Article:
LARP Plot Tips: Kit Rewards for NPCs

We've tried letting NPCs play for free. We've tried giving them formal levels. We've tried giving them magic items. Hell, we've tried giving them food. And yet, we still find ourselves coming up short.  Why?

Because players get IG rewards when they PC. So give them something they don't get when the PC. Give them kit.

When you run a camp that has 3-5 events a year, it's pretty important to have reliable NPCs. It doesn't help me if I have 20 NPCs one event and 5 the next. I'd much rather have 10 NPCs the whole year around. Not to mention the fact that as the game you run gets better, more people are interested in PCing than NPCing.

For that reason, players that NPC for a camp for the entire season (and actually show up at all the games) get the following reward in addition to whatever rewards they're already getting.

Season 1: A nice pair of claws and a decent, double-sided tabard (black and white).
Season 2: A sword/shield or two handed weapon, and a double-sided tabard (choose colors).
Season 3: A tunic and a small make-up kit.
Season 4: A pair of drawstring pants (color of choice) and another tabard.

Benefits:
- Players who NPC will be sporting better weapons and garb, making the game even better when they PC.
- Less demand for the game staff to bring as much loaner gear, both for NPCs to use and for new players to borrow, since more people have weapons of their own.
- Hopefully you will have more reliable NPCs.

Downside:
- The materials cost money (unless donated).
- Requires people to donate time to create the rewards.

Ultimately, assuming time is donated, each of these costs anywhere between $15-$30 and it might even run less made in quantity. That ends up costing the chapter roughly $4-$8 an event per NPC, and yet to a lot of players it seems like so much more.

Point System:
An alternative way of doing this is to give NPCs points towards purchasing any of the above rewards, so that they can pick what they want. If you were to do something like this, it might be a good idea to give bonuses to NPCs who make the entire season.  You don't want to lose the incentive for them to show up to every event.  The upside is that everyone gets benefits, even if they have to miss an event here or there, and now these bonuses transfer between camps.