Creating NPCs
Create NPCs with the fields that matter: role, personality, goals, secrets, relationships, and combat notes.
Creating an NPC
- Click NPCs in the sidebar
- Click New NPC (or Create Your First NPC from the empty state)
- Enter a name (required)
- Fill in additional fields as needed
- Click Save
You don’t need to fill in every field. Focus on what helps you run the character at the table.
NPC fields
Basic information
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Name | How you find and reference this character (required) |
| Description | General overview - who is this person? |
| Role | Their job or function: “Blacksmith”, “Guard Captain”, “Crime Boss” |
| Classification | Their disposition toward the party: Villain, Rival, Ally, Neutral, Patron, or Contact (optional) |
| First met | Where and when the party first encountered this NPC (e.g., “Met in Ash Flag’s basement - Session 12”) |
Personality and roleplay
These fields help you portray the character consistently:
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Personality | How they behave, their temperament, their approach to life |
| Goals | What they want - drives their actions and decisions |
| Traits and quirks | Distinctive elements that make them memorable |
| Emotional triggers | What upsets them, what they care about deeply |
| Voice and mannerisms | How they speak, physical habits, things that help you perform them |
Tip: The voice/mannerisms field is gold for roleplay. A note like “speaks slowly, always touches his scar when nervous” gives you something to do at the table.
D&D-style pillars
If you use the classic D&D character framework:
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Ideal | What principle guides them |
| Bond | What they’re connected to - people, places, things |
| Flaw | Their weakness, the thing that could be exploited |
Knowledge and secrets
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Expertise areas | What they know about - useful for information the party might seek |
| Rumors known | Gossip they could share (true or false) |
| Secrets | Things only you know as DM - hidden motivations, true allegiances |
Physical details
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Appearance | What they look like - helpful for descriptions and player recognition |
Combat
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Combat behavior | How they fight - tactics, preferences, what triggers them |
| Stats block | AC, HP, Speed, Challenge Rating - quick combat reference |
The stats block is optional. Not every NPC needs combat stats. But when that tavern brawl breaks out, it’s nice to have them.
Organization
| Field | What It’s For |
|---|---|
| Faction affiliations | What organizations they belong to - links to factions |
| Tags | Categories for filtering: “villain”, “shopkeeper”, “arc-2” |
| Visibility | DM Only or Player Visible |
To record where an NPC lives or works, add them as an inhabitant of a location, or create a “lives at”/“works at” relationship - that connection shows the NPC’s current location in list views.
Using AI to create NPCs
On Companion and Power tiers, you can generate NPC content with AI.
AI generation panel
- Open the NPC and find the AI Generation panel (inside the AI Generation panel)
- Pick a Generation Type (such as NPC Details or Dialogue)
- Optionally enter a prompt: “gruff but secretly kind” or “hiding something terrible”
- Set the Creativity slider (low = predictable, high = surprising) and an optional Tone Preset (Dark Fantasy, Heroic, Mysterious, etc.)
- Click Generate
- Review the suggestion cards and Accept the ones you want or Dismiss the rest
See AI generation for the full flow.
Quick generation with Quick Prep
For rapid NPC creation:
- Open Quick Prep from the dashboard (or the Session Companion -> Quick Generators)
- Click NPC NOW!
- Choose a Tone from the dropdown
- Click Generate
Recent creations appear in the panel. Use Promote to Campaign to keep one in your permanent library.
NPC types and approaches
Different NPCs need different levels of detail:
Major NPCs
Recurring characters, villains, important allies - fill in most fields:
- Complete personality section
- Clear goals and secrets
- Combat stats if relevant
- Relationships to other creations
- Voice/mannerisms for consistent roleplay
Supporting NPCs
Characters who appear occasionally - fill in key fields:
- Name and role
- Brief personality
- One or two distinctive traits
- Basic relationships
Background NPCs
One-scene characters - minimal detail:
- Name
- Role
- One memorable trait
You can always promote a background NPC to supporting or major if the party takes interest.
Tips for better NPCs
Make them memorable
One distinctive trait makes an NPC stick in players’ minds better than five generic ones. The bartender who “always polishes the same spot on the bar while talking” is more memorable than “friendly, hardworking, honest.”
Give them goals
Every NPC wants something. It doesn’t have to be dramatic - the innkeeper wants to pay off his debt, the guard wants to get through his shift without trouble. Goals drive behavior and give you something to play.
Connect them to your world
Link NPCs to:
- Locations where they live and work
- Factions they belong to
- Other NPCs they know
- Campaign Markers they’re involved in
Connected NPCs feel like part of a world, not isolated quest-dispensers.
Use secrets wisely
The Secrets field is for things only you know:
- Hidden allegiances
- True motivations
- Things they’ll never reveal
- Information that changes everything
Secrets create depth even if players never discover them.
Track what matters
Focus on fields that help you run the character:
- If you struggle to voice them, fill in Voice and mannerisms
- If they might fight, add Combat stats
- If they know things, add Expertise areas
Skip fields that don’t help your prep.
Example: creating a villain
Name: Lord Castellan Varen
Role: Noble, philanthropist, secret cult leader
Description: The city’s most generous benefactor, funding orphanages and soup kitchens. Behind closed doors, he leads a cult convinced that only controlled sacrifice can avert a coming darkness.
Personality: Charming, patient, utterly convinced of his own righteousness. Treats adversaries like misguided children who simply don’t understand.
Goals:
- Complete the ritual before the darkness arrives
- Protect the innocent (especially children) while sacrificing the guilty
- Convert the party if possible, eliminate them if necessary
Traits and quirks: Speaks softly - never raises his voice, even in anger. Collects porcelain figures of children.
Emotional triggers: Accusations of cruelty. Threats to the orphanages he funds. Being compared to common murderers.
Voice and mannerisms: Calm, measured cadence. Pauses before answering questions, as if carefully choosing words. Smiles too long.
Secrets:
- His predictions about the coming darkness have been accurate so far
- He believes one of the party is destined to either join or stop him
- He can’t bring himself to sacrifice children, which is why he “protects” them - this is his moral limit
Faction: The Hollow Circle (cult)
Tags: villain, arc-2, neverwinter
Related
- Creations overview - All 8 creation types
- Relationships - Connecting NPCs to your world
- Quick Prep generators - Quick NPC generation
- AI generation - The engine Generation panel
- Creation types reference - Complete field specifications