Hi everyone,
I think I'm answering my own question again. :-) I've been having a fresh and closer look at 'Supporting Characters', the Ally, Patron, and Contacts sections in the Relationships chapter, and think I can extrapolate how to handle friendly NPCs. That section implies 'statting' a supporting character on a PC's character sheet with a Relationship score and one or more keywords or key abilities at levels equal to the PC's highest ability score or a couple of masteries higher. So, you could have "Patron: Gringle 13 (Issaries Priest 17W2)" or some such.
By extension a "casual" NPC ally (one you don't necessarily have a Relationship ability score for) could be statted in similar fashion (assuming we see his role as analogous to a Patron).
The Supporting Characters section implies that succeeding in a Relationship roll of such a Patron would persuade (etc) him to use his abilities on your behalf, as direct abilities. This could be as a separate ability, augment, assist, whatever. Again by extension, this would be the model for a "casual" NPC, too.
For my purposes, that means I can either sketch Gringle with a keyword or two, or even with more detailed Significant and Exceptional Ablities, then set his top ability score (as a Patron) a couple of masteries above the PC's highest ability. For a more equal ally, I'd set his ability roughly equal to the PC's top ability.
Does that sound about right?
Cheers,
Sarah
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> Thanks for all the replies - some good advice and food for thought. I guess the discussion has helped me focus on my main question, which is really one of magnitude - how do you quantify the impact an NPC ally has on your session? Of course you can handwave everything, but I'm looking for something a little more structured, perhaps along the lines of the pass / fail cycle.
>
> I'm thinking NPC allies have significant and exceptional abilities (etc) in the same way adversaries do, with an implied level of competence (score) relative to the PCs. So you might have a powerful NPC ally who's Very High competence, one who's pretty much on a par with the PCs who's Moderate, and so on - giving you a rough indicator of ability scores for gauging assists, augments, ability scores when acting as sidekicks or followers, etc. I'm not sure how or even if this should tie into the pass / fail cycle, except perhaps to derive from the session's base resistance.
>
> Incidentally, I always have players make NPC ally rolls in my games, in as much as they're needed at all, always have done. Happily HQ2 reduces the need even for that. Enough to be keeping track of as it is! :-)
>
> Cheers!
>
> Sarah
>
>
> --- In HeroQuest-rules_at_yahoogroups.com, Bo <lorgryt@> wrote:
> >
> > On 12/20/2011 1:12 AM, Jeff wrote:
> > >
> > > > Most important, figure out an approach that doesn't have you rolling
> > > NPC vs NPC each round.
> > >
> > > This is key. Never have the Narrator role against herself.
> > >
> > In HQ this isn't necessary as far as I can see. Not only is it
> > anti-climactic to have a good roll for and NPC be the winning roll of
> > the exchange, but they assist and augment system make it real easy to
> > either give the players the up or the resistance the down. So you never
> > need to roll at all.
> >
> > Bo
> >
> >
> >
> >
>