OK, so you have this big, convoluted adventure with lots of twists and turns and dozens of NPCs.  How do you like it presented?  All three formats seem to have their pros and cons.  

#1 provides the scenario's major players up front, making it easier to understand how they fit in, but you might not want to wade through all those NPCs to get to the meat of the adventure.  

#2 drops you right into the story, but without knowing who the NPCs are you get flooded with a lot of faceless names and have to flip back and forth to put them in context.  

#3 is probably the best option for reading purposes, but could be a pain when trying to locate stats for a specific NPC, especially one who appears multiple times in the adventure.  

In the end, it's really not that big of a deal.  I was just curious as to what format people preferred.  

Pete

Wow. That...really depends, for me, on what the NPCs are primarily 'for'.

If it's a web of intrigue of plotting, poison in the bedsheets and knives in the dark kind of adventure, I want the NPCs up front. I want to know what they want and why they want it first, then tell me how they go about it.

If they're big bundles of XP and loot with faces, toss 'em at the end. I'll make myself some reference sheets I can write on anyway, so it'll be easier to find them all at once for me.

If, on the other hand, it's more complicated than that - Dragon Mountain, f'rex, which is pretty huge - I'd like enough stats to work with right there in the adventure text, and preferably a sheet included in the set that's effectively their character sheet.

Gee, the wording in your poll description might be a tad biased, wouldn't you say...?  

Personally, I like having all the NPCs collected in one place at the back of the material.  That way, if I'm not on the page where the NPC is introduced, I don't have to go hunting frantically through the book looking for his information.  I like being able to flip to one spot to find the information quickly.

Quote from: Tom BGee, the wording in your poll description might be a tad biased, wouldn't you say...?  

How so?  If you're talking about the italics, I have no idea why it did that.  This is actually my first attempt at a poll.  

Pete

#4 - Introduce the key NPCs when they're encountered, but provide all detailed stats as a separate section at the end.  Repeat material if you have to, or make them available as separate downloads on your website.

Quote from: pspahnHow so?  If you're talking about the italics, I have no idea why it did that.  This is actually my first attempt at a poll.  

Pete

No, I'm talking about your descriptions of each option in the first post.

Quote from: Anemone#4 - Introduce the key NPCs when they're encountered, but provide all detailed stats as a separate section at the end.  Repeat material if you have to, or make them available as separate downloads on your website.

Winner.

- Q

So, if you went with #4, with the npc's presented in the adventure when they show up, and then a master sheet presenting all of them. Would you just want stat material on the master sheet? Meaning, the master sheet wouldn't include any background/character details beyond stats. . . or should the master sheet also include that information?

#5 Have NPC's introduced throughout the material, then copy down or photocopy or scan their stats for later use.

I guess this is a request to publishers. I like encountering the NPC's in detail when they show up in the material. I also like their important info to not be cut across pages if it'd fit in one or less. Though it isn't a huge issue.

Quote from: Rick HersheySo, if you went with #4, with the npc's presented in the adventure when they show up, and then a master sheet presenting all of them. Would you just want stat material on the master sheet? Meaning, the master sheet wouldn't include any background/character details beyond stats. . . or should the master sheet also include that information?

Depends vastly on the system and adventure, but in general I'd be happy with the master sheet containing just the stats and related info (e.g., favourite tactics).  A thumbnail of the picture would be nice too (bigger picture near the background info in the flow of the adventure, small thumbnail near the stats for easy reference.)  If the book is printed in colours, some colour-coding is useful.

Now, this is assuming a system with medium-to-high crunch factor, such as M&M, Shadowrun, GURPS, Hero, Traveller, etc.  If we're talking a streamlined system such as Over The Edge, Wushu, PDQ, Risus, DitV, etc. then by all means please print all the information in both places; it's not going to be prohibitive in terms of space.

As people are already saying, put the NPC's description, motivation, pertinence to the plot, etc. right where they belong in the scenario, and then at the end make a single reference sheet.

I would add the tidbits:

– the reference sheet be single page, clear, etc. so that it can be photocopied by the GM as reference in his notes.

- the NPC write-ups should be in sidebars on odd-numbered pages, and shaded or boxed or something. This makes them stand out and easy to find on a flip-through. I hate flipping around a book trying to find a write-up to figure out whether it was Sir Dangle Thundertestes or the Countess Moundsofjoy who knew the location of the legendary sword Flapjack.

I prefer distinct sections for intro, NPC, Magic, treasure, and adventure so that its easier to break apart and customize.

I like my major NPC's detailed up front but can publishers please remember to reference the page they're on when they come up in the scenario. Cannon fodder should be statted when they're met.

if they're cannon fodder, i wouldn't even consider them NPCs.  

my vote is stats-in-the-back.  i like 'em all in one place too.

#3 was a great strength of WLD, while reverting to an appendix of NPC stats arguably sucked a lot of the utility out of WLC. That and the alck of any index or bulleted table of contents. WLC has a lot of great content, but its utility is crippled severrely as 'for use in actual play' product So, yeah, #3 rocks for products intended to be used in actual play.