Understanding the DMPC (& How to Avoid Making Them)
At some point, every GM who runs too many games and thinks too much about GMing inevitably writes something about GM self-inserts - the infamous "Dungeon Master Player Character," or "DMPC."
Or do they? Well, I did. My musings led me to the conclusion that exploring why DMPCs crop up - and how to avoid them - can also be a useful thought exercise for GMs. So, without further ado...
What Even Is a DMPC?
Put frankly, DMPCs are characters that break the rules of "Non-Player Characters" NPCs. Of course, that raises a question - what are the "rules" of NPCs?
I'm playing fast and loose with terms and game design here because I don't have time to write the book the topic deserves, but in broad strokes, I don't see NPCs any differently than I see lamp-posts (albeit, a lamp-post with perhaps an awful accent and a motivation). At a birds-eye view, NPCs serve one purpose: Help the "Player Characters" (PCs) get from point A to point B. That's it.
How that happens is dependent on the story and system. NPCs can be lovers, they can be traitors, they can be allies and spies and friends and foes. But at the end of the day, they are governed by the same cardinal rule as monsters and lamp-posts - they exist to serve the party.
A lamp-post offers you light in the dark. It can help you figure out where to go. But the decision is ultimately your own. You may decide to turn right, or left, or go forth, or back at a lamp-post. You may decide to stop moving entirely. The lamp-post is a guider, not a decider. So, too, are NPCs.
DMPCs break this cardinal rule, because they do not exist to serve the party - they exist to serve the GM. And not in a "gotcha" symbolic "well technically everything serves the GM since they create the worlllld" way, but in a way that hurts the game.
DO NOT GET ATTACHED TO YOUR NPCS. YOUR PLAYERS WILL SHOW YOU WHICH NPCS ARE WORTHY OF INVESTMENT.
We'll get back to that later.
Michael Whelan
Types of DMPCs
So, let's look at some of the more common types of DMPCs. I think most broadly fall into three types:
The "obvious self insert" NPC. You know the type - they dress like the GM. They look like the GM. They are the embodiment of every trope you know the GM loves. And gods, do they fucking suck. But, if you're lucky, they won't stick around for long.
The "I never get to play, and here's why" NPC. Essentially a player character. For some reason, they're built like a PC, class levels and all, instead of having an NPC stat block. They try and tag along with the party everywhere. They try and share spotlight moments with the characters that the players should share with each other. They steal the shine during encounters. And yeah, they suck, too.
The "you're never getting rid of me" NPC. In the worst DMPC cases, this type has the other two rolled into it like an unholy DMturducken. They often take the form of some omnipotent or powerful creature - or alternatively, some shitty, useless NPC the party gets stuck toting everywhere like an escort mission. Everywhere the party goes, there they are, offering a quest or rewards the party doesn't feel like they can refuse. Their mission takes precedent over all else. Party needs information? Guess who knows a guy. Party needs saving? Guess who shows up. Who's tragic sacrifice is supposed to save the world or make a player cry? You guessed it. And gods, why are they always sad antiheroes far less sympathetic than the GM thinks they are.
For players, running into - or dragging along with/behind - DMPCs sucks. For GMs, DMPCs are subpar NPCs that will only lead to wincing remembrances in the future. So, now let's discuss why DMPCs are created, and how GMs can avoid doing so while picking up some better GMing practices.
DMPCs - A Symptom GM Over-Investment
The most basic DMPCs are those created by forever GMs simply because they never get a chance to play unless they're doing it through an NPC, and they just can't resist the urge. Generally, I find this type of DMPC less useful to discuss. The solution is simple - if you need to play a character in a game so badly or experience things from a player's perspective, join a game. They're easy enough to find online, especially these days.
Realize that your role as GM is not to play as a player character - it's to facilitate their journey in a way the whole table (including you) finds satisfying. If you really can't step back from the party and let them experience the campaign without a DMPC in the mix, take a step back from GMing until you think you can.
That out of the way, I think we get more mileage if we look at DMPCs as a symptom of GM over-investment. I believe over-investment has been the root of all the worst DMPCs I've experienced or created, and as such, want to discuss it a bit.
The worst DMPCs are not those created by forever GMs longing after a player experience. The worst DMPCs are the ones created by GMs to ensure - intentionally or subconsciously - that the story plays out the way they think it should.
I'll caveat this by saying there are campaigns and experiences where "railroading" - the GM forcing or ushering the party along a specific path - is perfectly acceptable, especially if the whole table agrees that's what they want.
But for most TTRPG campaigns, an essential part of the allure is player agency. Unconfined by the restraints other mediums such as videogames impose on player characters, TTRPGs offer a truly unique opportunity for the members of the table to craft an unforgettable journey with each other.
While your fun as a GM is essential to the success of the table - more on that here - and your players should practice good player etiquette, such as biting on plot hooks curated to the party and their interests, you should not be attached to a specific outcome for your TTRPG experience.
At the end of the day, these are games where a string of bad (or good) rolls can leave player characters with hundreds of hours of investment irreversibly dead, and the same is true for NPCs - or at least, it should be. Deus ex machinas get old, fast.
Stephan Koidl
Many DMPCs arise as a sort of "failsafe" for GMs. A character who can show up at anytime to get the characters back on track, to offer the clue they missed, to resurrect a PC that suffered an untimely death.
And why? Because the GM views these occurrences - a sidetracked party, a missed clue, a dead PC - as failures, mistakes that must be corrected for the party to have the "full" experience.
Bullshit.
I am of the firm belief that in TTRPGs, there are few binary "successes" or "failures," and certainly not when it comes to the narrative aspects many DMPCs seem designed around. Instead, I find it far more useful to frame things as narrative and mechanical accomplishments and consequences.
A sidetracked party is an opportunity for a unique encounter with a monster that may otherwise not fit well into the campaign, or an environment the party may not otherwise get to explore.
A missed clue is an example for another force in the world to exert itself, leading to a more interesting timeline for the PCs. BBEG's minions find a secret door leading to a sweet magic item the party missed? Cool, that's a wrinkle for the PCs to figure out. Does the BBEG now have access to that item when they fight the PCs? Do the PCs stage a heist? Who knows? Play to find out! (besides, if you needed the party to have it, they shouldn't have been able to miss it to begin with).
A player death is an opportunity for the characters to reflect on their mortality and revise their battle strategies. It's an opportunity to bring a new perspective into the party dynamic. Hell, maybe it's even an opportunity for a quest to save the deceased character's soul.
Point being, part of being a GM is rolling with the punches. Getting attached to a specific outcome for your campaign prevents you from potentially exploring achievements and consequences far more interesting than whatever you first had in mind. From a standpoint of improving your GMing skills, you're also hampering your ability to weave a convincing narrative despite unforeseen events - a skill that takes time to hone, like any other.
Jason Rainvill
All of this to say:
Your Players will Show You which NPCs Are Worthy of Investment
Do your best to design NPCs with compelling motivations and unique flaws (more on that to come in future posts). But do not attach yourself to them to the degree you'll feel like some great "plan" is unraveling or being "ruined" if something happens to them.
At the end of the day, this is the party's story. Your plot and campaign premise may lay out parameters and themes for that story, but the story of the campaign is how the players and their characters interact with each hook presented, each monster slain, each NPC spoken to - each lamp-post passed.
Keeping these ideas and this philosophy in mind as you GM will help you curate a better experience for the party - and, of course, avoid implementing the dreaded DMPC. Hopefully you've found this helpful to some degree, I know I had fun writing it and musing on this subject.
