How to have a GMPC without making everyone hate you

Oh, man. The hated GMPC. IF you’ve been playing TTRPGs for more than a few years, you’ve probably run into one. They’re overpowered, they grab up too much of the plot, they take away the agency of the players. r/rpghorrorstorries probably features at least one a week. And yet…

They’re kind of a useful tool? As long as they’re not run by a complete tool, that is.

Personally, I like having a GMPC on the board, but you have treat them with a super light hand. Done right, they can enhance your game, lead to happier players, and give the GM something to do when the PCs are just hanging out.

What’s a GMPC, and do you need one?

TTRPG games assume you have a ton of NPCs rattling around, but a GMPC is slightly elevated. They’re an NPC who sticks with the party, and (ideally) statted and geared at the same level as the PCs. They’re basically a party member that the GM controls.

While I do like using them, not every game needs one! Times when I decided to add one:

• The party is small, and we’re running an Adventure Path. APs are built for a balanced party of four, and I don’t want to spend a ton of time adjusting it.
• The players know what they want to play, and there’s an obvious gap. As a GM, I tend to run long campaigns, so I’d much rather a player play off a sheet they’re happy with, rather than one they wrote up because “someone had to play the X.”
• You have a player or two who sometimes can’t show up, because being an adult is complicated and hard. It can be useful to have a GMPC hanging out in the background who can step in. Sure, you could just run that player’s character, but then you get into the weird gray are of the PC knowing stuff the player doesn’t.

Times I wouldn’t add one…

• You want to play, too! I mean, this isn’t the WORST reason to bring a GMPC, but it’s a dangerous road to go down. You know too much about the plot, and players might feel pressured to defer to you.
• You want to use them to move the plot along! I mean, it’s a nice idea, but in practice, it can lead to players feeling like accessories to the plot. Leave the plot hooks at the bar, nursing an ale.
• You have this awesome idea for a character concept and you’re the forever GM so just this once… Honey. No. Like, this might be fun for a one-off NPC, but a better long-term solution is to start working on getting one of your players to GM.
• Your players don’t want you to add one. Even if their party make-up is whack, even if you know Tom is going to flake, even if it’s just three people… don’t add one.

GMPC Best Practices

So, your game could benefit from a GM and the players are on-board. How do you make sure this doesn’t get weird?

Don’t make them the center of the plot

The figures at the center of the plot should always be the PCs. Even pre-written adventures (and I run a ton of them) tend to put the PCs at the center of the action and hope that they’ll grab the hooks they should in order to stay there.

Yes, it’s tempting to make them the keeper of all the hooks, but that starts to take agency away from the players as they feel like they have no option but to say ‘yes’ to everything this one dude asks of them.

That said, you don’t have to have them be a cardboard cutout that sometimes swings a sword. You should absolutely…

Give them motivation

Sure, the players can just offer them a cut of the gold and leave it at that. Some may even prefer that. Personally, I like to give the GMPC a solid reason to stick around. Some options:

They believe in the cause. This is a good option if the PCs are doing something where money isn’t the best motivator (think overthrowing a corrupt regime). The trick is that they should view the PCs as the decision makers, deferring to them unless they’re needed as a tie-breaker.

They have their own thing going on. You can have a lot of fun with this one. They’re writing a cookbook and are on the hunt for novel ingredients. They were working on their autobiography and realized it was dull, so they want to spice it up with some adventure. Whatever deity they have encourages them to give in to wanderlust / go into hidden places / etc., which happens to mesh with what the PCs are doing.

They’re a professional adventurer. Many systems have some sort of ‘adventurer guild’, so why not let that work for you? They’re out there to get clout and experience, and hey, your group seems no worse than the other chaos monkeys back at the tavern, so why not buddy up?

Don’t go against the grain

Is the group a bunch of Paladins set out to Do Good? Don’t give them a CE troublemaker. Are they, in fact, the trouble in the world? Don’t give them a paladin. The GMPC is there as grease for the machine, not a monkey wrench.

Make them optional

When I have a GMPC, I make it very clear to the players that they are ALWAYS optional. The character won’t even be mad if they’re asked to stay behind! They’ll go do paperwork / some writing / shopping / whatever feeds into their motivation. If the players decide to permanently part ways with them, it’s with no hard feelings.

They’re also optional for me. Now, I’ve never had players do this, but I know there are players out there who would look at an ‘extra’ character and see them as expendable. If the GMPC dies, there’s no free rez, and the party can’t just run back to town and get a new one. I won’t block the party forever, but it may take several sessions for them to gain a new murder buddy.

Don’t go overboard on the build

How do you build a GMPC? If I’m the one maintaining the sheet, I tend to load up RPGBot and go with the most basic build for that class. That way, the character will be effective without outshining the players, who have spent WAY more time thinking about their sheets.

Another option is to give the sheet to the players and have them build it. Will it be more powerful? Sure. But in this case, this is what they wanted.

Another option, if you’re playing Pathfinder: Iconics! Another upside to this as that they come with backstories and personalities, which can save you time if you’re working on a tight schedule. Also, you can download the pre-built sheets from Paizo, which is great if you’re adding a GMPC at the last possible moment.

Final thoughts

At the end of the day, I want to emphasize this once again: A GMPC is a tool, and like any tool, it has its uses and misuses. It should be used to enhance a campaign, and removed as soon as it starts to hurt it.

Note: Hilariously awkward portraits rendered by Deep Dream Generator‘s Text 2 Dream service. Prompts provided by me.