GM Tools #6: NPC Physical Traits
By Connors
This GM Tool marks a sad time for me. Including this will mean the first chart I did (Random Encounters) will slide from the front page of "GM's Perspective" ;)
Anyway this is part of a larger document I wrote for our CS entitled 'Creating NPCs for Kage CS'. It deals simply with generating an NPC's appearance. Firstly are a few charts I think are important for all NPCs and then a larger chart to generate a couple of distinctive features.
Go by the typical appearance given for members of the NPC's race and Homeland/Region, modified by the following charts.
Entries where colour is 'much' different than the norm
may even be mistaken for members of another Homeland/Region (or
have mixed bloodlines in their past).
| Table 11-1 | NPC Complexion (Roll 1d10) |
| 1 | Much lighter than normal |
| 2-3 | Lighter than normal |
| 4-7 | Normal |
| 8-9 | Darker than normal |
| 10 | Much darker than normal |
Physical features: (Those marked with a # are traits from
Unearthed Arcana, Wizards of the Coast publishing p.86 &
have game mechanics applied). Other traits may be assigned similar
mechanics. Any standout physical feature may impose the Distinctive
trait (+1 Reputation, -1 Disguise).
Roll twice on Table 11-6. (Each entry has 10 examples).
| Table 11-2 | NPC Hair Colour (Roll 1d10) |
| 1 | Much lighter than normal |
| 2-3 | Lighter than normal |
| 4-7 | Normal |
| 8-9 | Darker than normal |
| 10 | Much darker than normal |
| Table 11-3 | NPC Hair Length (Roll 1d10) |
| 1 | Bald or cleanly shaven |
| 2-3 | Short or receding |
| 4-6 | Medium |
| 7-8 | Darker than normal |
| 9 | Long hair |
| 10 | Very long |
| Table 11-4 | NPC Eye Colour (Roll 1d10) |
| 1-2 | Normal for race |
| 3-6 | Lighter shade than normal |
| 7-8 | Darker than normal |
| 9 | Colour not normally found in race |
| 10 | Mixture of normal hues (hazel-like) (Roll 1d10 again, on another 10 have two different coloured eyes) |
| Table 11-3 | NPC Age (Roll 1d10) |
| 1 | Young child (roll another d10, on a 10 a baby or toddler) |
| 2 | Youth/adolescent: -4 or -2 off all ability scores |
| 3-6 | Teen - Adult |
| 7-8 | Middle Age: Ð1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha |
| 9 | Old Age: Ð2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. |
| 10 | Venerable: Ð3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha |
| d100 | NPC Physical Features (Roll 1d100 & then 1d10) |
| 01-02 | Accessories: silver jewellery, gold jewellery, exquisite gem-studded jewellery, simple charm on leather strap, fine lace and gem buttons, many bracelets, primitive/tribal charms and totems, veil, several belts |
| 03-04 | Accessories II: simple armband, glasses, eye-piece, gold tooth, bracers, bandoleer, many pouches & pockets, bandana, several rings, expensive purse or snuff box |
| 05-06 | Accessories III: fashionable gloves, worker's mits/gloves, emblem (sown, engraved, stick-pin) of local guild/organisation, silken sash, medal or reward sash for heroics/achievements, walking stick/staff, large dangling earrings, expensive belt buckle, jewelled hilt/handle on item used, blade boot/elbow or knee spike/spiked bracer/collar etc. |
| 07-08 | Accessories IV: flowers (in hair or bouquet), instrument, horns or spikes, embroided handkerchief, string of garlic or other herbal pouch, tools (kit), mask, time piece |
| 09 | Arms: long, muscular, short, one broken (splint & sling), in a sling, one-armed (possibly have stump knife or hook attached), crooked, hairy, tattooed, scarred |
| 10-11 | Build: solid/stout #, musclebound #, scrawny/skinny #, light-framed, huge, gaunt, squat, tall/long torso, short torso, overweight |
| 12 | Build II: potbelly that sticks out, lean/wiry, lithe, athletic, obese, top-heavy, round, large chest, narrow waist, muscular |
| 13-14 | Cleanliness: unwashed, grubby face, unkempt, clean, shiny hair, oiled, perfumed smell (possibly so strong makes a PC sneeze), fresh, clean but signs of a harder life (calluses, dirty fingernails), immaculate |
| 15-16 | Clothing items: functional, latest fashions, light and silky, flowing, scantily clad, heavy furs, well dressed, favours leathers, expensive, cheap and old |
| 17-18 | Clothing items II: flamboyant, utilitarian, crude, revealing, ill-kept, odd (jester, little cape, yellow leggings, male in a dress), covers all of body, all dark, all one colour, animal hides |
| 19-20 | Clothing items III: inappropriate for the weather, tight-fitting, make-shift outfit put together from several costumes, rags, foreigner's outfit, ecclesiastical clothes, uniform, tabard, covered in symbols/pictures, one large symbol/picture prominent |
| 21 | Companion (small): lizard, bird, rat/mouse, frog, cat, dog, monkey/racoon, cricket/insect, baby animal or egg, exotic beast/creature (most likely baby or egg too) |
| 22 | Companion (small) II: ferret, companion has a funny name (eg; nasty dog = 'Daisy', Mouse = 'Stinky'), a small plant (possibly potted), spider/scorpion, falcon, caged bird, fish, winged cat/snake/lizard, pseudo dragon, imp/quasit |
| 23-24 | Distinguishing features: odd piercing, several piercings, scar, many scars, scarification, a tattoo, some tattoos, large birthmark, make-up, body/face paint |
| 25-26 | Distinguishing features II: prominent mole, heavily freckled, tumour, albino, wart(s), branded symbol, raised chin, pug-nose, forked tongue, covered in tattoos |
| 27 | Ears: large, stick out, slightly pointed (or rounded for those with pointy ears), long lobes, tiny, hairy, heavily pierced, missing a part, twisted, one ear missing |
| 28-29 | Ears & Hearing: hard of hearing #, deaf, deaf in one ear, has ringing in ears, large ears, almost deaf, exceptional hearing, no ears, twisted/damaged ears, temporarily deaf |
| 30-31 | Eyes: far-apart, bulging, intense, bright, clear, deep-set, dark rings, one black, depthless, cornea or faded |
| 32-33 | Eyes II: long lashes, narrow eyes, small eyes, wide eyed, one lazy eye, sparkling, large, perfectly round, flecked, wide |
| 34-35 | Eyes & Vision: blind, blind in one eye, one eye missing, farsighted #, nearsighted #, bloodshot, blinks frequently, glass eye (possibly falls out), wooden eye (possibly falls out), nightsighted # |
| 36-37 | Face: bulbous nose, high-bridged nose, narrow nose, rosy cheeks, high-boned cheeks, square-jawed, narrow-face, round face, protruding brow line, wrinkled |
| 38-39 | Face II: long nose, pug-nose, flat face, prominent chin, rough skin, pock-marked, spider veins, acne, freckled, clear complexion |
| 40-41 | Face III: small, chubby, squints, pinched cheeks, cleft chin, heavy jowls, one side of face sags/paralysed, twitches, sneers, squashed/flattened nose |
| 42 | Face IV: Pointed nose, long face, anaemic, beautiful, ugly, sallow cheeks, puffy cheeks, delicate, unmarred face, perfect symmetry |
| 43-44 | Facial Hair Ð beards (males only ;)): Full bushy beard, neatly trimmed beard, goatee, braided beard, braided beard, things entwined in it, stubble, short scruffy beard, beard a different colour to hair, many short plaits in beard |
| 45-46 | Facial Hair Ð other (some for males only ;)): moustache, waxed moustache, bushy side-burns, narrow sideburns, short sideburns, flavour saver, no eyebrows, bushy eyebrows, clean shaven, one dark eyebrow |
| 47 | Feet & Footwear: supple leather shoes or high boots, hide shoes, high hide boots, sturdy hob-nailed boots, hardened leather boots/shoes, sandals, elegant slippers/shoes, cloth shoes with leather sole, exotic hide boots such as snakeskin, bare foot |
| 48 | Feet & Footwear II: shoes that way too big, long feet, broad feet, hairy feet, pigeon-toed, splayed feet, clubfoot, missing toe, missing toes, six toes |
| 49-50 | Gear/Weapons: exotic, primitive, light and fast, heavy, too big, spiked and nasty looking, curved & angular, exceptional hilts/handles etc, jewelled, broken |
| 51 | Hairstyle (unusual): pony tails, dreadlocks, entangled mess, exceptionally well-combed, corn-rows, extremely long hair, odd colour such as white, cow-lick, coloured streak, exceptionally straight |
| 52 | Hairstyle (unusual) II: pony tails, dreadlocks, entangled mess, exceptionally well-combed, corn-rows, extremely long hair, odd colour such as white, cow-lick, coloured streak, exceptionally straight |
| 53 | Hairstyle (unusual) III: very curly, two colours, spiked, tipped, wears a wig, flat hair, short sides, long at back, fringe over face, comb-over |
| 54 | Hairstyle (unusual) IV: crooked fringe, bits sticking up, grey-flecked, long sides, died an odd colour, in a bun, rolls on each side, messy, neat, pulled back tight |
| 55 | Hands: delicate, chubby fingers, slender, gaunt, hairy, leather-like, worker's hands (marks and calluses), covered (mits, gloves, wrappings), long-fingernails, painted fingernails |
| 56 | Hands II: missing a finger, missing several fingers, missing a thumb, has six fingers on each hand, huge, stained, bloodied, small, delicate, long slender fingers |
| 57-58 | Headwear: pointed hat, hood, broad-brimmed hat, tiara or crown, dented helmet, new helmet, scull cap, fashionable hat with feather, feathers, headdress |
| 59-60 | Legs: long, stick-like, thick as tree-trunks, one longer than the other, one broken (cast & crutches), one legged (crutches or wooden leg), short compared to body, hairy, muscular, bow-legged, knock-knees |
| 61-62 | Mouth: full lips, narrow lips, large mouth, full set of teeth, buck teeth, clean teeth, rotted teeth, crooked teeth, foul breath, fresh breath |
| 63-64 | Mouth II: small, large lips, cleft lip, no teeth, always smiling, never smiling, sneer, missing tooth/teeth, worn/blunt teeth, two teeth remaining |
| 65 | Mouth III: white teeth, sparkling teeth, false teeth, pointed teeth/fangs, gold tooth, pouting lips, cracked lips, sewn shut, teeth a strange colour, long tongue |
| 66-67 | Movement: shuffles, limps/staggers, thumps, agile/cat-like/quick #, quiet, slides, struts, stamps, strides, slow # |
| 68-69 | Movement II: skips, dances (may try to show others latest dance), sneaks, trips, clumsy, effortless, nimble, stable, unsteady, confident |
| 70-71 | Physical Mannerisms: hacking cough, strokes chin when talking, edgy/jumpy, taps foot, squints, taps fingers, runs hand through hair, flips a coin, wacks people when speaking to them, scratches a lot |
| 72-73 | Physical Mannerisms II: cracks knuckles, stands too close, constantly adjusts clothing, stretches, makes bored sounds, rolls eyes, cracks neck, tips hat, hunches over, stands proud with chest out |
| 74-75 | Physical Mannerisms III: twirls coin over fingers, swirls cape/cloak at important moments, sighs loudly, taps hands/feet to music, eats everything in sight, winks a lot, suck thumb, bites fingernails, shakes/shivers, snorts when laughing |
| 76-77 | Physical Mannerisms IV: eats messily, vegetarian, cannibal (BVD), gawks at members of opposite gender, stares at of attempts to fondle any jewellery worn by others, speaks to animals as if they are human, looks over shoulder regularly, constantly eats a particular food (onion, apple, carrot, jerky etc), practices spell-casting moves (may not be a spell-caster), practices combat moves |
| 78-79 | Physical Mannerisms V: laughs at everything (even when not funny), fiddles with item (such as dagger, stick, pipe), buts into all conversations, spits frequently, fusses over hairstyle, hands shake, picks/rubs nose, testing edge of blade, uses dagger to pick teeth or fingernails, drinks too much |
| 80-81 | Physical Mannerisms VI: agrees with everything said, disagrees with everything said, shifts weight from one foot to other, whistles a lot, chews tobacco (or something), on drugs, kleptomaniac, smokes a pipe, counts things, leaves things lying around |
| 82 | Posture: stooped back, tall and straight, hunched, proud, maintains good posture, relaxed, confident, tentative, defensive, over confident |
| 83-84 | Situations: recently suffered or under effects of a spell, wounded (50% HP), severely wounded (10% HP), imprisoned (or recently escaped), in disguise, has lots of company (possibly hidden), just bathed/sweet smelling, in a hurry, dirty (from work, accident, pelted by crowd), in need of help (fallen down, in physical danger, stuck, drowning etc) |
| 85 | Situations II: smelly, mistakes PCs for someone they know, mistakes PCs for criminals/enemies, offers to swap an item (Ò3 magic beans for your swordÓ), out of breath, has a health problem (and is willing to talk about it), enamoured by PCs clothes/weapons etc, looking for a fight, challenges PC to a race/game/duel etc, looking to make others jealous (such as spouse by kissing PC) |
| 86 | Situations III: has cold/sniffles, knows someone who is the bestÉ, is undercover law enforcer, gives PCs prophecy or offers to tell their future, has a pressing engagement/appointment and can only talk briefly (it is good to assign a time to this), Schizophrenic (hears voices and talk to them), is dead (but may not appear so), invisible, sweaty, knows the PCs, lost pet/child |
| 87-88 | State of clothing/armor/gear: dirty & pitted, primitive, ripped & torn, engraved or embroided, exceptionally clean, grimy but with one item exceptionally clean, new, old or well-used, the latest fashions, blood-stained |
| 89-90 | Voice: husky, deep, high-pitched, fast, slow, says one word a lot or speaks in questions, strong accent, nasal, mute, loud |
| 91-92 | Voice II: squeaky, low, resonant, lisp, quiet, stutters, very formal, whispers, soft-spoken, damaged vocal chords, replace one letter with another |
| 93-94 | Voice III: cannot produce a certain sound, drops consonants at end of words, uses word(s) incorrectly, slurs, drawls, musical, dreamy (often fails to finish sentences), speaks in foreign language, works one topic into every conversation (such as a dislike of children/the passing of their mother/adventurers are trouble/the end of the world is nigh), hums under breath (and may deny they are doing it) |
| 95-96 | Voice IV: too drunk to talk, pleads/begs, talk to themselves, refer to themselves by their name, does own sound effects for things, breathy, gives too many details/tells whole story, wheezes, refers to everyone by the same word (dear, darling, handsome), patronising tone |
| 97-98 | Voice V: drawls, mumbles, inserts religious affirmations ("By Soltar's flaming beard"/"Praise the Green Man"/"May Mother Moon's light guide you" etc), rarely uses more than 'yes' and 'no', speaks in clichés, will only discuss one topic (war/religion/politics/festivals/their long running study on fungus and algae of the "Sunken Swamp", etc), haunting, clears throat before talking, belches, sobs |
| 99-00 | Voice VI: monotone, speak like they are giving a fascinating presentation/speech, enunciates very clearly, flowery speech, inserts one word a lot, loud, articulate, expressive, always asks what PCs think, messes up which word to emphasise |
Re: GM Tools #6: NPC Physical Traits
That's right Shane. I did it this was so that a DM can quickly generate a standout feature for any old NPC the PCs come across. You can also go through and roll each of the Build, Posture, Voice etc. That is why each entry has 10 entries. Simply go down left hand side and roll for each of these for detailed NPCs (and even PCs). This would be quite a lot of characteristics. The d100 serves the DM that wants detail OR a quick trait without too many rolls.
Thanks for comments. Wish there were more ;)
Connors
Re: GM Tools #6: NPC Physical Traits
Looks as good as all the others Conners, very handy indeed. The only thing I could think as an improvement would be to break the d100 section into smaller parts as every NPC is going to have a type of Build, Posture, Voice, Eyes, Face etc.
I guess it depends on how much time you want to allocate to it and how much detail is required for the NPC.
Cheers