Digging Deep for an NPC: The Murder of Trini Bezz

Role players go to many places to find inspiration for their characters. Movies, books and Pinterest, or heroic idealized versions of themselves. I knew a guy who only played characters based on his pets, (the Tabixi bard was particularly interesting). But what if these still fall short? Have you ever modeled a character after people you know?  With a bit of research, actual people and other real-life encounters can be crafted into the best fantasy characters. The following is a story of one such journey.

"Trini Bezz" by artist Rick Harris as she
appeared in Royalty and Rogues, FASA 1994. 

Trini Bezz first appeared in Royalty and Rogues, a Mechwarrior 2^nd edition scenario pack for the Battletech universe published by FASA in 1994. I played the module (many) years ago and I wanted a similar Non-Playing-Character for our current Battletech campaign.  We needed a regular jumpship captain that would transport the characters around from star system to star system and, I had been creating a murder mystery as a break from the normal ‘contract work’ the mercenaries usually received. I expanded the Trini Bezz character with some additional details:

Born on An Ting in 2972, Trini was a brilliant mathematician and technical engineer. She and her lover, took positions on an interstellar jumpship, Inception VII, she as the ship’s chief navigator. They saw the stars together and eventually married. In an effort to save a group of noble passengers from a pirate attack, her partner was killed. Trini was heralded as a hero, and backed by new and gracious noble investors, was awarded a captain’s share in aging jumpship called the Distant Apogee. However, she made the difficult choice to leave Alexi, their one year old daughter with Trini’s sister to be raised on An Ting.

In 3028, while performing routine repairs on the Hephaestus Station, Alexi was killed in a terrorist attack. The mastermind was never caught and Trini spends the rest of her free time tracking down her daughter’s killer. Trini wasn’t very present in Alexi’s life, (this created tension between her and her sister on An Ting,) but she saw even less of her granddaughter, Aurora.

In 3049, Trini Bezz is diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. She puts up a good fight, but because she has spent so much time in space at zero-G, she can’t receive proper medical attention on gravity normal worlds. Her treatments on remote hospital stations threaten to put the ship in the red. With only a short time to live, she wishes to reconnect with her granddaughter Aurora, who has followed in her mother’s footsteps as a promising aerospace engineer.

3051, (present). Trini has tracked down her daughter’s killer, and fearing that the authorities won’t consider her evidence compelling enough, plots to frame him for her murder. Furthermore, she has a life insurance policy, (with clauses that exclude suicide and her pre-existing condition of cancer,) which she wills to her granddaughter with hopes that she uses the money to pull the ship out of arears with the creditors.

This model from the Advanced Style 

blog inspired our ‘modernized’ conception 

of the Trini Bezz character.

Trini Bezz is a wonderfully flawed and tough character. Fragile of body, (not just because of age and deteriorating health, but also because of muscular atrophy from a lifetime spent in microgravity,) yet she makes up for it with a hardened will, focused mind and a laser tongue. She keeps her crew in line with her foul mouth and by staying one step ahead of everything. Yet, with age comes wisdom, and she was reaching out in ways unfamiliar to her, trying to ready those few that mattered to her for her impending death. I fell in love with her character concept.


We have all had players simply ‘not care’ about plot hooks before and go off on tangential threads of their own. I blame this on poorly conveyed NPCs. There can be a dozen other reasons of course, but at least this answer puts some control back into your hands as a game master. You want your players to WANT to pursue your story line, and since I was enamored with this character’s story, I needed to do her some justice. I wanted it to be as real as real can get.

Some of the players already had several endearing experiences with her aboard the Distant Apogee. A couple of years ago, (both in game and out of game), the characters had brought onboard cute furry pets called kooz-kooz they purchased from a shady merchant. The fuzzy creatures mimicked whatever they heard like parrots but they looked like a ‘Furbie’ toy with feathery antennae. Like the classic Star Trek episode, Trouble with Tribbles, the kooz-kooz had a knack for escaping their containers and rapid reproduction. Before too long, they had infested the entire jumpship. After the characters made several failed attempts at population control, Trini finally ordered everyone to suit up and space the entire ship. The characters spent the greater part of a day push-brooming the asphyxiated fur-balls out an air lock. Yes, it was some comedic relief, but the point was made: Trini Bezz doesn’t mess around.

Now, with two new women playing at the table, I really wanted to make Trini resonate, especially with them. Trini was dying and suddenly willing to share some deep wisdom. I wanted them to have some ‘Trini-time’ and heartfelt discussions with her. Something important, no, crucial. Nuggets of wisdom to pass along to young women, up and coming in the galaxy. What the hell would Trini say?Where was I to go when my own life experiences have been so different? There’s a million blogs articles on “Three Ways to Make NPCs your Party Will Remember.” That’s all good and fine for those quick, impromptu NPCs you need when your party spontaneously decides they want to put on a wedding or open a shop rather than explore the dungeon delve you’ve spent three weeks detailing. Do I simply copy a humorous movie grandmother? Use a prop or practice up a new accent? Certainly, I could do better than that. This will sound mawkish, but I wanted to find the REAL Trini Bezz. I searched my friends list to see who I could interview, starting with family.

My mother drives an old clunker and I’ve been trying to get her into a new car for years. It’s not the money, she’s just stubborn because it reminds her of dad who passed away. I’ve listed off all the logical reasons for a new car, safety, reliability and modern aesthetics. She just smiles at that one:

“I don’t care what other people think about me.”

It’s a simple declaration, one we all make from time to time but don’t really mean. Mom, however, does, and she lives it too. It’s probably the strongest statement I’ve ever heard, and from a woman that IS ‘resilience’. I watch people’s opinions wash over her like salty waves on a jetty. That is her independence, her freedom and her strength.

I was told by an older friend that she experienced a moment in her life when she realized that most men had stopped listening to her. On one hand, she found it refreshing, that her looks were no longer always being scrutinized, but conversely, her opinions and requests were now ignored. Men who used to look her in the eye and hung on her every word, now belittled her with ‘terms of endearment’ as if she had reverted to childhood. Older men, by contrast, are carefully heeded due to a perception that with age, they have unlocked secrets to wealth and power. Your mileage with ageism may vary, but as I observed the world around me, I found this phenomenon to be absolutely true. Her testimony affected me for many reasons and on various levels, but it makes you realize that other people’s life experiences are not just dissimilar, they can be fundamentally different from our own.

I used to play cribbage with my wife’s grandmother between classes at college. She’s gone now, and I really treasure those moments I got to spend with her. She was an amazing card player and could peg the living hell out of you. Didn’t matter where she was on the board, you were never safe. She was also an incredible shit-talker. I had summoned some courage (maybe it was the hand?) and zinged the old woman. I honestly can’t remember the exact jab, but it challenged her ‘wholesomeness’ if you will and I’m sure a descriptor similar to ‘tramp’ was used. As usual, she never missed a beat:

“Oh please. I was giving blowjobs in the parking lot of a McDonalds long before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye.”

Wow. She even removed her oxygen tube to accentuate the delivery. She snorted and laughed hysterically, (word choice intentional). It’s a retort you don’t try to answer because you can’t beat it. You just lost, and you probably the card game too. Fact was, GG just doesn’t keep up with the big dogs, she IS the big dog – and don’t forget it.

A few years later, after she had passed, I related the story to some of the family. The grandkids loved it and they had some similar, tales of lewd remarks made by Grammy, but the aunts didn’t believe me and didn’t want to hear it. I tried to explain the context: that we were talking smack, bantering back and forth and that maybe that was just her way of pulling one over on me. They told me I was lying and remained pretty upset by the whole thing. Whatever, I was there and I know what she said, and now I was feeling even more honored because I got to see a side of her she didn’t always share with everyone.

Time to dig again. I interviewed a couple of female friends and explained my situation, how that I, a middle aged male, could have no idea what this veteran jumpship captain would tell someone, (not just anyone, but a group of young women, who were newly up-and-coming heroines of the galaxy). Were they willing to share any truths or advice they received from a grandmother or another powerful woman that profoundly changed their outlook or positively affected them somehow? My friends do not disappoint.

One woman was surprised when her grandmother abruptly started advising her about sex:

“Keep your tits, pits and cooch clean, and always keep a new pair of underwear in your purse. You just never know.”

My friend confessed, “In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been shocked, and I hope my reaction didn’t offend her.” This wasn’t some ‘cute thing’ Grammy said, (and nothing would be more insulting to her grandmother than to frame it as such). Just because sex changes for us as we age, our need for affection doesn’t, and to devalue someone’s knowledge of a topic based on their age is preposterous. She was very touched that her grandmother was thinking about her wellbeing, and it was an important lesson: you don’t always know when the opportunity for intimacy will pop up. You may not have expected it, so you got to be ready.

Moving on.

Another friend related a story told by her mother who had passed away when she was in her teens.

“Find your dreams and let them take you wherever you want to go, but do it because you want it. Don’t chase someone else’s dream.”

It was difficult for her to tell me this story because she feared her mother was relating some regret. It takes time for some of us to sort through what other people want of us and what we truly need for ourselves as people. Whether we realize it or not, this is a dilemma we all face. Maybe some only realize it fully, after it’s too late. Actually, it was something I needed at that exact time to hear.

Trini could swear with the best of them. How do you keep a seldom paid crew, working long hours, and lightyears from their homes from becoming mutinies? Intimidation. Her voice and accent was inspired by another [unnamed] friend. She’s a southy from Boston and she knows cuss words that can cut the paint off a battleship.  It’s frightening and endearing, all at the same time. The crew of the Distant Apogee was quick to remind guests to mind their manners while travelling with Trini Bezz.

             "Don't let her size fool you. The Captain can kick the balls of a bull in zero-G."

No one wants to be labeled, or have the broad assumptions applied to them that go along with those labels. Belonging to an age group, says nothing about a person as an individual, and it is just as unfair as making speculations about a person based on their race or ethnicity. The players stumbled over this more than once. Unbeknownst to the heroes, Trini had orchestrated the passage of the man suspected of killing her daughter: the destroyer of the Hephaestus Station. She excused herself from the breakfast table after grabbing an emptied plate and juice cup from him and headed towards the kitchen. One of the characters followed her, trying to be helpful but full of inaccurate assumptions.

“Is there anything I can do to help with dishes?” He said.

“Dishes? Shut your whore-mouth! I’m the captain of this fucking ship, you think I’m doing the dishes?” She snorted.

“No, er… I’m sorry Captain Bezz. I just wanted to help.” He stammered.

“You wanna help? Don’t fucking patronize me, kid.”

She stomped off with the plate and cup towards her private quarters, (a clue). She had taken them to get a DNA sample of the man she suspected to be her daughter’s murderer. One last confirmation before she made her move and sealed his fate.

In the end, Trini lured the man to the gravity deck where she confronted him with a data disk of military records, traced bank accounts and a DNA profile. He denied everything of course, and though the evidence was convincing, it was still largely circumstantial. She swallowed some pain meds and played the ‘kindly old lady’ one last time. “Could you adjust the gravity down a bit? It’s hard for me to breath.” As the security cameras later showed, he moved to the console to work the controls. Instead of lowering the gravity, the system had been cleverly rigged. The deck spun faster and faster, increasing its RPMs and the centrifugal forces grew stronger until the killer was 4.2 times his normal weight, pinned to the floor. Trini, frail from a life in microgravity, lost consciousness and was soon crushed. Murdered, as it appeared.

Minutes later, the grav deck stopped spinning and the destroyer of Hephaestus Station fled the bloody scene with the data disk in hand. Of course, he was later discovered trying to destroy the disk and after an exciting attempt at escape, the party took him prisoner to be handed over to proper authorities.

There were other suspects on the Distant Apogee that needed to be investigated: repossession specialists from the Bank of New Avalon, a jealous 1^st Mate and mysterious Comstar personnel, but in time, they were cleared. Though it appeared he had worked the controls to sabotage the grav deck, the players eventually realized that Trini Bezz was not murdered, but carefully orchestrated her own suicide. What to do now? Do they tell the truth about the ‘murder’ or allow the insurance money to be collected by Aurora? What would you do for a friend?

I was able to pull off some nice moments with Trini and the characters before the incident on the grav deck occurred. Most of the real life conversations above occurred in some form or another plus a few others when the party asked questions. I had spent so much time thinking about Trini, it wasn’t hard to deliver impromptu conversations in harmony with her many difficult life events.  

“I left her on An Ting because I wasn’t good enough to be her mother. I ran to the stars because I wanted to be.”

‘The Murder of Trini Bezz’ arch took three sessions to unravel, a bit long for a murder mystery but the players remained engaged. After she was gone, the party was pretty shaken up and eager to right an injustice. In the end, I think the character of Trini Bezz filled her role in furthering the plot, but also came across effectively in a manner that touched the party. Of course, you can’t spend hours researching every character in your game. They don’t get enough play time to warrant it, and there’s only so much energy in your daily grind for NPC creation.  

It’s a cliché perhaps, that it’s about the journey, not the destination, but in the case of creating Trini Bezz, nothing could be truer. I would like to think that all of these remarkable real life women I spoke to or learned about through the voices of those they touched, all shined through in some way. Certainly they impacted me as I learned about them. As creators of the gaming experience, we don’t get to portray a character as a player. Our NPCs are our outlets, and the process of writing their story really feeds my creative urge. Learning and exploring their world gives them life, and I believe I learned something about the real world as well.



Image Sources:

"Trini Bezz" by Rick Harris as featured in Royalty & Rogues, FASA 1994 

2011, December 6. DO WE LOSE THE LONGING FORSELF-EXPRESSION AS WE AGE?

Five Low-Tech Tools Every RPG Needs

The hardest part of change isn't accepting a new idea, it's admitting that our old systems and techniques have become antiquated. We spend so much time learning and perfecting them, perhaps even gaining some prestige or notoriety for our efforts, only to find the world has moved on and our methods have become obsolete. I started playing RPGs in 1982, so I am no stranger to this phenomenon. But as the old cliche goes, 'some things never change.' Here are some tried and true low-tech tools that will stand the test of time. They will speed up and enhance your player's game without the learning curve that comes with new tech.


Double-Sided Initiative Tracker - An online initiative tracker doesn't draw everyone to the same space around the table and if you simply make a sheet and lay it flat, the DM/GM and maybe some of the players, are forced to read it upside down. When people ask me how to increase the speed of combat, this one tool has proven to be the most effective solution. Everyone knows who is up next and as a result, choose their actions more quickly. I find that players tend to use the hold action option more often, waiting for other supportive party members to act in order to produce more coordinated combat results. When players know where they stand in the initiative order, it enhances their ability to act as a team.

Here is the DM/GM's view from my laptop. The clothes pins don't fit around the edge so I used a small piece of cardboard and packing tape to make a clip-edge. I've seen them made with a 12" dowel and base from a craft store. This can be painted and decorated with little plastic skulls, etc. What a great gift idea for your favorite DM/GM!!!

Here is the tracker from the players' view. Everyone is on the same page now!

Dry Erase Map boards - These are relatively cheap but I prefer the blank ones over the pre-printed dungeons. With a few color markers, you can make blue water, green bushes and giant bloody spots on the ground. With a ruler to designate inches/distance, you can use a simple dry erase board as well.

These are from Paizo's Pathfinder Flip Maps. We use the pre-printed one as a 'base of operations' for the party, but players get bored if you have to use the same printed map again and again for different encounter locations.

Took five minutes to create this scene. Simple forest stream, bridge, stone circle and hills with elevation designations.  

The best part about the color markers is when you defeat a monster or enemy, you can mark the location on the ground in  red gore. It's fun to look back over a dungeon crawl and see the path of bloody carnage left by your characters! Smudge and smear it if they like to hide bodies. Red dotted lines are good for drag marks.

Cardboard Counters - I know this is heresy but as awesome as miniatures are, I just don't use them. The number one complaint from players is that they can become considerably expensive but my issue is that they railroad your game. What encounter will you play tonight? What if the party decides to forgo the Caves of the Gorgon and go to the Giant's Citadel instead? You've already spent the thirty bucks on a pair of gorgons and the hill giants are still unpainted... Can you lure the party to the caves instead? Will they feel unfairly compelled or aren't they just chasing the prepared minis too?

A simple google image search provides an inexhaustible source of monsters or characters to draw upon. The digital age makes it hard to observe copyright laws but you are not making money off the image in the privacy of your home so 'fair use' applies. I cut and paste the images onto a Word document, crop them, then size them using the rulers provided at the top of the page, (one inch square for medium, two inches square for large, etc.) Backing them with a bit of cardboard and glue, I have ready-made monsters to go at a moments notice. I save them in sandwich baggies labeled by monster type or by encounter area, (Undead, Giants, Gnolls, Swamp, Isle of Dread, etc.)

Crop and size your images on Word documents for easy printing.

Frost Giants! I could use the same image again and again but there are so many to pick from... I choose them all and the players love the variety!

Write names on the back! Especially NPCs that you will be using again and again. A quick flip and peek to job your memory. Believable NPCs are the foundation of any campaign. You need to remember their names.

NPC Relationship Boards - Nothing beats a 'Game-of-Thrones-style' game dripping with political intrigue, but it is easy for players to get lost in all the new NPCs and the important relationships they have with each other. Many parties won't be able to pick up on the clues and other subtle hints you are dropping without seeing a schematic or diagram of some kind. Murder mysteries are another passion of mine. Shows like the BBC's 'Father Brown' or 'Downton Abbey' produce usable hooks, twists and NPC motivations for a mere one-hour investment. Get your suspects on the board! Oh, and use the same images as your cardboard backed tiles.

NPC List of Names - This is the oldest trick in the book. I was going to leave it out until I visited two new gaming groups in my area and I was shocked to see the DM was the only one who had bothered to keep a (partial) NPC list. My players love NPCs, and by the arc's conclusion, (around 16th level), we have over three pages of NPCs with single line descriptions, usually organized by where they were met by the party.

Each session I jot new names into the margin and then print the updated version every couple of games for the players.

Change is good. Try the next edition and use the new app. Ride the waves of progress or get left behind to drown, but rest assured, the above five low-tech tools will remain effective and be around for a very long, long time.



High axe friends,

I go!

How to Make Players Love Your NPCs

Your creativity forms the distant horizons of your world, invoking feelings of vast and limitlessness boarders and opportunity, but it’s the meaningful relationships with Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) that creates the depth needed for total immersion in your story.

It’s not just vital to the profundity of your campaign, but compelling NPCs tend to fix other problems as well. Players who suffer from boredom, distraction or disinterest in the story arc will choose your intended direction if there are NPCs they truly care about.

Who is that NPC behind the mask? They are lights in a dark world. They mark goals, boundaries and paths of opportunity. Your players should hate and abhor them, or be inexplicably attracted to them, but never indifferent. 

Pick good names and remember them: If I’m at a table where the game master refers to Kravlok Goldshanks as ‘that dwarf-guy you’ve been talking to’… then they’ve lost me. Pick a good name, but if you can't remember it after you've had lunch, they won't remember it between sessions. Keep an updated list of NPCs for everyone in the group.

Motivations: Make notes on goals or motivations for your NPCs, but a motto is a powerful tool that will help you organize your thoughts quickly. "My brother betrayed me but never again, that’s why I’m fiercely independent and trust no one." Or; “as a survivor of the Great Elven War, I have been moved to spread care and compassion throughout the world." Finally, "dwarves cheated me out of my noble birthright - that’s why I’ll screw one over whenever the chance arises!" A one or two line motto may seem like a humble beginning, but it will do more for your campaign then volumes of stat sheets.

Practice makes perfect: Emulating a favorite movie character can be the easiest way to create mannerisms for an NPC, but in the end, it’s not so much the funny voices that make them memorable - it's what they say. Practice your performance, that funny quirk or one-liner they like to repeat. You'll only look half as crazy as you think. Explain the story behind their motto to yourself while in character. Just like any serious student of acting needs to practice, so do you. It's the hobby with homework.

Characters and NPCs help each other: Have a NPCs request something little, such as delivering goods to a town they are traveling through or help loading a wagon. Later the NPC performs free services to them such as shoeing a horse, dinner and wine, or even singing songs about their bravery. Relationships begin with the small things, but as it grows, the party will actually care if the NPC is murdered.

Everyone loves an underdog: Give that delivery boy a painful limp, but he never complains about it and is enamored by the heroes. How about a one-handed baker or a blind circus entertainer? (Knife thrower, of course.) Or do the characters discover the owner of their favorite bar is also in terrible debt to a noble or a bank?

NPCs that ask questions and listen:  Heroes like to talk about themselves. It's a good exercise for PCs to explain things about their background to others and what they think their futures hold for them. Ask good follow up questions: "Losing your parents at such a young age must have been difficult. How did you remain so strong, living in the Red Wastes all by yourself?" Or, "I would think getting kicked out of the holy order of the Briar Knights would be disheartening... what makes you persevere now?" PCs will like the interaction because they get to talk about themselves, and it is good mental calisthenics as they work out their own character development.

Recognition of something familiar: Let the players see a side to your NPCs that they relate to on a human level.  "The dwarf's legs droop from the tall bar stool. He seems to be muttering to his cup of cheap ale. ‘Curse it. I'm a middle-aged failure... when I was younger I thought I would be ruling the 13 Kingdoms by now. Instead, I'm struggling with debt and the love of my life barely looks me in the eye.’ He reaches into his pocket and slaps his last coppers on the table.” [My table of 40 somethings fell completely silent, and the dwarf didn't pay for a drink the rest of the night.] If you don’t spend some time cultivating the player’s fondness for this dwarf, will they care when goblins kidnap his twin boys, (the imaginary sons whose names you pronounce differently every time you say them)?  Take the time to show players that ‘fantasy people’ can still have relatable issues. "Oh, I've got the money to open up the cobbler shop, it's just that everything I do fails. I'm afraid it will flop, just like everything else I've tried." He's not asking for the PC’s money, he just needs some encouragement... and when the thieves' guild burns it down because of non-payment in their protection racket - you've got the players’ interest.

Show the pain your NPCs are in: If tragedy has befallen them, do they simply seek the party out at the local pub? Wrap it in some mystery that showcases the pain they are experiencing. “A man stands on the edge of a building top, you can see his tears gleaming in the mid-day sun. A crowd of horrified onlookers gather below.” Will the PCs save him? Now he won't talk to anyone, won't eat. Can they save him again? Does he have additional family that needs to be cared for... are they sure he's just stricken with grief? Let them feel like you know more about your NPCs than has been revealed. These may not be problems your party wants, but the closure that comes when the bandits responsible for his lover’s death are finally brought to justice, is the first step to his recovery.

Comforting the characters and emotional indicators: Sometimes it is easy for players to forget how their characters must feel. Maybe they lost a party member, or loved NPC but the players are too busy dividing gold and shopping for weapons to show any respect for the dead. I use an NPC to remind them of this: "The bartender approaches you with a serving tray laden with fresh ales. “Drinks are on the house tonight, mates. We're all really torn up about losing Aellanmir to that damned basilisk. Funny, I was just gettin' used to his pointy little ears.' The large man begins to choke up a little and places his hand on your shoulder. 'Anyways, sorry for your loss, mates.'"

Birthing, Marriages and Funerals: NPCs have other life experiences besides being villains or victims. Why not beg the battle hardened warpriest to deliver a baby? Or ask to perform their marriage while the rest of the party acts as witnesses, cooks or whatever. "Mother Valdena, a superior in your church, arrives and orders you to perform a wedding for two devout parishioners, Missari and Dennal of Brooks Crossing, just outside of town. The regular priest has been called away and can't perform the rite." Death and dying is common in a monster filled world and rites of passage bring vitality to NPCs and your game. Will the characters be asked to speak eulogies at the funeral? Unless it is an adventure hook in and of itself, keep it short, but also award experience points for role playing (which is another article in and of itself). What does the party do with a fallen NPC's loot and equipment? Should go to the family, right? Do they leave the body to be eaten in the stinking bowls of a crumbling dungeon? Granted, with monsters’ jaws gnashing in the darkness, they might have to but... wow. Explain that to poor Bordvic's wife and fourteen children.

We must pay attention to our players’ feedback, (with the caveat that they may be upset they lost Bordvic’s hereditary masterwork sword, bequeathing it to his eldest daughter), but ultimately, they are our judges and jury with the power to execute your game. You may have an NPC that a single player seems to particularly enjoy and hopefully, you’ll have some embraced by the whole group. Ask them what they like about them and cultivate there answers into living, breathing NPCs that maybe, your characters will be willing… to die for.


High axe friends!

I go.