How do I create and manage NPCs?

NPCs are the characters you control, from the mysterious bartender who knows too much to the dragon at the end of the dungeon. SwiftPrep helps you track personalities, goals, secrets, and combat stats so you can roleplay consistently session after session.

Creating an NPC

1. Click NPCs in the sidebar
2. Click Create NPC
3. Enter a name (required)
4. Fill in additional fields as needed
5. Click Save

You do not need to fill in every field. Focus on what helps you run the character at the table.

NPC Fields

Basic Information

Personality and Roleplay

These fields help you portray the character consistently:

[!TIP] The voice/mannerisms field is gold for roleplay. A note like "speaks slowly, always touches his scar when nervous" gives you something to do at the table.

D&D-Style Pillars

If you use the classic D&D character framework:

Knowledge and Secrets

Physical Details

Combat

The stats block is optional. Not every NPC needs combat stats. But when that tavern brawl breaks out, it is nice to have them.

Organization

Using AI to Create NPCs

On Companion and Power tiers, you can generate NPC content with AI.

Field-by-Field Generation

1. Click the AI Generate button next to any text field
2. Provide optional guidance: "gruff but secretly kind" or "hiding something terrible"
3. Select a tone preset (Dark Fantasy, Heroic, Mysterious, etc.)
4. Adjust creativity (low = predictable, high = surprising)
5. Click Generate
6. Review and edit the result

Quick Generation with Super Swift

For rapid NPC creation:

1. Open Super Swift from the sidebar
2. Click NPC NOW!
3. Choose type (Combat-ready or Social)
4. Add guidance if desired
5. Generate

This creates a complete NPC in seconds. Promote it to your permanent library if you want to keep it.

NPC Types and Approaches

Different NPCs need different levels of detail:

Major NPCs

Recurring characters, villains, important allies should have most fields filled in:

• Complete personality section
• Clear goals and secrets
• Combat stats if relevant
• Relationships to other entities
• Voice/mannerisms for consistent roleplay

Supporting NPCs

Characters who appear occasionally need key fields:

• Name and role
• Brief personality
• One or two distinctive traits
• Basic relationships

Background NPCs

One-scene characters need minimal detail:

• Name
• Role
• One memorable trait

You can always promote a background NPC to supporting or major if the party takes interest.

Tips for Better NPCs

Make Them Memorable

One distinctive trait makes an NPC stick in players' minds better than five generic ones. The bartender who "always polishes the same spot on the bar while talking" is more memorable than "friendly, hardworking, honest."

Give Them Goals

Every NPC wants something. It does not have to be dramatic. The innkeeper wants to pay off his debt, the guard wants to get through his shift without trouble. Goals drive behavior and give you something to play.

Connect Them to Your World

Link NPCs to:

• Locations where they live and work
• Factions they belong to
• Other NPCs they know
• Plot hooks they are involved in

Connected NPCs feel like part of a world, not isolated quest-dispensers.

Use Secrets Wisely

The Secrets field is for things only you know:

• Hidden allegiances
• True motivations
• Things they will never reveal
• Information that changes everything

Secrets create depth even if players never discover them.

Track What Matters

Focus on fields that help you run the character:

• If you struggle to voice them, fill in Voice and mannerisms
• If they might fight, add Combat stats
• If they know things, add Expertise areas

Skip fields that do not help your prep.

Example: Creating a Villain

Name: Lord Castellan Varen

Role: Noble, philanthropist, secret cult leader

Description: The city's most generous benefactor, funding orphanages and soup kitchens. Behind closed doors, he leads a cult convinced that only controlled sacrifice can avert a coming darkness.

Personality: Charming, patient, utterly convinced of his own righteousness. Treats adversaries like misguided children who simply do not understand.

Goals:

• Complete the ritual before the darkness arrives
• Protect the innocent (especially children) while sacrificing the guilty
• Convert the party if possible, eliminate them if necessary

Traits and quirks: Speaks softly, never raises his voice, even in anger. Collects porcelain figures of children.

Emotional triggers: Accusations of cruelty. Threats to the orphanages he funds. Being compared to common murderers.

Voice and mannerisms: Calm, measured cadence. Pauses before answering questions, as if carefully choosing words. Smiles too long.

Secrets:

• His predictions about the coming darkness have been accurate so far
• He believes one of the player characters is destined to either join or stop him
• He cannot bring himself to sacrifice children, which is why he "protects" them, this is his moral limit

Faction: The Hollow Circle (cult)

Tags: villain, arc-2, neverwinter

Related Articles

• What are entities and how do they work in SwiftPrep?
• How do I define relationships between entities?
• How do I create and track factions?
• How do I create and manage plot hooks?