I\'d like to see at least a few non-player characters that don\'t neccesarily have any interactive role in the story, but just exist within or near the towns \"doing stuff\". Having players and quest-giving npc\'s if fine enough, but extra characters would add a \"living\" environment to the game. Before you flame me to death, let me give you some ideas of what I mean:
Dogs (or a fantasy equivalent of a small friendly domesticated animal). They might run around the towns near houses, docks, ale-houses, etc - anywhere they might get food (they don\'t have to actually BE fed - only act as if they are feeding!). They would have a run, walk, sit, sleep, eat and howl (at night) actions. They would follow a random path near their designated area. They ignore players.
Washerwomen, Lumberjacks, Wagoneers, etc. People who walk from a town boundary to a given point, perform a repetitive action and then walk back. Non interactive (saying hello might result in them saying \"Sorry, I\'m in a hurry\" or a grunt, but no more). Their actions would be walking, occasionally stopping as if for breath, and their action (eg chopping wood, washing clothes in a river).
Kids playing. Small kids generally ignore the world around them (including the player), so seeing a couple of kids running around chasing each other or just moping around kicking up a bit of dust, etc, would give the towns a more \"family\" like atmosphere - as if this is a town where people *live*.. Kids would possibly follow a very simplistic flocking algorithm, bounded by collisions with the buildings and the town boundary.. this would mean that a small group of kids might run around semi-randomly but usually together. Possibly tie in random quests to find a particular kid and report back to someone where you last saw them, etc.
Town crier. She/He would wander around a town square or gates spouting information about the town, the time of day, all\'s well, call to arms, \"The gods tell me the server is going down! Flee! Oh woe!\" etc. Their actions would pretty much be a slow plodding walk and ignore anything anyone said to them.
General townsfolk. These would be people who follow defined paths through the town and perform actions. Actions might be picking something things, knocking on doors and waiting (but nobody is home, so they move on), telling passers-by about a particular ale-house, walking around in daze, etc. Non interactive; just there to make towns seem buzzing with non-game related activity.
Animals (outside of towns). Very simple actions - probably only move, flee (run for a random time in a random direction) and eat. Non killable, or possibly killable for no bonus.
