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The Game Master’s Book of Non-Player Characters – A Review with Bonus Content

In any great RPG, the world is more than just the main characters—it’s filled with shopkeepers, mercenaries, nobles, rogues, and all the colorful individuals who give the setting its depth. The Game Master’s Book of Non-Player Characters provides over 500 fully realized NPCs, each with unique Wants and Needs, an inventory, and a secret or obstacle to keep things interesting. Whether you need a quick tavern keeper or a full-fledged villain in disguise, this book ensures you’ll never run out of memorable personalities.

A Cast for Every Corner of the World

The book divides its NPCs into four key sections, making it easy to find the perfect character for any setting:

• Big City Denizens – The bustling metropolis is alive with schemers, merchants, aristocrats, and streetwise rogues.
• Small Town Tenants – The heart and soul of rural settlements, from blacksmiths to town elders.
• Outskirts and Outposts – The wandering mercenaries, wilderness guides, and frontier survivalists found beyond civilization’s reach.
• Under Dwellers – The shadows hide everything from thieves’ guild informants to strange subterranean beings.

Each of these sections also includes a collection of Oddballs & Outsiders—the true gems of the book. These are the NPCs that long-time players will be drawn to, the weird, eccentric, and unpredictable personalities who make the world feel alive.

More Than Just Names and Faces

What makes this book truly stand out is how every NPC comes with built-in adventure hooks:

• Wants & Needs – What does this character desire? What motivates them?
• What They’re Carrying – Because sometimes a strange trinket is all it takes to spark a side quest.
• Secrets & Obstacles – A hidden truth, a personal struggle, or a past that could come back to haunt them.

This setup ensures that every NPC, no matter how minor, has a purpose in the world beyond just filling space.

Tools for Improvisation and Adventure

On top of the massive NPC catalog, the book includes:

• Three one-shot adventures, ready to run with the NPCs from the book.
• A random NPC selection table, allowing you to roll and instantly generate a new character from any section.
• A side quest generator, proving that sometimes the dice know best when it comes to storytelling.

Why limit yourself to picking one NPC when you can roll for fate to decide?

NPC Spotlight: Sprocket “Rustfingers” Wembly

Gnome Tinkerer & Accidental War Criminal

Sprocket Wembly is a gnome inventor with an unfortunate habit of creating highly illegal—and occasionally sentient—devices. He once worked as a respected engineer in a bustling city but was exiled after one of his automated clockwork servants started a rebellion in the noble district. Now, he wanders the outskirts of civilization, selling his questionable contraptions and avoiding bounty hunters sent to drag him back for trial.

Despite his past troubles, Sprocket is incredibly charismatic, quick-witted, and always two steps ahead of his pursuers. He sets up shop in abandoned outposts, traveling fairs, or deep in the seedy underbelly of major cities where rules are more like “polite suggestions.” If the party is looking for exotic gadgets, black-market automata, or experimental explosives that may or may not work as intended, Sprocket is their guy. Just don’t ask too many questions about his blueprints.

Wants & Needs

• Sprocket desperately wants to clear his name, but that would require proving his innocence—or at least shifting the blame elsewhere.
• He needs test subjects for his newest inventions. Brave adventurers willing to risk spontaneous combustion are preferred.
• He seeks the lost blueprint of his greatest creation, a mechanical guardian named Brass Behemoth, which was stolen by a rival inventor.

Secret & Obstacle

• Secret: Sprocket still maintains a failsafe device for the rogue automatons that got him exiled. If anyone finds out, he could be forced to turn it over to either the authorities or his vengeful creations.
• Obstacle: There’s a 10,000 gold bounty on his head, and bounty hunters or rival inventors could show up at the worst possible time to collect.

What He’s Carrying

• Clockwork Bird – A tiny mechanical bird that can deliver whispered messages up to a mile away. It occasionally bursts into flames.
• The “Boomer Key” – A self-destruct key designed for his failed inventions. The problem? He forgot which device it actually goes to.
• Gnome-Sized Parachute – A crude but functional parachute that only works for creatures of small size. Medium or larger creatures plummet at terminal velocity.
• Mysterious Gearbox – A complex, rune-etched gear mechanism with no apparent function. If activated, it hums ominously.

Sprocket can be a recurring NPC, either as an ally, a source of questionable technology, or a wildcard that gets the party into (or out of) trouble. If they earn his trust, he might even craft them custom gear—though whether it actually works is another matter entirely. If you want to get a copy of this book, pick it up here.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!