Not DnD, Part 5 (Patreon)

This prior month wasn't terribly productive! I've been having some issues with asthma and allergies - probably still mold related - and it has really been a drag on my ability to sleep. The past few days have felt, not solved, but at least under control.

Anyway! Today's episode includes one of those moments in a roleplaying game that I think is interesting where you have a crossroads of solutions. I don't usually include DMPCs in my games, but when I do, they're handy for jumping in and suggesting to the players an alternate route to their destination. That's important if they're clearly trying to achieve something and they're taking positive steps, but you as the GM see some obvious logistical hurdle ahead of them, such as having to wait two weeks for paperwork to go through.

For our current ongoing campaign, there's an NPC aboard the party's space ship named "Bernie" who only appears to drop the occasional random hint or bit of advice. He appears so rarely that they often forget he's there, but they've accepted he's an important part of the crew and probably sweeps the floor, or something. You don't always need a character like that, because sometimes you can have a receptionist at the point of entry help the players, but sometimes they're making plans in private and it's nice to have an NPC there with an excuse to listen in and point out that the plan will work so long as we file all the paperwork a week in advance.