For me, determining NPC reactions in pivotal moments is one of the hardest things about running an RPG. Putting me on the spot like this feels like my players’ favourite thing to do. One minute, they're asking an NPC to jump into a mysterious pool, the next they're hugging an opponent in an attempt to end a battle. I guess this is essentially what RPGs are about, trying to prod and poke the world rather than ride along as a passive observer.
As I often have to work out NPC responses spontaneously, I worry about these feeling inconsistent or inauthentic. But an equal concern is laziness in resorting to a generic caricature of an NPC, which gets inserted into every scenario regardless of context. Seeking a method to anchor these decisions in something more systematic, I came across this Late Night Zen blog post on the Big Five Personality Traits.
The Big Five Personality Traits are a psychological framework that offers quantifiable metrics for predicting behaviour. Of the five traits, 'Openness to Experience' and 'Agreeableness' particularly stood out to me. These seem especially useful in providing clear and actionable insights into how NPCs might respond under specific circumstances. In this blog post, I'll delve into how leveraging these two traits can guide GMs in crafting more consistent and strategically engaging NPC interactions.
Folk RPG and Materialism