NPC Allies

[Philotomy]

What's the best approach for handling NPCs that are working directly with the PCs? (In D&D, I'd call such NPCs henchmen or hirelings.)

The specific example I'm thinking of is a Viking adventure where the PC's command a longship of raiders. That means there are up to 40 or so allied NPCs. Should I treat them as "Underlings," just on the PC's side?

I'd be comfortable handling this kind of situation with D&D; I'm less certain of the best approach when using RQ. I guess it's not really that different, despite the different rules, but any advice would be appreciated. I'm probably just feeling out of my element...

 

[soltakss]

To a certain extent, it's just the same.

Who the PCs are will affect things, though. If one of the PC is the captain/master of the boat then, in theory, everyone is subservient to him and he can order the NPCs around. If, however, the PCs are raw youngsters on their first Viking mission, then the other NPCs will probably have more experience and will act accordingly, unless the PCs are young noblemen, in which case they will have some kind of command.

A Viking boat is a good place for roleplaying tensions. You are cooped together for long voyages and that can cause tensions. If you have a rival or enemy on the boat then that can cause problems. People can fall out or become friends. Add in Viking raids and the outcome of combat and you have a heady mix of possibilities.

It is difficult to keep track of every NPC. What I would do is to note down the major NPCs, any friends/enemies/kinsmen of the PCs and keep a track of how they would react to the PCs. If anything happens that would disrupt/change relationships then keep track of them.

When you are in a combat situation, split the raiders up into small groups - they never went in en masse. Have the PCs in a group of their own, perhaps with one or two NPCs as support. Narrate what the other groups are doing, or have them tell their stories afterwards. You don't want to keep track of 40 NPCs in combat, believe me. After all, a Viking raid is a confusing affair with lots of shouting, screaming, smoke and fire, some raiders will be busy fighting, others looting and so on, so the PCs won't always know what is going on with the whole group.

 

[Philotomy]

Thanks, Simon. Some good advice, there.

I was thinking the PCs would be in command, but that will probably depend on their PC backgrounds and connections. Either way, though, I think it should work.

 

[Mixster]

In combat I'd go for a narrative style with what happens with the other raiders, combats involving more than 10 combatants tend to get especially clumsy, so just tell the players what happen to everybody else (perhaps allow them some command rolls to influence it), and have only fight a few fights they are directly involved in.

Just my 2 cents.