Great NPCs make for great games.

If you don’t believe me then try this experiment: the next time your player characters get into a fight with, oh, say, some kobold, and only one is left standing, give that kobold a name. Have him throw down his weapon, beg for mercy and explain that he drifted into a life of banditry because he looked up to his older brother, who also robbed caravans. Make him pledge to lead a straight-and-narrow life.

He’s still just a kobold. He may or may not know anything that would help the PCs in their quest. He might suffer a coup-de-grace at the hands of a particularly cold-hearted Striker, or he might resurface as a paladin ten sessions down the road. But your players will remember him and regardless of whether or not they let him live they will have more fun than if he were just another minion who fled or died anonymously.

NPCs give a Dungeon Master the best return on his design investment because they draw players in: a funny shopkeeper can loosen the players up, a haughty nobleman can push their buttons, and a nasty villain can motivate even the most combat-oriented player to kick a little more ass. NPCs close the distance between the players and the Dungeon Master in a powerful and direct way: well-crafted, well-played NPCs are the sharpest arrows that a DM can have in his quiver.

So how do you create great NPCs?

In my travels I’ve seen lists of names (and one application that makes them obsolete), complex lists of personality traits and backgrounds, and even collections of canned NPCs. These resources belong in any DM’s toolbox but a name and a personality quirk or two aren’t enough to bring that gnomish librarian to life. He needs something else.

He needs a motivation.

In the words of award-winning screenwriter and playwright Aaron Sorkin, “I try not to show the audience who the character is, I try to show what the character wants.” Gruver the paranoid gnomish librarian (who frequently sneezes into a giant red handkerchief) is all well and good, but if you want your players to immerse themselves in your game then you’re going to have to do better than that. You need to know why Gruver is paranoid and, if the opportunity presents itself, pass that knowledge along to the player characters.

Motivation is the heart of any fictional character: it brings them to life and keeps them moving. Motivated NPCs are also close to the heart of your role as Dungeon Master: they pump fresh blood into your campaign–not just by explaining why things happen but by informing how things happen and, sometimes, even making things happen.

In future articles I’ll explain in greater depth the ways that motivated NPCs can enhance your campaign. Until then, motivate yourself to get your NPCs into the game: if you do then you’ll bring that much more of the game into your players’ heads.