What is an NPC?
NPC stands for ‘Non-Player Character’. An NPC is normally a character that isn’t owned, or played, by one particular player but instead is owned by the game. Most phae are PCs or Player Characters – meaning characters that are owned and played by one particular person.
What does that mean?
NPCs are characters that are sometimes used to fill in plot holes or advance stories – they don’t take an active part in a story but their presence helps to get things moving. They wouldn’t have a story written from their perspective or appear in art on their own, and it normally means that you can’t claim complete ownership of any NPC – in most RPs or games they belong ‘to the game’.
How do NPCs work in the Realm of Elaphaea?
In our game, NPCs can’t have references and can’t have any part of a roleplay written from their own perspective. They can appear in histories, RPs and plots as minor characters, or more major characters (for example as parents or siblings) where it wouldn’t be possible to have a player character.
- NPCs in our group also don’t usually belong ‘to the game’ – they’re normally owned by individual players.
- We prefer it if you don’t use an NPC to form a major part of your plots – after all, the whole group is about roleplaying with other people.
- Sometimes having an NPC is the only way to get a plot going – for example, your starter character has two parents, but both of them are dead. If you want to write a historical RP about their childhood, you’ll need to create NPC parents for them. This use of NPCs is absolutely fine.
- NPCs can exist in any RoE universe
Can I use someone else’s character as an NPC?
Sometimes, you might need a character to make a quick appearance in a roleplay, say a few words, and disappear again – in that situation, you can always ask the player of the character if they don’t mind their character being used as an NPC for that particular roleplay. You will need to make sure you have their permission, and check that the RP is ok with them before you post it.
Characters who hold a Special Position can be used as NPCs without seeking the permission of their owner, as to hold a Special Position you must agree to your character being used as an NPC in certain circumstances. However, please bear in mind that it is always polite to ask the player, and to make sure that whatever the character is doing in your RP is in keeping with their character. If you’re unsure what they would do in that situation, it’s always best to ask!
Who do NPCs belong to?
Traditionally, NPCs would belong to everyone – however, that doesn’t quite work in our game, as many NPCs are the parents or siblings of existing characters. That means that NPCs often have owners in the group.
We’d always rather anybody who has created an NPC to allow others to use them – but we’d equally ask anybody who uses someone else’s NPC to be respectful of the character and to check that anything that character does in their RP fits in with their original personality.
Can I create an NPC?
Yes, of course you can! Just remember that they should conform to the rules of the universe they exist in – just the same as a Player Character.
You should also be aware that certain types of character aren’t very common, and so creating a bunch of characters of that type can make the game seem quite unrealistic. If you need a rare character in your RP, it’s always best to try to find a Player Character who fits the bill first
Character types that are not allowed for creation as NPCs include:
- TBD
Can I make a reference for my NPC?
Sorry, references for NPCs are not currently allowed in the RoE group. This is because we’d need to check over every NPC reference just the same as we do every character reference – given that many characters have at least two or three NPCs ‘attached’ to them, this could take us months! In addition, do not link an ‘NPC profile’ to your Playable Character’s reference. We will ask you to remove them!