Hello there,

There's a whole lot of articles on the site essentially saying “less is more,” in regards to GM preparation. This is one of those. It comes from a trick I learned with world-populating. Don't make everyone, and don't make no one. Make 'somebodies' to be fleshed out more later. And do use clichés to your benefit.

Populating Your World With Somebodies
Portraying the rest of the world surrounding the party can seem quite the daunting task. You don't want it to seem dull yet you might not know who the characters will interact with. Instead of crafting each person or assuming people insignificant to the adventure are the same, make “types.”

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27003.asp

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Leif Sutter, Role Playing Games Editor
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