A few thoughts on NPCs and NPC crafting.
Okay, while it’d be nice to tell an NPC “Make this shit for me while I’m gone”, that’d be a lot of work to implement, and I’ve really found most crafting that you wouldn’t want to do yourself goes by pretty quickly, anyway…However, here’s an idea:
Using the quest system.
When an NPC joins your group, whether or not it’s a part of your active party, there’s a chance they’ll give you quests to retrieve X item. After you do that, they give you another quest to return in a few days and pick up the reward they made you. This would give roughly the same feel as assigning them tasks in terms of the shit it’d make you go do after you’re done interacting with them (going out on a supply run so you can have bulk crafted goods waiting for you, having a wider “shopping list” of useful shit to grab, saving you time in game), but it’d use an existing system. That you’d be at the mercy of the system would be made up for by having to get a few items less/slightly better loot than doing it the manual way.
Examples:
“Man, the amount of dead batteries lying around is getting a bit ridiculous… Get me some scrap metal, a foot crank, and some copper wire, and I’ll use what I have to whip up a generator and recharge some for you.” (Bigass stack of batteries, maybe a UPS. Alternately, they make a generator item for you.)
“We need medical supplies. Bring me a couple of curtains, a bottle of vodka, and a bottle of superglue. It won’t be pretty, but it’ll work.” (Provides first aid kits and bandages.)
“I know how to make liquor. Bring me a metal tank for a still and some fruit, and I’ll make all the hooch you want.”
“I have a broken bionics installer. Bring me a bottle of triple sec so I can get drunk, and a UPS and some copper wire so I can fix it one night, and I’ll give it to you when I’m done.” (Provides a jury rigged bionics installer with a higher chance to fail.)
“Hey, I found a couple of wheels when I was scouting earlier… Get me a metal frame and a foot crank and I’ll make us a bicycle. You can use it when I’m not!” (Protip: They don’t use it.)
“We need water. Clean water. I’m sick of getting the shits like this, it just ain’t right. Bring me a pot and some water, I’ll get the wood to boil it.”
“It’s getting bad out there. We need guns. Can you help us out?” (Morale up, offers a skill to train.)
“Help me help you. I found a cache of primer. Bring me a hundred casings and I’ll give you a stack of bullets.” (Probably need to tweak that one for balance. Also, stack of random bullets.)
“I found a crate of military supplies out in the woods, but it’s got a massive lock on it, and zombies chased me away before I could get into it. Haul it over here and I’ll crack it open; we’ll split what’s inside.”
And so on. There’s a ton of ideas like that you could use. Do enough of 'em and you’ve got a base that feels alive with a minimal amount of work. It also allows specialist survivors to build shit you simply can’t, later on.
Furthermore, you could tie this to a food/water/morale system-- They’re more likely to offer to do useful shit for you if their needs are being met. This would also help balance out how nice having a truck full of NPCs is-- It’s great, yeah, but kind of unsustainable, especially in regards to supplies. (NPCs in your active party might use more food/water?)
