(08-20-2014, 07:31 PM)Jaques Wrote: How do folks here determine when an NPC (or badguy/antagonist) is important enough to warrant creating and dragging through the tutorial (and potentially lvling further)? Or do NPCs generally stay written but not seen?
Can I get a few more tips on how folks here (particularly those that run the Group Driven style plots over the Character Story arcs) juggle finding time to actually run your 'main' between directing story/playing npcs/badguys? That's actually one of my main concerns... I'm quite fond of Jaques(and my alts) and don't want to feel trapped in playing weeks and weeks of not Jaques(et al).
I can't speak to juggling a long-term villainous alt with your main (haven't had one yet, but I'll point you to Askier, whose alt for multiple Group-Driven plots [Jin'li] lasted for months), but I can take a stab at the other questions.
Whether an alt should be dedicated to a NPC is largely a question of:
1. How central is the character to the story arc;
2. How often the character will make recurring appearances in this arc and others;
3. How long the character is expected to last;
4. How important it is to have a universally-accepted visual representation of that character.
I'll go a little in-depth into #4: not only does having a NPC alt give players something to look at so that you don't have to emote out their appearance every time they show up, but in certain situations, such as combat RP, it is extremely beneficial to have a physical entity present so that you have a position, direction, orientation, etc. It's the difference between having a model for your Red Dragon/Carnifex/whatever present on the tabletop and -not- having -anything- present.
As for leveling your NPC alt, generally speaking you level to 15 to gain easy access between cities, to gain access to dyes and the aesthetician. You level beyond 15 as necessary to don the gear appropriate for your NPC's vanity/appearance etc.
EDIT:
As Merc mentions below, Roen is also a good person to talk to re: juggling alts. Hers certainly last much longer than Askier's. =P