During negotiation, the Director assigns NPCs four temporary statistics and features—interest, patience, motivations, and pitfalls. The heroes can strike a favorable deal if they maximize an NPC’s interest by making arguments that invoke the NPC’s motivations and avoid their pitfalls—but they have to do all that before the NPC’s patience wears out.
Interest
An NPC’s interest represents how eager they are to make a deal with the heroes. Interest is graded on a scale of 0 (no interest) to 5 (the most possible interest). When a negotiation begins, an NPC’s interest is between 1 and 4. If the NPC’s interest goes to 5, they make a final offer and the negotiation ends (see Keep Going or Stop, below). If the NPC’s interest drops to 0, they end a negotiation without offering the heroes any deal.
Interest increases and decreases during the negotiation based on the arguments the heroes make.
Patience
An NPC’s patience represents how much time and effort they’re willing to devote to a negotiation. Patience is graded on a scale of 0 to 5, with each NPC starting a negotiation with their patience higher than 0. If an NPC’s patience reaches 0, the NPC makes a final offer and negotiation ends (see Keep Going or Stop).
Patience can decrease each time the heroes make an argument during a negotiation.
Language and Patience
If one or more heroes negotiating with an NPC can communicate in the NPC’s native language (not including Caelian), then the NPC’s patience increases by 1 at the start of the negotiation (to a maximum of 5). If three or more heroes negotiating with an NPC can communicate in the NPC’s native language, the NPC’s patience increases by 2 (to a maximum of 5). Chapter 4: Background has information on some of the languages in the game.
Motivations
Each NPC has at least two motivations the heroes can appeal to with their arguments. Arguments that appeal to an NPC’s motivation require an easier power roll to increase the NPC’s interest. Arguments that don’t appeal to a motivation require a more difficult power roll. See Making Arguments below for more information.
Each motivation can be successfully appealed to only once during a negotiation. To successfully appeal to a motivation, the heroes must use the motivation in an argument without mentioning one of the NPC’s pitfalls or being caught in a lie.
Pitfalls
Pitfalls are motivations that spark ire, discomfort, shame, fear, or some other negative response in an NPC. Using a pitfall in an argument causes an NPC’s interest and patience to wane. Each NPC has at least one pitfall, and many have at least two.
Pitfalls and motivations are two sides of the same concept. They’re presented below as a single list, because what might be a motivation for one NPC is a pitfall for another. Whenever the heroes make an argument, they risk stumbling into one of an NPC’s pitfalls unless they do their research beforehand or read the NPC well.
List of Motivations and Pitfalls
An NPC can have any of the following twelve motivations or pitfalls.
Benevolence
An NPC with the benevolence motivation believes in sharing what they have with others. However, an NPC involved in a negotiation must be limited in their benevolence, so that they don’t just give the heroes what they need.
Sometimes an NPC’s benevolence might extend only to a specific group of people, so that a benevolent pirate captain might share their plunder freely with the rest of their crew—but they’re still plundering! Other times, an NPC’s charity might be limited by the fact that they don’t have much to give. A benevolent NPC might be hesitant to give the heroes help because they believe their limited resources are more necessary or could do more good somewhere else.
An NPC with the benevolence pitfall has a cynical view of the world, believing that no creature has a right to anything just by being alive. The idea of helping others because it’s the right thing to do is a preposterous, immature, or inexperienced idea to be laughed off or snuffed out.
Arguments that appeal to a benevolence motivation contend that if the NPC strikes a deal with the heroes, the people the NPC cares about will benefit from the deal. Example arguments include the following:
- “If you lend us the Sword of Agathor, we can make Capital safer for your guild by using it to lay your enemies low.”
- “If you can teleport us into the dragon’s cave, we’ll give you half the wyrm’s hoard once we cut off the creature’s head. That could benefit generations of students at your academy!”
Discovery
An NPC with the discovery motivation wants to learn new lore, explore forgotten places, break ground with new experiments, or uncover artifacts lost to time. Their curiosity and quest for knowledge might be driven by a specific goal, such as seeking the cure for a rare disease or a portal to a specific far-off world. Or they could be a naturally inquisitive person who simply wants to understand all they can about the timescape.
An NPC with the discovery pitfall has no interest in finding new places, peoples, or ideas. It might be that the unknown scares them or makes them so uncomfortable that they’d rather remain ignorant. Alternatively, a previous pursuit of discovery might have turned out poorly for them.
Arguments that appeal to a discovery motivation contend that striking a deal with the heroes will allow the NPC to gain new knowledge or acquire unique property. Example arguments include the following:
“Allow us to use your cipher to translate the only copy of the Codex Mortis, and then we’ll let you read the book when we’re done.”
“We know the journey to Decant Isle is dangerous, but we’re going into uncharted territory. We thought that your crew of sailors might want to be among the few mortals to lay eyes on the place.”
Freedom
An NPC with the freedom motivation wants no authority above them and desires no authority over others. They might already have personal freedom and wish to maintain that status quo, or they might wish to liberate themself or others from someone else’s authority.
An NPC with the freedom pitfall believes that a world without authority is one in turmoil and chaos. They might even believe that they are the right person to rule, and that their ideals should be the ones that become the law of the land.
Arguments that appeal to a freedom motivation contend that by helping the heroes, an NPC will maintain or grant freedom to themself or other people. Example arguments include the following:
- “I know you want to have the queen’s authority revoked forever. She has no heirs. Give us the key to her study so that we can prove her corruption and give you a chance to topple the monarchy henceforth.”
- “If you promise to give us ten vials of Assassin’s Kiss, we’ll see to it that the baron’s prison is emptied.”
Greed
An NPC with the greed motivation desires wealth and resources above almost anything else. Sometimes these NPCs are misers, much like wyrms who hoard coins and gems but never spend or donate them. Others flaunt their wealth, viewing it as a sign of their station in life.
Greed-driven NPCs might share their wealth with a select group of people they love, such as a noble lord who indulges his children’s every desire. Some NPCs might be greedy for resources other than money, such as a demon who wants to collect and devour souls, or a troll lord who hungers endlessly for the flesh of others.
An NPC with the greed pitfall has no interest in accumulating wealth or other resources, and becomes offended if anyone tries to buy their partnership. They hold their ideals above material desires.
Arguments that appeal to a greed motivation contend that helping the heroes will increase the NPC’s wealth or assets. Example arguments include the following:
- “You should help us battle the overmind. Xorranox’s wealth is legendary, and we’ll see to it that you get your fair share.”
- “Give us a week to do research among your private collection of books, and we’ll give you another ten unique tomes we found in an ancient star elf sanctuary.”
Higher Authority
An NPC with the higher authority motivation remains staunchly loyal to a person or force they perceive as more important than themself. This higher authority could be an organization, a deity or being of great power, a formal leader such as a noble or monarch, a mystical presence or force the NPC might not fully understand, or a person the NPC sees as an informal authority figure (an older sibling, a personal hero, and so forth).
An NPC with the higher authority pitfall scoffs at the idea of serving another. The NPC might not believe that all people should be free, but they certainly believe that they personally shouldn’t have to answer to anyone.
Arguments that appeal to a higher authority motivation contend that it’s in the interest of the higher authority for the NPC to strike a deal with the heroes. A hero might even tell the NPC that if the higher authority were in the NPC’s position, they would take the deal. Example arguments include the following:
- “All great creations honor your god, Malus. If you teach me to forge the Hammer of Azdul, that will be a great honor to bestow upon your god.”
- “You know what Jarith the Bold would do? He’d guide us through the vast wasteland of the desert to reach the tower. Will you be our Jarith?”
Justice
An NPC with the justice motivation wants to see the righteous rewarded and the wicked punished, however subjective their sense of who or what is good and evil. A priest who venerates a god of nature might believe that all who protect plants and animals are righteous, and that those who harvest natural resources as miners and lumberjacks do must die. Having a justice motivation doesn’t necessarily make an NPC kind or charitable.
An NPC with the justice pitfall doesn’t believe that the timescape is an inherently just place, and has no interest in making it one. The world is eternal conflict, there is no such thing as justice, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a naive fool.
Arguments that appeal to a justice motivation position the heroes on the good side of an NPC’s sense of right and wrong. Example arguments include the following:
- “You despise those who steal from nature. Allow us peacefully into your wode so we may bottle the Blessed Spring’s water. We’re going to use it to stop an army from felling every tree and tearing up the earth wherever they go.”
- “You think nobles are lazy barons who get rich off the backs of peasants. We want to dethrone Lord Saxton. Lend us your crew of thieves, and we’ll make sure that when Saxton falls, the people can choose their own leaders.”
Legacy
An NPC with the legacy motivation desires fame while alive and acclaim that lasts long after their death. They hope others will know and remember their deeds, great or terrible. Some of these NPCs might even seek immortality through deification or undeath, so that the eventual shedding of their mortal coil doesn’t prevent them from continuing to make history.
An NPC with a legacy pitfall cares nothing about leaving a personal mark on the world. To them, such vain thinking is nothing but a waste of time.
Arguments that appeal to a legacy motivation contend that striking a deal with the heroes increases the likelihood that people will talk about the NPC for centuries to come. Example arguments include the following:
- “If you give us the vizier’s itinerary, I’ll compose a song about your bravery in defying him, then sing it in every tavern from here to Ix!”
- “Yes, losing the battle is a possibility. If we do, the gnolls will still come for you eventually. But if we crush our foes, imagine the honors, the histories, the poems, the statues—all of it created for you because your siege engines turned the tide.”
Peace
An NPC with the peace motivation wants calm in their life. Under typical circumstances, they want to be left alone to run their business, farm, kingdom, criminal empire, or whatever small slice of the timescape is theirs. Some such NPCs don’t have peace and
need help obtaining it, while others want their peaceful status quo to be maintained.
An NPC with the peace pitfall hates being bored. They want excitement, drama, and danger in their life. For them, there’s nothing worse than the status quo.
Arguments that appeal to a peace motivation contend that helping the heroes will earn the NPC some peace, at least for a little while. Example arguments include the following:
- “You have a good thing going here. A little burgling of nobles, some alcohol smuggling, and some illegal gambling dens. No one’s getting hurt, but Constable Cofax is closing in on you. We could redirect him toward some real danger to the community, if you can help us set a trap for the Watchmaker.”
- “I know you don’t sell to outsiders, but we need that helm. I’m going to use it to turn back a group of hobgoblins marching this way. They’re not going to be as friendly as us.”
Power
An NPC with the power motivation covets the authority of others. They want to increase their influence, no matter how great it already is, and maintain their domain. They might seek power through conquering others, the collection of artifacts, or through the infusion of supernatural rituals—though why choose one method when all three together achieve the best results? Some such NPCs are world-traversing tyrants, but the petty administrators of village organizations and shrines can covet power just as hungrily.
An NPC with the power pitfall has no interest in authority for themself. They might respect the authority of others, but they hate the thought of ruling over other people and roundly reject any suggestion of the idea.
Arguments that appeal to a power motivation contend that working with the heroes will increase or protect the NPC’s power. Example arguments include the following:
- “Everyone knows you should be running the watch, Percy. The old lady’s retiring, and our friend Baron Kuglar is naming the replacement. Now, you let us into the restricted armory, and we’ll put in a good word.”
- “We know he’s your brother, Your Highness, but he’s older—first in line for the throne. If you help us prove he’s in a cult, you become the favorite son.”
Protection
An NPC with the protection motivation has land, people, information, items, or an organization they want protected above all else. Keeping
their charge safe is a duty they hold dear, and aiding in that protection earns their favor. Most people have friends or family they wish to protect, but an NPC with the protection motivation believes in doing so at any cost.
An NPC with the protection pitfall is happy to leave others to fend for themselves. They don’t believe it’s their responsibility to protect anyone other than themself, and might be outright disgusted at the thought of risking their life or their property to protect others.
Arguments that appeal to a protection motivation contend that helping the heroes allows an NPC to better protect their charge. Example arguments include the following:
- “Dead soldiers grow the necromancer’s ranks. Total annihilation is the only way to defeat her. March with us now, while her army is small, and we’ll defeat her. Or you could gamble that someone else tries, fails, and suddenly she’s at the border, ready to overrun your kingdom with an army tenfold larger than what it is now.”
- “I understand your grandchild is hell-bent on joining the service. I happen to have a magic suit of armor that could help them ward off the blows of monsters and ruffians. I’d be happy to give it to you, in exchange for borrowing your griffons for a few days. After all, I won’t need the armor if I can simply fly over the marsh’s monsters.”
Revelry
An NPC with the revelry motivation just wants to have fun. They enjoy socializing at parties, thrill-seeking, or indulging in other hedonistic activities. Getting pleasure out of life while spending time with people they like is paramount to such NPCs.
An NPC with the revelry pitfall sees social encounters and hedonism as a waste of time. They take pleasure only in work or in building their own skills and character. Others who suggest immature debauchery are not worth their time.
Arguments that appeal to the revelry motivation contend that striking a deal with the heroes will allow the NPC to get back to reveling sooner, longer, or harder. Example arguments include the following:
- “How would you like to have the most exclusive songs for your exclusive birthday celebration next week? I’ll write you a whole original set list, free of charge… provided you extend me and my band here an invitation.”
- “I know you don’t want to forge five Chronokinesis Crowns. How’s this instead? You do that for me, and I’ll give you the fourteen kegs of whiskey we found in a steel-dwarf ruin. This stuff is old, unique, and forget-your-first-name potent. You can crack a keg with your friends to celebrate a job well done.”
Vengeance
An NPC with the vengeance motivation wants to harm another who has hurt them. Their desire for revenge could be proportional to the harm that was inflicted upon them, or they might wish to pay back their pain with interest. In some cases, a desire for vengeance can be satisfied only by the death of another, but an NPC might wish to pay back their own suffering with embarrassment, career failure, or some other less permanent pain.
An NPC with the vengeance pitfall believes that revenge solves nothing. They might have gained this belief firsthand, or they might simply not have the ambition to seek revenge—and they take a dim view of others who do.
Arguments that appeal to the vengeance motivation contend that the NPC can gain payback for their pain by helping the heroes. Example arguments include the following:
- “The servants of Ajax killed your sister as she scoured the city for his cults. The Black Iron Pact works for the Overlord. Give us her diaries, and we might uncover the pact’s hideaway and deal a great blow to your hated foes.”
- “That prankster Huckable made your trousers tear at the last council meeting. Don’t you want to pay him back? We can arrange a delicious prank at the next gathering, but we need you to guarantee the safety of the orc refugees.”
NPCs Change Over Time
Just like the heroes, NPCs in negotiations are complex individuals who can change over time. It’s possible that the heroes might have to negotiate with the same NPC for several different favors during the course of a campaign, over which time the NPC’s motivations and pitfalls might change. If the heroes turn a bandit captain with the greed and power motivations into a temporary ally, that criminal might learn from them, changing their ways to rob only those who exploit the poor and giving those earnings to people in need. The next time the heroes negotiate with the bandit captain, they have the benevolence and protection motivations.