Friends and Foes

NPC Tiers

When it comes to combat situations, NPCs are divided into three tiers: ♟ Pawns, ♜ Rooks, and ♛ Sovereigns. These tiers also count as NPC traits.

♟ Pawn

Fragile minions of more powerful masters, Pawns often form squads or hordes in order to pose any kind of threat. All Pawns have Vitality and Stamina values of exactly 1. Therefore, a Pawn that is dealt a single Damage or Blight is immediately defeated, and becomes vulnerable when they take a single Stress or Fatigue.

NPCs that aren't very important to the overall story on their own are typically Pawns. They don't usually have names, and are usually found in large groups. If a Pawn NPC suddenly gains more significance in the story, then the GM might upgrade them to a Rook stat block.

For example, if an Initiate of a cult snatches the profane artifact from the ritual circle and runs away from the combat when no one is looking, that otherwise nameless character could become a particular target of the PCs. They might now require a name and a description. This can also come with upgraded attributes, skills, and abilities better fitting for a Rook.

♜ Rook

Rooks are a little more sturdy, or at least more important to the story. They are characters with a little skill to their name, and they don’t go down as easily as Pawns. They have Vitality and Stamina values, but they are usually around half of what a player character might have.

Rook NPCs are often moderately important characters. They might have names, specialized roles, and/or unique motivations. Rooks that become more important to the narrative can be upgraded to Sovereigns by the GM much like Pawns can be upgraded to Rooks. This is particularly useful when the PCs encounter an old foe they thought they'd taken care of, but now has greater tools and powers at their disposal.

♛ Sovereign

Sovereigns are more powerful. Their Vitality might be as high as a PC's or even much higher. They usually have access to powerful abilities to regenerate, take additional actions, or gravely wound their enemies. Sovereigns are the peak of the NPC tiers. They almost always have names, individual motivations, and dangerous abilities. Defeating a particular Sovereign might be an entire adventure all on its own.

Equipment

Many Person NPCs—and certain other creatures—carry arms and/or armor. Each stat sheet specifies what that particular NPC is typically carrying on them. NPCs can use all of the abilities, effects, and Boons that come with the items they use.

For example, an NPC wielding a Quarterstaff could use its Trip Boon.

Managing NPC Items

The GM is advised to keep relevant item rules close at hand, especially in Tactical Mode. The NPC sheets only contain a list of the items the character has access to, not the individual rules governing each one. This also makes it easy to swap items on and off for an NPC, and the GM should feel free to switch out their gear to better suit the character or situation.

For example, a soldier creature could wield a Polearm instead of a Sword and Shield. Or the soldier might be ambushed in the night, when they aren't wearing their Medium Armor.

Defeat

When an NPC has combined Damage and/or Blight equal to their Vitality, they are “defeated.” This wording is left intentionally vague, to encompass a wide variety of outcomes. It could mean the NPC is slain in that very moment. Or they could be rendered unconscious, or disarmed and incited to retreat. The particulars depend on the situation. Often, it’s up to the player who did the defeating to determine what happens. Other times, the GM may have another idea in mind.

In any case, when an NPC is defeated, they are no longer a part of the combat. They can no longer use maneuvers, actions, or instants (except to retreat if they are left conscious).

NPC Traits

Traits are a useful tool to quickly identify common rules about certain game elements, or to easily categorize them, and NPCs are no different. Some traits are purely for referential purposes. For example, a Dire Wolf has the Wolf trait, but there aren't necessarily any special rules surrounding that particular trait, other than game effects that refer to Wolf creatures.

Other traits do have special rules that apply to them. For example, the Large trait means the creature is difficult to forcefully move or knock prone, among other things.

Creature Types

NPCs in this chapter are divided based on their creature type. A creature type reflects an NPC’s nature and origin, and informs something about how they might operate. There are five creature types: Beast, Construct, Horror, Immortal, and Person. Every creature in the game will fall under at least one of these categories, described below:

Beast. Animals both strange and mundane belong to this type. Typically lacking human sapience, beasts are often hunted for sustenance, trophies, or alchemical ingredients. The most impressive beasts are the dragons that soar the skies of Senteia, some of which are sapient. Many Beasts have the Instinctive trait.

Construct. Constructs are artificial entities, composed of inorganic materials and built for a particular purpose. Some are imbued with sapience through magical means, but most are mindless or programmed to perform specific tasks. Most Constructs also have the Inorganic trait.

Horror. Monsters and nightmares, horrors represent that which should never have existed. They include things like undead monstrosities, forgotten creatures of legend, and things that lurk in the farthest reaches of mortal comprehension. Most Horrors also have the Dreadful trait.

Immortal. Although not as elusive as horrors, immortals are nevertheless a rare sight to mortal eyes. They are said to dwell in extra-dimensional planes outside of traditional reality. Human names for these immortals include “angel,” “demon,” “djinn,” etc. They don’t often interface with mortals. Most Immortals also have the Undying trait.

Person. People are civilized creatures, usually bipedal and between 3 and 9 feet tall. Humans are the most common example, but there are many interesting and diverse People in the world of Senteia. Unless otherwise specified, every player character is a Person.

Weak Points

Many NPCs have specific weaknesses that, when exploited, can be used to more easily defeat them. This encourages players to seek creative ways of handling their foes rather than simply beating them with Basic Attacks over and over again. These weak points could be a wide variety of things not even covered by these traits. For example, a giant might have a weak spot at the crown of their head, so attacks made from that position are more effective.

Using the Analyze action or the Discern deed might be sufficient to reveal such weak points, at the GM's discretion.

Some weak points, such as Aggressive, Candid, Cowardly, Gullible, and Suggestible, can be more subtle, and even usable in social situations. These are also excellent weak points for the GM to add onto creatures that don't already have one of them. For instance, one particular pack of wolves might be particularly Aggressive. A force of peasant conscript soldiers might be Cowardly or Suggestible.

Aggressive. This creature is prone to bouts of anger and aggression, and is easily riled. Rolls made to mock or anger this creature are made with +1 Edge. Additionally, when a Taunt succeeds against this creature, they take 1 additional Stress.

Candid. This creature is an open book, and tends to telegraph their next moves in combat. Rolls made to predict or understand this creature are made with +1 Edge. Additionally, when an Analyze succeeds against this creature, they take 1 additional Stress.

Cowardly. This creature fears for their own safety and wellbeing to the point of cowardice. Rolls made to command or intimidate this creature are made with +1 Edge. Additionally, when an Intimidate succeeds against this creature, they take 1 additional Stress.

Gullible. This creature is easily deceived, and is unlikely to be prepared when the rug is pulled out from under them. Rolls made to deceive this creature are made with +1 Edge. Additionally, when a Feint succeeds against this creature, they take 1 additional Stress.

Suggestible. This creature is particularly susceptible to persuasion and de-escalation attempts. Rolls made to persuade or seduce this creature are made with +1 Edge. Additionally, when a Parley succeeds against this creature, they take 1 additional Stress.

Weak. This creature is hypersensitive to a particular element or type of effect. Whenever they take any amount of harm (Stress, Fatigue, Damage, Blight) from an effect with the indicated trait, they take 1 additional harm of the appropriate type. For example, a creature with the Weak (Fire) trait that takes 1 Stress and 2 Damage from a Fire effect would take 2 Stress and 3 Damage instead.

Susceptible. This creature is weak to a particular effect. They suffer -1 Edge on rolls made to Defend, Focus, or Resist against effects with the indicated trait. For example, a creature with the Susceptible (Toxin) trait has -1 Edge on rolls made to Resist against effects with the Toxin trait.

Other Traits

Creature traits allow players and GMs to quickly understand a creature's general capabilities at a glance. Each of these traits has some specific rules governing its use, but many of them can be inferred based on the name alone.

Aquatic. This creature is at home in the water, allowing them to swim without treating the movement as if it was through difficult terrain.

Dreadful. This creature is horrifying to behold, and their very presence is disquieting to all but Mindless creatures and other Dreadful creatures. As a result, they have +1 Edge against Control effects, and Instinctive creatures must successfully Focus against their Manipulation every round or else use their turns to wildly flee from them.

Gliding. This creature can use their body to glide downward safely from any height, granted they have sufficient room and air to fall at an incline and extend their body. For every Space they fall, they can move horizontally 2 Spaces. Sharp turns are difficult, requiring a Reflex roll.

Incorporeal. This creature lacks a physical form, and exists partially outside of reality. As a result, they are unaffected by Attacks and Toxins, and they can pass through solid objects as difficult terrain.

Incorruptible. This creature cannot take Blight.

Indestructible. This creature cannot take Damage.

Inorganic. This creature lacks the usual organic components and processes of other creatures. They might be made of material that was once living, such as wood or flesh, but they don't use them in the way a living organism does. This creature cannot be affected by Toxins and does not need to breathe, eat, or sleep.

Instinctive. This creature lacks the capability for sapient thought, and relies solely on their instincts. Usually, these instincts urge the creature to seek safety, shelter, food, water, and procreation, but some creatures have strange, unnatural instincts. Instinctive creatures typically cannot use weapons or other items, but can Strike or Shoot using natural weapons if they have them. They cannot communicate complex ideas, even among their own kind, and their communication (if any) is unintelligible to outsiders.

Large. This massive creature is unaffected by the Skirmish deed, deals 1 Damage instead of 1 Stress whenever they Brawl (Hit), and can harm structures. However, they take twice the normal amount of Damage from falling. Any ability that would forcefully move a character or knock them prone is less likely to function against a Large creature. Depending on the exact size of the creature and the scale of the triggering effect, the GM might increase the difficulty of the roll, halve the amount of movement forced on the creature, or ignore the effect altogether.

Levitating. This creature is held aloft by some unnatural or buoyant means, allowing them to float where they wish using their Speed and even hover in place without effort. However, if they are carrying Burden greater than half their Strength, they will drift or plummet downward, depending on the amount of Burden.

Mindless. This creature has no conscious thought or instincts beyond their programming, if any. They are incapable of independent thought or decision-making outside of specific parameters. As a result, they are unaffected by Control effects.

Mount. This creature is well-suited to be a mount for one or more People. The amount of Burden they can carry before being encumbered is doubled, as is their maximum Burden value.

Small. This tiny creature occupies a fraction of a Space, takes half the normal amount of Damage from falling, and has +1 Edge on Hide rolls. However, all non-Small creatures are considered Large to them, meaning that they cannot use the Skirmish deed against them and they are less likely to forcibly move or knock them prone. Small creatures can often cling to or ride Medium creatures. For instance, a bird can perch on a Person's shoulder.

Tireless. This creature cannot take Fatigue.

Undying. This creature cannot be slain by traditional means. When they would be killed, they are reborn in a realm tied to their spiritual essence (sometimes in a different form), retaining all of their memories. This rebirth can take anywhere from a handful of days to a century or longer (GM discretion).

Unyielding. This creature cannot take Stress.

Winged. This creature uses their extended wings to flap and catch air currents. They can fly in any direction using their Speed, but flying straight up or executing complex maneuvers such as sharp turns requires a Reflex roll. A Winged creature can hover in place, but doing so without a strong updraft is a Taxing instant that gives the creature 1 Stress. If the creature fails to hover, they must choose a direction to fly in and move at least half their flying Speed or else fall straight down.

NPC Disposition

The way that any given NPC feels about a player character can be represented using their disposition toward that character. This isn't something that needs to be rigorously tracked for every NPC in the game, however. Some player character abilities interact with NPC disposition, so the GM may have to make a judgment call from time to time.

Disposition Rating

Each disposition rating has an associated die size, which can be used as a Difficulty Die when the PC attempts to convince the NPC to do something.

For example, a character that is friendly (d6) towards a particular PC is slightly easier to influence if it's coming from that PC. But they might have a lower opinion of a different PC in the group, and have a disposition of indifferent (d8) towards them.

The GM has full control over what every NPC's disposition is towards every PC, and can adjust dispositions based on player character actions at any time.

Apply Common Sense

Remember that NPCs should still behave according to their own beliefs, capabilities, and common sense. Even a devoted (d4) NPC is unlikely to take their own life or give over all their possessions to a trusted player character. Players cannot roll to convince NPCs to do anything outside the realm of possibility for that character.

For example, a famed assassin is extremely unlikely to offer aid to a rival guild member, but it is within the realm of possibility for her help to be persuaded. But that assassin could not be persuaded to give away all of their possessions, turn themselves in to the authorities, and die in prison. At least, not in a single roll. A progress track could be employed for something like this, but it would probably still be futile to attempt and instead result in the PC losing favor in the end.

Designing NPCs

In the course of the GM’s preparation for a session or campaign, they may discover that they have need of unique NPCs that are not presented in the Friends and Foes section. This is perfectly acceptable, and GMs are encouraged to come up with their own creatures to make the world their own.

First, decide what creature type the NPC would fall under. For instance, if you wanted to make a gelatinous ooze monster, what is your vision of how it works? Is it a creature of instinct and hunger? If so, it might fall under the Beast category. Is it more of an eldritch slime from non-Euclidean space? Then it might be a Horror instead. Or, you could always make it have both traits.

Second, decide how many variations you want to make. If all you need is a single creature, then you can get by with a single stat sheet. But if you expect the party to fight many of these oozes, then you might benefit from creating Pawn, Rook, and Sovereign versions at the very least.

Third, design the NPC’s stat sheet. Be mindful of how high its physical and mental skills are, as these are the main indicators of its power. And be careful not to allow it too many Actions or attacks per turn, unless it’s a Sovereign and meant to be a great challenge on its own. Refer to other NPC stat sheets for comparison.

Also try to include a few defining effects such as special actions, maneuvers, instants, or Boons. These should be thematic to the creature's abilities and behavior.

Finally, decide how the NPC operates. What is its primary motivator? What tactics does it employ in combat? Is it a solo creature, or does it travel in groups? What equipment does it use? The answers to these questions will help you determine how the creature acts in and out of combat.

Character Creation as NPCs

You may be tempted to create unique NPCs using the steps provided in the Character chapter, to make a fully fleshed out NPC with a full suite of abilities. This can certainly work, but it should be done with caution, and sparingly. NPC stat sheets are kept intentionally simple, because the GM must often juggle many different characters at once. Attempting to do this with several fully-realized character sheets could be a difficult task.

If you do decide to create an NPC in this way, follow the character creation steps as normal. Unadjusted, the NPC will be considered a Sovereign. Subtract 2 from its Vitality and Stamina values to make a Rook NPC, or set each of them to 1 to make them a Pawn instead.

Wolves

Wolves are wild canines that occupy forests, grasslands, and mountainous areas. They hunt in packs and sometimes harry roadways and small settlements, especially ones with sheep and other domesticated livestock.

Most fearsome are the rare dire wolves. These immense beasts stand taller than horses and are blessed with heightened intelligence and the ability to speak the languages of people. A wolf pack led by a dire wolf will act more strategically, obeying the dire wolf's commands. Some dire wolves work to safeguard their packs from the interference of two-legged folk, while others use the pack to further their own ends.

Tactics. Wolves work as a pack to surround their prey. They use their Howl ability to try and spook their quarry into breaking off from the group so they can be quickly dispatched and taken down with their Running Bite ability. Wolves will work for the good of the pack; if their prey proves too dangerous, the wolves will often retreat to search for easier game.

Dragons

True dragons are an uncommon sight in Senteia, but lesser dragonkinds can be found in many corners of the world. Dragons are characterized by their tough, often vibrant scales, their tenacity, and their almost-magical powers. Some can breathe fire, while others can petrify with a look.

Tactics. Each dragon has slightly different tactics based on their abilities. In general, dragons are territorial and spiteful. While marauding about, a dragon might engage what they consider easy prey for food, or else to steal their treasures. But once the prey proves too threatening, most dragons will retreat via flight or swimming, if able. Trespassers are likely to continue to encounter the same dragon in multiple altercations until the trespasser is removed.

Criminals

Ne'er-do-wells and underworld types, NPCs with the Criminal trait are often found in thieves' dens, hideouts, or seedy taverns. Some are honorable resistance fighters, pushing back against oppression. Others are simply in it for the gold.

Tactics. Criminals are generally driven by their coinpurses and their sense of self-preservation. Unless the potential haul is big, most thieves aren't willing to put their lives on the line. When fighting, Criminals tend to strike from ambush, and retreat if the altercation starts to go south for them.