World of Darkness
May 30, 2013 4:15:07 GMT -8
Post by HyveMynd on May 30, 2013 4:15:07 GMT -8
I'm going to echo what khadajico said. Once you're comfortable with the dice pool system of nWoD, it's relatively easy to know what size dice pools represent what level of ability. When you get caught with your pants down as a Storyteller, just grab a number of dice that is equal to the level of ability you think the NPC should have in that area.
For example, an average human has two dots in most Attributes and two dots in relevant skills. Maybe they have three dots in one or the other if they're slightly above average. So for a basic human, you're looking at a dice pool of 4 to 5 for stuff they're knowledgeable about or competent with. A dice pool of 6 to 7 represent well trained or highly competent individuals. Higher than that, like dice pools of 8 to 9, and you're getting into master territory; people who have studied or trained their whole lives. That doesn't include equipment or situational bonuses, though. And of course, supernaturals can go much higher than that. In our V:tR game, my "super charisma" vampire could regularly get social dice pools of 13 or 14.
So, just like khadajico says, instead of worrying too much about specifics coldinminneapolis, just think about how competent your monster is in general areas. When I was building NPCs for my Changeling game, at first I tried to build them all using the same character creation rules that the PCs had. I tried to juggle XP, and make sure things were balanced. That became a real pain, and I eventually said fuck it. After that I thought about who the NPC was, what they did, and what their role was in Changeling society. Then I just gave them whatever stats and powers I thought were appropriate.
You can even "reverse engineer" characters or monsters. That is, you can give them a total dice pool rating without knowing the exact ratings of the stats and skills that make up that dice pool. When my players caught me flat-footed by trying to sneak away from an NPC I had expected them to talk to, I made up her Perception dice pool on the fly. I thought "Well, she's a club bouncer and a Fae warrior. She's probably pretty observant. A dice pool of 8 sounds right." Then when I properly built her during some down time, I made sure her Attributes, Skills, and Merits gave her that Perception dice pool of 8.
For example, an average human has two dots in most Attributes and two dots in relevant skills. Maybe they have three dots in one or the other if they're slightly above average. So for a basic human, you're looking at a dice pool of 4 to 5 for stuff they're knowledgeable about or competent with. A dice pool of 6 to 7 represent well trained or highly competent individuals. Higher than that, like dice pools of 8 to 9, and you're getting into master territory; people who have studied or trained their whole lives. That doesn't include equipment or situational bonuses, though. And of course, supernaturals can go much higher than that. In our V:tR game, my "super charisma" vampire could regularly get social dice pools of 13 or 14.
So, just like khadajico says, instead of worrying too much about specifics coldinminneapolis, just think about how competent your monster is in general areas. When I was building NPCs for my Changeling game, at first I tried to build them all using the same character creation rules that the PCs had. I tried to juggle XP, and make sure things were balanced. That became a real pain, and I eventually said fuck it. After that I thought about who the NPC was, what they did, and what their role was in Changeling society. Then I just gave them whatever stats and powers I thought were appropriate.
You can even "reverse engineer" characters or monsters. That is, you can give them a total dice pool rating without knowing the exact ratings of the stats and skills that make up that dice pool. When my players caught me flat-footed by trying to sneak away from an NPC I had expected them to talk to, I made up her Perception dice pool on the fly. I thought "Well, she's a club bouncer and a Fae warrior. She's probably pretty observant. A dice pool of 8 sounds right." Then when I properly built her during some down time, I made sure her Attributes, Skills, and Merits gave her that Perception dice pool of 8.