GURPS: NPCs. If making one takes more than a minute, there is a better way.

Are NPCs hard to create in GURPS? No! Because you don't need to "buy" it. You only need to "design" your NPC to fit your adventure... and you don't have to pay points to do that.
If you want to learn more, visit: www.themook.ne...
Other videos in the series:
Intro to GURPS (is GURPS right for you): • With GURPS, you can pl...
Game Mechanics: • GURPS Game Mechanics (...
Combat: • GURPS: Combat! How o...
NPCs: • GURPS: NPCs. If maki...
Characters: • GURPS: Characters. Ar...
How to use GCS: • A walk-though of how t...
Adventures: • GURPS: Adventures. W...
Intro to Magic: • GURPS: Magic, which do...
GM 1st steps: • What to do first, as a...
GM Gameplay Hints: • GM Gameplay Hints #1, ...
Powers, vol1: • Powers, Volume 1, Why ...
Powers Vol2-1: • Powers, Volume 2, part...
Powers Vol2-2: • Powers, Volume 2, part...
If you like this content, and would like to help me make more: ko-fi.com/crno... or github.com/spo...
Learning GURPS playlist: • With GURPS, you can pl...
GURPS (Steve Jackson Games): www.sjgames.com...
GURPS Discord: / discord
GURPS Character Sheet (GCS): gurpscharacter...
GURPS Game Aid for Foundry VTT: foundryvtt.com...
GURPS Game Aid Users Guide: bit.ly/2JaSlQd
GURPS Game Aid "Getting Started" video: • Getting Started in Fou...
#GURPS #GURPS4e #RPG #Roleplay #Roleplaying #ttrpg #ttrpgs

[@rustyshackleford634]

I just got into GURPS, and I plan to bring it to my group as a GM. There is an astounding lack of quality content on GURPS, and your series has been really helping to fill that void. Thank you so much!

[@chrisnormand]

Wow, thank you! And good luck with your quest!

[@RoninCatholic]

I started GURPS in like 2005 or 2006 and immediately took to it. The first thing about it that caught me was that armor subtracts from damage taken, which unlike D&D's system was how it works in the videogame RPGs I played and loved (Dragon Quest my beloved~) and the second was its spells draining Fatigue Points working like MP again, in those videogame RPGs unlike D&D's clunky spell levels system. Between those two things and the freedom to build exact replicas of various characters from games I was familiar with even if their weapon preference, spell list, etc. didn't line up perfectly with a D&D class was a little daunting but appealing, and easy support for beastman races was icing on the cake.

[@chrisnormand]

I "fell into GURPS" because of the character creation. I loved that I could make anything.... and still do ;-)

[@TheRyujinLP]

Heh, this is one of those rules I know deep down _intellectually_ but I always have to fight to remember it when I get into make NPC's. Keep on going with this videos, we need as much GURPS content as we can get to hopefully appease the algorithm gods.

[@chrisnormand]

You got it! I just released 2 more, and have plans for a few more after that. Thanks for watching!

[@mischino671]

Hey, I just wanted to let you know, that these videos are amazing. I haven't GMed in GUPRS in a very long time, but videos like this make me miss it a lot. Keep it up please and thank you.

[@chrisnormand]

Thank you! I appreciate that. Btw, if you ever decide to get back into it, and want to play online, our GURPS Game Aid for Foundry VTT is really good (of course, I am biased).

[@broomerang4944]

Thank you so much for this I am preparing my first gurps campaign and this helped save a bunch of time!

[@chrisnormand]

Glad it was helpful! Not a lot of people watch this video... but honestly, making NPCs is the biggest hurdle after character creation... and if done wrong, you waste so much time!

[@victorseras6137]

I used to HATE GURPS, because I looked at it the wrong way, Mook took some time to speak to me(I made him uncomfortable because he doesn't like speaking, and I am so sorry...) but the fact he did that, gave me ALL of the info I needed, i am a proud GURPS convert, i swear by it, I introduce others to it. I do agree with the thematics, but i still build NPC's with character points(I get a base idea what I want for the NPC, some may say(I had one friend) say anyway: "You should build them close to the party" and while that seems "fair" and it is "fair", there's a better chance that your average SWAT Officer is going to be waaay more skilled in combat than your local miner or blacksmith. I love your videos, and have been watching more in preparation of my game: "Heroes and Empires: The Dread Lords" a mega campaign.

[@chrisnormand]

Yes, Mook was an asset to the community, and will be solely missed. As for NPC... I too build the "big baddies" in GCS... I like them all fleshed out, because not everything is "combat". And given the time, I will create NPCs in GCS as well, since it is pretty easy. However, if the players go off the rails, and I have to dream up a new NPC, there is no need to go through the whole character point creation system. And that is my main point... so many "new to GURPS" players think they MUST use CGA/CGS to create NPCs.... and I just wanted to let them know that they don't.

[@stpastabeard]

wew! first! thank you for making these, they're a great resource to bait my friends into game time >:)

[@chrisnormand]

Perfect! I hope it helps.

[@pale6414]

After many years of rpgs with many systems I'm just now getting into GURPS, and I'm really enjoying it.

[@chrisnormand]

You and me both... I started out in GURPS rather slowly... and as I learned more, I really got excited by it.

[@Shishnut]

I think that the complexity behind balancing encounters in GURPS is the price we pay for the huge depth of possibilities that we can choose in detail or just hand-wave. It's not easy, and experience is the only real good solution (although the current books on the subject do help us on how to begin thinking about it). Honestly, however, I think it's worth it. I just think that most GM's tend to overthink because of the amount of options available, even after we already know that we don't have to follow or consider everything. The more I get used to GMing the system constantly, though, the more confident I feel to make decisions like that, and it's incredible how smooth and easy everything becomes. Very helpful video once again, great series!

[@chrisnormand]

I might have to make another vide on "balancing encounters", but honestly, I don't know if I have good enough material. Hmmm...

[@Shishnut]

@@chrisnormand That would be an amazing video! You could get some ideas from the "How to be a GURPS GM" books. If I remember correctly there is a very good one just about that! Besides the great advice about that in the first book, that is.

[@michaelwolf8690]

I really think balance is overrated and it bows down at the alter of gamist mechanics like D&D. Your players will never be unhappy with antagonists that are too soft as long as you make wiping the floor with enemies fun. As far as dangerous enemies, if you communicate the danger of an antagonist and make it clear to your players there are non-combat options, then balancing encounters becomes much less important than creating opportunities for your players to be creative. You should still be careful with stuff that penetrates DR or that has staggering damage rolls so that mistakes are survivable.

[@chrisnormand]

@@michaelwolf8690 I don't think balance is overrated. I think it is just a tool for the GM. If the GM wants to make a challenging combat, then they need to learn how to balance the NPCs. If they want the players to know that the NPC is too powerful for them, and they should seek non-combat options, then that is another tool for the GM. But I get your point... some GMs focus too much on "balancing".

[@Shishnut]

@@chrisnormand I agree. I think it's more a question of the literal meaning of balancing. Balancing just means being able to adjust the levels of the challenges to what the GM wants for a particular encounter. I think that when many people read the expression "balancing encounters", they instantly think of modern D&D style "balance" where a group expects to face challenges that were pretty much tailored to their level. However, one just needs to dig at old-school dungeon crawling (and the multitude of modern OSR systems out there) to see that even for D&D that wasn't always the case. Something the challenge is very easy, sometimes it's purposefully too hard. Balancing, IMHO, means having the tools for being able to make that decision, and not only keeping things even.

[@michaelc4060]

Awesome advice. It's so easy to over think and over engineer something that is better left as a thematic element. I could get bogged down making the perfect witch, litch or nazgul when all three are likely better used as story devices than exact characters. Because games like GURPS and Hero are toolkits it's easy to get lost in the construction and architecture and forget that most of the fun in the game is the imagination. D&D gives you pre-made critters galore whereas GURPS and Hero don't so without advice like yours it seems overwhelming to think about creating all the NPC'S and critters. In the old days, (D&D white box and Traveller black box), all you got was a light framework of guidelines and had to supply all the imagination and extras so it was apparent and we just winged it. With these massive tome systems with hundreds or thousands of pages its easy to get blogged down in 'rules' if you forget why your doing it. We never had issue with winging it because you had to. But GURPS has a rule for EVERYTHING so it's easy to spend game night rules lawyering. That's started for us in AD&D.

[@Feroand]

While balancing NPC demages, I decide a value of how much it will be tough. "This one can take PCs with 5 strike. This one maneuver less but can take 3,"etc. After that, I look up the wost HP value of PCs. Let's say, 15. I consider every dice is equal to 3 since it is the average value of 6 side. So, for taking that PC with 3 strike, 5d is enough. 4d+2 is an option too. There was a time when one of my players used his "stone chipping" skill in order to make a stone knife from a sacred wall brick. We were playing in the ice age. I do not have any DMG value for that and I remembered that I had said "those stones are unnaturally hard", so... A knife would be too hard to stay together after the impact. 10d-30 DMG for the knife. İt has one use, after that it brokes in the body of the victim. İf you are lucky enough, you have one kill. İf not... You annoyed the god's preacher and tickle a bit. Also, GURPS is super compatible with extra supplements like "The Monster Alphabet" You may take some ideas from there too.

[@chrisnormand]

Yes, this is a difficult problem with GURPS. There is the unofficial CER rating system, but I don't know how well that works.

[@michaelwolf8690]

@@chrisnormand I don't have much trouble with it. I have an over/under rule when designing combat encounters. I want my NPCs damage to compete with the highest DR in the party on an average damage roll but ideally not do more damage in a single attack than the worst HPs in the party on a max roll. So if my NPCs land a blow it will hurt the softer PCs and threaten the tough PC but won't one-shot a player. I tend to most often have NPCs with crushing or piercing attacks because I want to do damage but not take out PCs. If I make an NPC specially meant to circumvent defenses like an AOE fighter to beat a high Active Defense, or a High Skill fighter to target unarmored locations, I aim for that average damage roll just under a major wound for most party members so a good damage roll is rough but not deadly and a low damage roll is scary but keeps players in the fight.

[@net_spider]

Thank you. That was fairly easy to understand and less of a problem than I thought. Balance is still an issue for me, but making quick comparisons doesn't seem too hard to do to start.

[@chrisnormand]

Balance is still an issue for me also. ;-) But I use that strategy (compare against PCs) for the beginning monsters/opponents. The easy stuff... to see how the PCs do. Sometime their builds are fantastic warriors... and sometimes, not ;-) Over a few sessions, I get an idea of how they do, and then can create some of the mid-level monsters or bosses based on that. Rinse and repeat. As I see how they handle mid-level bosses, I will get a feel of how they can handle the Big Boss.

[@Tyneras]

I tend to work out NPC abilities in detail, mostly as practice since it keeps me familiar with the rules and keeps be honest, but also because having a worked list of abilities can be handy to give to a player struggling for ideas. But if I need an NPC on the spot, I follow the guidelines in this video.

[@chrisnormand]

Me too. Especially for the "larger" NPCs... I create them all in GCS. But for the door guards, shopkeepers, random riff-raff, I usually do it by hand. Of course, there have been times where I whipped up a quick NPC as the party moves into an area that I had not worked out... and that NPC became an integral part of the adventure. So once the session was done, I started up GCS, and built the NPC "for real".

[@JaderEBrasil]

Amazing video, i'm learning a lot in the "Learning GURPS" playlist. I've been a Game Master for 15 years, I've played A LOT of RPG systems, I like to experiment with new mechanics and new settings for my campaigns. But I never try GURPS. The main reason is that GURPS looks very time-consuming. I like to build character sheets for my NPCs, and I really take a huge amount of time to build a single one. I generally, still don't know how to build a power that I want, or where to find some advantages, or how to rule something. A huge difficulty I found in GURPS compared to other systems, is how everything is just a mechanism to build something. For instance, I was trying to build a Cyberpunk campaign, and looking at the Ultra-Tech book and if I need to build a robot with an AI, I need to invest a lot of time understanding the possibilities, learning the process, and finally get the thing I want. Of course, it's probably just a beginner's lack of experience, but it's a huge barrier to start running campaigns in GURPS for me. Well, just sharing my experience and saying that this playlist is helping me a lot to focus on what's really important. Thank you very much!

[@chrisnormand]

Agreed. Building a complex character does take time (and understanding). Note, however, that building a complex NPC takes very little time, since you do not need to follow the "pricing" rules defined in the characters book. If you want to build a robot NPC, then you just assign it the traits that you want. If you want it to be able to attack with a laser beam, then just decide what the attack would look like (e.g. 3d burn 10/20). You do NOT need to follow the character creation logic to create NPCs. But if you are trying to build a player character, then yes... you will need to learn about the advantages and powers that you want to use. Sorry, there is no getting around that.

[@varnai]

I love this series! Thanks, Chris for creating these!

[@chrisnormand]

You are so very welcome! I love to teach, and this just happened to be a niche I was good at (explaining GURPS). And I glad they are useful.

[@varnai]

@@chrisnormand Is there a way to PM-you? =) I'd love to chat and ask a couple of questions - but don't worry if you don't have the time for that now, I just thought I would regred if I didn't even ask :)

[@chrisnormand]

Probably the easiest way to contact me would be through the GURPS Discord. My tag is "Nose66-Foundry VTT", and I hang out a lot in the #vtt-foundry channel: discord.gg/6xJBcYWyED Or you can email me at nosee66 at bellsouth dot net But I highly recommend the GURPS Discord... there are 1000 people online right now, and you can get answers to questions really quickly.

[@jorgmuller3110]

Thank you very much for the effort, it was helpful. Greetings ! I wish you crit Success for the future

[@chrisnormand]

You are very welcome, and thanks for the Crit Success, I could always use more! 🙂

[@Leverquin]

mindblown

[@JaniAndersson]

I just wanted to give a praise for excellent videos! Keep em coming =)

[@chrisnormand]

Thanks, will do! And I have a few more in mind... who knows, this could become a fulltime (non-paying) job for me ;-)

[@SPQRBob]

Chris, excellent work on these videos, and I'm looking forward to checking out your VTT Foundry GURPS extension (I know you are one of the co-authors, but we're going to call it yours here)! I have committed myself to running a game for some good friends beginning later this year, and have been figuring out what system (and possibly VTT) to use in order to run the kind of campaign I envision. Your videos have done much to dispel my commonly held fear that GURPS is great... but inevitably mired in too much complexity and calculation. (*That's* a great joke RPG system name: Complexities and Calculations - C & C)! Thank you for taking the time to make these tutorials!

[@chrisnormand]

Wow, thank you! And you are very welcome! I love to hear stories like this, because I want more people to use GURPS. I think it is a great system, with a bad reputation. Hopefully together we can change that 🤓

[@NarfiRef]

Generally speaking, I like all characters to be playing by the same rules. I definitely agree with you about CPs for NPCs though.

[@panagiotisrigopoulos308]

Amazing video! Thanks so much, these tips make sense and save alot of prep time!

[@chrisnormand]

Fantastic! That is all I can hope for. Good luck!

[@wmlamptracker]

This information should really be spelled out clearly in the Campaign book. There's a lot of information that should be in the books, like basic combat examples, for new players. There's way too much sterile definitions and mechanics and not enough personality in 4e.

[@chrisnormand]

Agreed. If I was a professional writer, and it was 2005 ;-) I would pitch such a book to SJG. They "sort of" did that with "How to be a GURPS GM", but it is still pretty free form... I wish they had walked me through the process once... and then started talking about the variations and permutations possible... but alas, my time machine broke last year 🙂 So this is the best I can do. Thanks for watching.

[@scoticvs]

great set of videos! thanks for doing this.

[@chrisnormand]

You are so very welcome. And I hope to do more... actually, that is what I have been working on (and not checking my comment section ;-) )

[@Aardvark892]

Thanks for posting something other than DnD. Gettin' real tired of the explosion of 5E stuff.

[@chrisnormand]

Lol.

[@XpVersusVista]

essentially what i do when i create monsters in d&d 5e: just think of a concept, then create stats and passive or active abilities for it. Is he a combat wizard? He gets a passive that after casting a spell he can use his bonus action to make one attack. Done.

[@chrisnormand]

EXACTLY! But because GURPS is a "point buy" system for player characters... a lot of new players believe they must do the same for NPCs. And I just wanted to remind people that they don't (and shouldn't) point buy an NPC.

[@michaelwolf8690]

I'm good with a monster having an ability unavailable to players, even intelligent monsters like Dragons or Monsters. But as a rule, rank-and-file bandits, nobles, guards, I make them with the stuff my players can buy (Not with any point constraint). Because my players are perceptive and they'll notice if an NPC pulls off something they can't in the rules, and it breaks immersion. It doesn't really take any extra work and it doesn't tie my hands in terms of what I can build for the game. It just makes the game more 3D in my player's conception of what they're playing.

[@extraordinarywizard5561]

thank you

[@chrisnormand]

You're welcome! And thank you for watching!

[@based-cosmo]

I have never played GURPS before, and am converting my Dungeons and Dragons campaign into GURPS due to the firearms rules and the skill system. Thank you for this tutorial series, because my fellow Gen Z kids don't like to read.

[@chrisnormand]

Lol, who does?!? And yes, that’s one of the reasons why I made this series. I prefer to learn if somebody walked me through it, so I thought I would return the favor.

[@jrs2949]

Hey that helps a lot. Not sure why I never thought about just whipping up an npc like that. At some point can you go over the magic system(s). I have always had a hard time with magic in GURPS and never really understood the different systems they present.

[@chrisnormand]

Yes, it is on my list. Unfortunately, it is a hard one… so it may take a while.

[@michaelwolf8690]

Because magic is so open-ended, when it comes to NPCs using it, I think it helps to think conceptually about what you want the NPC to be able to do. Can he fly around throwing stone missiles? Does he frustrate the players by changing the earth on the battlefield? Does he take control of PCs in the fight? then dig into the rules of those specific effects to build those abilities for the encounter. I tend to nail down those 3-4 magical tricks for an NPC and just hand-wave whatever else because it probably won't come up. For instance, I want a Dwarven Mage in a fight that sees through stone, opens and closes wall sections and can hit with pretty big stone missile attacks using Spell Magic. I figure out spell levels that allow him to do those big effects, figure energy costs and note them like an attack in his notes, and then I'll make a note like "Other stone magic at -15" so if the players turn one of his better fighters to stone with a magic item I didn't think about I can have Byron Stonefather just do a concentrate and role against a 15 like he was casting Stone-to-Flesh and sort of improvise a energy cost on the fly.

[@TomMaletzke]

Hey, we started in the same year!

[@chrisnormand]

1982, a good year for gaming 😁

[@fasgamboa]

Not sure Kthulian horror is fun, at least for the characters 🤣

[@chrisnormand]

So true... the characters never have fun... but the players can (if you don't mind your characters dying, or going insane).

[@Leverquin]

what is bulk ?

[@chrisnormand]

Bulk is the rating of how heavy/bulky a ranged weapon is. And it is a negative modifier if you are trying to move and shoot.

[@stm7810]

Clock! Mook to fight TL 7 cold war stuff Name Bruno He/him Age 26 ST 10 DX 11 IQ 11 HT 10 HP 12 Guns (his weapons) 12 Dodge 8 done 1 minute 24 seconds, I'm slow at typing. probs didn't need all of that. though yeah any NPC is quick, 10 is average 12 is it's a good combat skill, 14 means they're a proffesional with a combat skill 16 means they're hell, reserve for bosses. 11 to 13 in a skill for your job like merchant, fight fires or make burger. and yes the skills can be fake stuff that explains what they do, for example Bruno would use that 12 weather he lobs a grenade or fires his gun or a side arm when empty. also the dog has 36 in the skill good boy because he is a good boy. I can even give op stuff to an NPC that's mathematically undoable, like the super hero "Set things on fire person!" is immune to fire since they're controlling it as a free action at their skin or something. or you can go way into what'd be negative like the baby has no skills or advantages ST 3 DX 4 IQ 5 HT 10 because they're a baby.

[@chrisnormand]

See! You've got it down! I must admit, it took me a while to come to grips with the fact that I didn't need to use GCS to make my NPCs. And it is easy to get lost in the character creation rules, thinking you must apply them to NPCs.

[@stm7810]

@@chrisnormand yeah, glad I abandoned that, forget the whole DnD idea of monster stat sheets, the dragon has 73HP because big and it's a fun number, 14 skill in being a dragon and will do things like breathe 3d fire and do 3d+2 claw swipes. that didn't have time for clock. not related but the advice in powerups, think 9? to make new attributes is good, social inteliegence is different to book smarts.