Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Duke_of_Shards 02-22-07, 05:23 PM	Post here your idea for a strange or completely unique NPC. This NPC cannot be a major character, or a villain the players actually fight, just someone who they see from time-to-time, and who never fails to wierd them out, even if they don't know the exact nature of this NPC. Here is one of mine: 1. There was a powerful Lich who would often leave the Prime Material for centuries at a time, exploring the multiverse. He left his phylactery, (his mummified heart) in the pit of his crypt while on such voyages. These crypts eventually became infested with all manner of vermin: rats, insects and oozes. One day, a particularly hungry ooze seeped into the chest where the Lich kept his heart, and devoured it. Something awakened inside the ooze, and he took on the personality and some of the memories of the Lich. It also found that, through concentrating, it could maintain a vaguely humanoid shape, and even channel some magic. The ooze left the crypt and wandered the woods for several days until it found the town of Thelwood. That night, the ooze killed one of the farmers on the outskirts of town and stole his body. The people of the town now pretty much avoid that farmstead, but every once in a while, he'd walk into town with a shambling gait, his skin an eerie shade, go into the local inn and cause a ruckus: eating the patron's food off their plates, catching the rats off the floor and eating them raw, draining the tankards of ale, and basically eating and drinking anything that would fit in his mouth. When they throw him into the dungeon, somehow, the old farmer always manages to escape, leaving behind a trail of slime leading out the barred windows.
pres_man 02-22-07, 06:01 PM	Moogle and his half-brother Bren: Moogle is a full orc, he is know as Moogle the Mad because he is crazy. He thinks he gets commands from Lawful deities to capture wrong doers. He then tries to hunt them down and "bring them to justice". In fact if he is able to capture them, he usually drags them around for a week or two and then let's them go forgetting why he had captured them in the first place. Occasionally he may attempt to turn them over to some person who he views as an authority figure (whether they really had any authority or not, remember he is crazy). He only employs non-lethal means. If he is attacked by lethal means, he will either attempt to disarm his foes (using a whip), entangle them (with nets), or trip them (whip or bolas). If they prove to strong he will usually retreat, but follow them until he either captures them or forgets why he was after them. Bren is Moogle's half-brother by their mother. Bren is a half-ogre and is also know as Big Bren. Unlike his brother who is not too stupid (for an orc) but crazy, Bren is not crazy but is horrible stupid (Int 3). He doesn't understand why Moogle insists on capture folk, but Bren figures he must have a good reason that is just too complicated for Bren to understand. Though Moogle is quite strong (being an orc and all), Bren is the real muscle in the operation. He, like his brother, employs nets, bolas, and whips, but he is also armed with a large sized truncheon (non-lethal 1-handed weapon from BoED). He is very protective of Moogle and can sometimes get a bit brutal if it looks like Moogle is getting hurt. Moogle is a 5th level fighter, Bren is a 4th level barbarian. Both are true neutral, Moogle because he can't really appreciate his actions due to his mental illness, Bren because he is just too stupid to understand complex morality. Moogle and Bren may show up from time to time and attempt to capture a member of the party (Moogle's insanity usually does not group individuals together). Other times they may show up and attempt to capture someone or something the party is currently fighting (perhaps attempting to stop the party from killing or capturing them). In those cases if the party allows them to go about their business they might be quite useful allies (temporarily).
Boyzenberg 02-22-07, 06:22 PM	Galmarx "The Engine" Almusson (lvl-13 Wizard) Galmarx is a bright, slightly aged gnome. All his life he has been living as a lonely hermit in the eastern Krom hills (Place him wherever you would like him, Krom hills is just his location in my campaign.) As the PCs encounter him he has developed, hold your toes: A railroad! A small cart mounted on four steel wheels are propelled down the rails by a powerful Gust of Wind spell. Possible Adventure Hook Unfortunately as the PCs arrive he has crashed his own cart by sending it flying over a hilltop in a recent booster experiment. He sends the PCs off to the nearest town to get him supplies. A local band of gnolls has a camp set up nearby and have become awfully annoyed with Galmarx because his railroad is noisy and he likes to work during the night. The gnolls are afraid to attack Galmarx, but not the PCs and they plan out an ambush during the trip.
Horemheb442 02-22-07, 06:32 PM	4) Milton, the Miopic Magic-User; Owner of Milton's Magic Shop Besides being Really Nearsighted, he's very hard of hearing.(Remember the "Church Lady" from old Saturday Night Live?) His shop is a small 30' x 40' structure in a quiet part of the city. Inside, it is 60' x100' and has 2 floors. He is usually found sitting on a stool behind a high counter with his nose, literally, in a large book. He accidentally or purposefully misunderstands what they are asking for, going off on a tangent. "Sir, my friends and I are looking for rings of protection." "Rings of Deflection. Rings of Deflection. You can'd just ask for that...where are you? Anyway, you have to be more specific! What do you want to Deflect? Missils, Magic, Unwanted Advances From the Opposite Sex? Where do you want it to deflect to? One of your group, another Plane, Straight up? "Sir,Sir...We were looking for a Ring of PROTECTION! "Ring of Protection? Why didn't you say so? Why are you wasting my valuable time with discussions of Rings of Deflection when you're actually talking about a Ring of Protection? So, how much do you want for this ring?":rimshot:
Disturbed1 02-22-07, 07:55 PM	Jar, an elf wizard and Dran, a dwarf wizard. They were both orphaned at a very young age, raised by a human woman, who has since passed on, and fully believe themselves to be humans, as well as brothers. NO one can convince them otherwise. They run a small shop in town(whereever you want them), creating potions and scrolls, and enchanting items for the towns people.
darkneolink 02-22-07, 09:09 PM	Quoll the crazy gnome expert Quoll is a hermit who lives in the outsides of one little town, he could be a genius if there weren't 2 things on his ways, first of all, he doesn't believe that humans exist, you might be a human, standing in front of him, talking to him and he would only ignore you, because you don't eist (and he'll try to convinve everyone else of his point of view) the other thing is that he is a were-rat
Sathery 02-26-07, 01:51 AM	Quoll the crazy gnome expert Quoll is a hermit who lives in the outsides of one little town, he could be a genius if there weren't 2 things on his ways, first of all, he doesn't believe that humans exist, you might be a human, standing in front of him, talking to him and he would only ignore you, because you don't eist (and he'll try to convinve everyone else of his point of view) the other thing is that he is a were-rat That's pretty funny! :heehee: 7. The Diriksons. A band of Dwarven fighters with the leader multi-classing in fighter and rogue. By their side is a orc/half-orc with a very, very low intelligence. They come from the Dwarven territory (naturally) and have an affinity for mucking up the party's plans. The Diriksons take what they want before the party gets there, gets them in trouble to "cramp their style," etc. They're quite fun when you need to liven up the gaming session while people are in town looking for something to do.
Merloth 02-26-07, 02:32 AM	LOL, I love this kind of NPCs. Anyway, let's try to number them from now on, shall we? I believe we've come to 8. Sparks and Dogg Sparks was a crazy gnome wizard who lived together with his dog outside of town. Sparks was ill tempered, and sometimes he would freak out casting fireballs everywhere and things like that. Thus, he lived outside town. One day, his clumsy dog, Dogg, ruined Sparks' alchemy lab. Sparks obviously got pretty mad, and he polymorphed (Baleful Polymorph) the dog into a human and threw him out of his house. Ever since then, there has been a naked man in town, running around with the other dogs, barking and biting those he doesn't like. (We laughed so hard when my PC's met this full grown, naked man licking their legs... They required an explanation, though...)
Merloth 02-26-07, 02:43 AM	9. Mr. Mip Mr. Mip is a midget with wizardry skills. Ever since he was little, the society has mocked him, and nobody has ever treated him with respect. As he couldn't get a job, or even get money at all, Mr. Mip had to live where he could. Therefore, Mr. Mip now lives in an outdoor toilet with bookshelves on each of the sides. There he sits all day, studying to become a wizard. But the crappy treatment he has received all life, has made him change. He wants to pay people back for treating him so. So at night, Mr. Mip sneaks around town, doing what he consider evil stuff. (Mr. Mip is actually a good guy, so the evil stuff is basically pranks.) (This guy got involved in my setting as the PCs were investigating some murders in town. After a while they went to talk to Mr. Mip. Mr. Mip, considering himself caught for his misdeeds, opens up to the party, telling them that he has done a lot of evil things... He actually got arrested :( )
ChimericPhase 02-26-07, 02:50 AM	Why are they all gnomes? o.O ...well, most of them.
Merloth 02-26-07, 03:08 AM	Why are they all gnomes? o.O ...well, most of them. Well, as it happens, I think gnomes are the most suited race to be a bit strange. I think it's very usual to have at least one crazy gnome in their campaign. But hey, if you don't lik'em, you could change the race so that the NPC still fits into your campaign.
Myree 02-27-07, 12:45 AM	10. Digger Digger is a human undertaker. No, not the Igor kind, or even the "well, let's see if we can get him put back together and raised, shall we?" No, Digger just always seems to show up when someone around town dies. I 'spose he could be seen doing the measuring and stuff before the big show-down, but that one has been done to death ;) . Nah, he is just overly freindly and REALLY enjoys his job WAY too much! If run into randomly (say in the inn), he will even go so far as to try pre-arrange burial plots and get the PCs to part with a little cash "to help them get their affairs in order". Oh, and if a, shall we say, non-responsive PC or NPC were to find themselves in his capable hands, well, he will assure any friends that might come to call that the "dearly departed" was obviously beyond any help and no need for any heroics or divine magic -- best to just prep and plot as quickly as possible, hmm... I'm telling you, used properly, this little reminder of mortality can offer the creeps to the stoutest heart. And if it don't, well, have him do double-duty as a butcher or fry-cook at the inn -- he doesn't have to actually DO anything, since just the possible implications will be enough.
Saberus 02-27-07, 02:50 AM	11. How about a Fighter that's a pacifist? I'm not talking about he's given up fighting. He just doesn't fight, period. You can walk right up and mug him in broad daylight, and he won't so much as peep in opposition. Then meet his older brother, a High Cleric of St. Cuthbert...
Horemheb442 02-27-07, 08:39 PM	12) In one of my longrunning campaigns I have a "Training Dungeon" to start out people who are just getting into RPGs or are coming to 2nd Ed. from 3rd. In the small village they come to is an elderly guardsman named Max who has been severely wounded. He referes them to his assistant for details. He is a large 17 year old fighter with an 18/56 strength, a 10 Dex and a 7 Intel. He can neither read nor write and he only remembers 'details' sporatically. He has an annoying habit of remembering key details right after the party runs into them. He is such a nice kid, though, and tries so hard to please and is so brave (possibly not smart enough to realize his situation or that he is outnumbered, etc.) it's hard to make him leave.
Sathery 02-27-07, 11:53 PM	13. Chuck the Homeless Man: Chuck is the guy that wandered Bennigan doing nothing but playing his lute. The party bought a house there and then hired Chuck to guard it. They've also put Chuck through school and he's now a fighter. Damned good stats as well. Heh. He's quite the guy. Doesn't really loathe the party, doesn't really respect them. Kind of comical to watch them interact with him. Heh.
Arthur_Pendragon 02-28-07, 09:38 AM	Why are they all gnomes? o.O ...well, most of them. Actually D&D sort of has a tradition for crazy gnomes. Especially thanks to the Baldur's Gate series. First, in BG I you have Arcanad the Mad quest (a minor question on the coast line where you need to retreive a cursed ring of stupidity for him. Oh, and its guarded by carrion crawlers! In reward he gives you a Potion of Explosions (basically fireball in a bottle) with a warning not to unstopper it). Then in BG II: Shadows of Amn, you run into a crazy gnome who just whistles alot (goes "Tee hee . . ." but if some one other than the main protagonist of the story talks to him he will occassionally make up little rhymes that reveal his understanding of some detail about their past.) Not to mention also in BG II there is Jan Jansen (pronounced Yahn Yahn-sen) a zany gnome whose in party dialogue often rabbles into bizzare stories that poke fun at other more self-centered NPC's. That and Greyhawks Tinker Gnomes.
JulesCARV 02-28-07, 01:42 PM	14. Shanara the Indifferent Succubus This succubus has dropped out of the Blood War, services of the abyss, and the like, and given up on seducing mortals into damnation. Many angels rejoiced, thinking that they would soon have a redeemed fiend paladin or somesuch as a new ally. No such luck. Shanara has decided that she wants nothing to do with alignment, the planes, religion, or anything. She's true neutral, spends her time in a cottage, and spends most of her time gardening, knitting, and doing small handycrafts. Because various demons, devils, angels, clerics, paladins and blackguards are constantly trying to recruit/tempt/redeem her, she has put up a big sign outside her door: "If ye be a cleric, outsider, paladin, or blackguard, I amn't interested in joining your religion or alignment. I haven't any interest in returning to the abyss or becoming a paladin. Bugger off!"
JulesCARV 03-02-07, 07:57 PM	15. Theodius, Child of Destiny, the Half-Gold Dragon, Half-Celestial, Phrenic, Half-fey, Aasimar commoner. Theodius was born to be a hero, a confluence of bloodlines that gives him extraordinary powers. Unfortunately, he's never actually successfully learned anything beyond basic skills, so he is classed as a level 1 commoner. Owing to his single hit die combined with a level adjustment of +12, anything for which he might be able to gain experience is far too much of a challenge for him, and anything that he can manage is of a challenge rating so far below his ECL that he gains no experience from it. He has been trying to learn enough to take a level of a PC class, but has so far been unable to learn anything, and spends most of his time working as a day laborer in his home village.
JulesCARV 03-03-07, 03:39 PM	That and Greyhawks Tinker Gnomes. I was under the impression that Tinker Gnomes were from Dragonlance. Were they in Greyhawk too?
quarkstomper 03-03-07, 03:59 PM	One of my favorite recurring NPC's is Stinky Muldoon, a 6-ft tall albino ferret with a pushcart. If my players happen to be in a town looking to buy supplies, or sometimes even in the middle of nowhere, they will run into Stinky. The assortment in his cart is eclectic; some of the items are magical, some are cursed, all are interesting. No one knows why he is a ferret. Does he come from a race of giant ferrets? Is he under an enchantment? Was he once a wizard's familiar, or a poor hapless merchant cursed by an angry customer? Stinky does not say, and if asked about the subject will pretend not to know what you're talking about. As far as he's concerned, he's perfectly normal. Oh, and his real first name is Seamus. The nickname comes because like all ferrets he has a distinctive musky odor. It's not nearly as bad as a skunk's smell, but it is definitely noticable. Presumably he can also "express" himself the way a skunk does, but to my knowlege that has never been necessary. He is friendly and garrarlous and always has an item he's sure you're looking for.