Monster personalities are the last major piece to engaging combat encounters. Morale, codes of combat, and different responses to pain are just some ways of putting more variety into fights. In part one of the series, I suggested ways to go beyond basic attacks; and part two focused on giving the monsters objectives. These give logical dimensions to NPCs. Part three will give them emotional depth. Taken together, these techniques will not only make combat more exciting, but the game world feel more alive.
Monster Personalities Are The Third Pillar
To refresh, in this article I encouraged making enemies do more than just hit the player characters (PCs). Otherwise, there is a real danger of PCs and NPCs just standing there, trading hits; doing this until one side falls over is a slog. Instead, enemies should be forcing the PCs to move, working together in complementary teams, and using the environment advantageously. Mostly, this is a tactical challenge for the players.
In the second article, I pushed the idea of giving enemies objectives. Although this also feeds the tactical challenge, it also does more to suggest narrative. The wider world in the campaign has an active influence on NPCs, even changing their actions mid-encounter; they are not just standing around waiting for the PCs to show up.
Giving NPCs emotional depth does even more for immersion and the narrative. Clever player action can still solve the tactical challenge, of course; however, this is a really fast way to make enemy groups, and within them key individuals, feel more compelling.
The Problem Monster Personalities Can Solve
What makes fighting a goblin feel different to fighting a kobold? Going deeper, what makes battling one goblin group different to another? There is often a sense in popular RPG adventures that the monsters are basically all the same. Melee monsters charge and attack. Ranged characters attack and perhaps try to keep their distance. Casters do likewise. The NPC type just changes how much damage PCs have to do, and how much they may receive in kind.
Giving groups of monsters basic psychology is one way to solve this. For instance, goblins continue to attack while they outnumber the party. If outnumbered, they drop their weapons and ask for mercy. Their warboss is particularly risk averse, and will start negotiating the first time they receive damage. Their successor, however, is unusually brave and will fight until near death.
In contrast, kobolds might launch hit and run attacks in time-honoured tradition. They are terrified of bigger creatures and always try to disengage from melee. That is until they are close to their red dragon master. Fear of the true dragon is more than anything the party can offer. Now, they change tactics and desperately charge; this is especially true if they dragon can see them. Should the PCs slay the dragon, the kobolds will be very thankful, becoming fiercely loyal and protective.
Monster Personalities Aren’t For Everyone
I don’t recommend doing this for every individual NPC in combat, for every encounter in a session; it quickly becomes too much work. Instead, think of a general feature for a group. One or two is often enough. Suggestions include cautious or rash versus rash or arrogant; the NPCs may feel doomed or romantically chivalrous; some may be highly protective, while others are very quick to betray their leader. Then, decide what this might look like in a fight. For example, my goblins only attack while they outnumber their enemy to show a form of cowardice—or self-preservation!
Then have one or two exceptions. These either break the feature, or exaggerate it to a much stronger level. My warboss surrendering the moment they take damage is an example of this.
Choosing these characters can happen a couple of ways. Of course, the gamemaster (GM) can choose NPCs before—or during—the fight. It’s often easier if they’re different in some way to help everyone at the table remember who is who. For instance, the caster with three bodyguards is an obvious choice. Alternatively, if they are the same—ignoring mixed types creates combat variety!—using a different model or token works, too.
The other main alternative is to let the dice decide. If NPCs score critical successes or critical fails—fumbles—then those NPCs can suddenly become exceptions; if they critically succeed, it’s a sign of unusual bravery, precision, or ferocity; a fumble could be rare cowardice or clumsiness. Using the group’s general feature as a baseline, choose an appropriate exception or exaggeration. The dice suggest; the GM defines.
Pain the Perfect Educator (War Wind Quote of the Day)
Once the GM knows the group’s general feature(s), decide how they react to damage and loss. This response hints at their motivation levels, discipline, or callousness. This can work on an individual level—NPCs may exit combat long before they near 0 hit points; or, it can work for a group—if the NPCs lose a certain number or a percentage, they run.
However, running is not the only reaction. NPCs may treat damage or loss with coldness or desperate determination—i.e. they ignore it. Alternatively, they may attack harder, move to protect someone or something important; or, NPCs may be spiteful, attacking whoever attacked them last, even if it isn’t the smartest thing to do.
Brave Sir Robin in Monster Personalities
Much of the advice online reminds GMs there’s no need for a combat to continue when the outcome is obvious; there’s no tension, and often not a lot of fun, waiting for every NPC to drop to zero hit points. It’s really important to remember very few people—or any other animal—will fight until death. When PCs do encounter an enemy that does this, it should be poignant or chilling.
However, I haven’t seen many people offering much detail on how to do this. For instance, recall my group of goblins. If they run in a panic screeching in all directions—every goblin for themselves—that shows one personality. In contrast, if one signals and the goblins fade away silently in unison next round, it gives a different picture. What if the goblins perform an ordered retreat, some providing cover for the others? Goblins choosing to stand and die to let their friends escape feel very different. Likewise, some receiving orders to sacrifice themselves, with threats against their families to ensure obedience, feels different again.
When to Run
The way a groups retreats—or stands and dies—is a great opportunity to make groups feel different from each other. When they run, again, is a GM decision or a suggestion from the dice. GMs should feel comfortable having enemies retreat to suit the narrative or energy at the table.
That said, some systems offer a guideline like Shadowdark’s DC15 Wisdom check if enemies lose more than half their number. My background as a Warhammer gamer shows through in this suggestion which runs along similar lines:
Roll 2d6. A cowardly enemy stands and fights on 4 or lower; a standard disciplined NPC continues to fight on a 6 or lower; a particularly motivated or well-trained enemy needs an 8 or lower, perhaps a 9 or even a 10.
If I do choose to roll the dice, it’s important to make either result fun. Enemies deciding to stand and fight should be as dramatic and cool as finishing the encounter quickly and moving on. The NPCs can always change tactics, change objective, or a wave of reinforcements might arrive.
Monster Personalities and Codes
In No Country for Old Men, Anton Chigurh—in the film, played brilliantly by Javier Bardem—is a stone-cold killer. However, one of the defining scenes is his encounter with a shopkeeper. Chigurh will relentlessly hunt someone until they are dead, and he kills in a heartbeat. However, it’s a coin flip that decides the shopkeeper’s life. (This isn’t strictly true; as in The Dice Man which I look at in this article, Chigurh isn’t giving up total control; like every GM, he’s choosing when to flip the coin and what those results mean).
As I stated in this article about making compelling villains, it’s often what people won’t do that makes them interesting. The shopkeeper is a total stranger, but Chigurh would kill him without a second thought. That is, only if the coin decides so. Codes of combat and moral systems like chivalry—or a lack thereof—are another way to make a group feel real.
Treatment of victims and their own dead can say a lot about a group, and the world they live in. Choosing to attack only certain enemies, in special places, using only certain weapons, or fighting in particular ways, add definition. Their reaction to PCs that honour or break these codes should change the way they engage with the party.
In No Country for Old Men, Chigurh demands the shopkeeper treat his coin with respect. The dramatic tension is, of course, the shopkeeper has no idea how close he is to death. He has no understanding of the seriousness of situation, or the significance of the coin. Likewise, Chigurh is shocked by the shopkeeper’s handling of the coin. Some of the most interesting narrative moments are when two codes of conduct crash into each other.
Some Stars Burn Twice as Bright for Half as Long
Once the encounter is over, there is no need for the GM to keep track of every exceptional NPC. In most cases, this should be easy to decide. Named NPCs that serve a medium- to long-term function in the narrative obviously get tracked. NPCs becoming special through dice rolls, or were there just to add spice to the encounter, can be safely forgotten; this keeps GM prep time manageable and doesn’t pressure players into remembering every single person they meet; the latter is a pointless expectation doomed to fail anyway.
However, there may be cases when a surprise NPC—through spontaneous design or dice rolls—becomes a recurring character. These NPCs can become extremely memorable, both beloved allies or exasperating enemies. As always, let the dice lead the story where possible for the best results.
Getting Monster Personalities into The Game
To sum up, for each group think of their general approach to combat, reflecting their attitudes and values. Then, decide how they react to pain and loss. Consider how they might retreat; and lastly, decide any rules of engagement or code of conduct they might have. With just four phrases, any group—be it tribe, criminal organisation, police force, or nation’s warriors—gains immediate character.
From there, choose one or two figurehead NPCs and consider how they might break or exaggerate any of those phrases. Lastly, keep those ideas in mind in case a NPC gets unplanned special attention mid-combat. This should be lightweight enough to avoid adding undue prep, while also really boosting both immersion and encounter engagement. It all works to avoid the PCs facing endless waves of faceless NPCs that do nothing but bop!
