Game Master Guidance: Everyone Should Have a Story

Regardless of the genre or system a GM chooses, the players are going to be running into a number of characters. The inhabitants of a given area are what stops the game’s world from feeling like an endless, formless wasteland populated only by monsters. Even if that is the setting, a few supporting characters would liven the story up a little. But since an RPG can have a cast large enough to rival any TV show or comic book, a GM has to determine which characters get developed and which ones are there to populate the world. My advice is to make sure that every character has some kind of larger narrative, no matter how small their role might be or if the players even notice it.

With so many characters to handle, it’s easy to reduce minor adversaries and allies to stat blocks. For sanity’s sake, limit yourself to fleshing out characters that speak more than two lines to the players. If a character plays a notable role in a narrative, make sure they’re more than just a plot device. Give them some sort of background or personality quirk to distinguish them. Even if your notes for them end up only being a sentence long, that’s at least better than what you had before. A good example of this in practice is James Robinson’s comics, particularly Starman and JSA: The Golden Age. Characters that show up for less than a page are often given the hint of a narrative, mainly through internal narration. Something similar is done in the newest Halloween movie, where almost everyone butchered by Michael Meyers has a modicum of personality or a defining moment before the deed is done. No matter how small these additions might be, it adds a human element the story would otherwise lack.

This may seem like unnecessary work to add to the already full plate of a GM but it adds a genuine atmosphere to the narrative. If the players pick up on it, the narrative will feel more “real,” to them, as it shows that things exist outside of the PCs’ stories. Even if the players don’t appreciate it, it will put you one step closer to a more fleshed out narrative. You’ll find it helps you develop the story, as the parts used to build it are closer to people than set pieces. However, it’s considerably more important to build up recurring characters. Defining minor characters is nice but if one of them plays a major role in the narrative, they need a personality.

Think about all the great “lieutenants” in fiction. Most people who’ve seen Total Recall probably remember Michael Ironside’s revenge driven goon, who seeks to kill Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character for unknowingly murdering his wife in self-defense. They’ll also probably have forgotten the actual antagonist, outside of his gruesome death scene.
A better example are the classic Bond henchmen, like Odd-Job and Jaws, who are much more fondly remembered than their more important employers. They’re both essentially walking gimmicks but they lend their patron antagonists a sense of agency without having to force them into an inappropriate role. If recurring characters are left undefined the narrative, you’ll end up accidentally drawing your players’ attention to cracks in the narrative. Uplifting these characters won’t just make for a memorable antagonist or ally but it will round out your story.

Don’t feel like you need to write pages for the minor figures of your campaign. Most of the characters and archetypes I referenced are not complex characters by any length. Those small but meaningful qualities offhandedly applied give something to their respective stories. With so much to keep track of, it’s easy for a GM to forget tasks like this. But even if you end up having to improvise these elements, it’s still better than just leaving them faceless. Ensuring your minor characters are more than throwaway parts of the story is a quick, easy way to craft a more in depth campaign.

Regardless of the genre or system a GM chooses, the players are going to be running into a number of characters. The inhabitants of a given area are what stops the game’s world from feeling like an endless, formless wasteland populated only by monsters. Even if that is the setting, a few supporting characters would liven the story up a little. But since an RPG can have a cast large enough to rival any TV show or comic book, a GM has to determine which characters get developed and which ones are there to populate the world. My advice is to make sure that every character has some kind of larger narrative, no matter how small their role might be or if the players even notice it.

With so many characters to handle, it’s easy to reduce minor adversaries and allies to stat blocks. For sanity’s sake, limit yourself to fleshing out characters that speak more than two lines to the players. If a character plays a notable role in a narrative, make sure they’re more than just a plot device. Give them some sort of background or personality quirk to distinguish them. Even if your notes for them end up only being a sentence long, that’s at least better than what you had before. A good example of this in practice is James Robinson’s comics, particularly Starman and JSA: The Golden Age. Characters that show up for less than a page are often given the hint of a narrative, mainly through internal narration. Something similar is done in the newest Halloween movie, where almost everyone butchered by Michael Meyers has a modicum of personality or a defining moment before the deed is done. No matter how small these additions might be, it adds a human element the story would otherwise lack.

This may seem like unnecessary work to add to the already full plate of a GM but it adds a genuine atmosphere to the narrative. If the players pick up on it, the narrative will feel more “real,” to them, as it shows that things exist outside of the PCs’ stories. Even if the players don’t appreciate it, it will put you one step closer to a more fleshed out narrative. You’ll find it helps you develop the story, as the parts used to build it are closer to people than set pieces. However, it’s considerably more important to build up recurring characters. Defining minor characters is nice but if one of them plays a major role in the narrative, they need a personality.

Think about all the great “lieutenants” in fiction. Most people who’ve seen Total Recall probably remember Michael Ironside’s revenge driven goon, who seeks to kill Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character for unknowingly murdering his wife in self-defense. They’ll also probably have forgotten the actual antagonist, outside of his gruesome death scene. A better example are the classic Bond henchmen, like Odd-Job and Jaws, who are much more fondly remembered than their more important employers. They’re both essentially walking gimmicks but they lend their patron antagonists a sense of agency without having to force them into an inappropriate role. If recurring characters are left undefined the narrative, you’ll end up accidentally drawing your players’ attention to cracks in the narrative. Uplifting these characters won’t just make for a memorable antagonist or ally but it will round out your story.

Don’t feel like you need to write pages for the minor figures of your campaign. Most of the characters and archetypes I referenced are not complex characters by any length. Those small but meaningful qualities offhandedly applied give something to their respective stories. With so much to keep track of, it’s easy for a GM to forget tasks like this. But even if you end up having to improvise these elements, it’s still better than just leaving them faceless. Ensuring your minor characters are more than throwaway parts of the story is a quick, easy way to craft a more in depth campaign.