The human race is not the only race in the
world of NERO. There are many mythical and unusual races, such as elves,
dwarves, half-orcs, and other more exotic races. Some NERO chapters have additional
races or variations of the listed races.
In order to give the game a multiracial feel,
each race has been developed individually to add to everyone’s enjoyment. To
keep the balance of each particular race, there are certain fundamental
requirements that each player of that race must observe. We do this so that you
will be placing yourself into a real culture that provides the most interaction
with other players.
Racial abilities help you to understand a
race’s outlook on life. You must understand the necessities of roleplaying your
race based on the advantages and disadvantages of that race. You should
purchase your particular racial abilities as soon as possible.
Playing your race means knowing and understanding your races’
culture and society. Some races have their culture based on certain societies
in our own world and other races are purely fantastic like the elves or
hoblings. Others are based on popular mythology or folklore. Other races such
as the biata have been time-consumingly created from scratch, creating a unique
aspect to our game.
It is important to understand that you will
be given a brief description of your race’s society but that it is up to you to
integrate yourself into it. Your local chapter will have a “race packet” which provides
more roleplaying background.
If you wish to play one of these races, you
must wear the appropriate makeup to distinguish yourself. All exposed skin must
be covered with the appropriate makeup. Any props (such as elf ears) must be
worn at all times.
Remember that you cannot wear makeup to
disguise yourself to appear as a race you are not, nor can you act in such a
way as to mislead others as to your race. If you are not playing a barbarian or
a gypsy, you cannot dress, talk and act like one.
When choosing a race to play, consider how
you will look as that race. Although NERO is a game that encourages you to “be
all that you can’t be,” if you are 5' 5" and weigh 120 pounds, you
probably shouldn’t play a half ogre, and if you are 6' 6" and weigh 275, you
probably wouldn’t make a believable hobling. However, although it is
discouraged, there is no rule stopping you from playing a character against
your body type, so feel free to do what you want!
NERO expects you to play your character’s
race properly. Half orcs should be slow witted, barbarians should act uncouth,
and drae should shun the sunlight. Even though we strongly encourage everyone
to avoid clichés and stereotypes when creating their character histories, you
must abide by your racial characteristics. You cannot write your history to be
the “outsider” of your race and be the one barbarian who is a genius celestial
caster, the one gypsy who is quiet and shy, or the one drae who likes to go
sunbathing.
A player not acting as described for his or
her character’s race will not be allowed to continue playing that character and
will have to start another one.
There is no such thing as a true “half” race
for purposes of NERO rules. If your character history has your father as an elf
and your mother as a gypsy, that is fine, but you can only take the attributes
of one of those races. In-game you can tell everyone you’re “half elf/half
gypsy” but out-of-game, you are one race or the other. You must then take all
the advantages, disadvantages and physical characteristics of that single race
and none of the unique characteristics of the other. No character may have the
powers, physical characteristics, or “mannerisms” of more than one race. It
should always be very clear to everyone what race you are.
These roleplaying rules are put in place to
allow players to make assumptions about the races. When you see someone wearing
pointed ears, you know that they may have certain abilities such as Resist Sleep and that may change your
strategy with dealing with them.
You can conclude that every biata you see
will dislike celestial magic and every dwarf will appreciate and study
well-made weapons. Every race must act like and be identifiable as that race by
all other players. By adhering to racial characteristics, this fantasy world of
ours becomes much more real.
The following lists the basic NERO races
(other than human). This is a very short overview. If you play one of these
races, you can ask for a longer handout for your particular race that will
provide more background for your character.
The skills mentioned in the descriptions
below are explained in greater detail in the “Skill Descriptions” section. When
reference is made to “Scholarly Skills” or “Stealth Skills,” it means only
those skills listed under those categories in the Skill cost tables.
(“Scholarly Skills” for example includes Read
and Write and Read Magic.)
Note that if you are playing a nonhuman, you
should buy your racial skills as soon as possible. After all, how can you
possibly roleplay your race properly if you don’t have the basic skills and
abilities that help to define that race? If you reach 5th level or so and still
haven’t purchased your skills, other members of your race should treat you as
inferior or look at you with pity because you cannot resist sleep or break a
charm.
The next section of this book lists the
various races other than human. (If playing a human, you are free to devise any
sort of personality you wish without any benefits or disadvantages.)
Barbarians come from nomadic tribes and are
unused to “civilized” society. They are a very superstitious lot and may often
perform unusual small ceremonies to rid themselves of their “curse.” (“Oh-oh!
Seven hoblings just crossed path! Bad luck! Now I must tie string around finger
and walk backwards for an hour!”)
This is not to imply that barbarians have to
be stupid—merely uncultured and somewhat primitive. In order to be identifiable
as barbarians, you should talk poorly, dress in furs, and otherwise look primitive.
Although in-game there is a rumor about
barbarians being able to go into a “berserker rage” where they can do great
damage, such a skill does not exist in the NERO game. It’s all roleplaying.
Barbarian tribes (usually named after
animals) are often very competitive and not too friendly.
Barbarian tribes are very earth friendly and
in fact, celestial magic was unheard of by barbarians until the more
“civilized” beings began moving into their area. As such, barbarians distrust
celestial magic and consider it “not natural.” Barbarians fear and distrust
celestial magics and will dislike having celestial protective spells cast upon
them. This distrust only applies to
Celestial Defensive spells, and does not apply to Celestial Magic Items. It should be noted that there are some
characters that refuels to use Celestial Magic Items for roleplay reasons of
their own. This “Celestial Abstinence”
is not required by the rules in any way.
All players are encouraged to roleplay their characters in any way that
they consider fun.
When a barbarian reaches the age of 18, he or
she will ask the tribe leader for a Task of Adulthood. This task must require
an extreme amount of bravery and challenge and may take many years to
accomplish. Only when the task is completed will the barbarian be considered a
true member of the tribe. Barbarians who switch tribes are likewise required to
perform such a task.
Barbarians are strong and thus start off with
two extra body points. They have to pay double for all Scholarly skills. They
can also buy the skill Detect Celestial
Magic which, once a day, will allow the barbarian to determine whether an
item has any celestial magics present upon it.
According to legend, biata are descended from
a barbarian tribe, but they do not act or look like barbarians. They have large
upturned feathery eyebrows and often grow feathers in their hair and claws on
their fingers as well. (The claws are decorative in nature and cannot be used
as weapons.)
Biata tend to be very orderly in their
philosophy of life—they always act with a purpose. They will not do things “on
a whim” and are always working towards some goal. To other races, this tends to
make them seem like extremists—either very good or very evil—but even the most
evil biata will have his or her own code of ethics and will never act
erratically or randomly. This also makes the biata seem very stubborn.
They are also very secretive about the
origins of their race and will treat all other races as “outsiders” rarely
worthy of complete trust.
It is said that biata were formed through
magical mating of a gryphon and a human (or perhaps a barbarian). The Gryphon
barbarian tribe was made up entirely of biata, and until the last Great
Celestial Change in 590, all biata looked human.
Having celestial protective spells cast upon
biata causes great discomfort. Most will refuse to sleep behind Wards and will not use celestial magic
items. This distrust only applies to Celestial Defensive spells, and does not
apply to Celestial Magic Items. It
should be noted that there are some characters that refuels to use Celestial
Magic Items for roleplay reasons of their own.
This “Celestial Abstinence” is not required by the rules in any
way. All players are encouraged to
roleplay their characters in any way that they consider fun.
Biata, like stone elves, have spent years
honing mental skills and as such can perform certain mental mind abilities.
These abilities are all completely roleplaying in nature. Generally speaking, a
biata can remove roleplaying insanity based on memories or otherwise “cure”
mental damage on any willing subject. You cannot use this ability to tell if
another player is telling the truth or to have that player remember events
forgotten due to a Forget-it elixir
or otherwise get around any NERO rule. A player always has the right to refuse
to roleplay any of these skills and can at any time decide to “break off”
contact or be cured.
In order to use this roleplaying skill, you
must touch the other person and concentrate completely by either staring into
each other’s eyes or having their eyes closed. You cannot perform any other
in-game skill while roleplaying this. Any biata who simply touches someone and
says “There, you no longer have a fear of heights (or whatever)” is not playing
the race properly. For more information about these skills, see “Mind
Abilities” in the chapter on Special Abilities.
Biata can buy the skills Break Charm, Resist Charm,
and Resist Sleep. Biata are attuned
to earth magics and as such, cannot learn Read
Magic.
Drae are dark elves, a mysterious race that
mostly lives underground, shunning sunlight. They have jet black skin, white or
silver hair, and pointed ears. They rarely socialize with other races and keep
to themselves and generally feel themselves to be superior to all other races.
When playing a drae, the bottom line to
remember is honor. The drae culture emphasizes honor to such a degree that a
drae who has lost honor must commit suicide as punishment before honor can be
regained.
This does not mean that you cannot be an evil
drae; it merely means that you will keep your word once it is given. If you are
disgraced in any way, you will publicly do what needs to be done for your honor
to be restored.
Drae can have a sense of humor but must take
their own actions very seriously. There are drae entertainers (though rare) but
even these regard honor as the highest attribute.
Drae have -2 Body Points in the daytime
(defined as 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). At 6 a.m., the drae loses 2 points from their
maximum Body Points (never below one Body Point), adjusting their current Body
Points to match, if necessary. This means that a drae will never fall
unconscious due to this penalty. At 6 p.m., the drae’s maximum Body Points go
up by exactly the same number of points that they went down the night before.
This rule cannot be used to circumvent other effects where Body Points are
lost.
Like
other elves, they can buy Resist Sleep
and Resist Charm. They cannot buy the
skills Two Handed Blunt or Two handed Sword.
Dwarves are sturdy individuals who live in
mountainous regions. Dwarves in NERO are not necessarily short (remember that
all players and monsters are the same size as the person playing them), but
taller players should think twice about playing a dwarf. In-game, the rumor is
that dwarves are the small cousins of hill giants, and so to the giants, they
were seen as short.
Dwarves tend to be friendly but secretive.
They all have beards, although many females prefer a long “goatee.”
Their race enjoys and appreciates good
craftsmanship, especially in weapons, armor, and jewelry. Because they live so
much longer than humans, they tend to dislike the human’s faster paced
lifestyles (but they generally like the food).
Dwarves have an extreme hatred of trolls who
often attack and take the dwarven caves for themselves. Their history is very
lengthy but is mostly comprised of stories and legends of great dwarven heroes.
Some of these stories can take many hours or even days to tell completely, and
no self-respecting dwarf would consider telling an abridged version.
Dwarves are generally peaceful and have no
problem with other races—although they think elves are pompous, humans are
impatient, hoblings are troublemakers, and half orcs and half ogres are
incapable of understanding the finer things in life (like a well made weapon
and a fine wine).
They start with one extra body point and can
buy Weaponsmith and Armorsmith skills for one point less.
They can buy Resist Poison. Dwarves
cannot buy the skills Polearm, Staff,
Two Handed Blunt or Two Handed Sword. They must pay double
for Read Magic.
Elves are long-lived people with pointed
ears. That may be the only thing all the elven races have in common!
All elves can buy the skills Resist Sleep and Resist Charm. They have one less Body Point than a human character
of the same class and level. They can buy Archery
skill at half cost (round up), but they cannot buy the skills Two Handed Blunt or Two Handed Sword.
There are many varieties of elves. The most
common are:
Amani
elf: Amani elves are descendants of
Quentari elves. Many years ago, a political rift developed in Quentari and many
of the elves moved to the Ash Forest (or the “Amani” forest in their language)
in the Duchy of Ashbury in Evendarr to start anew. Since then, they have spread
all over the continent.
Amani elves are friendlier and more
down-to-earth than their Quentari cousins. They get along much better with
other races but still do not socialize a great deal with them. In fact, some
parts of the Ash Forest are closed to other races completely. Even though they
socialize with other races, they rarely marry any other than their fellow Amani
elves. An Amani who falls in love with another race is not shunned from the
society, but is obviously not treated with the same degree of respect by his or
her fellow Amani elves.
Quentari
elf: Quentari elves come from the
elven kingdom of Quentari. They consider themselves to be the most civilized
race; all others are barbaric in comparison. To some degree this is true—they
have the oldest culture, the greatest cities, and the most learned scholars. It
is this attitude however that makes their living with other races a problem, as
no one likes being seen as inferior. Quentari elves tend to largely be
scholars, and it is rare to encounter a Quentari elf who does not know how to
read and write. When fighting, they tend to prefer bow and short swords, but
even then, fighting is seen as a last resort when peaceful negotiations are
unsuccessful.
Stone
elf: Stone elves have whitish skin,
upturned eyebrows, and pointed ears. Stone elves do not show emotions and as
such are viewed by other races as humorless and intense. This is part of their
culture as well as being part of their race. This restriction makes the stone
elves very hard to roleplay—if you cannot keep a straight face when told a
funny joke, you should not be playing a stone elf.
They have a natural affinity for celestial
magics and make excellent celestial casters. Although there are of course
healers in their society, most stone elf casters are celestial.
Stone elves, like biata, have spent years
honing mental skills and as such can perform certain mental mind abilities.
These abilities are all completely roleplaying in nature. Generally speaking, a
stone elf can remove roleplaying insanity based on emotions or otherwise “cure”
mental damage on any willing subject. You cannot use this ability to tell if
another player is telling the truth or to have that player remember memories
lost to Forget-it elixirs or
otherwise get around any NERO rule. A player always has the right to refuse to
roleplay any of these skills and can at any time decide to “break off” contact
or be cured.
In order to use this roleplaying skill, you must
touch the other person and concentrate completely. Any Stone elf who simply
touches someone and says “There, you no longer have a fear of heights (or
whatever)” is not playing the race properly. For more information about these
skills, see “Mind Abilities” in the chapter on Special Abilities.
Wild
Elf: Wild elves live in nomadic
tribes like barbarians and share many barbarian traits. Wild elves are
distinguished in-game by their furs and other barbarian clothing, even though
they have pointed ears like all other elves.
Wild elves are not treated as “real elves” by
most of the rest of the elven race. There is no outright warring going on, but
the wild elves often feel as if they are second-class citizens even though they
generally have all the rights as any other citizen.
The wild elf society is similar to the
cultures of some American Indian tribes, with an emphasis on hunting and
tracking skills.
Unlike other races that are distinguished by
physical features, gypsies are defined by costume, behavior, and culture. To be
a gypsy means to be boisterous, extroverted, and larger than life. Gypsies, a
fiery and passionate race, love to dance and sing.
The most important aspect of gypsy life is
family. The gypsies (or Romani as they
call themselves) have enormous loyalty to their people, treating each as a
family member and referring to them as “brother” or “sister.”
Many gypsy tribes may coexist in the same
area, each being ruled by its own Bandoleer or “Prince/Princess.” There is a
Gypsy King but quite often this figure is far removed from normal gypsy life
and has no great influence over the local tribes. Usually a gypsy tribe will
have its own distinctive predominate color or marking, used to differentiate
itself from other tribes in the area.
Gypsies can bestow or remove Gypsy Curse which is limited by the
Gypsy Code of Honor. The Gypsy Code of Honor requires that a gypsy be always
honest and trustworthy among members of his or her own tribe. The gypsy will
support the other tribe members and will do whatever it takes to help
(including lying to, stealing from, cursing or killing non-tribe members).
The Gypsy Code of Honor means respecting the
actions of fellow gypsies as well. If a gypsy throws a Gypsy Curse on someone, it had better be for a good reason
(otherwise, the recipient might take action against the entire tribe). If there
was a good reason, then the entire tribe will support that gypsy.
Half ogres are not human/ogre hybrids, but
are rather a race that closely resembles ogres in coloration and behavior and
were dubbed half ogres by those that first encountered them. They have yellow
skin and protruding lower fangs.
Half ogres are tougher than average and are
almost always fighters. They tend to be less intelligent and should roleplay
difficulty in understanding complicated subjects. Note also that half ogres
have a very short life expectancy compared to other races, and they mature
faster, so that your starting player may only be four years old!
Half ogres are very tough fighters and they
know it. It will be very rare when a half ogre shows any fear. They are usually
first to run into battle and will almost never run away. However, they have an
innate fear of undead and will have to summon up a ton of courage to fight any
zombie, skeleton or vampire that comes their way.
Half ogres tend to see the world in simple
ways. What good is writing if you can’t fight with it? They think most of the
other races are spoiled and live too fancily. Half ogres would rather spend
their money on new weapons and armor than on fancy homes, fancy food, or fancy
clothes.
Half ogres think that the concept of nobility
is the most ridiculous idea “civilized” society has to offer. In the half ogre
tribes, the tribal leaders are the best fighters. In fact, half ogres are
constantly fighting among themselves for dominance.
If a half ogre sees another, it is likely
that they will fight to establish who is dominant. The fight is never to the
death but only until one of the half ogres acknowledges the other’s
superiority. There is never any cheating nor are there sneak attacks in this
sort of battle; there is great honor at stake in the half ogre community.
They start with two extra Body Points and
must pay double for all Scholarly skills.
Half orcs may have at one time been human/orc
hybrids but have now evolved into a race of their own. They have green skin and
protruding lower fangs or teeth.
Half orcs are tougher than average and are
almost always fighters. They tend to be less intelligent and should roleplay
difficulty in understanding complicated subjects. Note also that half orcs have
a very short life expectancy so that your starting player may only be four
years old!
Half orcs regard honor in combat as the
highest and most respected goal in life. They would rather die in combat than
of old age, and would never be seen running from a battle unless the situation
were completely overwhelming.
The half orc society is clan-based, where
families and blood relations are regarded as most important. Individual half
orcs may leave the family to adventure with other races in order to establish
glory and a name for themselves.
Half orcs start with two extra Body Points.
They must pay double for all Scholarly skills.
Hoblings are peaceful people and generally
are smaller than average. They have furry feet and hands, as well as bushy
sideburns and eyebrows.
Hoblings love working with their hands and as
such are often craftsmen. They are friendly and cheerful and have a great sense
of humor, and quite often use their charisma to their advantage.
Hoblings do not generally like adventure even
though they love the treasure that can come from adventuring. Their treasure
will be spent on fine food, good clothes, and a high standard of living.
Their love of living well means that most
hoblings are businesspeople first. The thought of doing something for free is
appalling to them, and although to some this appears to be mere laziness, in
fact hoblings consider this common sense. They are completely honest in their
business deals however and always keep to their promises once made—however,
you’d better read any contract with a hobling very carefully, as they know all
the loopholes. They make excellent spies as long as the money keeps coming in.
Hoblings begin with one less Body Point.
Hoblings cannot be fighters and cannot use two handed weapons. They can buy Pick Locks and Disarm/Arm Traps at half price (round up) and can buy the racial
ability Resist Poison.
Mystic Wood elves are a strange race of
creatures originally from the Mystic Wood in Northern Evendarr. They are not
really elves but were called that by the people who first encountered them.
Mystic Wood elves have elven ears but also small horns on their foreheads. Popular theory holds that they are descended
from elven-satyr/nymph hybrids, but this has never been proven..
Mystic Wood elves hate (or at the very least
find distasteful) all forms of enslavement, from slavery and kidnapping to
magical charms and alchemical controls.
For example, a Mystic Wood elf that finds a Dominate elixir will probably destroy it. They may also attempt to
break any charms they find on others.
Mystic Wood elf society is organized into 3
major clans, and these clans are viewed as family by the Mystic Wood elf. Mystic Wood elves have two names, their
“road” name which they commonly use, and their “real” name which they usually
only share with their most trusted friends outside the Mystic Wood elven
community. Mystic Wood elves have a
remarkably high tolerance for alcohol and love travel and adventure. For them, getting there is not half the fun,
it’s all the fun.
Mystic Wood elves are natural born artisans,
and can buy craftsman (other) skill for 2 build points instead of the 3
build that it costs other races. For each level attained, a Mystic Wood elf
must buy at least one of the following skills: Alchemy, Armorsmith, Craftsman (type), Create Potion, Create Scroll,
Create Traps, Disarm/Arm Traps, Evaluate Item, First Aid, Healing Arts, Herbal
Lore, Pick Locks, Read and Write, Read Magic, or Weaponsmith. Mystic Wood elves can also resist charm for 3 build
and charm break for 2 build. As they
are not elves, Mystic Wood elves are not bound by the elven disadvantage
package (i.e., they do not lose 1 body and can use two handed weapons).
Sarr are a race of felinoids, so the best way
to roleplay a sarr is to think like a cat!
Sarr should be insatiably curious and
independent. Although they will form attachments for adventuring groups, they
will also strike out on their own in search of adventure when the urge hits
them, and can easily turn on former friends if wronged.
Do not think that sarr are cute little fluffy
kitties; they are some of the fiercest fighters of all the races. They never
forget an enemy and always seek revenge no matter how long it takes.
Sarr are susceptible to catnip and also
peppermint leaves. They will become agitated and will have either an extreme
violent reaction or a playful one. Of course, when a cat plays, it does so by
attacking something . . .
Sarr must wear makeup to appear as one of the
large hunting cats. The bottom of the nose should be dark. Whiskers, stripes or
spots may be added if appropriate. If you play a black panther sarr, you must
wear a prosthetic cat nose, cat ears, or other additions to make it clear to
all that you are not a drae.
Sarr may buy the skill Resist Poison. They also have superior scenting abilities, and as
such may detect an alchemical substance or disease on an item if they spend one
minute inspecting it. (This racial skill does not allow them to tell what kind
of alchemical substance or disease is present.)
Sarr cannot buy the skills Archery, One Handed Blunt, Staff, Thrown
Weapon, Two Handed Blunt, or Waylay.
The only small weapon allowable is a dagger or hatchet. All weapons must be
edged.
“Scavenger” is a generic term used for any
type not covered by the other races. They are humanoids with mundane animallike
characteristics (rat, badger, skunk, dog). Players are free to use their
imagination in creating a scavenger as long as makeup is worn and it is obvious
that the player is not playing a monster or another player race. (For example,
you cannot be a “cat” scavenger because there would be no way out-of-game to
differentiate you from a sarr.)
Scavengers should roleplay their particular
animal’s characteristic. A scavenger possum should play dead during a battle. A
scavenger dog might enjoy hunting. A scavenger fox should be cunning.
All scavengers do not understand the concept
of possessions as do the other races. They will take what they need and share
what they don’t. In exchange, they of course expect others to give them what
they need when they need it.
Scavengers are very hardy survivors on the
fringe of civilization and can buy the skill Resist Poison. They have superior scenting abilities and may detect
an alchemical substance or disease on a item if they spend one minute inspecting
the item. (This racial skill does not allow them to tell what kind of
alchemical substance or disease is present.)
As they do not have the upbringing and
education of other races, Scavengers must pay double cost for all scholarly
skills.
In addition to playing various races, it is
also fun to play a character from an unusual culture as well. The in-game
guides to the various countries and duchies of the NERO world can give you some
ideas. The more cultures we have in the game, the richer the roleplaying
experience.
You might also wish to create your own
culture. However, understand that you should be very careful about what you say
in-game about your culture, because you may end up having to take it all back
if the Plot Committee says no.
For example, if you have written up a history
of another country far off on the other side of the world and wish to play
someone from that culture, we encourage that but you must make sure that
nothing in your concept of this country violates NERO policies, rules, or the
in-game history!
You cannot be a traveler from another planet
or from the future or from a modern democratic society; the basic concepts of
medieval society should still exist. Use current countries as described in your
chapter’s Player’s Guide as a
guideline. And don’t be upset if it is not accepted!
You should write up your concept of your
culture and submit it to your local Plot Committee for approval along with your
character history. If you want to show up on an event playing that character
before the history is approved, you should refuse to speak about your culture
too much in game. (Also note that any culture suggestions, once accepted,
become the property of NERO.)
This is a delicate balance we are creating:
we want to encourage players to create more than a strictly European medieval
feel to the game while at the same time we want to prevent the game from
becoming impossible to manage. We can’t have six separate island nations at
exactly the same spot on the globe. That is why it is imperative that if you
want to talk about your culture in-game, you must get it approved by the Plot
Committee.
In addition, you should be careful if you
wish to play a culture that is based on a real Earth culture. For example, if
you wish to play a barbarian based on an American Indian culture, please make
sure that you know something about that culture. If you walk around going “ugh”
and “how” and calling people “Kemo-sabe” you may be asked to stop.
The best bet is to not play a character from
a real culture with which you are not very familiar. We love having characters
from societies based on medieval Japan or ancient Egypt or the Hawaiian Islands
or Africa, but we definitely do not want players with no knowledge of those
cultures to play insulting stereotypes from those cultures—even if no insult
was intended.
The most important thing is to prevent your
character from being insulting to people whose heritage really is of that culture.
At the risk of saying we want PCPCs (Politically Correct Player Characters),
please be careful. Just think first.
NPCs and Monsters are guided by a Monster
Master who assigns them duties. The Monster Master, in turn, answers to the
Plot Committee and their weekend director. If an NPC character dies or
completes his or her assignment, the NPC player must return to the monster
cabin (which is off-limits to everyone except NPCs and marshals). They can then
be sent out again as another NPC.
Many NPCs are used in set encounters like
guarding a tomb or capturing a character. Others simply wander around the woods
looking for unsuspecting adventurers to fight. There are specific monster areas
in the woods where certain types of monsters appear from time to time and wait
for the adventurers to find them.
All NPCs aren’t necessarily monsters nor are
they placed out there just for PCs to fight. An NPC may have the sole purpose
of providing information or entertainment or to add live richness to the game.
NPCs may be bards and entertainers, beggars, merchants, hired thugs, or
anything else needed to advance the proper town atmosphere. NPCs who are not
monsters should be indistinguishable from any player.
There may also be some full-time town NPCs
such as the major Guild leaders and some of the highest nobility. They are NPCs
because they also serve a logistics function or because they are controlled by
the Plot Committee. These NPCs, like all NPCs, have a limited number of lives
and in all aspects must follow all game rules.
Players who wish to be NPCs get compensation
for the work they do. In exchange, we expect our NPCs to do what they are told
and follow the rules.
NPCs are supervised closely by our Monster
Marshals who answer directly to the Plot Committee. When judging whether to
give an NPC an important role, the Monster Marshal will consider the following
criteria:
Roleplaying:
How well can you act? Can you do accents
and be someone different each time? Do you put an effort into makeup and
costuming? Can you think on your feet and react as your character would?
Fighting:
How good of a fighter are you? Can
you fight in different styles with different weapons? Are you a safe fighter?
Spellcasting:
Do you know all the verbals? Can you
cast quickly and efficiently?
Gaming
Skills: Do you know the NERO rules?
Do you play fairly and honestly? Do you understand the purpose of NPCs?
For more on NPCs, see the chapter on “How to
Be an NPC.”