NPC Specialists and Attache Questions

Forged in the Dark Band of Blades
1

So, a couple questions regarding how assigning characters and the PC/NPC split works.

  1. I assume the Marshal can send Specialists on Primary missions as NPCs?
  2. If so, they presumably don’t have access to their Stress track and so on, but can they use special abilities?
  3. In particular, if you sent the Doctor using Attaché, but as an NPC while the players played a Rookie, would they actually be able to use Not Today? People want the healing, but perhaps want to play Rookies, say. Alternatively, is it implicit in Attaché that “if someone is willing to play the Doctor”?
2

You’re mostly right!

  1. Yup.
  2. Yup. And maybe? Remember that NPCs don’t roll, and powers don’t activate, but narratively they may be able to do a thing. Just because you don’t control the heavy doesn’t mean that they don’t block that hit about to splatter the rookies and while their armor burns with acid look over their soldiers and yell “what are you waiting for Rookies! FIRE”. Stay true to the fiction. Remember that you can always roll their Threat as a fortune roll or a group action for outcomes. Yeah that means things are less likely to end up perfect than when they push etc but hey … that’s the breaks of having NPC specialists.
  3. No hard and fast rule here. This is one of those cases where we don’t explicitly say and it’s up to your table. Maybe you think that hey, if the doc is an NPC on the mission and they can die in one blow of a Horrors arm, it’s fair that they can also stitch you up. If you’re unsure maybe make a fortune roll? Can they save you in time? That’s what Doctor dice +1 or 2 for med kits or other resources, maybe -1 for battlefield conditions. Talk it out. :slight_smile: Answers might vary.
1 Like
3

Thanks, that is very useful. I also think it means I’ll have an Byronic Panya Doctor with a love of poetry as an NPC on pretty much every primary mission forever more, but I can live with that. :wink:

4

Rad. Byronic doctors are awesome. :smiley: