It's popped up here and there, but has never gotten its own thread. I really like the NPC spawning system used in Ceren's Mill and it has great potential to be used elsewhere if built upon.

Overall, it may not be a huge undertaking, as the scripts are already there IIRC. All it is is creating spawns that trigger at certain points in the module, just like monster spawns but non-hostile. But depending on how involved we get with it, it would allow us to add a bit more depth and characterization to our settlements. It also may be a nice middle ground between people who like the pathing/talking NPCs(yours truly) and those who find them annoying. Instead of having the same NPC trek around a courtyard forever, they only show up when other people show up. And the NPC's that show up aren't always the same person. One time it might be a priest another it might be a group of kids playing tag, or a guard chasing a crook, who knows.

With this we could:

Create a distinguishable feel between daytime and nighttime in settlements. What's the nightlife like in our settlements? Who comes out after the sun goes down? Currently it's the same as the daytime which leads to some odd situations, like when you're standing in the street at 3am and there are children playing next to you.

We get to show two sides of a settlement through who spawns there, when. For instance, Kohlingen's biggest draw after its update was supposed to be there are more than goodly clerics and paladins there. It would be awesome to see some of these not necessarily evil, but less-than-noble folk show up after the ubiquitous street children have been tucked in for the night.

Allow chance encounters with... Anyone. Maybe a randomized-loot merchant spawns in the town center as you and your party walk by. Maybe you come across a bard band in the Nomad or Thirsty Marauder, and for a fee, they play your party an inspiring tune, similar to how the clerics-for-hire work in towns.

Unique spawned NPCs to the city would be possible to. Known figures or lesser officials and their entourages. "Guess who I saw in town today!" That sort of thing. Perhaps once the ball is rolling, mini-quests would even be a thing, where there are a few secret quests given out by NPCs that occasionally show up. This gives people incentive to traverse towns, rather than congregating in the same old spot they have for years.

Give real-time reflection of PC actions and settlement status. The fact that our PCs can often change the physical landscape of our settlements is amazing. The fact that it takes so long, because changes require a module update to last past a reset, is a saddening drawback. But there is hope, depending on how far we expand this system and combine it with others for settlements and faction areas.

If the Job System food coffers are empty, perhaps the chance of malnourished and starving NPCs spawning goes up. As PC's spend more in a settlement, or donate more to the group's chest fund, the appearance of beggars goes down and suddenly more merchants or rich folk show up. (Like it or not, adventurers are a significant part of some local economies). Donating books, reading material, etc, might lead a higher change of more learn'd, better speaking commoners marching around. You get the picture. Via NPC's spawned in real-time to the status of the settlement, our PC's can feel a greater and more immediate impact on their gameworld. It may not be blowing up a building or creating new farmland, but it'd be something.

_________________

Random encounters would be great. I'd love to see mercenaries, myself. Kind of summons for those without magic and UMD - you pay a sum for a "temporary" companion who'll act basically like a summon.

_________________
Mercadier - *sleeps six feet under the warm sands of Khem*
Alex - Life is adventure or nothing!
Eddie - Sex, drugs and rock'n... more sex.
=========
Obsidian (inactive)

While the mercenary idea is neat, that's a whole different discussion really. Also, there wouldn't really be a reason magic and umd character wouldn't be able to hire those companions too(a scrawny rogue or wizard hiring a body guard). Either way, it's an added level to game balance and solo-ing difficulty I don't think we're looking for at the moment.

The major goal with chance encounters would be, in general, to give people a reason to actively explore settlements. Even if you've been here for years, there is still the off-chance you'll see something new, rare, or just interestingly immersive.

_________________

I did not mean exclusively for non-magic, non-umd characters, I thought for everyone. But you are right, given the difficulty and game balance right now it's probably pointless.

But damn, the random encounters are neato. Random merchants with yellow items would be to die for!

_________________
Mercadier - *sleeps six feet under the warm sands of Khem*
Alex - Life is adventure or nothing!
Eddie - Sex, drugs and rock'n... more sex.
=========
Obsidian (inactive)

I'm not expecting something like this to happen overnight or even relatively soon with all that's going on, but I'm curious what our devs and toolset editors think of this suggestion.

As a first step all it should be is creating a few Encounters in settlements. The NPCS are already in the palette I imagine, so they can be selected from the Creature list.

_________________