Building NPCs

NPCs are people.  They have goals and tools to struggle towards those goals.  Don't make them the core of the fiction- the adventures should be the central cast, the stars of the show.  Use them to illustrate what the world is like, to add color and adventure to the story.  Give the adventurers interesting, nuanced people to interact with and let them change over time.  The adventurer's exploits will cause the world to change, for good or ill, and the people they meet will be affected by the- and possibly remember exactly who's responsible.  Have them act accordingly.  

Types of Specialized NPCs

• Hireling Creation
• Monster Creation

Dungeon World NPC Generator

Instant NPCs

Sometimes the players will come across someone who becomes important in the moment. When the ritual goes wrong and a poor captive gets the power cosmic what does that villager do with it? Who were they?

When you need a quick NPC all you need is an instinct and some way to pursue it. We call that a knack, it can be anything from a skill to a title to a debt owed. Combine the two and you have an NPC who has something they want and a way to try to get it—you’re ready to go.

100 Instincts

To avenge	To spread the good word	To make money	To reunite with a loved one
To make amends	To locate a lost thing	To uncover a hidden truth	To explore a mysterious place
To kill a hated foe	To craft a masterwork	To cure an illness	To conquer a faraway land
To survive just one more day	To earn affection	To prove a point	To be smarter, faster & stronger
To heal an old wound	To evangelize	To spread suffering	To extinguish an evil forever
To hide from a shameful fact	To prove worth	To rise in rank	To be praised
To discover the truth	To make good on a bet	To get out of an obligation	To convince someone to do "dirty work"
To steal something valuable	To overcome a bad habit	To commit an atrocity	To save someone from a monstrosity
To earn renown	To accumulate power	To teach	To get just one more haul
To preserve the law	To settle down	To discover	To restore the family name
To devour	To live a quiet life	To help others	To prove their worth
To atone	To gain a title	To expand their land	To retreat from society
To gain honor	To escape	To return home	To reclaim what was taken
To party	To serve	To be a champion	To do what must be done
To avoid notice	To perfect a skill	To not screw it all up	To help a family member
To travel	To play the game	To establish a dynasty	To overcome a disadvantage
To retire	To be careful	To improve the realm	To recover a lost memory
To battle	To raise dragons	To live up to expectations	To become a terror to criminals
To show kindness	To be forgotten	To do what can’t be done	To be remembered in song
To indulge	To find true love	To lose their mind	To make the best of it
To find the one	To show them all	To destroy an artifact	To bring about unending summer
To fly	To entertain	To find the six-fingered man	To wake the ancient sleepers
To entertain	To follow an order	To uncover the past	To die gloriously
To hate	To live forever	To spill blood	To go where none has gone before
To run away	To do good	To become a beast	To hunt the most dangerous game

100 Knacks

Criminal connections	Muscle	Skill with a specific weapon	Hedge wizardry
Comprehensive local knowledge	Noble blood	A one-of-a-kind item	Special destiny
Unique perspective	Hidden knowledge	Magical awareness	Abnormal parentage
Political leverage	A tie to a monster	A secret	True love
An innocent heart	A plan for the perfect crime	A one-way ticket to paradise	A mysterious ore
Money, money, money	Divine blessing	Immunity from the law	Prophecy
Secret martial arts techniques	A ring of power	A much-needed bag of taters	A heart
A fortified position	Lawmaking	Tongues	A discerning eye
Endurance	A safe place	Visions	A beautiful mind
A clear voice	Stunning looks	A catchy tune	Invention
Baking	Brewing	Smelting	Woodworking
Writing	Immunity to fire	Cooking	Storytelling
Ratcatching	Lying	Utter unremarkableness	Mind-bending sexiness
Undefinable coolness	A way with knots	Wheels of polished steel	A magic carpet
Endless ideas	Persistence	A stockpile of food	A hidden path
Piety	Resistance to disease	A library	A silver tongue
Bloodline	An innate spell	Balance	Souls
Speed	A sense of right and wrong	Certainty	An eye for detail
Heroic self-sacrifice	Sense of direction	A big idea	A hidden entrance to the city
The love of someone powerful	Unquestioning loyalty	Exotic fruit	Poison
Perfect memory	The language of birds	A key to an important door	Metalworking
Mysterious benefactors	Steely nerves	Bluffing	A trained wolf
A long-lost sibling, regained	An arrow with your name on it	A true name	Luck
The attention of supernatural powers	Kindness	Strange tattoos	A majestic beard
A book in a strange language	Power overwhelming	Delusions of grandeur	The wind at his back and a spring in his step

• also see NPC Names