You’re so random!
The Background Character Forge
By
Robin B. Devlin
Actors are told there are no small roles, only small actors. And what is a GM, if not part actor, part ringmaster, and part sleep-deprived caffeine elemental?
Our toolkit is vast, and improvisation sits right at the centre of it. But even the best of us fall into what I call Beige NPC Syndrome. You need a shopkeeper, a messenger, a guard and suddenly… they’re just a guy. No flavour. No spark. No reason for your players to remember them five minutes later.
This is my painted system for generating on-the-fly NPCs who prove that small roles can still cast long shadows.
| d8 | Gender |
| 1-4 | Male |
| 5-8 | Female |
| d8 | Hair colour |
| 1 | Bald |
| 2 | Blonde |
| 3 | Redhead |
| 4 | Brunette |
| 5 | Black |
| 6 | Silver |
| 7 | White |
| 8 | Dyed |
| d8 | Species |
| 1 | Human |
| 2 | Elf |
| 3 | Half elf |
| 4 | Dwarf |
| 5 | Halfling |
| 6 | Gnome |
| 7 | Tiefling |
| 8 | Dragonborn |
| d8 | Age |
| 1 | Very Young |
| 2 | Young |
| 3 | Youngish |
| 4 | middle-aged |
| 5 | Oldish |
| 6 | Old |
| 7 | Very Old |
| 8 | Ancient |
| d8 | Build |
| 1 | Tiny |
| 2 | Slight |
| 3 | Thin |
| 4 | Average |
| 5 | Athletic |
| 6 | Husky |
| 7 | Heavy |
| 8 | Obese |
| d8 | Eye colour |
| 1 | Blue |
| 2 | Grey |
| 3 | Green |
| 4 | Hazel |
| 5 | Brown |
| 6 | Lavender |
| 7 | Amber |
| 8 | Different colours (roll twice) |
| d8 | Personality & Presence |
| 1 | Polite but irrittaed |
| 2 | Nervious/twitchy |
| 3 | Quite/intense |
| 4 | Friendly, loud and invasive |
| 5 | Cheerful (despite obvious hardship) |
| 6 | Bored/disengaged |
| 7 | Suspicious |
| 8 | Suspicious of everyone |
| d8 | Motivation |
| 1 | Looking to make quick coin |
| 2 | Avoiding something |
| 3 | Looking for something |
| 4 | Trying to impress someone |
| 5 | Running from something |
| 6 | Just want to be left alone and do their job |
| 7 | Looking for information |
| 8 | Wants to run away |
| d8 | Secret |
| 1 | Owes money to dangerous people |
| 2 | Is a (bad) spy |
| 3 | Knows a crucial (true) rumour |
| 4 | Has a hidden magical ablity |
| 5 | Recently comnitted a crime |
| 6 | Is being blackmailed |
| 7 | Saw something they shouldn’t have |
| 8 | Secret love affair |
| d8 | Voice / Mannerism |
| 1 | Whispers all the time |
| 2 | Talks too fast, trips over words |
| 3 | Overuses a strange phrase |
| 4 | Never makes eye contact |
| 5 | Laughs at inappropriate moments |
| 6 | Speaks in overly formal language |
| 7 | Constantly interrupts |
| 8 | Long pauses before answering |
| d8 | Detail/Quirk |
| 1 | Always eating |
| 2 | Keeps checking pocket |
| 3 | Smells strongly of ale/spice/smoke |
| 4 | Talks to themselves |
| 5 | Gesticulates while talking |
| 6 | Talks to themselves |
| 7 | Collects something odd (teeth, pebbles etc) |
| 8 | Overdressed/underdressed for the situation |
| d8 | Reaction to the Party |
| 1 | Likes them immediately |
| 2 | Distrustful but cooperative |
| 3 | Afraid of them |
| 4 | Sees them as marks/rubes |
| 5 | Immediately hates (1-4) or loves (5-8) one of them at random |
| 6 | Indifferent |
| 7 | Immediately dislikes them all |
| 8 | Has heard rumours about them |