Back when and where I cut my teeth, MMORPGs, this term really did not come up often. When you were DM’ing a scene your character had to be there. Since the developers of MMOs never really took us roleplayers in account and there were no real tools that we had to our disposal. As such for us to be there, our avatar and our character would have to be there, to run the story. To set the scene. To animate the bad guys (if any).

Yet in TTRPGs we don’t have to and when we do plop down a DMPC it is usually soon to be featured on /r/rpghorrorstories. To say that the consensus is that DMPCs are bad is an understatement. But it certainly does not have to be! There is a simple list, steps and measures you can take to make sure a DMPC can be a safe implement. Whether to fill out a temporary (or not so temporary) vacancy, a device for exposition or just someone, anyone, that knows revivify and has it prepared.

First let’s define a DMPC. What is it, and what it is not, what the benefits are and what the downsides are.

It effectively is (or should be) a character sheet for a long term NPC that is a part of to the party.

It shouldn’t be an ungodly fusion of Mary Sue and That Guy.

The benefits are simple. For the DM on a personal level, it allows them to take part of the story, even if it is in a modest role. From a gameplay perspective, the DMPC can offer exposition, insights, guide along newer players and allows you, as the DM, to play.

The downsides are not very complicated either but can tangle into sinister realms. Primary downsides it’s yet another thing to keep track of. Between encounter tables, finding shit in the mess I call my prep, initiative tracking, NPCs, pets, scenery, miniatures (or tokens or mind-palace-people), lore, factions and so on… and so on. It can detract from everyone’s experience if your mind dedicates too much RAM on your character while DMing.

The slippery slope is that some DMs can grow quite attached to things. Be they the BBEG, their setting, the harmony that is about to be upset by the party, or the railroading they hammered into place and all but demand the players to follow. For these DMs that character sheet may become too dear, too special, too precious…

So how to avoid this? Fret not. Here’s a very simple guide to the creation of a DMPC and some dos and don’ts to help you on your way.

Creating your DMPC

First thing first, look at your party. What do they excel at? Make sure when crafting your DMPC that you are far below their specialities. Especially if that speciality is talking. Make sure that you never outshine a party member in what they chose to specialise their character in. Never. Fudge a dice if you have to.

Hopefully, your party doesn’t have a historian. So work that in and take what’s left. If there’s no single skill on the character sheet that your party isn’t specialised in, it’s time to cap the number of rogues and/or bards in your group.

When creating your DMPC truly consider them a sheet. A statblock with growth potential. Character is secondary. And if you envisioned your DMPC to be a axe wielding strength character with a keen eye, but there’s a ranger with expertise in perception and a barbarian in the group, it’s your place to revision your DMPC.

The same goes for languages, try not to give them a language only they can read and if you do, don’t make your encounters anywhere dependent on knowing that language.

Make sure that you give them flaws and feel free to add in minor boons. Knowing tavern owners or having an ‘in’ with a faction is nice, it’s not railroading but creates opportunity.

Decision making

Fairly simple but something DMs can struggle with. It’s actually the same as any other NPC. Any DM that’s invested time in the craft has heard of the unreliable narrator. Don’t make them a liar, but make sure that the party does not accept their word as gospel. The moment your DMPCs words are guiding the party you’re running a railroad company, and the feeling of agency will start to evaporate.

A simple thing I do is rolling a D20. You can set the DC as you wish, but whenever my DMPC is included in the party’s decision making and I’m unsure of the line between DM and PC for myself, I roll the dice. Below a 15 and they’re unsure in what the best choice is, and might even argue for both. Below a 5 and they’ll argue the wrong choice. On a 20, lift the veil a little bit and the DMPC can make a prediction that is spot on.

In general when the party starts arguing what the best choice is or best course of action is, try to embody the essence of a wallflower. Your DMPC should fade into the background and become Drax.

Do This:

• Compliment the party IC. As a DM we should be our players biggest fan. Your DMPC can easily tell the rogue that the summersault sneak attack they did was amazing.
• Roleplay! Take part in interparty banter, friendships and so on.
• (Measured) exposition. You can’t make your players read your campaign guide, even though you reduced it to a paragraph there’ll always be that one that ignored it. Have them comment on political climates, recount tales from their past that offer insight into the world you’ve built.
• Put them last in the magic item order. We all create weapons, armour, trinkets for our players. Make sure everyone is set up before you even start creating the stuff for your DMPC.
• Revaluate. If your DMPC is a damage dealer primarily, occasionally use a different coloured pencil when you record their damage… are they doing more than the party? Adjust their stats. As they grow are they starting to outshine the players? Adjust.
• Use them (in measure) to point out plot hooks. Most DMs will write four plot hooks, one to be ignored by the party, one to get missed entirely, one to get noticed and one to cement that. Have your DMPC be the fifth or fourth. Point out the hook the players ignored.

Don’t Do This:

• Make them a burden. Sometimes it’s easy to go the other way and if your DMPC starts eating more floor than the vacuum cleaner you should adjust them. My DMPC was becoming the party’s carpet and I openly explained that I would be making changes to make them a little tankier before eating up diamond dust.
• Fudge their rolls to be better, their backpack or gold count to be more.
• Make them the star. Create a journey, a tailored adventure or encounter for your players but never do this for the DMPC. If you do, it should be done offscreen as much as possible. Let them do a lone trial away from the party and don’t even mention what’s happening at the trial, make sure the focus remains on the party and give them things to do that are fun.
• Have them make revelations. Even the smartest people sometimes don’t see a twist coming. So if your DMPC is a historian mage with 20 intelligence and expertise in insight, just make sure they’re oblivious to the evil king.
• Make them greedy. Make them altruistic instead. They should live as a monk or on par with the party at best. Don’t make them a diva.
• Homebrew their class. And if you do, make sure it’s reasonable and that you’re not the only one. Ideally your DMPC should be interchangeable with a bog-standard version of their class.
• Have them backstab the party. Especially if it’s after a longer arc. When people roleplay there’s this magic that happens where briefly reality and fantasy blur and we become who we behold. Betraying this trust after implanting your DMPC into the party can potentially be a magnificent plot twist but has the potential of souring much more than the campaign.

In closing. I thoroughly enjoy my DMPCs, they are there for the party cohesion, there to offer exposition and I get to roleplay. I get to, in a small part, be a part of the party and share in their discoveries, cheer them on and in a way, inhabit the world and get lost in it in those precious few moments where I forget I created it.

And. They really might be a mimic.