Non-Party PCs

[Manofdusk]

A Non-Party PC is essentially a character that doesn't show up in the party roster and never takes to the battlefield but is still "part of the party" and takes part in cutscenes and such (and may have some sort of effect on the battle). A good example of this is Gig from Soul Nomad or that fairy in Bravely Default (I can't remember her name offhand). Generally the reason is because they either don't have a body or are too small to actually fight... though they could also be a noncombatant.


Now... what about using this technique for a character who CAN fight? What would be some things to look out for?

As for the reason I'd like to use this technique: The character in question is a veteran fighter, really high level... to the point where having him on the actual battlefield would ruin the story. However, he sells out his skills as a mercenary... a "you pay, I cast spells" type of deal.

So his character actually works better as a skill for the main character (there are also times you can just pay him to bypass an obstacle instead of taking the circuitous route. For example: Big metal door blocks your path. you can a) search for the key or b) pay this guy to disintegrate the door). Also, if you die to a boss, you'll see this character walking away (he makes it pretty clear early on that he doesn't care about your quest and doesn't even really like you all that much)

So I'm interested in what you guys think about the pros and cons of using a character like this and what kinds of story elements would be good to have there to avoid the fridge logic of "why doesn't he just do X?"

 

[The Mighty Palm]

This reminds me of that summon from FFX. dont remember his name.

I think it's a real neat idea. Maybe raise his rates every time you use him with some variable witchcraft. Or pull a FFVI's Shadow and have him leave the party. You could say he left because he feels like he's not getting paid enough or you're wasting his time.

You really only need to give him a motivation for doing what he does to make it work. Why does he need the money? Is he an addict? Is it for someone else? Why doesnt he care about your quest? Depression or Apathy? There's a lot you can do with this character and I see no reason not to use him.

Dont be afraid of minor plot holes, just do your best to kick some dirt into them as you go.

 

[Wavelength]

Also, if you die to a boss, you'll see this character walking away (he makes it pretty clear early on that he doesn't care about your quest and doesn't even really like you all that much)

I really, really love this. I can't read it without grinning a little.

I'm usually hot-or-cold on the "support NPC" in RPGs, but in your case I think this kind of character sounds a pretty cool feature from both a storytelling and gameplay-mechanic point of view. I like that you have a good deal of control over when you "use" him.

One little hole I can think of is that even if he doesn't care about your quest, in theory you'd think he'd want to protect his client (source of revenue) and overall just do a good job at what he's been hired for. A good handwave for this which could also make for a good balancing lever is to say that his brand of magic (or some defect in his body) makes it extremely painful or extremely exhausting for him to case spells. This will justify why he's not willing to fight as a "regular" in your battle party even for any amount of money, and also will allow you to limit the number of times the player can use this overpowered (though costly) skill in a single battle or dungeon run.

 

[Alexander Amnell]

I actually do this to an extent, though the overpowered character serves more for the difficulty spike than as a skill monkey. Basically instead of normal difficulties I only worry about balancing my game as itself and my difficulties are "Perfectionist" and "Lore and Story" where the only differences between the two are "Lore and Story" turns on a switch that activates a once per battle event whenever the entire parties combined hp dips below 15% where the overpowered character casts a troop-specific overpowered skill that either restores the party or cripples the enemy's ability to massacre you for a couple of turns to let the party get back on it's feet. Sort of a second wind if you will so that if a player does well in battle there is absolutely no difference in the difficulty levels and the difference only takes effect at the moment where you have pretty much lost (in playtests where the second wind skill activates but the effects have been disabled I as the developer have been able to turn a fight around after said activation in less than 1% of tests where I played badly enough to allow it to proc, having only ever won two battles that way so far) the battle anyway.

I like supporting side characters, and I especially like the vibes that OP ones give where it is clear that the player's battle party is not comprised of the greatest warriors of history. honestly especially these days where games balance to make player characters all but immortal that as probably the most overused trope of all time and actually turns me off at this point and I enjoy games that let you get your ass handed to you now and then, only to have someone else come along and save the day. Makes the world feel more real to me.

 

[Manofdusk]

My idea is that there are undercurrents to the game. On the surface, it's a standard "tropy" fantasy rpg where the hero of prophesy sets out on a quest to defeat the evil general who stole the Maguffin to take over the kingdom.

BUT there are other things at play. The "mercenary" is actually watching you and gauging what type of person you are. The money isn't really what he's interested in... but, at the same time he has to be careful with how much help he gives lest he draw unwanted attention to himself. So, he masquerades as a "sub-contractor" to the adventurer's guild (adventurers that other adventurers hire. This is generally frowned upon by other adventurers and viewed as leeching off others)

The only way to really win this character over, such that he's more than mildly ambivalent toward your party, is to display that you are a decent human being and willing to pay him a lot (and attempt to engage him even when he's actively trying to keep his distance).

Since I like to use evented fights even for random encounters, I actually had the idea where you could pay this character to fight the battle for you. You get 3 choices:
Overkill: Least expensive, no items
Just Enough Kill: Moderately expensive, common item drops
Kill Them Softly: Very expensive, can get rare item drops

so you CAN actually pay him to end the fight for you without ever needing to enter the battle screen... or you can just pay him to help during the fight on a spell-by-spell basis so you can accumulate xp.

 

[OwMeEye]

Hmm, sounds interesting. Haha, it would be interesting to have something like that, but instead, after you are defeated the character grabs your unconscious body and carries it off your "respawn location". Just thinking about games in general, kind of tricky to do in the older rpg makers. I wonder if there are some rpg maker games or some games from other engines which did this before...

Or, another fun idea is if the mercenary character is actually the main antagonist all along. I think stuff like that has been done before in some games.

Other than that, all of your ideas are pretty interesting.

 

[Manofdusk]

Another idea I had while at work: the mercenary is actually an illusion (one he can see and cast spells through). The actual cost to actually summon him in person is astronomical (to the point that you'll likely be near max level yourself by the time you get that much). Your current arrangement with him is his "cut rate" policy where you basically call him when you need him for a small fee. It also explains why he's not in the party roster.

The thought of him carrying you off is an interesting mechanic. Maybe he could teleport you out of danger and back to a town for a fee... though that does make it so that, as long as you have enough money, you're basically immortal. Hmmm, perhaps a system that gives you permanent states if you fall in battle like that (though that's a topic for another thread entirely )