Author Topic: Random Table: 100 NPC Traits  (Read 2252 times)

Offline Agita

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Random Table: 100 NPC Traits
« on: August 12, 2014, 09:32:50 AM »
NPCs are the lifeblood of a campaign world, and sometimes a GM has to make them up on the fly. A technique I use for this is to come up with a set of three traits that stand out in some fashion, to allow me to give the PCs a quick, easy to visualize description and fill in the details as I go. It also helps some to make NPCs memorable for the players (such as 'the lanky, chain-smoking wizard').

I've put together the following table primarily for use with this method of NPC creation, but it can also be used to add traits to extant NPCs, plan them in advance, or do any of the above with your PC instead. It's designed primarily for expedience and ease of use, so just roll a d100 one to three times and look up the result, or pick any combination that strikes your fancy without rolling. If a result doesn't fit or make sense for any reason or you just don't like it, reroll or pick another. I may later make a more in-depth table involving more than one roll per trait for those who want the additional traits or just like rolling dice.

d%Trait
01Long hair
02Very short hair/bald
03Messy hair
04Unusually dirty (relative to circumstances)
05Unusually clean (relative to circumstances)
06Lanky build
07Stocky build
08Petite build
09Massive build
10Slender
11Broad-shouldered
12Overweight
13Underweight
14Beer gut
15Pregnant wife or lover present (male)/pregnant (female)
16Knockout figure (female)/Adonis body (male)
17Unusually tall/giantism (relative to demographic, e.g. 5'+ for a dwarf)
18Unusually short/dwarfism (relative to demographic, e.g. less than 5' for an adult human)
19Obviously rich
20Especially well-dressed
21Terrible sense of fashion
22Unusual dress (relative to station/environment, e.g. exotic or unseasonable clothing)
23Unusual hair or eye color (relative to environment)
24Albinism
25Racial/ethnic minority (relative to environment, e.g. light-skinned human in predominantly dark region or dwarf in elf city)
26Religious/philosophical minority (relative to environment, e.g. monotheist sect of polytheist faith)
27Other minority (e.g. nonstandard sexual orientation or gender identity)
28Unusual speech pattern (e.g. speaking very formally, referring to self in third person)
29Speaks loudly or whispers
30Speaks very quickly/very slowly
31Thick accent
32Speech disorder (e.g. stuttering, lisp)
33Phonic tic (e.g. clearing throat frequently, repeating words)
34Motor tic (e.g. rubbing hands together, grimacing)
35Notable jewelry
36Vision correction (e.g. eyeglasses, monocle)
37Tattoo(s)
38Impressive facial hair (male)/Impressive chest (female)
39Distinctive facial feature(s) (e.g. large nose, unibrow)
40Missing body part (e.g. eye, hand, leg)
41Scar(s)
42Requires walking aid (e.g. cane, crutches)
43Suffering from disease
44Bad posture (e.g. slouching, hunchback)
45Regal bearing
46Unusually young (relative to situation, e.g. child running a store)
47Unusually old (relative to situation)
48Appears afraid of something
49Upset about something
50Happy about something
51Appears confused or drunk
52Prejudiced (e.g. racist, nationalist)
53(Ab)uses some social drug (e.g. tobacco or alcohol)
54Foul-mouthed
55Very polite (but not necessarily friendly)
56Boisterous
57Lazy
58Friendly and pleasant
59Rude or sarcastic
60Generous
61Miserly
62Cowardly/jumpy
63Enthusiastic
64Superstitious
65Jerk
66Androgynous
67Behaves counter to gender norms (e.g. tomboyish girl, boy playing with dolls)
68Crossdresser
69Keeps fiddling with something
70Artistic hobby (e.g. painting, music)
71Productive hobby (e.g. tinkering, knitting)
72Gaming hobby (e.g. gambling, chess)
73Academic interest (e.g. history, chemistry)
74Unusual skill (relative to situation, e.g. city-dweller knowing wilderness survival)
75Excellent cook
76Married or engaged
77Nobility (as appropriate to society)
78In debt (monetary or of honor)
79Blood relative to a previous NPC or blood relative present
80Practices a martial art (as appropriate to setting, e.g. fencing, Tai Chi)
81Practices a sport (e.g. discus throw, running)
82Easily distracted/lost in thought
83Idolizes and gushes about something or someone
84Despises and opposes something or someone
85Obsessed with cleanliness
86Likes being dirty
87Supernatural trait or heritage (aside from race, e.g. horn(s) on a human)
88Minor magic talent (low magic settings)/magically inept (high magic settings)
89Spellcaster (low magic settings)/magical prodigy (high magic settings)
90Phobia (e.g. afraid of spiders or snakes)
91In poor health
92Perpetually sleepy
93Hyperactive
94Particular favorite food
95Sweet tooth
96Gluttonous
97Corrupt
98Too honest for their own good
99Likes to sound smart
00Breaks into a song and dance routine (or roll again twice)

Remember these traits are supposed to be things that stand out, so they should be visible. For traits that don't automatically shine through like hobbies or skills, the NPC should engage in them or make reference to them at some point (e.g. a chess set in a room, NPC boasting about their athletic prowess). If the NPC is pregnant, she should be visibly so or else she or someone should mention it, tattoos should be on a part of the body the PCs will see, and so on.
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