QQ&A: Invisible NPCs
“How do you run invisible NPCs?”
Fairly.
There’s a school of thought that says when an NPC turns invisible (or is otherwise undetectable to the party) then they could be anywhere.
Since they could be anywhere, it’s plausible for them to be anywhere you want.
In a move out of Schrodinger’s playbook, the invisible NPC is wherever the GM thinks will be the most fun. If the party spreads out, they were always heading for the squishy wizard. If they clump up, they were always preparing an AoE trap.
The NPC absolutely should adapt to the party’s tactics.
But invisibility lets the GM cheat, teleporting them out of harm and into opportunity, then pretending they’d moved there legally.
I don’t like that style. I like to reward players who are smart or lucky enough to anticipate the invisible NPC.
That’s why, when an NPC turns invisible, I keep track of their location and play it fair.
Not a lot to say on this, so I’ll jump to the self-promotion early.
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