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Changes
Added Supporting Characters from H5
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This article isn't a set of homebrew rules, but an explanation of different ways the game advises to create SPCs, a comparison of how "difficult" the average SPC should be and an analysis of how the probability of success works in the dice mechanics of V5, especially relative to Difficulties. This is mostly written for a (prospective) Storyteller, but the section on difficulties and probability can be useful for a player too. Where I've found them, I also have H5 Corebook page references, but the page references are for V5 unless otherwise stated.
== Introduction to Difficulty ==
To start with, p. 119 of the V5 Corebook / p. 113 of the H5 Corebook has a table with some standard Difficulties, pp. 407 - 414 has typical dice pools you might want to know, p. 409 has Difficulties for Feats of Strength and pp. 411 - 412 has more detailed Difficulties for social situations and circumstantial modifiers (e.g. if you're asking someone who dislikes you to do something risky). I recommend checking these sections before continuing, as these are the basics.
== What should SPCs be like? ==
* Cons: Still quite a bit of work
=== 3) Supporting Characters === Examples are the ones in the Supporting Characters sidebar of the H5 Corebook (p. 74), which just list key action pools, e.g. Athletics, Firearms, Investigation, and not things they're not likely to ever do. * Pros: Much quicker than PC stats or even simplified SPCs* Cons: Has some gaps which you might need to improvise for === 4) General Difficulties ===
A bit like the above, but instead of rolling dice, you arbitrarily give a Difficulty players need to roll against in order to beat them against anything. Generally this has a normal and exceptional difficulty, like skills, eg as portrayed in Cults of the Blood Gods (p. 15). Example would be a skilled Hunter with Difficulty: 3/2 - players would have to beat Difficulty 2 for most things, and 3 for the exceptional things that the hunter is particularly good at, such as firearms or hiding from their investigation.
* Cons: Loses nuance, don't have emergent fun from messy criticals
=== 45) Simple Antagonists ===
Single difficulty which, when beaten, completely defeats the opponent basically regardless of the roll. Eg Thug: Difficulty 3. If you want to roll dice, roll dice equal to 2x the Difficulty. Detailed more in the Corebook (p. 370).
* Cons: Mainly for mooks / side characters, and not very satisfied for interesting SPCs
=== 56) Characteristics Only ===
Just outline Convictions and Ambition, as well as possibly Touchstones and possibly a vague area of influence - eg downtown, Elysium, sewers, hospitals, finance sector. For characters which may be encountered, personality too. Then only flesh out the stats when players are likely to encounter them in a conflict. This is mainly intended for the Kindred of a city who won't be direct antagonists, but will come up along the way.