Assume you have three or four players. In the introductory session, where everyone is still getting used to one another, how many important NPCs do you introduce? How many more NPCs than that do you have prepared?
I have a pretty good idea of major plot points (in a relatively sandbox way, letting the players' actions dictate where the story ultimately heads) and there are potentially tons of characters I could include, but I want to avoid information overload. On the other hand, I don't want it to seem like they only have one lifeline early on - so over the course of the first session or two I want it to be fairly clear that they have options as far as who to make friends with and who they can ignore or antagonize.
Other DM advice questions welcome. This is just the one that is on my mind.
Jason Clark
My campaign is set in a homemade Pokemon world, but I can't imagine that affecting this particular aspect of prep outside of making sure I know what pokemon they have. They'd still be characters in and of themselves I'd have to make interesting.
It's also worth noting that all of my players are seasoned RPG players, mostly in the context of DnD 3.5 with a splash of 5e. One is mildly autistic about reading up on new systems and talking about them, which honestly is kinda nice cause I get a better perspective on the hobby as a whole that way.
Hudson Richardson
bump in the hopes of attracting some attention
Henry Adams
I tend to i troduce one or two important NPCs in the opening session, then have more trickle in over time. If the party travels, have a new face or two to get them involved with the next town/quest/caravan etc.
Christopher Torres
Do you ever introduce major NPCs before they become important? It's something that comes up sometimes in TV shows and whatnot, and it seems kinda cool, but it also seems like it could fall under the umbrella of "shit that only sounds cool to the DM" if done poorly. I just don't know if it can be done well. Thoughts?
Adam Mitchell
Is about what I do. Generally, I give them two-three major NPCs. In an arena, this might be something akin to a Handler, a Trainer, and maybe a scheduler.
This more depends on groups, I've found. Some groups just sort of say, "Let's go do shit" and take no time getting to know each-other, allowing 3-4 NPCs and plenty of hooks to be introduced.
Others take time getting a feel for each-other, and enjoy the process of learning of one another and the fun associated.
Though given that they are all veterans, I have a feeling they'll probably get their shit together pretty quick and want to do stuff. So 2-3 major NPCs if you will. Likely they'll want to survey all the options, and even if they don't, you still have the extra options for later.
Owen Torres
Star with an intro blurb, and give them a clear objective during it. Don't worry about railroading the very first session, and don't try to sandbox it (you're at an inn, what do?). Introduce one major NPC as a quest giver. Someone who hired them for the job that brought them all together. And explain their travel to that locale, which is why they're all together.
Think of it like a TV series. Episode 1 might introduce characters and concept important to the story arch. But it's still just a monster of the week.
Brandon White
If your players haven't made your characters yet I'd recommend having two of them share a background to help the role play.
This early in the campaign you don't need to worry too much. Create a few NPCs (2 ot 3) and maybe a couple more to throw in randomly if your players run off somewhere unexpected. Having the bare bones for a town ready just incase is also a good shout.
The best way to avoid info overload is to take your time with the story. Keep the first quests simple "oh lord a pack of goblins have stolen my prize winning goat" or something. Slowly build up a background story then bring in NPCs to hook them "I'm a wizard from the big city, the goblins have been sacrificing goats to summon their new god blah blah blah"
How your players deal with NPCs is rarely something you can predict. They might loathe one you meant to be quirky and absolutely love one just because you gave it a sort of irish accent.
Regardless, always make notes of NPCs players encounter. Especially if they're random ones you make up on the fly. Otherwise you will forget all about them in less than five minutes.
Jacob Edwards
Yeah, I'm not too worried about over-preparation, since I can always use anything we didn't get to later, or even repurpose it depending on how things fall out.
I guess I've been on the bad end of a bad railroad, so maybe I'm too gun-shy of even temporary railroading for the first session. I'll keep that in mind and make sure I provide some hard direction for them to follow at the beginning.
I've talked to them about the characters they want to make, and we'll have a session zero where we actually work out the nuts of bolts of how they know each other. I want them all to have background with each other at least to some extent, and I'm pretty confident that these particular players can pull that off.
Notes notes notes notes I'm prepared for that. I went through too much school not to have figured out a little about taking notes so I don't have to remember everything all at once. I'm still undecided on whether to do notecards, digital notes, or both, but that's something I think I have to figure out for myself. Physically writing stuff down commits it to memory better, but digital records are much easier to keep track of if you're organized.
Logan Johnson
How do I make puzzles that don't immediately stump my players? I think I might be bad at communicating the solution, but I don't want to spoonfeed them. I also want them to actually think rather than 'you beat the skeleton get 50 XP'.
