Using one sprite for all NPCs is the best thing I've done in my game. Would it change anything if I added more than one sprite? No. One sprite has all the Variables used in the game for every character, each character have own skin + animations. One sprite, one event group in the Event Sheet = Performance. Currently, I use the start point for respawns, but I manually setinstance variables, about 50 stats for characters, from character traits (strength, agility, max HP, etc.) to combat skills, and about 20+ equipment slots. Not to mention AI behavior and faction settings. Of course, I can do this in various ways in the Event Sheet, OR just set Persist Enabled/Disabled.