So… I am running a radical ascension campaign soon and I have been working steadily to get everything ready. One of the things I have been working on is creating npcs that will soon become enemies but my question is, how would I go about creating these npcs? Rank them up like a normal PC?

In your place, I would consider looking in the other book of wh40k RPG; like black crusade and Deatwatch, where you will have access to many adversaries on which you can add stats, special rules and personna to create real adversaries and allies.

An other way to do so is to take already existing NPC in the basic dark heresy reulebook and add them block of stats (+10 to this, +5 to this) etc. until they look like a little like player character when you try to create boss; you add talents and skills and here it is, a name and whatever do the job. Creating stats for an NPC is not the hardest part; it is more creating him a personnality that your players will remember that is a challenge!

Given how long it takes to create an NPC from 0 XP to an appropriate level I usually save it for special occasions. Generally I just take a supplied NPC and add anything I feel they need. So take a basic shooty badguy and add some stats and talents to make them more challenging, as well as appropriate gear.

I use four methods for creating NPCs.

Method 1.

I roll the character up completly from scratch using a set number of experience points, generally trying not to fudge any of the dice rolls. Not fudging the dice rolls helps provide inspiration for the character, so if I am rolling a NPC who unexpectantly has high WS and low Fel I might think, 'oh he must have had combat experience i nthe past but also has scars on his face'.

I generally use this method for the most important NPC characters, and particularly recurring ones. It is quite fun but very time consuming.

Method 2. Scratch build a NPC without using the career paths or only using them for inspiration. This is useful for characters who are important and fulfill a plot point but there aren't really careers that are appropriate. For example an Imperial Governor or the mutant king etc. This is easier than Method 1 but can still be time consuming. On the plus side the character is tailored to your exact needs.

Method 3. Tweak the characters from the book. If I need an Arbite Provost I take the one out of the book but give him Command +10 and +5 Fel. This is very straight foward and easy but does mean your NPC's are going to be rather similar. This is useful for characters that may only appear in one scene.

Method 4. The four stat method. This is the method I use for the most minor of NPC's. For example Pc's are goignt o get ambushed by half a dozen mutants. Simply give them a combat stat (Ws or BS) S & T and Ag Give them between 10-15 wounds. Give them a name if appropriate.

Equally PCs meet a shopkeeper, Int Per Fel WP are probably the only stats you need.

I only use this method, either during the session or as a last minute addition if I relaise that PC's may visit location x but probably won't.

Finally a good rule of thumb is 25=Amateur 35=trained 45=professonal 50=Elite. IF worst comes to worse just rate your NPC's and give all their stats the same value.

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Visitor Q said:

I spent a lot of time worrying about the motivations of my NPCs and if they have some special defining quirks/skills, so I better can react to what ever surprises the players comes up with. When it comes to stats, I just use a similar system to the above, namely have an idea how trained the NPC is and take it from there when I roll.

A really big help for me as a GM is having a long list of pre generated names for NPCs. It allows you to immediatly turn the literally nameless bar man into a character

As Alox said coming up with quirks and skills for a NPC can give them depth but a neat trick is giving your very minor NPc quirks and a defining characteristics. This can make the PCs feel they are inhabiting a world where their are real people and their actions actually have consequences. It can also make red herrings easier to pull off.

I usually start with a statted NPC from a published source- either one of the 'generic' Adversaries from the back of the Rulebook or a 'named' NPC from an adventure; then I go through the lists of Skills and Talents (-and Traits, if necessary) and add those that make sense for this particular NPC's roll in the scenario. Pick specialized equipment, tweak as necessary (sometimes to counter specific strengths of my PCs…) and call it good.