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| NPC help | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 6 2015, 01:29 PM (626 Views) | |
| Shirokiba | Jul 6 2015, 01:29 PM Post #1 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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so I've been looking over all the topics about NPCs and one thing I commonly see is not fully writing them out like player builds. The question I have then is what about rivals or gym leaders? Should I just assign a level, pick certain features and call it a day? Cause that feels like it'd be a bit harder since I'd need to make sure it wasn't overbearing. Also what about stuff like team rocket (or whatever one wishes to use as an antagonistic presence in their games) some players I have love the classes that give move access which makes making npcs hard since they are no longer just fighting their pokemon but the trainers themselves, too. I've tried to run games and it gets to a point where I find it hard to challenge the players because of this extra combat element part of me wants to just disallow all classes that give moves but i feel that'd kill any interest in the game from some of my players. |
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| Affinity of Denial | Jul 6 2015, 01:57 PM Post #2 |
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The last Chef
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For Rivals and Gym Leaders, it would be better if you actually flesh them out with classes and whatnot to make them feel more "real" and give them a power boost. They would be the kinds of NPC's the players would expect to have an impact. Same for higher ranking Rocket members, give them a few classes to give them a bit for an edge rather than just being a Dime-a-dozen enemies. And as for disallowing player moves, that sounds like it would just give you less to work with when designing NPC's for the players to fight. |
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| BatiroAtrain | Jul 6 2015, 02:04 PM Post #3 |
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Pyramid King
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I don't see how it's harder to stat less of a character... all an NPC needs for battle are a few fitting features and some decent Pokemon. If you're making a Gym Leader, it's better to think up their strategy or concept before deciding what they'll do mechanically. For example, a Poison Gym leader might focus on debuffing and inflicting Toxic on as many people as possible, so in addition to giving them Poison Ace features, I'd glance over some Trainer classes that focus on giving their Pokemon some status moves. Decide on the bare minimum you need, and if you get into battle and find it's not enough, don't be afraid to up the ante mid-fight. A challenging encounter that needs some fudging will ultimately be more fun and memorable for your players than steamrolling a bad team for a badge. Plus, as I like to say, they're Gym Leaders for a reason! Your PCs should have a big chance to lose if they go in blind to a Gym battle. As for the second part, what exactly is giving you trouble? Are your PCs taking down your encounters too quickly? Are they targeting your thugs' Pokemon, the thugs themselves, or is something else happening? If you're having trouble with PC combat trainers, give your thugs some tools or features to lessen their advantage. Have them try to disorient the PCs with Confusion or Paralysis before they engage your PCs Pokemon. If the PCs are slow, have the thugs kite them for the whole encounter while the Pokemon fight, or even have the thugs and their Pokemon launch a surprise barrage before engaging (but of course give your players a chance to spot them beforehand with Perception, or else it would be unfair). Most importantly, get creative with your encounters, with terrain, with your NPCs' tactics. Don't have your thugs stand in the street waiting for the PCs to throw the first punch, and give them some surprise tactics to make your combats less predictable and more challenging. Edited by BatiroAtrain, Jul 6 2015, 02:05 PM.
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| Shirokiba | Jul 6 2015, 02:32 PM Post #4 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Trainer combat just becomes a pain in the butt when they decide it'd be faster just to take the trainer down when they can't win against their pokemon or are struggling against them. Then when I do make trainers able to deal with the players should they join the fight, they just get steamrolled in battles since they have less capability as a trainer |
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| BatiroAtrain | Jul 6 2015, 02:47 PM Post #5 |
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Pyramid King
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Well for one, just because the Trainer is KO'd doesn't mean his Pokemon is incapable of acting. If the NPC trainer is targeted, have their Pokemon attack whoever's assaulting them. You can also have the Trainer make use of a weapon or defensive item for when he's assaulted. Give them a few Roughneck features, most importantly the one for Mean Look (or the one for Glare if you're at higher levels). If you want it to be more extreme, give them something like a Taser that they use if Trainers attack them. It's not unfair to give your NPCs some self-defense options to keep them in the fight, even if it's something you pull out of nowhere (as long as it's reasonable for them to have, like a Knife vs. an Assault Rifle in a sneak attack). To be honest, it sounds like you just don't have a good hang of how to balance encounters yet. That's something that will get resolved with a few more sessions of play. Just keep trying new things in your battles and figure out what works. |
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| Shirokiba | Jul 6 2015, 03:29 PM Post #6 |
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Pokémon Trainer
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Okay, so that could help just feels a little off. It'd fit the setting at least. Also, for Gym Leaders, what level should I make them? |
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1:19 AM Jul 11