I just want to know the spawn mechanics and locations of both, i haven’t played with random npcs since one of them just blasted with a keltec because “i was in his land” then i switched to random npcs and i didn’t found one yet. I want a way to play with random npcs without the probability of being one shoted by some crazy nut in the night while you sleep…
Static NPCs: NPCs will Spawn in locations such as where you start, in the Refugee Center, and other places that mods state they should spawn (I am not aware of a third place they spawn in Vanilla).
Random NPCs: Spawn according to the Random NPC Spawn Rate. They tend to be rather rare, and when you do encounter them are generally reasonable unless you look like a mutated bio-freak, in which case they tend to be terrified of you. Other times you’ll get ones who are just straight up unreasonable. Some will tell you to drop your weapon and then start trusting you, or tell you to leave, or maybe just attack you then and there. Diplomacy can also lead to getting attacked.
Very rarely you’ll get one who says “This is my Territory, Fucker” or something like this, and will refuse further conversation with you. These idiots don’t seem to take into account how powerful you might be (A heavily armed, and armored, post-thresh Chimera didn’t seem to deter one in the slightest).
Note that as soon as an NPC is Hostile or becomes terrified of you, there is literally no reasoning with them.
That being said, NPCs can be recruited, and there’s a noticeable difference between being alone and having an NPC helping you when zombie bashing. If you can, see what an NPC can do. In my current game, I found an NPC with an AR-15 the moment I escaped the Lab and she’s been with me ever since. She’s proved an invaluable ally.
Also, I have never, EVER encountered an NPC while sleeping.
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Yes, it was bullshit, literaly i slept and in half an hour i was saying the last words of ned jones. Also why do they get so scared if you are mutant, and what about being a cyborg?
Cyborg, no. Cyborgs existed pre-Cataclysm, and none of the Bionics make you look particularly inhuman except for a few Faulty Bionics.
Many Mutations have two values that determine NPC interactions: Visibility (how visible a mutation/trait is) and Ugliness (self-explanatory). Depending on an NPC’s personality type (if they are a “Mutant Lover” or if they care about physical appearance) these character attributes will effect your interactions with them.
As a secondary to why NPCs are afraid of mutants, it is my understand that the various beast mutants tend to look less like Anthropomorphic Animals and more like the actual animal with a human body frame. For visual reference, Rahzar from TMNT’s 2012 animated series is a GREAT example of what I think a heavily mutated Lupine mutant would look like (granted, we’re missing some mutations to gave the bone blades, projectile claws and half-rotted zombie look, but I think you get my point).
Now tell me, if you encountered something like the image I posted above, especially in a scenario like the Cataclysm, what would be your first reaction? This is for any mutant but Alpha by the way. Just replace Werewolf with something like “Someone who’s covered in scars from a variety of wounds (some self-inflicted for fun) and shows no concern for the fact there’s a huge gash on his arm” (Medical) or “Unholy amalgamation of various animal features seemingly grafted on to a human body frame who is simultaneously eating and murdering zombies” (Chimera) or a fucking human spider (Spider) or a real life Smoky the Bear.
In most of those scenarios, my reaction would be to not engage. In others, I’d give them a wide berth, or run as fast as I could. If I was desperate, I might ask the Medical Mutant if I could join up with him because he at least looks human, if I could get past the fact he looks like someone who’s been through a war, a burn ward, chemotherapy and a long string of therapists first.
I imagine even post-thresh alphas would be pretty intimidating. I pretty much picture them as looking like this guy, but with normal skin and (probably) hair:
The NPC probably spawned right before you went to sleep. I used to be afraid of random NPC shooter before I toggle on the feature. But it turns out they only spawn when you are awake and you can check for them on map.