NPC/PC Advocates

Advocates are Non-Player Characters played by PCs without the ability to be fully invested in the game group due to a variety of circumstances. This is a purely out-of-direct-game experience, usually done by digital means (email, discord, messaging). A player takes the role of an advocate for a group of characters. They possess minor skills and contacts (usually lores and other information revealing mechanics) that can be used as a secure base of operation and/or source of information and offline/background projects. There are a few rolls, checks, and interactions that progress at a pace no faster than the main group, and usually coinciding with the same passage of game time.

If players are unable to interact in time, the GM can easily step in and play them as standard NPCs.

  • The NPCs do not have to be complete, complex characters; These are NOT backup characters, they are helper NPCs only
  • The GM can assign their initial statistics or let players
  • The GM can assign or limit personality traits appropriate for the campaign
  • The GM can assign specific capabilities that help facilitate the game flow that the rest of the party is missing
  • Usually these are made after a core group is assembled, and fill in gaps