As a DM I love having allied NPCs of some stripe as part of the party. Having an in-character voice within the group of PCs can be so helpful.
It could be a more sapient familiar such as from Pact of the Chain, a hireling, guide, sidekick, or captured goblin the party befriends.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 11, 2020
Same! I love long-runninf NPCs, though I like to keep it to no more than 2 or 3 per party.
— Justice Arman (@justicearman) December 11, 2020
Well, running a narratively interesting combat is something I’m bad at in general, though I am trying to improve. When it comes to NPCs, if I haven’t had them speak in a while, I often forget to even include them in combat. Aha! Yeah, that can be an issue for me too if the NPC isn't more closely attached to one of the PCs. The way I give myself the best chance to not forget them is to keep a list of the PCs and a few shorthand stats like their initiative, AC, and passive Perception. Add the NPC.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 16, 2020
That makes it WAY more likely I'll remember to put them on the initiative order.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 16, 2020
I love to RP a chatty sentient weapon or artifact. That's a great angle!
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 11, 2020
My 2e game we’ve had tons of NPCs as members of our party: some long term, some short term, some died along the way. Hell, the god who most of the party worships demanded that we have bard join us to tell our/the gods’ story. We have 3 NPCs and 2 talking swords. Crowded but fun. Yeah we definitely picked it up from the henchmen concept from 2e.
We had a kobold rogue henchman that eventually was played as a PC. We also had a troll henchman for a time. It was cool as hell (In addition to the more normal humanoid friends that sometimes followed).
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 11, 2020
Oh long-term for sure.
They aren't there to overshadow the PCs though, they're there to fill some sort of gap, either narratively or if the players want, mechanically.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 11, 2020
Nothing is sweeter than the deus ex machina of allies the party’s forgotten they made along the way riding in to wrangle the overwhelming tide of a massive combat so the party can go toe-to-toe with the BBEG Mmm, that sort of thing isn't what I'm talking about, but can work if handled carefully and you know what your players are okay with.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 11, 2020
