The Gilligan Character

Another, probably more well-known character, would be C3PO. The Gilligan NPC is the guy who, either joins the Party, or is encountered by the Party as they travel. He wants to be helpful, but can’t help but really screw things up, at the worst possible time. He (or she) HAS to be extremely likeable, otherwise the Party will just leave them somewhere. The Party will wake up, and quietly leave town without letting the NPC know.

They may try to do that anyway, but fortunately, you, as DM have full control over that. As the Party is leaving the Inn, the Gilligan Character shows up outside, on the road to wherever the Party is going, all smiles, and ready for more adventure. Generally, there will be someone in the Party who just naturally wants to take pity on the Gilligan Character. Use that to your advantage. Have the Gilligan Character always take pains to help that member, and hardly ever mess up something that Party Member is doing.

It’s when a trap can be tripped, or an entrance (or even better, an exit) can be blocked, that the Gilligan character shows just how bad things can get. Again, they aren’t doing any of this purposely. They WANT the Party to do well, they just aren’t capable of it. In fact, you can make a show of rolling the dice just before the Gilligan character suddenly, and unknowingly allows that Displacer Beast out of its cage, by setting an object down on or next to, a switch that everyone is aware of, and it falls over, or otherwise trips the switch.

Helping the Party Like the NPC

One of the things you should do with any NPC that is going to play a large part in your Party’s Campaign, is create them exactly like a PC. In fact, I have several PCs that I have played, that are now NPCs I can call upon, whenever I need to. One of the advantages of creating the NPC like a regular PC, is that you learn who the NPC is, and you get to create a back story for them. That back story can help the Party feel like the NPC is a kindred spirit. It can also play deeply into your storyline.

This goes for any NPC you plan to have work with the Party for any length of time, not just the Gilligan Character. You have to have a believable back story that can be related, as they usually are, to the rest of the Party, as needed. The back story doesn’t need to be complex, but it must be deep enough to be believable. The NPC should never have to say “I don’t know” to a question about their history, unless of course, the NPC is suffering from some form of amnesia, which I have seen done as well. Usually that is part of the Quest, or Side Quest, to find out what happened to their memory.

The NPC, especially the Gilligan Character needs to be very likable. In fact, that NPC should have a 20 Charisma. Unlike your usual high Charisma characters, the Gilligan character doesn’t take advantage of it, they simply stumble their way through life, with most people making excuses for why they can’t ever seem to do anything right, or simply ignoring them.

Rolling The Character

If you’re going to create an NPC that the Party will be adventuring with, or spending a significant amount of time with, you might as well “roll” the character up. I put the word roll in quotes, because as the DM, you know what you need from an NPC, so you aren’t going to leave their stats to chance. If 10 is average for any given stat, the Gilligan is going to have very low scores for Strength, Stamina, Wisdom, and especially Dexterity. It’s their clumsiness that is going to get them into the most trouble.

They will have at least a 20 Charisma, because everyone who gets to know the character, is going to like them, or at least feel sorry for them. They can also have a very high intelligence score. I know PhDs who are incapable of tying their shoelaces. In fact, a clumsy Wizard, for a Gilligan Character, could be a lot of fun. Here is someone who has a lot of power, but is incapable of using it effectively.

When I roll up the NOC, I know what I need, and what I need usually, is someone to either scare the crap out of the Party, or who can keep them safe when needed. I suggest you never roll up a low-level NPC. Always make your NPCs much higher level than the Party, that way they can, when needed, (and it will be needed) step up and dispatch an enemy, or find a way to get the Party out of immediate danger, so they can lick their wounds. Even the Gilligan Character can do this. It’s especially effective, if the Gilligan Character finds a side tunnel in the dungeon, and calls the attention of the Party to it, then just as the “Bad Guys” start to follow the Party, the Gilligan trips a trap that causes the entrance to the side cave to collapse, giving the Party some breathing room to take healing potions, or even take a long rest.

Creating the Villain

Villains, especially, should be completely fleshed out. You need to know why the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG) is doing what he (or she) is doing. I don’t ever make the main Big Bad anything other than human, or humanoid. Orcs, Trolls and Goblins are all evil because that is their Nature, so I will use them as minions for the BBEG, but never make them the actual BBEG. They can appear to be the BBEG, for as long as you want to keep the Party in the dark about the REAL purpose of the Quest, but make the BBEG a Lich, or Necromancer, or Drow, or even someone they trusted.

The main thing to keep in mind, is always, ALWAYS make the BBEG relatable. I don’t care how evil the guy is, make their back story a tragedy that caused them to become what they are. The best villains are people who have actual reasons for doing what they do, and the really great ones have reasons that make you think that given the same circumstances, you night do the same.

A really good example of this is Gollum, as told in the Peter Jackson movies. In the books, Gollum is just a loathsome creature, but Jackson told us Smeegle’s back story, how he accidentally found the ring, and how it took him over, causing him to kill his brother. Gollum is pitiable, not because of who he became, but because he had no control over it. He simply had the misfortune to spot a shiny ring in the lake, and took it. The ring did the rest.

I expect I will do more on creating good villains. Villains drive the story, and your story is only as good as your villain.