Rivals

Rivals are a type of NPC often neglected by GMs. Of course we have villains: we could hardly have a game without them. Most groups have at least one "friendly NPC" that they know, whether it's a city-bound "healing stick" in a hack-n-slash dungeon crawling game or a well-loved sidekick who accompanies the party everywhere.

Rivals fall somewhere in between the "bad guys" and the "good guys." They are competitors, striving for something the PCs also want. They don't have to be evil - they could be very good, perhaps even shining paragons of virtue. Rivals give the PCs an ongoing challenge which, hopefully, they won't seek to resolve just by killing.

What Rivals Want

What rivals want is simple - whatever the PCs want. Otherwise, they wouldn't be rivals. They might covet a treasure or magic item, a beloved person, or a political position. If both parties are trying to claim an item, the rival will be throwing obstacles in the PCs' way in attempts to delay them, so that he can get to it first. When people are involved, the rival will be trying to keep the PCs away from the important people, make them look bad, or just make himself look better.

If the PCs already have the item/lover/position, the rival will be trying to get it from them.

Rivals by Alignment

Even if you don't use alignments, it's helpful to consider how a heroic party might react to rivals with different moral codes.

Good Rivals
Two paladins might be wooing the same lady, or a band of holy clerics might want to claim a sought-after treasure for their temple. The PCs should certainly not seek to permanently harm these rivals - they're heroes, too! Similarly, they can expect a band of holy clerics to not pull any dirty tricks as the two teams race to the treasure. The rivalry should play out as a game of "Can You Top This?" with each side seeking to outdo the other, rather than sabotage the other.

Which isn't to say that the clerics wouldn't cut down a rope bridge after they've crossed it. That's a perfectly honest delaying tactic. What they wouldn't do is send out a fake call for help to distract the PCs. That would be underhanded and dishonest.

Evil Rivals
Evil rivals can blur into villains very quickly. They are opposed to the PCs and they are Bad Guys. To prevent this, keep their villainies small and give them some measure of invulnerability. The mustache-twirling cad who keeps making advances on the paladin's lady might be a duke and a favorite of the queen. Challenging him to a duel would upset the queen...

These rivals can be fun because they can engage in all sorts of dirty tricks. To keep them as rivals, not villains, keep the tricks non-lethal. For instance, the duke won't try to have the paladin killed... but he might bribe some thugs to jump him on his way to the ball. The knight will dispatch them quickly, of course, but he'll be delayed just long enough for the duke to offer his lady the first dance of the evening.

Lawful Rivals
When the PCs find themselves hampered with paperwork and harrassed by bureacrats at every turn, they may have acquired a lawful rival. This fellow would never think of doing anything illegal, but knows every trick for turning the local laws against the PCs. He's the sort who the PCs see sailing off towards the Lost Isle of Gawana while they're stuck on the dock with the harbor master inventorying their goods for taxation. Somehow, he seemed to know a group of rich adventurers would be trying to leave early in the morning...

Chaotic Rivals
Anything goes. Like an Evil Rival, you can count on a Chaotic one to employ just about every trick in the book. The good-evil axis will help determine just how dirty the trick is. A Chaotic and Good rival might fake a cry for help, but he'll lead the PCs to an empty shack they'll turn upside down before realizing they've been had. A Chaotic and Evil rival might lead the PCs to an orcish hunting camp.

Neutral Rivals
Perhaps the best for "It's nothing personal" rivals. Their other qualities will help determine to what depths they're willing to sink, but they rarely act out of malice towards the PCs. They want what they want, and they'll do what they need to do to get it. Very sorry if that inconveniences you, old chap! Better luck next time.

Creating a Rival

Here are some points to consider when creating a rival character:

Whose rival will s/he be? If the party as a whole has well-defined goals, the rivalry may be with the entire group. Or, you can create personal rivals who are competing only with one or two PCs. These NPCs are excellent if you are in the habit of "spotlighting" different PCs each game, to let different players "star" in the ensemble cast that is a game.

What does the party/PC have or want that would be desirable? By definition, the rival is competing with the party or a PC for something. What?

Why does the rival desire the object? Feel free to think out of the box. Maybe a duchess rather than a duke is the paladin's rival for his lady, and her goal is to "liberate her cousin from the outdated bonds of marriage and the shackles of love."

What is the rival willing to do to attain the object? The list of "Rivals by Alignment," above, may be useful to determine this. How far will s/he go?

How will the rival handle defeat? If the PCs are victorious, will the rival chalk it up to bad luck and move on to another ambition, or seek revenge or retribution?

Does the rival have any personal feelings towards the party/PC? The rival might admire, pity, or hate the PCs, or have no particular feelings towards them at all. These feelings (or lack thereof) will surely affect their motivations and actions. Two friends who become rivals because of a shared love interest will behave very differently from a rival who dislikes a PC and attempts to steal away a love interest just to hurt him/her.

Who is the rival? The rival will need, like all NPCs, a race, sex, class, age, and so on. In addition to the usual entries on the character sheet, also consider what resources the rival may have to bring to bear on the situation (allies, money, magic, etc.) and what disadvantages they might have that the PCs can exploit (enemies, fears, incompetencies, etc.).

Beating and Being Beaten By

For a rival to be effective, he can neither always get the best of the PCs, nor never succeed. If he always wins, the players will begin to become angry and may suspect the GM of cheating. If he never wins, he becomes a joke character the PCs don't see as a real challenge.

PCs are accustomed to victory; they will not like it if they lose out on something. When you introduce a rival, try him out in the context of some small things first - a minor reward, a kiss on the cheek, a small honor from the princess. Should the rival prevail, see how the PCs take it. If they players seem genuinely annoyed, perhaps you should not use rivals with your group. On the other hand, if the PCs are angry and annoyed but the players are interested and intrigued by the NPC, you've got a keeper.

If you have a player who can only occassionally make games, perhaps you can give him the rival to play. This gives the rival his own player who can devote all his thinking to outwitting the PCs. Also, the PCs may feel things are more fair if they are out-maneuvered by another player, rather than by the GM.

Too Cool

As with all NPCs, resist the temptation to make the rival an eminently superior character. The PCs are the heroes of the game. Your NPCs should not outshine them. This does not mean you cannot have NPCs more powerful than the players; it means your game should not revolve around them. No player is going to enjoy sitting through a game that does nothing but showcase how cool the GM's NPCs are.

Post-Rivalry

Eventually, the rivalry may end. While it could just sort of drift away and be forgotten, this is not a very satisfying conclusion.

A New Ally
If the PCs were impressed with the rival's demeanor and actions - he was a "worthy opponent" - they may want to make peace once the sought-after item is claimed permanently by someone. Fiction and movies are full of rivals who become good buddies after the fact. Your group might even gain a permanent NPC this way.

A New Enemy
On the other hand, one side or the other might swear eternal revenge. Move the rival over to the villain side of things. As an added bonus, you know the PCs already have an emotion tie to this character and will be very interested in defeating him.

A New Rival
"Well, I can't say the better man won, but at least the Orb is safely back in the temple now. Good job." Kevyn offered me his hand.

I hesitated for a moment, then grinned and shook it. We'd plagued each other for the past two weeks, but had also each saved the other's life at least once. Temple crusaders don't turn their backs on their brethren, even when glory - and a substantial reward - are on the line. "Thanks," I said. "And if you ev... ev... achoo! Ever n... achoo! Ne-achoo!" Suddenly, I couldn't stop sneezing!

"Bless you," Kevyn said with mock concern. "That last dip in the river must've given you a nasty cold. Well, I must be off... the king has asked for volunteers for a dangerous quest, and I'm off to present myself for consideration. Hope you feel better!" He sauntered off with an arrogant smile.

The quest! How was I supposed to present myself to the king when I couldn't stop sneezing? What had Kevyn done to me, and could I reverse it in time?