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Have you seen MadLordOfMilk's play report? You'll notice that it was done completely on the fly and they did just fine. After looking at the rules, I don't imagine prep being too extensive outside of your own story crafting.

I think because Level doesn't necessarily reflect the power of the PCs... that you could easily generate a generic fellow, as you mentioned, and be pretty good to go for combat. Equipment can be generated on the fly pretty easily since it is often just a single number.
As you mentioned, only major characters need to be fully worked out... and even then, Inspirations will be the single most important portion of doing so.

What I intend to do when I can get a campaign going is to pre-generate a bunch of faceless NPCs and just stick them in certain places. Probably 2 or more variations on each class to cover all of my bases.
I can definitely understand the desire to have this sort of thing already done for you though. =)

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/*~Matthew Miller~*\

When we used combat mooks, MLOM just used one of the style sheets for each opponent and we assumed 5 body points each; ie: Arrowheart,Guardian and Cloak-and-dagger-and-wine (can never remember the name) for each of three baddies.

Right, that's pretty much what I do too. Pick a stat for NPCs - 4 or 6 is most common. Assume a 6 for heart. Just don't pick the 8-sider twice, and you're covered. Throw in a fighting style sheet, and you're good for on-the-fly. Give them one inspiration per scene, and that's it for most NPCs.

Their inspiration won't be bigger than 2, or maybe three, because of the nobility's prohibition on such. If they're above 9th-level, then you know they have a d10 in their primary stat because the second bonus point occurs at 9th-level. I assume many or even most NPCs are 1st- or 2nd-level, so there's no need to worry about talents. And low-level NPCs can still be a challenge for very high-level PCs. Even at higher NPC levels, I'd just assume weapon and/or armor specialization for martial classes, mass negotiator and/or pet theme for social classes, as these are super-easy and cover up to 9th level.

In general, my advice is to not worry about doing it "perfectly." If you're playing quickly, with fighting styles and a few body points and inspirations being invoked left and right, then you're playing the game as it was meant to be played. Brush off anything else you don't need.

I GM on the fly a lot too. Like MLOM said, just pick up some fighting styles, give them 4 or 5 body (or 3 if they're starving, weary peasants :) ), and have at it. Fill in the other stuff as it comes up.

As for PCs/NPCs, here are some sample PCs from the Gen Con adventure. I was going to try to put these up in a different file, but I guess I can just cut-and-paste them here. Note that I changed the name on some of the equipment from the charts in the book. They're still functionally the same as wealth level 1 stuff (except for what's been loaned from the noble, Darius), but they have different names. I also haven't edited these with what passes for my fine-toothed comb, but I hope they will give you at least an idea.

Ah, one more note - regarding the low-level NPCs being a challenge even for high-level PCs: a few warriors in Guardsman bodyguarding a master & apprentice of Battlecraft can happen at 1st-level, and it remains a potent challenge up to a lot higher levels!

Ok, some PCs from the Gen Con adventure:

Horace Thrace, Zocith jungle riverboat guard.
Male Troll (Rain).
Fighting Styles: Free Sword (apprentice), Savage (apprentice).
History, skills, and reputation: As river barge guard along the Smoke River, Horace learned a little about boating (1).
Inspirations: Love for his childhood romance, Edna Janier (4).
Worships the Sun Goddess of Nas Jakatta (3).
Enjoys boating (1).
Class Abilities: Live by the sword. Treat the quality of the weapon you wield as one higher than its actual quality.
Racial Abilities: Regenerate 5 body per season (two consecutive Tricks to regenerate 1 body in combat). Increase your die size by one when resisting social attacks.
Str 7, Qck 6, Rsn 3, Cha 5, Mgc 4, Hrt 8. Body 5, Mood 0.
Warrior 1.
Gear (quality) and possessions: Riverboat guard’s machete (2), jungle leather shirt (1), three Jakattan javelins (3), dark Thyran fur knee-length jacket, piece of hilt that broke off his machete, but he keeps it because it is cut with Edna’s initials. On loan from Darius: longsword (5). Wealth 1.

Horace has come a long way to find what he is looking for: Edna, his lost childhood love. After they had a terrible row, he went back to her barracks to apologize, only to find that she had set off on a caravel for the north.
It has taken him all winter and spring to journey here, and he has spent all summer searching in vain for his lost love. To maintain his wealth level, such as it is, he has been working for Darius Anders, scion of Thessel, a powerful noble house of Thyre, during the summer months.




Darius Anders, Thyran noble of House Thessel, master of the Old Bastion Mill
Male Human (nineblood).
Fighting Styles: Court sword (apprentice).
History, skills, and reputation: In his capacity as noble of House Thessel, Darius is master of the mill at the Old Bastion, which is used to power metal-working machines in engineer’s shops (mainly in zeppelin manufacture) (1).
Reputation as a noble of Thyre (4).
Reputation as a ladies man among the peerage (4).
Inspirations: Wants to lead his house (4).
Love for his status as a noble (3).
Class Abilities: Noble house (Thessel, see below). Peer.
Racial Abilities: Increase your die size by one when resisting magic. You can also use one inspiration twice in a scene.
Str 4, Qck 5, Rsn 6, Cha 8, Mgc 3, Hrt 7. Body 5, Mood 0.
Noble 1.
Gear (quality) and possessions: Brigandine armor emblazoned with House Thessel sigil (gear over halberd) (5), longsword (4), crossbow (3), bourgeoisie wardrobe (4), smoking jacket emblazoned with Hous Thessel sigil (+1 to wardrobe quality). Wealth 4.
The Mill of Noble House Thessel. Force 4, Efficiency 2, Shadow 3, Arcana 1. Scope 1.
Darius is an ambitious scion of a powerful noble family. He has enjoyed his life immensely this far, but he has never been a pious man. This keeps him apart from his family, and he is among the most open-minded of Thyre’s nobility, if open-minded means willing to consider anything that might advance his status. Of course, part of that status is the responsibility for the peasants of Thyre, and he takes his responsibilities seriously. His assignment to the Mill is evidence of that; the Baron trusts him to watch over the operation wisely.
Darius is here to curry favor with the Duchess, Illaria Thehoven. He has gathered a group of what he hopes are impressive swordsmen for the tournament, and if they are proficient at ice sled-racing afterwards, so much the better.


Henrik “Hank” Garreden, rogue and sell-sword of Thyre
Male human (nineblood).
Fighting Styles: Dagger-and-wine (apprentice).
History, skills, and reputation: Grew up scavenging for food shivering on the streets of
Thyre (1).
Inspirations: Love for the abolitionist movement (destroying all magic, especially noble) (3).
Avid ice-sled racer (2).
Wants to save innocents from noble magic (1).
Class Abilities: Hunter and hunted. Increase your quick die size by one size in a chase scene.
Racial Abilities: Increase your die size by one when resisting magic. You can also use one inspiration twice in a scene.
Str 5, Qck 8, Rsn 4, Cha 7, Mgc 3, Hrt 6. Body 5, Mood 0.
Rogue 1.
Gear (quality) and possessions: Leather shirt (1), dagger (1), abolitionist fixer’s ink tattoo on left shoulder (+1). On loan from Darius: shortsword (5), Thyran noble’s winter outfit and earmuffs (3). Wealth 1.

Hank’s parents were killed in a wild surge caused by the Thyran Maelstrom wizards experimenting with windstorms that would aid zeppelin travel. After that, he grew up on the streets, drinking the snowmelt off the blacksmith’s roofs and foraging for cast-off food and trinkets at the base of the cliffs of Hightown.
Though Darius of Thessel believes that Henrik is working for him, Henrik actually has directions from his abolitionist cell leader. Dillard Thehoven is the young heir to House Thehoven’s dukedom. His last girlfriend Edna loved him too much, and as a result, the nobles used magic to drain her of all capacity to love. This appalled the local abolitionists, naturally, and now Hank’s orders are clear. He is to find Dillard’s new lover, Massenay, and spirit her away to a safe house before she can suffer the same fate as Edna. The safehouse is in the Ghosts in Silver district.









Boris Mendelssohn, Free Road caravan guard
Male human (wight).
Fighting Styles: Guardsman (apprentice), Twin Weapon (apprentice).
History, skills, and reputation: Once served as bodyguard and taster for the Eight Panjandrum of Syrbizond (1).
Inspirations: Burns for revenge on Duke Richmond Rohn (4).
Love for wife (3).
Class Abilities: Live by the sword. Increase by one the quality of any weapon you wield.
Racial Abilities: Increase your die size by one when resisting magic. Take one less point damage from cold, poison, and death magic. Once per scene, you can use someone else’s fear as if it were your own inspiration in a scene (and you can tell if there is fear in someone by studying them for a moment).
Str 8, Qck 6, Rsn 4, Cha 5, Mgc 3, Hrt 7. Body 5, Mood 0.
Warrior 1.
Gear (quality) and possessions: Thyran cloak with fraying raptor lining (1), cold-weather padded leather shirt (1), caravan guard sword (1), map of the Free Road scrawled with graffiti showing stick figure Rohns dying in all manners (usually impalement). On loan from Darius: shortsword (5), Thyran noble’s winter outfit and earmuffs (3). Wealth 1.

Along with his wife, Gretchen, Boris is driven by the need to seek revenge on the man that he blames for killing their two daughters. Both girls went away to school, as is the Thyran tradition, at an early age. The summers, when they returned, were bittersweet, but after the third winter, the girls did not return. After a difficult investigation (conducted in secret for fear of reprisal), Boris and Gretchen have concluded that Duke Rohn visited the Mute Grizzly school and, in all likelihood, caused the deaths of their daughters in an alchemical transfusion research experiment.
Boris and Gretchen are working with the young scion of House Thessel, Darius Anders, not just as hired muscle (as he thinks) but as a means of gradually circling in on their target. They hope to get close enough to him to destroy everything he holds dear, possibly over the course of weeks or even years, and then finish him. Boris is tall and imposing, pale-skinned like most wights, and conscious that his race makes him stand out. He takes even more care to be circumspect as a result.



Gretchen Mendelssohn, Free Road caravan guard
Female human (wight).
Fighting Styles: Free sword (apprentice), Parapet Defense (apprentice).
History, skills, and reputation: Has sailed in the White Sea regatta in a sloop belonging to a magistrate of Syrbizond.
Inspirations: Burns for revenge on Duke Richmond Rohn (4).
Love for husband (3).
Class Abilities: Live by the sword. Increase by one the quality of any weapon you are wielding.
Racial Abilities: Increase your die size by one when resisting magic. Take one less point damage from cold, poison, and death magic. Once per scene, you can use someone else’s fear as if it were your own inspiration in a scene (and you can tell if there is fear in someone by studying them for a moment).
Str 8, Qck 3, Rsn 4, Cha 6, Mgc 5, Hrt 7. Body 5, Mood 0.
Warrior 1.
Gear (quality) and possessions: Thyran cloak with fraying raptor lining (1), cold-weather padded leather shirt (1), caravan guard sword (1), evidence: a piece of cracked House Rohn porcelain left at the Mute Grizzly school on the night her daughters disappeared. On loan from Darius: shortsword (5), Thyran noble’s winter outfit and earmuffs (3). Wealth 1.

Along with her husband, Boris, Gretchen is driven by the need to seek revenge on the man that she blames for killing their two daughters. Both girls went away to school, as is the Thyran tradition, at an early age. The summers, when they returned, were bittersweet, but after the third winter, the girls did not return. After a difficult investigation (conducted in secret for fear of reprisal), Boris and Gretchen have concluded that Duke Rohn visited the Mute Grizzly school and, in all likelihood, caused the deaths of their daughters in an alchemical transfusion research experiment.
Boris and Gretchen are working with the young scion of House Thessel, Darius Anders, not just as hired muscle (as he thinks) but as a means of gradually circling in on their target. They hope to get close enough to him to destroy everything he holds dear, possibly over the course of weeks or even years, and then finish him.
Gretchen is tall and thin, and she moves with a halting but graceful slowness, like a wind that cannot make up its mind whether or not to continue blowing.




Tristan Giltdonner, swashbuckler and adventurer of the Claw
Male human (nineblood).
Fighting Styles: Swashbuckler (apprentice).
History, skills, and reputation: Tristan has traveled extensively in the Claw, usually by ship, but once by zeppelin (from Priete to Thyre) (1).
Inspirations: Thirst for fame and glory (4).
Love of zeppelins (1).
Fear of amounting to nothing (1).
Class Abilities: Hunter and hunted. Increase your quick die size by one size in a chase scene.
Racial Abilities: Increase your die size by one when resisting magic. You can also use one inspiration twice in a scene.
Str 5, Qck 8, Rsn 4, Cha 7, Mgc 3, Hrt 6. Body 5, Mood 0.
Rogue 1.
Gear (quality) and possessions: Weather-worn copy of Inverness Dugray’s Travelogue, hand-stitched zeppelin-balloon-leather shirt (1 armor, +2 fashion), travel-worn tricorner hat and Jakattan blue ostrich plume (+1). On loan from Darius: shortsword (5), Thyran noble’s winter outfit and earmuffs (3). Wealth 1.

Tristan is an adventurer’s adventurer. He happily left Rithaign without a thought and almost without a possession, only the clothes he had on, including his cherished shirt stitched from zeppelin balloon leather, his rapier, and his Travelogue came with him.
Tristan has a number of distinct mannerisms. Chief among them is his obsession with his plume. He waves it, he invokes it (“By my plume!”), and he has named it (“Berta is rustling – there are enemies about!”). He also is fond of exaggerated arm gestures, stentorian speeches, and poses of all sorts.
Tristan is delighted to appear in the tournament at the Golden. It will make a fine story.
He only hopes that something terrible will happen – because that will make an even better story.
In fact, he is not afraid to play the provocateur if he thinks that needling others and pushing things to become worse will make for a more glorious tale afterwards.

Thanks much, guys. This is helpful.

I'm particularly relieved at the freedom to easily "wing it" for nameless NPC's.

Perhaps we might consider a wiki at some point to start housing sample NPC's, extended setting info, etc.

I'm not terribly sure if it is wholly and completely, but that's how I interpreted it, and how me and MLOM ran it ;)

Nice FMA reference, btw

If we can get a separate forum for homebrew creations, that'd work well :)


Now, regarding Battlecraft/Fieldcraft:


You can sharpen weapons, manipulate the environment by modifying structures, etc. Taking as a FMA-style magic school certainly makes sense given that :) Obviously, though, you do not have to use it as such.

Homebrew creation forum is up!