Okay, there are characters and then there are characters that we remember (for good or ill) for years and years, long after they have been retired.  These are the characters that are talked about by the gaming group or to anyone who will listen even when the conversation has nothing to do with Dungeons and Dragons.

One way to make a character memorable is to give that character a trait - a player playable trait - that sparks an emotional, physical, or mental reaction of some sort in the other players.  In many ways this can require a bit of meta-gaming, but in other ways it is just really thinking through who the character is and what he or she is about.

An easy trick to developing this kind of trait is using a tick.  Something that happens at regular intervals.  Some examples would be a catch phrase such as a barbarian’s battle cry, which is used at the start of every combat, or the character always referring to himself in third person.

Often during the character creation process we think in visual terms, i.e. the style of armor or the color of the character’s hair.  Unfortunately these things are relatively intangible.  The picture of that character is different in the head of each individual sitting at the table.  The shade of red in your heroine’s hair is going to be different for everyone.  The things that you as a player do, however, are going to be witnessed by all and will bring a much more tangible expression of your character that everyone can relate to.

I cannot over-emphasize that these need to be verbal or physical actions.  The other players need to hear or see what you do.

Now, be cautious in that you do not choose something that is very difficult to maintain.  A goofy accent, for example, works pretty good for about half an hour or so but then tends to become forgotten.  By the second session you don’t even bother trying.  Likewise complex or time consuming rituals will simply be annoying.

Which brings us to the final point of the day which is that these kinds of ticks will probably annoy someone?  You can overdo it, and you probably should – just once.  Overdoing it once will implant it into the memories of everyone at the table.  Overdoing it twice and you will most likely be asked to stop.  Throwing in the occasional reminder will play to the character without driving everyone nuts.  The whole idea is to make the character come alive with those little details that make all of us real.

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Building a village for your Dungeons and Dragons campaign is relatively simple.  The key components of a village (despite what the Dungeon Master’s Guide may have told you) are:

·    A purpose
·    A place
·    A face

Lets start with the purpose.  Why is the village there?  Why do the players care?  Is it just a rest stop on the way to the next adventure?  Does it hold a vital clue to solving some mystery?  Understanding the purpose will tell you not only what elements to include in your village, but also give you some ideas about how to describe it and how much effort you need to put into it.  A watering hole on the way to the big city (because the players just need a place to rest for the night) will require significantly less effort than a collection of undead farmers attempting to hide their nefarious secret from the world.

Once you understand the purpose of the village you need to give the players a place to be and someone to interact with.  These are the place and the face respectively.

The place is simply the stage where most of the action is expected to happen.  This can be a tavern, a farmhouse, a store, or the village square (or any of dozens of other locations).  The whole idea here is that you put some amount of though into at least one location and give the players clues that this is where they need to be and who they need to talk to.  If you are building the village on the fly then understanding the place is vital – not only to keeping your sanity but to directing your players so they don’t get bored or confused.

Finally, the face is the one character that you want them to remember or care about.  This could be the innkeeper or the shadowy figure in the corner.  It is the person that you as a DM will draw attention to and focus the players attention on.

Now, if you are using stock NPC’s to go with your campaign, here is a handy trick that I use.  It is a version of the magician’s force, but it works well.  A force (in case you are wondering) is simply the art of offering a choice without really offering a choice.  The idea is simple.  Have one set of stats – anything that fits the power level of your part.  Then offer two or three physical descriptions to the players of people they encounter in the village.  Now, whoever they choose to talk to or interact with gets those stats.

90% of the time (or more) they will ignore the other characters that you created anyway and there will be no need for them to have stats – not even a name.  It gets confusing to keep track of too many characters, and most players just want to find the important ones.  Make it easy on them (and yourself) by simply having the one they talk to be the important one.  They will never know the difference and you will save yourself a few headaches.

If you are afraid of metagaming, then mix it up a little.  Make them get past a few red herrings first.

Either way, be sure to have fun with it!

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