Now, if you are someone who talks to NPCs in WoM somewhat frequently, you might have noticed certain aspects of them, such as their talk animations, corresponding to faces, talking lines, and even their overhead UIs. Even before I started work on my dialogue compilation document, I’ve noted this. Each NPC can have one of four personalities, which I’ll refer to as “Smiling”, “Angry”, “Bored”, and “Nervous”, for lack of the official name (if there is one). These names are based on the faces most NPCs have associated with their personalities, with some exceptions (which I’ll mention later). This post will be separated into four categories based on personalities, and an extra section for any exceptions.
Smiling NPC
As indicated by the name, these NPCs tend to have smiling faces. For good reps without a preset name color, including wizards, bounty hunters, traveling merchants, civilians, and mercenaries, they have green names. Their talk animation is a wave with the right hand, and they are generally cheerful and have a positive outlook with their lines. With negative reps, smiling bandits will often talk about obtaining legendary weapons, with lines such as “Apparently, the Magic Council has information on certain legendary weapons… I’ve been trailing some soldiers recently so that I can steal any information they might have.” Smiling Dark Wizards will talk about improving their strategies, with lines such as “I just defeated a group of Magic Council soldiers by myself. It’s quite easy, if you analyze their attack patterns and formation, any simpleton could do the same. However, I now have to hide for a while, otherwise they’ll probably send a captain after me.”
Angry NPC
These NPCs have light red names as a good rep, indicating an unfriendly reputation. They are the easiest to tell personalities for in terms of good rep NPCs without preset color, as all the other personality types have friendly or protector and their name colors. Their talk animation is them crossing their arms across their chest, similar to the “Boss” animation pack. They speak rudely, often telling you to go away unless they want you to do a quest. Both bandits and dark wizards with this personality talk about needing to become stronger, with lines like “Even the strongest wizards can fall to non-wizards like me. It all depends on our strength and what weapons we carry.” and “The strong kill the weak and get stronger, creating an endlessly widening gap. Don’t fall behind, runt.”
Bored NPC
As mentioned earlier, they have green/friendly names for their UIs. They usually talk about being unsure of things, or making some casual remarks. Their talk animation is a head scratch, as indicated in the below image. Bored bandits often say how they had to steal just to survive, and bored dark wizards are unable to control their magics. “I’m an orphan, and I’ve never had any friends. I’ve been living on the streets and stealing to survive as long as I can remember… what’s it like living in a home, and eating fresh food every day? I can only dream…” "I never wanted to become a criminal… I just can’t control my power and I kill anyone around me when I get angry. I’ve been on the run ever since the first incident… "
Nervous NPC
These NPCs worry about various things constantly, and are often fearful of being too weak or of fighting tough criminals, in terms of combat NPCs. Nervous civilians are similar, but often worry about other aspects of life outside of magic and combat. One nervous captain’s line, “I thought my anxiety and fears would do away when I got promoted to Captain, but I’m still just a coward. The only reason I was promoted is because I’m strong…”, describes the fears of these NPCs somewhat well. Nervous negative reps, on the other hand, are insane. They often attach a laugh (“HAHAHAHA”) to their lines, both talk and alert. They like to kill, as depicted in the lines “I may be a little messed up in the head, but I won’t attack you. I can tell you’re just like me, running from the law because you love killing innocents! HAHA!” and “Man, what a rush, I just killed someone and I feel incredible! HAHAHAHAHA! I was never able to do something like that as a normal wizard, being evil is so great!”
Exceptions
The main exception I can think of is that all bandits and dark wizards, no matter the personality, always have angry faces. However, their animations and lines remain varied.
Obviously, David, Minotaur, and The Exiled’s personalities do not change, and based on each of their faces, they all fall into the “angry” category of NPCs. As their lines are preset, there isn’t much to note about their personalities.
If I missed anything you would like to add, please mention it in the comments.