Roleplaying game

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Chapter 8: Non-Player Characters
Chapter 8: Non-Player Characters
Assertive
This character is used to being in charge, and thus does not like being 
told what they can or cannot to do (especially when the other person is 
right). However, they are more pliant when they think they are getting 
their way as a result.
Social Skill Check TN Modifiers: Earth +2, Water –2
Outburst: Become Enraged (see Outbursts, on page 16)
Shrewd
This character is used to maneuvering around powerful people, and 
tends to avoid direct conflict. They are very wary of such efforts on the 
part of others as a result, however.
Social Skill Check TN Modifiers: Water +2, Fire –2
Outburst: Expose a Weakness (see Outbursts, on page 16)
Ambitious
This character pursues power whenever possible and is extremely re-
sistant to giving it up. However, they can be misled more easily thanks 
to their ambition, and they jump to believe facts that line up with 
their desires.
Social Skill Check TN Modifiers: Fire +2, Earth –2
Outburst: Compromise (or Flee) (see Outbursts, on page 16)
Gruff
This character has a rough exterior and a no-nonsense attitude, and has 
little tolerance for frivolity, niceties, or trickery. A direct, honest approach 
generally garners the best results with such a person.
Social Skill Check TN Modifiers: Air +2, Earth –2
Outburst: Inappropriate Remark (see Outbursts, on page 16)
Detached
This character is extremely meditative, spiritual, enlightened, or simply 
uninterested in other people.
Social Skill Check TN Modifiers: Air +1, Earth +1, Fire +1, Water +1, 
Void –2
Outburst: Shut Down  (see Outbursts, on page 16)
Using NPCs
The following is advice for getting the most out of NPCs in 
your campaigns.
Rolling for NPCs
While NPCs do periodically need to make checks, you can keep the fol-
lowing advice in mind when rolling dice for NPCs. Generally speaking, 
it is prudent to keep the resolution of NPC rolls quick, with a brief bit of 
narration as needed to help the players understand what is going on.
Closed Versus Open Rolls
As the GM, it’s your choice whether you want to make a given roll for an 
NPC openly (in sight of the players) or closed (behind a screen or other-
wise obscured). It’s generally a good idea to make most rolls openly, be-
cause certain character abilities allow them to alter enemy rolls, but this 
isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. Sometimes it can build tension to secretly roll 
for NPCs, or it can be useful for the story.
If a player wishes to use an ability that alters an enemy roll, you can 
perform the alteration for them on the NPC’s dice pool (in an optimal 
manner for the player’s desired outcome). If for some reason even this 
would give away too much information, you can give that character 1 
Void point (and they do not count as having used the ability), but this is 
an option you probably shouldn’t exercise too often. 
Spending  for NPCs
Because they roll the same Ring and Skill dice as PCs, NPCs also generate 

. As a GM, it might be easy to fall into the trap of agonizing over the many 
ways Adversary NPCs can spend their  (minions can only generally spend 
it on opportunities listed in their profile, as described on page 191).
As a rule of thumb, however, the best advice here is simple: don’t 
overthink  when it comes to NPCs. If you think of something unique 
quickly, great—it can really add neat moments of flair to the story. But if 
thinking about how an adversary can spend  is taking you more than 
a few seconds, take a look at their profile, which should contain some 
specific options, and at the default narrative options on page 18. And if 
none of these seem to fit, just don’t spend it. Sometimes, you only need to 
know if the NPC succeeded or failed on a check, and additional informa-
tion isn’t necessary.
Tracking NPC Strife
NPCs accumulate strife in the normal manner (see Accumulating Strife, 
on page 16). However, sometimes when handling numerous NPCs, 
it can be taxing to track NPC strife individually, especially for minion 
NPCs. See the guidance for using NPC Squads on page 191 for more 
about simplifying strife for groups of NPCs.
Constructing Appropriate Conflicts with NPCs
Because of the open-ended nature of character advancement in Legend 
of the Five Rings, it is difficult to generalize exactly how much of a chal-
lenge a given NPC will be as an opponent. A highly trained Doji Courtier 
might be no better at fighting than they were at the time of character 
creation, because they have never made martial arts training a priority. 
Meanwhile, with the same amount of experience, a character from the 
same school could well have invested their experience broadly in becom-
ing knowledgeable, well-spoken, and skilled at arms, and thus perform 
modestly in all spheres but excel in none of them. This means that alone, 
these two characters would be able to tackle very different sets (and dif-
ficulties) of challenges.
However, when taken as a group, a party of PCs can generally be 
NPC Advantages and Disadvantages
NPCs have simplified advantages and disadvantages. Instead of 
having concrete rules, these advantages and disadvantages simply 
apply to checks with the listed ring and skill group. You can also 
have them apply to any other checks to which they logically apply. 
As with PC advantages and disadvantages, an NPC advantage can 
sometimes apply as a disadvantage if circumstances dictate (and 
vice versa). Additionally, if the PCs discover these advantages and 
disadvantages through careful observation or the use of , they can 
turn them against NPCs, as described on page 61.
These advantages and disadvantages are treated as distinctions 
and adversities, respectively, unless noted otherwise. Each one notes 
a skill group, which is the one to which it is most commonly applied 
(though it can be applied to checks from other skill groups at the 
GM’s discretion), as well as any types and elemental association.

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