The major players in the campaign world are the political leaders, priests, mages and soldiers that your PCs will interact with more than once.
#ONE OFF NPCS DND ME HOW TO#
It adds flavour to the world and most importantly allows the PCs to know how to interact with the different personalities that they might meet.
It’s important to have a predefined description for each of the major segments of your main populations. This allows your PCs to deduce that there are likely many bards in the population and that common citizens may be capable of wielding magic. Their highest art form is the blending of magic with music to create symphonies that can mesmerize the soul. For example, the citizens of Nareeni are known for their love of the arcane. Similarly, you could describe the general outlook of a nation with a general statement. Generic statements like this allow the PCs to gain a sense of how to interact with members of the guard. While they aren’t professional soldiers, their sheer numbers and determination makes outlaws think twice about attacking the village. For example, the town guard is made up of volunteers who take their job rather seriously. You don’t need to create a personality for every NPC in this category, but you do need a generic description for each of the groups in the category.
In short, these are the NPCs that your PCs will interact with on a daily basis, but whom do not require an extensive background or description. These are the farmers, labourers, professionals, bandits, guards, etc. The common citizens are the rank and file NPCs that populate the world.