dots in leadership, so just his base 8.)
He has both Potence and Presence all the way to level 4, but no Celerity at all.
