Politics have always been a part of D&D whether you know it or not. It plays a huge part in the game! That’s why we have Persuasion, Deception, Insight, and even Intimidation skills! They influence people, and politics is all about influence. Here are some helpful tips for how to successfully pull off a more political campaign.
image credit: Eric Deschamps
Give your NPC some character as your roleplay them so players familiarize themselves with who they are talking to at any given moment. Use these two lists to combine vocal patterns or motor tics, or roll randomly in a pinch!
Vocal Patterns (roll 1d20)
Broken English (like an ogre)
Guttural voice (from throat)
Nasally voice (from nose)
Hoarse, sickly or gravelly voice
Tremulous (shaky, either afraid or excited)
Staccato annunciation (sharply detached sounds)
Legato annunciation (smooth, attached sounds)
Twirls hair/mustache, tugs on beard
Shrugs shoulders every few sentences
Claps hands or snaps fingers to make a point
Head is cocked to one side
Clears throat before talking
Wets lips as if they haven’t spoken in a while
Plays with a ring or other piece of jewelry
Cleans fingernails while talking
Sniffs or snorts intermittently
Spins a strung object around finger (pendant, coinpurse, cord)
Flips a dagger or coin in hand
Twirls a dagger or coin over fingers
Looks past people or away from people when talking
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What do I mean by decision-making? Well, your NPC is not meant to help the players. You don’t walk down the street and everyone you see greets you and offers to join you in your quest. People have their own goals, aspirations, their own LIVES. Give each NPC, especially the important ones, three things:
Your NPC should have an obvious goal that they work towards. Maybe that goal is to kill the queen and usurp the throne, or maybe it’s just to look out for numero uno and avoid all conflict. Either way, if your NPC has a goal, you can roleplay the character and make decisions based on that goal. If an NPC thinks giving the PCs that info they desperately need will help them further their own goal (or at least won’t interfere with it), then they will dish out the info. If not, then they might lie, give false information, skirt the subject, or even run. Moreover, if the PCs know what an NPC’s goal is, they can react to the DM’s roleplaying accordingly.
Much like goals, secret goals guide an NPC’s actions. Secret goals, however, are not immediately explained to the PCs through roleplay or conversation. These make NPCs sometimes act contrary to how the players think they will. A merchant’s “goal” might be to make money for their family, but their “secret goal” might be to eliminate the competition by running other merchants out of business, but not so far as to kill for it. They might lie to the PCs about the fishmonger next door and say they are part of a criminal front, despite it not being true. Use secret goals for politics-driven campaigns or low-combat games, or just use them to make more interesting characters.
You have heard about traits before. There are plenty of lists online where you can find examples of personality traits, especially creative writing articles and blogs, but here I remind you that a character’s traits will dictate how they act. A friendly character might be prone to help the PCs more than a grumpy character, despite any goals at the front or back of their minds.
image credit: Thomas Schmall
When your players leave town and come back, time passes. NPCs don’t stagnate until the players return. They have their own lives! Every new time that players interact with an NPC, make sure something has changed. Even something as simple as having them stub their toe a few minutes ago and they just feel really upset about the whole thing. Players will need to change how they approach the NPC, maybe with sympathy this time over their poor toe. A cleric might even be inclined to bandage it up or use a Cure spell if they are in downtime. Here is a list of alterations to your NPC that could happen in the players’ absence.
NPC Alterations (Roll 1d20)
NPC’s social status changes
NPC’s profession/trade changes
NPC’s relationship status changes or progresses
NPC is currently in conversation with someone else
NPC is mad about something
NPC is excited about something
Someone close to the NPC dies or isn’t doing well
The NPC has moved to a new building/new town/new country
The NPC was attacked recently
The NPC witnessed something related to the PC’s plot
The price of tea in Waterdeep has changed
The NPC’s job/business is either doing well or not doing well
The NPC needs help from the PCs with something
The NPC is away at the moment
PCs run into the NPC somewhere else
NPC’s goals have changed slightly
NPC’s personality has changed slightly
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