Numenera: Kill Your Darlings

...Or in other words, no person, place or object is safe from death's scythe.

So I've got some news for you, firstly City of Needles has just reached over 4000 views and Venicia 3000 so again I'd like to say a big thankyou to you reading this, everyone that's been involved with the campaign and the community at large. Remember to get in contact if you want to take a guest seat at my campaign for a session or two, just get in contact.

tHa prominent figure from my campaign who I had planned to help in the development on two of my characters, I killed. It wasn't on purpose, as their death served no purpose, but they were in the wrong place and the wrong time and well, it's my first NPC death of the game that I hadn't factored in the game play. In all honesty, it was awesome.

For those of you unfamiliar where the term comes from, reportedly it originated with Faulkner although an earlier example from has been found from notes on 1914 lecture: "On Style" by Arthur Quiller-Couch. As a GM assigning any sort of narrative importance to an NPC, it should be done lightly. An example from an earlier post was the factor of  the narrative importance in a quest chain. The value is only the weight of the preferred outcome, it is never a guaranteed outcome, nor should it ever be considered as one. It is the idea that these actions are more likely to happen in the circumstance knowing your party or own machinations. Assigning a similar value to an NPC however is difficult, as giving them any value at all will most likely result in plot armouring (the idea that a GM will negate circumstances or change them to keep an NPC alive due to subjective reasoning) rather than allowing the natural progression of interaction.

In that regard, referring back to the quest chain post, you need to keep your options open. Unless the last survivor from a lost planet, speaking a dead language, dies and is the only person in known existence and in any reality or dimension to know what this person knows; then someone else can give your PCs the interactions they need.  A quest given in a tavern might be overheard and most NPCs have families, guilds or groups that can continue their roles. A great character will be remembered for their deaths by you and your group, but they soon start to pile up and grow stale as they survive each and every encounter. Heroes of legend and myth are told of their great deeds and usually die a glorious death to suit their life, and so all NPCs, in my opinion should suffer the same fate.

If this all sounds a bit too much then perhaps I could walk you through it:

Q. Okay, I did what you said and I'm going to allow my NPC to die, what do I do now?
A. How are they going to die? Is it the right time? What's going to kill them? Who can see?


Q. Whoa, slow down, okay first things first. The party is under attack by bandits and have left the NPC unguarded, now what?
A. Can the NPC defend themselves, do they have any sort of protection and can they get to any reasonable cover?


Q. The NPC is a suspected criminal is currently tied up, he has been stripped of his armour but he can get to a rock that the PCs are using for cover. This doesn't sound like the right time for him to die, is it?
A. No, he's currently in the group so unless there is something that can attack the group as a whole from where they are, then it's not logical and you really don't want to force something like that especially in the middle of your players. How is the groups rapport with the criminal, does anyone in the group have any reason to trust his words?


Q. One of my players has been chatting to the NPC all day and seemed to have hit it off, the party also knows that the criminal may actually be a freedom fighter, although they are being paid by who the NPC opposes. Is that any use?
A. Definitely, have the NPC ask for the particularly chatty PC to free your NPC's hands so they can help with the fight. [If you really want this option here, try to play on what your PC's already know about your NPC to get them freed, usually something they say due to their restraints]


Q. They didn't buy it, none of them trust the NPC enough to give him a weapon. What now?
A. Well this is for you to decide, would your NPC flee, try to free themselves, or act as a distraction?


Q. I wanted them to realise he was a freedom fighter so they could join his cause later on after a big scene against the sheriff. But right now, he would probably try to free himself to get into the fight...He's picked up one of the swords from the ground, now what do I do?
A. Depending on your characters next actions will determine how they will be viewed by your party forever. If your freedom fighter is as heroic as I think he is, use them to try and take an attack for the chatty PC, or if someone else is more suitable you can choose them.


Q. Now what?
A. This is pretty much the easiest bit, use what you know of your NPC and the current situation to create the rolls needed for combat for the particular circumstance. Then tell me what happens.


Q. He survived, he actually survived but barely, and managed to save the PC in the process. They are mending him now and it would seem everyone's already adjusting their views on their quest giver and the 'criminal'. They're even now planning to go back to the NPC's camp to regroup and take down the sheriff.
A. You put your NPC into mortal danger and survived, and now your party has changed their views, has an awesome story to tell and your NPC became much more than just a way to get into a faction you want your players to get into.

OR 

Q. He died, I don't really know what to do. The group are a bit stunned that he died knowing this was the way they were getting the money they needed, but they needed him alive. Now there's pretty much no chance my group will ever join the freedom fighters. What have you done?
A. You put your NPC into mortal danger and he died, but that's great. Make it obvious there is something on his body that would lead your group back to the freedom fighters, perhaps even a letter that would emotionally spur on your group.

Q. I don't think even need to do that, one or two suggested that after what he had done for them, they should probably take his body back to his group. I can work with that for next session, I can' definitely work with that. It's the outcome I wanted, although it's a lot earlier than I was prepared for. Did I just have a conversation with a voice in my own head?

Okay so most of that might have sounded a little cliché and probably too much like a government sponsored video than anything else but I hope it at least demonstrates how life goes on. Putting your NPCs at risk of dying not only will force your players to assign priorities and change how they act but also changes your party's view of them. Did they die valiantly or survive a legendary fight? Were they poisoned as the group slept, or murdered in the street when someone failed a perception roll. Perhaps they die a suitably horrible death for their deeds while turning their back on your party. If you think back to the quest chain; there is always options, there are always other paths and so many more NPCs to kill!

If you take this on a grander scale of things, places and objects too have their frailties and can always be broken or replaced. Take it from me, I built Auspar and then pretty much destroyed it.

Remember if you like this don't forget to share, put me into some of your circle shaped things, restrict yourself to 140 words with @proftesla on twitter, or help me make more with my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cityofneedles.

Talk to you guys later.

/Drew - Tesla