Shardworld - the Game (Guide thread)

[Amaterasu]

NPCs

There are hundreds of NPCs scattered around the Shardworld, and that's without counting in the "monsters". Most NPCs are simply constructs that are programmed to respond to a certain prompt in a certain way, such as merchants or Task-givers. Others are indeed Dataverse inhabitants, secondaries of unknown origin or just bits of data that have achieved self conscience. They can be anything and are easily identifyable by how they act much more dynamically.

Generic NPCs
-Villagers, Commoners, Nobles, Workers, Farmers... the list goes on. They all share the same traits in that they liven up the Shardworld by traveling around, going about fixed patterns (such as going to work, to home, to church, hanging around somewhere or buying at x shop at specific times of the day) and can share gossip, news and such when spoken to. They are also targets for pickpocketing. A few offer minor tasks.

-Static Helpers are more like human-looking versions of books. They stand around in one spot day and night, giving out information when spoken to and sometimes offering tasks.

-Bankers, Merchants and Shopkeepers have a "shop" or "bank" option. Banks allow players to store their excess items into some sort of vault that can be accessed from any banker because magic. Shopkeepers have a fixed shop, usually a building or stall, that they will run day and night, buying all your unneeded items for gold and selling you materials or equipment - though purchasing equipment from a shop is unusually expensive. Merchants are basically the same as Shopkeepers, but travel around the Shards outside of the cities.

-Witch-Doctors are sort of Merchant-type characters, but then again different. Unlike Shopkeepers they don't buy items from you. Instead they sell "blessings": they can cure curses, diseases and other permanent or long-lasting debuffs with their voodoo magic (for a price, of course), or bless you with temporary buffs. These buffs are "conveniance", like filling your stomach enough that you don't need to eat for several days, allowing you to breathe underwater or wade through molten rock without getting burnt. They do not provide a distinct combat advantage.

-Functional NPCs are any NPCs that are neither Static Helpers nor Bankers/Merchants/Shopkeepers. This is a big umbrella for all sorts of characters, such as transmogrifiers and auctioneers.

-Skill Trainers are... well, skill trainers. They give useful advice on training the skill that they represent, and may assign tasks that require that skill to be completed in order to gain an amount of experience in it.

-Task-Characters are... well, task-relevant characters. Either they give out tasks or they are a task-related character such as someone you must escort or assassinate. Task-Characters can also be in other categories, like a Merchant.

-Guards can give directions and share gossip, and also are very dangerous opponents if they see anyone who's committed a crime running around. Even well-equipped characters have great difficulty against the justice upholders.