Managing NPC Parties

I really like rival adventuring parties. One of my favorite parts of Ryoko Kui’s Delicious In Dungeon is the social aspect of having a lot of different groups of adventurers all exploring the same space. Some groups are more experienced or motivated than others, some have bad reputations, etc. Characters can start in one party and then split up and either join another or leave town entirely, whether due to some dungeon disaster or for interpersonal reasons.

I’ve thrown together some procedures for my solo Haunted Halls of Eveningstar game to create something like that effect:

1) The NPC Pool

Adventuring is a seasonal affair in Eveningstar, and the town isn’t very large. Every two weeks I roll to see if anyone new has come to town, or if there have been any departures.

• Summer: 1d4-1

• Spring & Fall: 1d4-2

• Winter: 1d4-3

Note that I already had an established NPC party from a wandering monster roll. If you’re starting fresh then I would seed the pool with some number of NPCs - somewhere between 4 and 8, depending on how many PCs you have.

Generate new adventurers using your preferred method. I roll a d6 to determine levels:

• 1-3: 1st level

• 4-5: 2nd level

• 6: 3rd level

I also assign each character a Morale score, determined as if they were their own retainer under the OSE rules for Charisma.

It can be convenient to use notecards for each adventurer’s character sheet, so that they can be shuffled, grouped, and rearranged as needed.

PCs looking to hire on extra hands may also draw from this pool. These characters are equal partners rather than followers or employees, and receive a full share of treasure (determined by whatever way the players divide their loot).

2) Forming A Party

Each week (and/or each time the PCs return to town) pick a character from the pool to try and form a party. This character makes a Morale check: if they succeed then they’ve managed to assemble a party for an expedition, with themselves as Party Leader and the other members drawn from the available NPCs in the pool. I use the OSE rules for retainers to determine a maximum party size.

Any previously established NPC parties will also adventure at this stage.

3) Simulating a Dungeon Crawl

I use the rules from Ava Islam’s Errant, with one small modification. You can read the rules HERE, but Errant’s procedure works like this: assign the NPC party a “challenge rating” by totaling up their levels, +1 for each significant magic item. Then assign a challenge rating for each room or section of the dungeon and roll on a chart:

2d6 + the difference in challenge ratings

• 10+ party overcomes the challenge easily and takes everything of value.

• 7–9 reduce the party's challenge rating by 1, and they take everything that isn’t hidden.

• 5–6 reduce the party’s challenge rating by 2, and they take 50% of the treasure.

• 2–4 a party member dies, and they take 25% of the treasure.

The only thing I do differently here is determine the amount of treasure gained by what makes sense in the fiction as I’m doing these little speed-plays - a party that retreats after a 5-6 may not have time to take any treasure in that room, for example, while one that loses a party member might still be able to thoroughly loot an area if that was a conclusive victory (I'm unclear on whether the original Errant rules here are meant to be rolled per room or per dungeon. I'm rolling per room).

After each adventure I roll for Loyalty checks to see if the group continues adventuring together, again using the rules for retainers. Anyone who leaves returns to the NPC Pool, where they can later be recruited or may form their own parties.