Impromptu NPC and Place Generator

OK, so you've used my Random Adventure Giannirator to devise an adventure for your players. The adventure is now underway and —despite your having prepared it, of course— you suddenly need to flesh out an NPC the characters encounter, or a place the party arrives at.

Do not fear! I have prepared an Impromptu NPC and Place Generator for you! Contrary to the Adventure Giannirator, this particular gaming aid does need some preparatory work.

Just as the Adventure Giannirator had been inspired by an entry on Zak's blog, this present NPC and Place Generator has been inspired by the nifty inside cover of Zak's Vornheim book. The guy is a fucking genius. I hate him.

Take a transparent A4 (or letter-size if you're across the Pond) sheet of paper and divide it in 8 times 8 = 64 rectangles, i.e., eight rows and eight columns. Please leave some space on the sides to write some labels there.

Write the following labels on top of the first row, from left to right, above the eight columns:
13 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 18
These will be used for the primary attribute or keyword of the NPC.

Write the following labels below the last row, from left to right, below the eight columns:
SMALL - AVG - LARGE - AVG - SMALL - AVG - LARGE - AVG
These will be used for the size of the NPC/of the place.

Write the following labels on the left-hand side of the first column, from bottom to top, to the left of the eight rows:
CITIZEN - FIGHTER - ROGUE - CITIZEN - MISC. 2 - MAGIC - CITIZEN - MISC. 1
These will be used for the archetype of the NPC.

Write the following labels on the right-hand side of the last column, from top to bottom, to the right of the eight rows:
FAIR - VILLAGE - TOWER - TEMPLE - TOWN - VILLAGE - STOCKADE - VILLAGE
These will be used for the place.

Last but not least, draw a small Gloranthan rune within each square, as per the picture below:

[click to enlarge]

You will need a D12 to create your impromptu NPCs and places using my magical sheet and a SINGLE die roll. Follow the simple steps below.

Impromptu NPC

1. Roll the die on the sheet. You may want to place the sheet within the cover of a wargame box to make sure the die stays within the expected bounds.

2. Check where the die has landed on the sheet: which row, which column, and what rune. Take note of the value rolled on the D12.

3. Look at the label on the left of the row; this is the archetype category of the NPC. The value of the D12 will give the exact archetype:

D12 - CITIZEN
1-3: Jack-of-all trades
4-6: Journeyman / Crafter
7-9: Trader / Merchant
10-12: Farmer / Fisher

D12 - FIGHTER
1-3: Hunter
4-6: Mercenary
7-9: Thane
10-12: Soldier

D12 - ROGUE
1-3: Scout
4-6: Thief
7-9: Assassin
10-12: Spy

D12 - MISC. 2
1-3: Shaman
4-6: Plant Brother
7-9: Healer
10-12: Nonhuman

D12 - MAGIC
1-3: Wizard
4-6: Priest
7-9: Alchemist
10-12: Herbalist

D12 - MISC. 1
1-3: Minstrel / Skald
4-6: Sage
7-9: Lawspeaker
10-12: Musician / Entertainer


D12 - 'LEVEL'
1, 4, 7, 10: Inferior
HeroQuest: Ability at 17
LotFP: Level 1
RuneQuest/BRP: Skill at 50%
Tunnels & Trolls: Primary Talent at +2
2, 5, 8, 11: Average
HeroQuest: Ability at 1Ш
LotFP: Level 3
RuneQuest/BRP: Skill at 75%
Tunnels & Trolls: Primary Talent at +4
3, 6, 9, 12: Superior
HeroQuest: Ability at 5Ш
LotFP: Level 5
RuneQuest/BRP: Skill at 100%
Tunnels & Trolls: Primary Talent at +6

4. Look at the label on top of the column; this is the value of the primary attribute (LotFP, RuneQuest/BRP, Tunnels & Trolls) or of the keyword (HeroQuest, please add 5) of the NPC.

5. Look at the label on the bottom of the column; this is the size of the NPC.

6. Look at the rune below the die; this may add a final twist to the NPC.

Impromptu Place

1. Roll the die on the sheet. You may want to place the sheet within the cover of a wargame box to make sure the die stays within the expected bounds.

2. Check where the die has landed on the sheet: which row, which column, and what rune. Take note of the value rolled on the D12.

3. Look at the label on the right of the row; this is the kind of place the party have stumbled upon. The value of the D12 will give the number of storeys (if needed):

D12 - VILLAGE
1-3: single-storey houses only
4-6: some houses have more than one level
7-9: most houses have more than one level
10-12: most houses have more than one level, a few have more than two

D12 -TOWER
1-3: three storeys
4-6: four storeys
7-9: five storeys
10-12: six storeys

D12 - TEMPLE
1-3: single-storey
4-6: underground + one level above ground
7-9: two storeys
10-12: underground + two levels above ground

D12 - CITY
1-3: some houses have more than two levels
4-6: most houses have more than two levels
7-9: most houses have more than two levels, a few have more than three
10-12: multi-storey houses are common

4. Look at the label on the bottom of the column; this is the size of the place.

5. Look at the rune below the die; this may add a final twist to the place.

First Example

I have put the sheet within a box and rolled the D12 for our first example:

[click to enlarge]

 Let's go through it step by step, first for the NPC:
1. The die stops in the first row, seventh column.
2. Value rolled: 11.
3. Archetype: MISC. 1. The value rolled (11) yields us the following result: Musician / Entertainer of an Average level.
If your system of choice is
HeroQuest: Ability at 1Ш, e.g., Brings Peace and Understanding with her Lute 1Ш
LotFP: Level 3, e.g., Level 3 Specialist
RuneQuest/BRP: Skill at 75%, e.g., Stringed Instrument 75%
Tunnels & Trolls: Primary Talent at +4, e.g., Stringed Instrument +4
4. On top of the 7th column: 18.
If your system of choice is
HeroQuest: Ability at 18+5=3Ш, i.e., Entertainer 3Ш
LotFP: 18, e.g., Charisma 18
RuneQuest/BRP: 18, e.g., APP 18
Tunnels & Trolls: 18, e.g., CHR 18
5. Size Large
6. The rune under the die is the Water Rune. This could mean, for instance, blue eyes.

Here's a possible description of the NPC met by the travelling party:
You meet what seems to be a wandering musician. She carries a lute and is quite large for a woman. She is very beautiful, with incredible watery blue eyes.

Let's use the very same roll for a place.
First row yields a FAIR.
Seventh column yields Large.
The rune under the die is the Water Rune.

Here's a possible interpretation:
At the end of the day, you arrive at the fairgrounds. There is a very large fair dedicated to fishing implements, boats, canoes. There are also many fishmongers, and trappers selling otter furs.

Second Example

Now why did I ask you use a transparent sheet of paper? Well, so that you can add another sheet below the transparent one to add yet another result to the roll.
For instance, upon rolling an NPC for my Umathelan campaign, I would also like to know where the NPC comes from, and still keep the single roll.
I have hence drawn a rough map of Second Age Umathela to be put below the transparent sheet:

[click to enlarge]

Now I add the transparent sheet and roll my favourite D12:

[click to enlarge]

Again, let's go through it step by step:
1. The die stops in the third row, third column.
2. Value rolled: 8.
3. Archetype: MAGIC. The value rolled (8) yields us the following result: Alchemist of an Average level.
If your system of choice is
HeroQuest: Ability at 1Ш, e.g., Manufactures Healing Potion 1Ш
LotFP: Level 3, e.g., Level 3 Magic-User (specialised in Alchemy) OR Alchemist (retainer). Retainers do not have levels in LotFP; however, since this Alchemist is of Average level, we shall award a +1 bonus when rolling for research time improvement.
RuneQuest/BRP: Skill at 75%, e.g., Alchemy 75%
Tunnels & Trolls: Primary Talent at +4, e.g., Alchemy +4
4. On top of the 3rd column: 14.
If your system of choice is
HeroQuest: Ability at 14+5=19, i.e., Alchemist 19
LotFP: 14, e.g., Intelligence 14
RuneQuest/BRP: 14, e.g., INT 14
Tunnels & Trolls: 14, e.g., IQ 14
5. Size Large
6. The rune under the die is the Fertility Rune. This could mean, for instance, that this alchemist is able to brew impotence-curing potions.
7. The Alchemist hails from southern Cerngoth.

The party has met an Alchemist from southern Cerngoth (so he's probably seen service with the God Learners). He's bright and he's skilled, meaning he'll probably want high wages and/or a good share of whatever treasure the party find should the PCs want to hire him.

Third Example

The map needn't be that precise. I know that appr. 66% of the inhabitants of Umathela are Umathings, so a simple sheet with areas in sizes that correspond to the various peoples will do:

[click to enlarge]

I add the transparent sheet on top of my crude drawing, and I'm ready for my third example:

[click to enlarge]

Let's go through the customary steps:
1. The die stops in the eighth row, sixth column.
2. Value rolled: 6.
3. Archetype: CITIZEN. The value rolled (6) yields us the following result: Journeyman / Crafter of a Superior level.
If your system of choice is
HeroQuest: Ability at 5Ш, e.g., Basketweaver 5Ш
LotFP: Level 5; however, "Citizen" implies a Level 0 NPC. We shall nonetheless award a bonus (e.g., +3) when needed because of the "Superior" result.
RuneQuest/BRP: Skill at 100%, e.g., Craft (Basketweaving) 100%
Tunnels & Trolls: Primary Talent at +6, e.g., Basketweaver +6
4. On top of the 6th column: 17.
If your system of choice is
HeroQuest: Ability at 17+5=2Ш, e.g., Crafter 2Ш
LotFP: 17, e.g., Dexterity 17
RuneQuest/BRP: 17, e.g., DEX 17
Tunnels & Trolls: 18, e.g., DEX 17
5. Size Avg
6. The rune under the die is the Illusion Rune. This could mean, for instance, that this basketweaver is so crafty that whatever his baskets hold seems to be something else.
7. The die rests on the Pamalt Rune (= the NPC is a Doraddi).

The party has met a traveller from the distant lands south of the mountains: a Doraddi crafter. The man is specialised in the craft of basketweaving. His wares seem of excellent quality.

Fourth Example

The transparent sheet can be put on top of a book, as the need arises. This last example aims at creating a LotFP NPC from 17th century Europe. I will hence use an historical atlas.

[click to enlarge]

1. The die stops in the fifth row, eighth column.
2. Value rolled: 1.
3. Archetype: CITIZEN. The value rolled (1) yields us the following result: Jack-of-all-trades of an Inferior level.
I've decided the system of choice is LotFP, so: Level 1; "Jack-of-all-trades" would imply a Specialist.

4. On top of the 8th column: 18.
e.g., Dexterity 18
5. Size Avg
6. The rune under the die is the Fire/Sky Rune. This could mean, for instance, that this Specialist knows how to handle firearms.
7. The die rests on Transylvania.

Albrecht is a Saxon adventurer from Transylvania. He's notorious for his use of firearms, which has earned him the nickname 'Fiery Al'.