UESPWiki:Style Guide/NPC Layout

This page describes the standard UESP layout for NPC articles.

Also, note that a similar layout is used for unique creatures and named creatures, except that creatures use the Creature Summary template instead of the NPC Summary.

Overview
A minimal overview of the sections that typically appear on a NPC page is:
   

Templates
The NPC Summary template is the primary template used on all NPC pages.  It creates the infobox that appears on the right side of every NPC page, and also handles the categories and other navigational details of the page.  Full documentation of the template and the parameters it accepts are provided on the template page. 

Most components of the template are extracted directly from the game data, so therefore they do not normally need to be manually filled in.  The key parameters that need to be filled out by editors are:
NPC's location.  The parameters to provide depend upon where the NPC lives
If NPC is a merchant or innkeeper:
 : The NPC's home city (or home town).  This needs to be provided as a formatted link, e.g.,    .
 : The name of the store/inn where the NPC works.
If NPC lives in a city/town/settlement, but is not a merchant:
 : The NPC's home city (or home town).  This needs to be provided as a formatted link, e.g.,    .
 : The name of the house where the NPC lives.
If NPC does not live in a city/town/settlement:
 : The NPC's location,  , should only be filled in if   is not provided.

Image:
 : An image depicting the NPC.  For general information on image formats, see . NPC images should have a 1:1 aspect ratio. It should show as much of the NPC as possible, preferably performing some kind of action, but the priority is to create an image that allows clear and easy visual identification of the NPC.
 : The caption displayed underneath the image.

First Paragraph
The first sentence on the NPC's page should summarize all the key information about the character.  For example:
   
It should always provide the NPC's name (bold-face), race (as a link), and class/occupation (as a link).  It should also provide the location where the NPC works/lives.

Subsequent sentences in the first paragraph should summarize the main reasons why players are likely to interact with this NPC.  It should mention any services they provide (merchant, training, spell merchant, recharging, etc.).  Also a "teaser" sentence should mention any quests they're involved in.  This should not be a complete quest description (the first paragraph should avoid providing unnecessary spoilers), but rather a sentence briefly describing the NPC's relevance to the quest, with a link to the actual quest page.

Additional Paragraphs
Additional information that may be of interest for a NPC page include:
Relatives: names (and links) for any of the NPC's relatives (husband, sister, etc), or NPCs with whom they frequently interact.
Schedule: where and when to find the NPC.
Inventory: items they are wearing and carrying, especially if any of them are particularly valuable.  Any valuable items in the NPC's house can also be mentioned.
Dialogue: in particular unique dialogue that provides information not available elsewhere.

Quests
The "Related Quests" section lists all quests that involve the NPC.  If there are no quests, the section should be omitted.  

Each quest should be listed using the  template, in a bulletized list.  For example:
   

Notes
The "Notes" section is for miscellaneous information about the NPC.  Only information that does not belong anywhere else on the page should be included here.  In general the information in this section is information not relevant to gameplay, such as missing dialogue, NPCs from other games with the same name, the voice actor, etc.

See Also
Examples of NPC pages: , , , , , .  

Help Contents: A listing of all the available help articles.
Editing Pages: General information on how to edit wiki pages.
Quick Editing Guide: A table of the most commonly used formatting commands.
Common Mistakes: Some mistakes that are commonly made by new editors.
Style Guide: General guidelines for how to write, format, and present pages.
Book Page Layout: The standard UESP layout for book articles.
Place Page Layout: The standard UESP layout for place articles.
Quest Page Layout: The standard UESP layout for quest articles.
Formatting: More detailed information on wiki formatting.
Spelling: Spelling rules for commonly misspelled words on UESPWiki.
Links: Creating and using links between wiki pages.
Lore: Guidelines for articles in the Lore: namespace
Manual of Style (wikipedia)