Alpha Dawn - Star Frontiersman

How to Referee NPCs
In a STAR FRONTIERS adventure, any character
played by the referee and not controlled by a player
is called a non-player character or NPC. Non-player
characters are the opponents, friends, sources of
information and randomly encountered characters in
an adventure. Once the referee has outlined the
adventure, he must create the NPCs. Non-player
characters can be any of the four major races, or an
intelligent alien being.
If an NPC has a major role in the adventure, the
referee should design him carefully, giving him all of
his ability scores as well as a personality and
temperament. Minor NPCs do not need to be as
detailed. The following step-by-step method can be
used to create either type of NPC.
What is already known about the NPC?
You already know some things about a character
that will help determine what other information is
needed to use the NPC. You know the character's
purpose in the adventure: to fight the player
characters, to help them or to annoy them. You also
know how the character will act when encountered.
You should know the character's race. A character's
race will alter his abilities, give him special abilities
and affect the way he reacts.
Why does the NPC act the way he does?
NPCs always should have a reason to do the things
they do. A guard stops intruders because that is his
job. A criminal tries to avoid police because they will
put him in jail. Townspeople want to be left alone
because they feel threatened by strangers.
An NPC's motive should be closely related to his
purpose in the adventure. Sathar NPCs usually are
used as enemies that must be fought, so their
actions will be based on their hatred for the other
races. More complex motives add interest and
mystery to a character; a man might have become a
pirate to find his kidnapped sister and get revenge,
and he may be willing to help the player characters.
How will the NPC react to the characters?
An NPC's reaction to player characters can be based
on his purpose in the adventure and his motives.
The referee should decide beforehand how major
NPCs will react. He can use the rules for random
NPC reactions described under NPC Reactions for
minor NPCs.
What are the NPC's ability scores?
In many cases, the referee does not need to know
all of an NPC's ability scores. Sometimes, none of
them are needed. The only ability scores that matter
in combat are Stamina, Dexterity and Initiative
modifier. Logic, Personality and Leadership are
almost never needed for NPCs. The referee can
create these scores on the spot as they are needed.
If the NPC is a major character, however, knowing
all of his ability scores will help define his
personality.
Average ability scores for all eight abilities and all
five races are shown on the table below. These can
be used to create NPCs quickly.
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