Non-Player Character

NPC

Non-player characters (NPC's) are characters who contribute to the story of a player character (PC) in myriad of ways.

Personal NPC's (PNPCs)

Owned NPC's are referred to as Personal NPCs or PNPCs. They need only be aligned with the player character in some way, and their owner has final say over what happens to them in a plot, just as they do their own player character.

PNPC Progression

Each PNPC begins with 100 XP to allocate as they wish towards skills and merits, with further progression gifted to them from the player's own XP through the Experience Ledger . There is no limit on Arcana, race, and so on. However, PNPCs cannot be awarded free Merits nor forms of experience debt aside from being an Adult Dragon, and you must pay off that debt before writing another Adult Dragon CNPC. Their Merit progression is separate from the player's.

Companion NPC (CNPC)

A Companion NPC or CNPC matches any XP spent on the Player Character's Skills, Arcana, Merits, & Abilities. They will match the Player Character's free Merits, and their Merit progression is still separate from the player's. These otherwise follow all the same rules as a PNPC, but every Player Character only gets one. CNPCs may be replaced when permanently retired or killed, once every year OOC.

Story NPC's (SNPCs)

NPCs used only for stories are referred to as Story NPCs or SNPCs. These NPCs are made by the player and tracked in their Character Sheet, but they are not typically aligned with the player's goals. These are used for recurring side characters, mentors, baddies, and so on who do not participate in conflict on the player's side, or regular enemies.

SNPC Progression

Each SNPC begins with up to 500 XP, allocated towards up to 1 Master skill with the rest at Expert or below. They do not normally advance their skills.

Restrictions

There are no limitations on what an NPC can be, but permission must be sought if they possess Major Merits such as powerful titles, dragons (excepting the adult dragon), continental or world enterprises and factions, artifacts made from a Globe or more of Alkahest, or Ascended Arcana. If you kill, receive, or steal a magical resource or item from a story NPC, you must pay a converted gold cost, and any artifacts must be Attuned.

Antagonist NPC (ANPC)

An Antagonist NPC or ANPC matches any XP spent on the Player Character's Skills, Arcana, Merits, & Abilities. They will match the Player Character's free Merits, and their Merit progression is still separate from the player's. If the Player finishes a Major Merit quest, then the ANPC can spend XP to do the same without needing approval. They otherwise follow all the same rules as an SNPC, but should be opposed to the player character in some way. Each Player Character only gets one, but may be replaced when permanently retired or killed once every year OOC.

Forum NPC's (FNPCs)

A Forum NPC or NFPC is any NPC found in a content article on the forum. You must follow any relevant permissions written into their write-up or associated rules for that forum. You must get both permission from the author, and community permission to make significant changes to an FNPC's station through In-Character interaction, or to alter or kill them. FNPCs can be developed in the submission forum together with their associated content, or by a City Moderator. Limitations to FNPCs depend on the city they are being made for, and the scarcity or believability of the content being submitted.

NPC Formations

Formations are sets of CNPC's that meld with the background of the story, and may or may not have details associated with them. They serve a specific purpose, and they might come and go with the flow of a narrative, often replaced in time. Formations beyond a hundred (10^2) must be applied for in the Support Forum.

Formations are awarded in powers of ten (10, 100, 1,000, and so on) and they have Apprentice-level skills in anything pertaining to their duties. Every owned formation beyond the allowance is a Formation Merit to obtain, with additional Formation Merits expended to expand their size and skills. Formations must make narrative sense to be awarded, upgraded, and maintained - as such any of these changes must be applied for in Prophet Support with the reasoning behind them.

Formation Merits

Formation Merits are a form of Merit that follows its own experience curve. Each Formation Merit costs 25 XP + 25 XP for each Formation Merit purchased before it, but only for that specific Formation - other Formations would follow their own Formation Merit XP curves.

The skill tier of a Formation may be increased twice by Formation Merits, from Apprentice to Journeyman, up to Expert. Master-level skills may not be added to a Formation.

Formation Limit

A player may purchase any number of formations and divide them between any number of specialties and tasks, but the size of them is affected by the Formation Limit. A king might have two 10,000 man Formations loyal to him as his retinue, spending a total of 8 Formation Merits to do so. The maximum amount of upgrades for a standard Formation is 5 (100,000 Formation Limit) + 2 (Expert Skills) for a total of 7.

10: Anyone

100: Minor Title (County), Local Enterprise

1,000: Major Title (Duchy), Regional Enterprise

10,000: Major Title (Kingdom), Continental Enterprise

100,000: Major Title (Empire), World Enterprise

Please refer to the Price List for the price of hiring Formations from factions.

Arcana

A formation with Arcana - including Practices - is limited to 1,000 individuals and Expert skills at most, requiring the expenditure of twice as many Formation Merits towards the Formation Limit, and four times as many Formation Merits to upgrade skills. A full regiment of a thousand expert-skill wizards requires expending a total of 14 Formation Merits, which would amount to 2,625 Experience.

Please note that lesser ranked characters descended from a title who might aid their liege would have their own Formation Limits, and diplomacy should not be discounted for the actual number of individuals contributing to an endeavor.

Construct Exception

As risen undead and automata require expending substantially expensive resources to create and maintain them, they are exempt from all aspects of the Formation System.

Antarok Handbook

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