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Chapter 8: Non-Player Characters
Chapter 8: Non-Player Characters
Chapter 8: Non-Player Characters
Non-player characters are the other inhabitants of the world, with whom 
the player characters interact. In story terms, the PCs are the main protago-
nists, and NPCs can be thought of as the supporting cast: bit characters, 
friends and allies, rivals, and antagonists. Although they can be extremely 
important to the arc of the narrative (the call to aid from an old friend or 
the diabolical scheme of a villain might be the sorts of events that initiate 
a story), in most scenes, these characters are not in focus. The majority of 
the time, the story that the group tells flows best if it is framed around the 
player characters and their perspectives, decisions, and actions.
Like other elements of the world outside of the PCs, NPCs are controlled 
and portrayed by the GM. Portraying a wide variety of characters can be a 
challenge, but it can also be one of the best parts of sitting in the GM’s seat.
NPC Profile Breakdown
GMs can of course invent their own NPCs, but many printed materials 
provide premade NPCs, along with the various rules needed to run them 
in play. An NPC profile consists of the following elements:
•  NPC Type: This denotes the importance of the NPC in the story. Mi-
nor characters are minions, who have simplified profiles for ease of 
use. More narratively significant characters are adversaries, who have 
rules more similar to those for a player character, so that the GM can 
more easily use them in a variety of situations.
•  Conflict Rank: Each NPC has a rank in two categories (combat and 
intrigue). These ranks are broad estimates of the NPC’s capabilities as 
an opponent in each of those spheres. See Constructing Appropriate 
Conflicts with NPCs, on page 192, for more details.
•  Rings: Each NPC has a set of ring values, just as a player character 
does (see The Five Rings, on page 19). Note that NPCs can have 
ring values that a PC cannot possess.
•  Derived Attributes: Each NPC has a set of attributes, just as a player 
character does (see Derived Attributes, on page 21). Note that NPC 
attribute values are assigned as needed to create appropriate opposi-
tion, rather than being derived from their ring values.
•  Advantages and Disadvantages: Each NPC has one or more advan-
tages and disadvantages (see page 60). NPCs can be given advan-
tages and disadvantages from the Advantages and Disadvantages 
section of Chapter 2: Creating a Character, but printed NPC profiles 
usually have customized advantages and disadvantages that do not ap-
pear in that chapter. These advantages (or disadvantages) are treated 
as distinctions (or adversities), and they apply when the GM deems 
them appropriate (although an additional type has been assigned to 
NPC advantages and disadvantages to give inspiration on skill groups 
they’re applicable to). They exist to add flavor to NPCs, and to let cun-
ning PCs exploit the weaknesses (and strengths) of their adversaries!
•  Skill Ranks: Each NPC has a number of ranks in skill groups or skills 
that apply to their checks as usual (see Chapter 3: Skills, on page 79).
•  Abilities: NPCs possess abilities, which sometimes include techniques 
also available to player characters and at other times consist of wholly 
new powers and effects. An NPC’s techniques sometimes differ from 
the versions available to player characters and function as they are 
described in the NPC’s individual profile.
•  Demeanor: It is important to remember that NPCs are more than just 
a set of rules and statistics! Even though they are supporting characters, 
NPCs can have interests, quirks, and desires that make them feel realized 
and compelling. Demeanor (see page 191) offers a simplified snapshot 
of an NPC’s personality, providing a brief overview of their responses to 
different approaches to Social skills and of how they react to pressure.
NPC Types
There are two types of NPCs: minions and adversaries.
Minions
Minions are characters of lesser importance in the scope of the story: 
they might be minor characters in a town or village, or they might be 
disposable foes meant to be more of a speed bump than a challenging 
opponent to the average samurai. Because they have a smaller role in the 
story, they have simplified character profiles to help GMs get to the most 
pertinent information quickly. A group of seasoned PCs might face a 
numerically superior force of minions in a conflict with some regularity. 
Of course, some minions are more powerful than others—being a minion 
doesn’t mean that a character is weak per se, but simply that their expect-
ed role in the story doesn’t require a more complex set of rules.
Minions behave like other characters, with the following exceptions:
•  When a minion’s wounds exceed its resilience, it does not suffer any 
listed effects of the associated critical strike. If the severity of the criti-
cal strike it is dealt is 7 or higher, the minion is killed; otherwise, the 
minion merely suffers the Incapacitated and Unconscious conditions.
•  If a minion is dealt a critical strike from any other source, the min-
ion suffers a number of wounds equal to the severity of the critical 
strike instead.
•  Minions do not receive the passive benefits from stances (see Chapter 
6: Scenes and Conflicts). They still assume stances for the purpose of 
determining the rings they use for checks.
•  Minions should only spend  on options listed in their profile (gen-
erally under their abilities, as described below). The GM may waive 
this at their discretion under special circumstances, but it often helps 
conflicts run more smoothly.
Minion Profile Breakdown
Minions are denoted by the text “(Minion)” appended to their NPC pro-
file. Minions have an altered profile, as discussed below:
Silhouette: The size of the NPC.
Derived Attributes: The resilience, composure, focus, and vigilance 
derived attributes are at the top of the minion profile for easy reference. 
Note that these are set at specific values based on the intended function 
of the NPC, rather than generated with a formula as they would be for a 
player character.
Rings: Each of the NPC’s ring values is included.
Skills: Minions have ranks in entire skill groups, such as “Martial skills 
1.” This means that the minion possesses 1 rank in each Martial skill 
(Fitness, Martial Arts [Melee], Martial Arts [Ranged], Martial Arts [Un-
armed], Meditation, and Tactics).
Void Points: Minions do not have (and thus cannot spend) Void points.
Advantages and Disadvantages: Minions generally possess only one or 
two advantages and disadvantages. These are the touchstones around 
which the rest of the minion is built (in the same way that one or two 

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