Post/Author/DateTime	Post
karrde723 08-17-05, 12:55 AM	I'm creating a rather large campaign world and I've run into a problem. I don't have enough ideas for interesting NPCs! So I beseech the massive online collective to help me make up some memorable characters for the PCs to meet. NPCs can be of any level (though try to limit it to under three digits) and can be pretty much anyone from bartenders to adventurers to mad old wizards living in the desert. I need background, personality, and motivations (you know all that role-playing stuff) more than the actual stats but stats would be much appreciated. To give you a little about what's in the world, pretty much everything and anything can fit. There's a martial state controlled by an immortal tyrannical dictator and his army of war mages and soldiers. There's a ruined goblin empire with various factions warring over the ruins. There's a powerful guild that's all but monopolized trade through many kingdoms and it's secretly controlled by mind flayers. There's a nation of drow necromancers who use undead and slaves as their main work force. You can pretty much make whatever you want and I can probably fit it in (or make up somewhere for it to fit). This is a world where pretty much all of the published campaign settings mesh so you can go all out with them. For something specific, I need a few goodish level 25ish NPCs for the famous 12 person adventuring party that wanders the land. So far I've got a cleric of pelor who's haunted by a troubled past; an exiled prince of the troll tribes; a warforged monk from Eberron with vows of peace and poverty trying to figure out the reason for his own existence and to find happiness in this world; the ghost of a ninja assassin trying to atone for past crimes so he can pass on; a firebrand pixie sorceress in service to the couatls; and an old fashion gunslinger from Ravenloft just trying to keep these damned fools alive. I'm looking forward to what ideas everyone has. Karrde
Disturbed1 08-17-05, 01:28 AM	ill list some of the ones that im currently using in my own campaign. you can take em straight off how i did or adjust them a bit, dont matter to me:P 1)Samuel Hardnox: he is the only real 'townguard' from the town that teh campaign started in. RP'ed as a graying Socttish man whjo no longer drinks because of the trouble it got him(and his now dead friends) in when he was younger. Only real family is his younger sister, and his niece, both of whom he is very protective over. 2)Jarlaxle and Bruenor(yes, i know, i stole the names:P couldnt think of good names at the time:P). Jarlaxle is an elf, and Bruenor is a dwarf. They think they are human brothers. Raised as humans by a human woman in the starting town(which is mostly human populated). They run the only place in town that sells magical items. RP as they dont realize that they arent human, and will swear up and down that they are, and are brothers. Also, they will make whatever magical item that tehy have the skill to make(Bruenor does arms and weapons, Jralaxle does potions and wands, both do scrolls), but they will salso swear up and down that they do not know how to cast magical spells. So they will make items for you, but wont directly cast spells for you:P 3)Simon the Wineman: a short, fat, slighjtly balding wine merchant who came to town at the beginning of teh campaign, but has been kidnapped(he was just gonna be a minor part to get a couple chars into teh game, but now he is playing a much bigger role, as part of the reason teh party si going after the BBEG is cause he kidnapped Simon. RP as he knows his wine and is very fond of it. Sells all kinda of wine from all over the world. Runs a much larger wine industry in one of the bigest cities in teh kingdom, but has come to the starting town for the 'spring fesitval'. another thing i like to do is use the players old pcs, the ones that survived old campaigns, and introduce them into the new campaign as an npc, whihc is what i did with: 4) Milo and Fang Milo is a 'very tall' halfling bard. he is just over 4ft and wears a hat that givbes him about another foot and is as wide around is Milo is tall:P Fang is the old wolf animal coimpanion that Milos now dead travelling companion, Cade the Druid, awakened. Fang has a few lvls in Fighter and a few in barb. RP: Milo is now the political leader of the main halfling setlement on the continent the campaign is currently on, and Fang and his pack(of other wolves, jsut reg wolves, not awakened) are the 'town guards'. Their town was just attacked by the BBEG, who ther party is still chasing, and are now refusing entrance into the city because the party said they hailed from XXXville(not gonna say teh name of the main town), whihc is where the BBEG marchesd from....that and the party si currently travelling with an orc mage and a group of goblins(involves Bluff checks and a the Dominate psionic power, other than that, dont ask:P) so gl with the game and finding more memorable npcs. Hope i was of some help:P
DraconsNighthawk 08-17-05, 02:03 AM	Hmmm. I'll give you a few of my more favorite npcs that I have thrown in. Gork: LN male orc fighter 10: A soft-spoken orc that some would consider a pure soul, untainted by the ravages of "orcish behavior". He wield a large great-sword, and uses it often with his power-attack. He loves to fight for a noble cause. However, what set him apart is he is blind. Stands six and half-feet tall, his trademark armor is a fullplate that is rustly, though still functional. Strapped to his legs are two type 1 bags of holding. (Choose whatever feats ya want, but I recommend blind-fight, blindsense, power attack, monkey-grip, weapon focus great sword, weapon spec great sword, followed by whatever else ye want) Elkleaf: CG Male human rang4/fig3: Elkleaf, or better known as Shadowhawk in Waterdeep. (switch to a major city for your homeworld) is a very unusal chracter. The local authorites want him arrested for the vigante justice he dishes out. He is famous for the dorky /super hero/ custome, and his cries for justice when he leaps from a building to stop /evil doers/. However flamboyent he is, he gets the job done. Have high ranks in jump/climb/intimidate/tumble/spot/listen/hide/move silently if possible. Also a dorky custome with mask is needed. With his faithful wolf compainion, known as Shadowdeath it seems the streets are safe with him as a faithful guardian. During the day, or when he isnt fighting crime, he is a retired adventurer, mostly living off his rewards and owning a mercenary company that he leaves to others to run. He uses it to keep tabs on people, including the unsavory Skullport characters. He dual wields bastard swords, and has a few feats to take on multiple people, and move quickly. Gah, so tired. Those are the more memoriol ones I can think off. Doubt you'll use them, but hey, I'm hear ta help!
TheChilliGod 08-17-05, 02:30 AM	Here's the highest-level NPC in my campaign. Koharnin - 15th level Paladin Minotaur (ECL 23) Koharnin is the personal messenger and ultimate executioner of evil for his deity, Heironeous. The deity holds Koharnin in the highest possible regard, and regards him highly enough to commune with him personally on occasion. Koharnin ventures to the Material plane often, to give a message to Grand High Clerics of Heironeous and allied deities about the events or to give them a holy quest, usually the destruction of an evil artifact. Of course, Koharnin could do these quests himself, but he prefers to let aspiring followers prove themselves, and he has a lot to do. Occasionally he will take it upon himself to rid the world of an evil-doer, but he never does anything that will influence destiny to too large a scale. Koharnin shows disgust for people that do not treat themselves or others with respect. (so dislikes any drunken fools he comes across) Hardly anyone would want to argue against his weapon: A +2 Huge Keen Holy Vorpal Greatsword, engraved with the magical runes of the Invincible's symbol. Koharnin wears a +4 Mithral Full Plate of Invulnerability and Moderate Fortification and carries a +2 Mithral Buckler of Spell Resistance. Make sure to have the Monkey Grip feat, so his greatsword can be used to it's full potential. Skill points are maxed in Sense Motive and Diplomacy skills in particular. Koharnin usually charges right into a battle with some condemning war cry if against evil-doers, most of the time ignoring his usability of spells. He will attempt to use his diplomacy skill if the target looks like it will see reason. Str 38, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 24.
Patryn Runner 08-17-05, 04:05 AM	Here is one of my favorite all time NPCs. His name is basically a large (very chubby), not very bright wizard trapped in a barbarians body. He wears a robe that is far too small for him and can never find his spellbook. He is easily charmed and his spells never work, but he is great for comic relief and when he is charmed (trying to be your party wizards best friend) he will put up quite a fight. Morty is always trying to save new friends in combat. His spells never work. Some of the instances I used were, when trying to cast magic missle, his two missles weave in and out from each other and then collide only a short distance from him and fall to the ground, or trying to cast burning hands and starting the rug on fire beneath him, and when using a summoning spell, he always manages to summon small mammals who run away or sometimes plants or inanimate objects. He does cast one spell that seems to work every time. Its called honeyblast (not an actual spell) and it does nothing to the enemy but cover it in honey. He also trys to help other characters enjoy their food more by asking if they'd like some honey with their rations/food. They are usually covered in honey before they can reply. When his spells fail and the situation finally gets desperate, he will pull out an old rusty gauntlet (of giants strength) or sometimes a frying pan (d6 same as club) and knock the enemies into next week. Morty is large and clumsy and trys very hard to help friends. He'll never run away from a fight and at the local tavern he'll get very drunk but it'll take a barrel of ale. When pictureing Morty, try to think of Chris Farley in a wizards robe much too short for him. This NPC is really fun in the right setting and may not be what you're looking for, but my PCs thought he was great. Morty Chaotic Good Human wizardX/barbarianX/fighterX/FrenziedBerserkerX (sometimes its "Go Time") Strength is high Intelligence is low yadda, yadda, yadda Any of this can be changed/tailored to however you see fit. Happy gaming.
Lord_Soto 08-17-05, 04:43 AM	You want memorable characters? Pick up some of Pratchett's novels. His townies are insanely fun and most are easily adaptable into NPC blocks. Some of my old PC's would love to live in your world. Cael Dumenkold: Cael's father owns a trading house out of an affluent city of your choice. Raised very wealthy, Cael tends towards spoiled and manipulative. While he doesn't expect everyone to do things his way, he prides himself in making people jump through hoops. The more stubborn they are, the more he twists and bends. Cael is more loyal to his friends than to his family, but does not let them know this. Having everything you could afford was apparently not enough for Cael. He moonlights as a catburglar, well known in his hometown as "Wraith" among those who have been hit, and the members of the local thieves guild. His father, taking Cael's late nights to be a sign of immaturity, has forced him into employment with the trading coaster, allowing "Wraith" to make unexpected ventures into other cities. Cael treats every situation as if it is a game for his amusement. He insults, ridicules, and manipulates anyone that he thinks he can, and has the facade of a sycophant to anyone that he thinks he can't. His occupation with his father's buisness means that he could potentially show up in any civilized area, wagons of whatever is current in the local trade (and a few black market items as well, to those he trusts or are willing to deal with his "cloak & dagger" style). He can occasionally provide good gossip and local rumors (if you play along with his game), as his status in society allows him to not only get the news firsthand, but his role as a catburglar allows him to dig in other people's dirty laundry without them knowing it. He has been known to use party members to unknowingly distract potential marks while he makes "housecalls", leaving the players as suspects (or worse). As I said before, he is loyal, however, and if it becomes apparent that his "friends" are in real danger, he will not abandon them completely (although his help may not seem like his doing at the time).
JD 08-17-05, 05:46 AM	One character hook I recently had an idea for is the immensely powerful leader of an order of clerics who has acheived immortality of a sort through repeated uses of the reincarnate spell. Whenever this leader is looking a bit old and grey around the gills, one of his followers slits his throat and uses reincarnate to give him a brand spanking new body. Of course, he's been many different races over the years, and all the different shapes mean he's become a little checked-out, mentally speaking. (Apologies if there's a loophole in reincarnate that renders this impossible; I only read a brief description of the spell before I came up with this idea and I don't have my books with me.)
Morka 08-17-05, 08:24 AM	Use that NPC Generator (http://www.aarg.net/~minam/npc.cgi). Also check the Character Concepts Compilation in my sig, many NPCs. No stats though, just important feats they must have. You can use the NPC Generator for the basic and change the feat as it fit.
Lao, Ninja of the Dragon 08-17-05, 12:42 PM	Yi(LG Female Gnome Expert 10) and Ya(CG Female Gnome Expert 10) Highbridge have a odd gift. They see flashes of the future(I got the idea for them from some dumb cartoon). Yi sees positive things but is morbid because nothing good is special anymore. Ya sees horrible things that haunt her every waking moment and her nightmares. She is always thinking positive thoughts so she doesn't go crazy from the awful things. They cannot control when and what they see and must blurt it out. Naturally people tend to avoid Yi because she is morbid and quick to anger. People avoid Ya because they do not want to know the exact date and time they will die. There visions are almost always correct.
Lord_Soto 08-17-05, 07:11 PM	Coupla more.... some professors from a wizard's school that I set up once... Fill in stats as you please. Hireth Domestir A tall, moderately built, middle-aged man, with blonde hair and green eyes, Hireth is a minor noble of the Domestir family of (Insert town here). His family is very militant, and doesn’t exactly approve of his taking up magic. Being Lawful Neutral, he has a very “my way or the highway” approach to teaching magic, and doesn’t tend to let students get away with goofing off. He is very strict, and his tests of skill usually are the most elaborate. Kala Kala is a wizard from the savage north, with wild brown hair, and blue-green eyes. While she is homely, her talent shines. A bright, fast learner, she shows good judgment, even though her ways are a bit Chaotic. Learning from Kala can be difficult at times, as what she wants from the students isn’t all that clear. Some think this is intentional. Malestar Malestar is a lion of a man, large, healthy, and handsome. Flaming red hair and green eyes, with a muscular build. Basically everything you’d expect not to be a wizard. As a child, he was beaten regularly by his father, and grew to hate him. Upon reaching the age of 12, he set out to learn the ways of magic, running away from home with a rather large amount of money stolen from his father. After five years on the road, he returned, blasting his father’s farmhouse out of existence, withering the fields with an icestorm, and burning the bar where his father drank to the ground. In his mind, the judgment was served. Narm the Deceiver Narm is a handsome, very accomplished Illusionist. He prefers to appear differently every time, with his most common features being piercing dark-brown eyes, and a black moustache. He believes that magic is a gift for gaining power, and those who have it should use it to their benefit. When he is not involved with the school, Narm is a heavy drinker, and enjoys gambling. However, he has been known to cheat on occasion, and many a person has been swindled by programmed illusions of one form or another. Gaelorn the Dark Gaelorn studied under a druid/mage in the battle of bones, and is trying hard to maintain neutrality, even though she focuses on Necromancy. She has a ghost white complexion no matter how much time she spends in the sun, platinum blonde hair, and dark hazel eyes. Magic, to her, is a tool to deal with life, more-so than a power to be exploited, although she does not believe that magic is for the masses. Her teaching techniques reflect on the usefulness of a spell, not so much on the power of the spell.
karrde723 08-23-05, 02:02 AM	bump
The Abominable Darkling 08-23-05, 02:18 AM	Well, I've found that the best way to generate NPCs is to start with organizations. Solitary NPCs are rare and, frankly, not that interesting to the PCs. Once you have an organization, you can start to flesh out the ranks. Who's in charge? Who's the right-hand man? Who are their enemies? When you approach it this way, scads of NPCs just fall out for free.
l33t Shinobi 08-23-05, 02:43 AM	no name, but you can use a fighter17 minataur(-lvls in barb for LA and RHD) who underwent a swords to plowshares moment after his adventuering days, and now has a spiffy hat of disguise so here we go "Bob" the Blacksmith Minotaur fighter 17 Str 26 Dex 13 Con 15 Int 10 Wis 14 Cha 8 hp:156 Alignment: CG feats:great cleave, improved crit[greatsword], complete weapon spec[greatsword], improved saves, run, diehard +2 flaming burst greatsword of brilliant energy all he has left, sold the rest for cash for a Blacksmith, and a Dragon sized horde to keep his family alive for a long time. values the substanstial things in life, after many years warring, values life more than much else. very slow to get into conflicts, the minotaur will attack mercilessly when hes finally provoked. there, use what you like(the stats are a minor variation of the elite array, so soup em up/down if you lke)
vezina 08-23-05, 03:24 AM	A couple of my PC's if you want to use them: Lhind, a NG female Wild Elf(FR), former male Sun Elf(FR again) Dark hair, dark eyes, fairly tall for a female elf. 2nd edition character, 15th level Fighter at the time, but I'd split it up between fighter and some archer PrC. Master of the longbow. She's somewhat disillusioned by her change in both subrace and gender. The change was two-fold: First, she received a cursed item that switched her permanently to a dwarf. Second, upon gaining a Wish from a deck of many things and wishing to be returned to an elf, was transformed into her current Wild Elf form. Her memories are partially retained from her former self, but the effects of the Wish are slowly starting to transform her personality as well. She tends to be stand-offish, and is slow to trust new people, but at the same time wants to open up to the world and doesn't know how. Very bitter toward rogue types for former party reasons. Evryn, Sorc 13, CG Moon Elf. Blue hair, silver eyes, slim build, average height. Very concerned with all things Draconic. (This guy was before Dragon Disciple, so it might be a good idea to send him that way if you want to make him higher level. Blue Dragon, of course.) Very unconcerned with fighting for no reason. Evryn enjoys the companionship that a group can bring, and loves conversation with strangers, but will not abandon his distaste for senseless violence for a group of friends. His personal morals come before comraderie. In a hopeless situation, he'll do what he can to save his friends, but self-preservation does come first. In moments of fatigue, Evryn is known to act somewhat rashly.
Faithless the Wonder Boy 08-23-05, 04:35 AM	The major NPC on the side of the PCs in the last campaign I ran was a riddle-master named Mr. Shilley (known as Cantor Shilledah by others). Mr. Shilley is a very old man, very small, with friendly eyes and an easy smile. He's a bit of a trickster, and loves making up stories and convincing others they're as true as can be. He's also obsessed with riddles. He collects them, and will hunt for them constantly, frequently offering favors in exchange for a riddle he hasn't heard. He challenges others to riddles as well, and when he does say something, he tends to say it in the form of a seemingly innocuous riddle. While looking at him one would assume he's just a funny old man with intelligent eyes, he makes no show of hiding his magical power. In fact, while he never mentions having any arcane abilities, to see him conjure something out of thin air or take flight like a bird isn't unheard of. But when you ask him about it, or how he does it, he simply smiles and winks, and changes the subject. He also seems to know a bit of everything, and it's rare he can't answer a question, but when he does, it's usually in the form of a riddle. Mr. Shilley appeared in the very first session, and as time went on the PCs gradually realized just how powerful he was. It wasn't that he did anything that impressive - the most they'd seen him do was fly out of a ship that was close to crashing, and saw him conjure up a meal in the days following. It was his knowledge, and the casual nature with which he displayed it, that gave him such an impression of power. Even when he didn't know something he would wink, tell the PCs he'd need to sleep on it, and come back out the next morning with the answer in the form of a riddle. And somehow, everyone in a position of power knew him, and seemed to give him the same level of respect - not particularly trusting him, but asking for advice, now and then. This he gave no matter who it was, whether the head priest of the warring Hextorian tribe or the most humble patron of Pelor. In actuality Mr. Shilley was the head of a grand order known as the Shining Brethren. Millenia ago, during the creation of the elves, an archangel named Promial took it upon himself to educate the smartest of them, teaching them that they could, through manipulating the holy light of the world, become as the angels were. Promial set up an inner and an outter order. Those who he worried about, who he thought weren't pure enough, were excluded from either order. Everyone else was accepted into the outter order, though they thought that was the only one. They were taught the arcane arts. Then a select few, the best of the best, were taken into the inner order, the true Shining Brethren, and taught to purify the soul completely and slowly learn to become as the gods are. His exclusion turned out to be a mistake. A certain elitism ran through the outter order, which generally considered itself to be above those not part of it. They firmly believed they knew the real secrets, and attempted to take control of who was allowed admission into the order. They also decided that the Shining Brethren should be a secret from those not accepted, that those not in the order shouldn't even know of its existence, to further place them above the rest. Then came the schism. A group of those outside the order, with the help of a few renegades from the outter order, decided to learn the secrets themselves. They were taught the arcane arts, but in a dark, messy fashion - they lacked the true guidance. They were clumsy with the art, and sought more power. Then there was the group within the outter order, who suspected that there was something beyond what was being taught. They saw that the archangel was far more powerful than they, and decided that there was a true secret beyond that, and to become as gods, they must bind the gods, or at least their messengers. They sought to summon and bond the angels to themselves, and many of them were successful - and though they gained great power, they went mad from being in contact with the infinite light. Still others sought to bind demons and siphon power from them, reasoning that it would keep the demons from doing evil. They thought they were doing great good, and benefitting from the power as well, but their minds and souls were turned black once tainted with the demonic essence. Things had fallen apart then - there were now five orders of the Shining Brethren, those who taught themselves and had never been accepted into the order, those who were in the outter order and believed themselves the true Shining Brethren, those who sought to bond angels to themselves, those who siphoned power from demons, and finally the true Shining Brethren, the inner order that was Promial's true intention. Seeing the chaos he began, Promial repented, and worked with those of the true inner order to spread each group far across the world, and to hide all traces of what he had done. He knew then his fault lay first in deciding to teach others the truth, and second in excluding this teaching to a select few, allowing greed to harbor. Each order lived on, though, all calling itself the true Shining Brethren, though only one of the five deserved the name. And all of the "false" Shining Brethrens believed they were the true path, and began long plots for power. By the time of the campaign and Mr. Shilley, if you were in a position of power you might hear whispers of the Shining Brethren, and how secretly "it" was behind everything - behind either side of a great war, behind every bane and boon that came to man. And behind it all was the true Shining Brethren, which after the Error of Promial vowed to stay out of the lives of others. It became an order of knowledge, an order where any smart enough to find the truth was welcomed with open arms, and taught how to purify the mind and soul and ascend normal life. But it also could not and would not do anything to influence others, for fear of opening up the can of worms the Error of Promial had so many years ago. Mr. Shilley is the embodiment of these principles, and one of the few members of the true Shining Brethren. He has great power, and constantly seeks out knowledge, but he is not power hungry - the teachings ensure that anyone who seeks power for its own sake will not be able to progress in learning, but those who seek to better themselves will. He was forced to act only once, when a particularly powerful being discovered the true secret, the fact that an inner order to the Shining Brethren existed, and sought to warp those powers. Mr. Shilley was responsible for dealing with that threat, but even then he did very little - a slight influence here, a slight nudge there, that eventually would cause the conquerer, Ioxo, to fall on his own. In this way the land was saved, though almost no one realized the key role Mr. Shilley had. Mr. Shilley is a human, NG, Sorcerer 7/Loremaster 10/Archmage 3. In addition, he has certain abilities to represent his training with the Shining Brethren, similar to the abilities of high level monks (the training is very similar to monastic training, only stressing different aspects). In this way, Mr. Shilley has the abilities Still Mind, Purity of Body, Diamond Body, Diamond Soul, Timeless Body, Empty Body, Tongue of the Sun and the Moon, and Perfect Self. These are extraordinary and supernatural abilities that represent the extreme physical training, mental discipline, and spiritual purification a member of the true Shining Brethren must go through. Substitute Character level in any of the abilities that rely on Monk level. Mr. Shilley is far older than he appears. He was in his mid-sixties when he reached the point of his training where his body no longer ages, but nearly a century has passed since this point. Though this may not be so surprising for an elf or dwarf or gnome, he is perhaps the oldest human alive.
Thesen 08-23-05, 09:10 AM	This character is actually based of of a real Roman emperor. I have used him once before and am on my second round with him right now. My players suspect him to be a brat, but really have no idea how vile this little stinker really is. This post is lengthy, but this guy is an awesome NPC. Alagabalis Kaine Statistics: Male Human; Aristocrat 2 / Warrior 2; CE Occupation: Lord of Kenorlen Physical Description: Alagabalis Kane, a teenager of 16 years, stands at 5' 7". His hair is short, thick and dark brown with small curls at the edges. His face, which more often than not bolsters a wicked smile, is smug and defiant. His eyes hold a level of knowingness bested by few lords several decades his elder. His common dress around his palace and lands consists of the same armor worn by his guards: a plate vest with black, studded leather pants, shirt and boots. Encrusted - in gold as opposed to the black symbol his men wear - on his chest piece is his family crest, a powerful elk charging a dragon’s head. Behavior: Alagabalis has the normal attitude of a stubborn, sixteen-year-old boy multiplied by ten. He fancies himself as somewhat of a warrior and his position as Lord of Kenorlen has definately “gone to his head” making him quite a tyrant to serve. His men, though they are twice his age and experience, fear him like no other and will do anything short of slitting their own throats at his command. They have seen what happens to the disloyal... History: Kane is an only child born into riches and prosperity by the establishment of his father’s lands, people, and political and financial sway. It was said that Halidas Kane - Alagabalis’ father - was so charismatic he could convince a merchant to trade in his lands for more taxes and less profit and thank the lord for being so “hospitable!” Unfortunately for Halidas, though, he and his wife were caught in a freak accident two years ago. Somehow a fire had ignited in their bedroom whose door was unexplainably locked and stuck. They were burned alive. Since then, Alagabalis has taken control of his father’s land, people, and accomplishments and run them with an inexperienced, iron fist. He often holds council with Captain Haggert Domm, a well-trained fighter who helped raise Alagabalis and train him in sword play since the was a young boy. He is the only soldier of the province that is treated as an equal by Alagabilis. Habits: Kane has the nasty habit of insulting anyone who comes near him. Being young, naive, conceited, and buried in his father’s wealth, he also has the disillusion that everything is for sale to include men, women, and children.
green_yawgmoth 08-23-05, 10:09 AM	Use him. (http://www.3edb.com/viewCharacter.asp?cid=9770) You'll surprise the crap out of your PCs when the squirrel speaks directly into their minds and starts casting spells when they get uppity. ;) Edit: And another (http://www.3edb.com/viewCharacter.asp?cid=8166), for all of your tiny creatures of power needs. This one is non-epic. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
Bruunwald 08-23-05, 12:11 PM	I have scores of NPCs in our game. I love them, I love the feel of a real world filled with real-seeming people. Probably my favorite group to play, because they are so dynamic and fun, are the three main priests of Pelor in the village our campaign centers around, and the Duke's nephew, a lordling. The head of the order is the Pontiff, who is an old man now, humorless and intimidating. Nobody is sure if he even has powers, or is just an officiate. He's supposed to council the Duke, but the Duke has taken the Parson into his confidence, recently, instead. The basic feel of the Pontiff is that he's in a backwater town, far from the center of power in the realm, and now getting old, feels he's wasted his life. The opposite is his immediate underling, the Parson, who is boisterous, wise, decent and full of humor. He's about fifty, very powerful (the guy you go to to get the hard curses lifted) and still active in the realm, adventuring behind-the-scenes (he's too powerful to send with the party). He loves to play little tricks and pick on his own underling, who he thinks is a little too serious. The young students in the rectory love him, and to his immediate underling he's really been the only father he's ever known. There's really a Santa Claus feel to this guy, he's a tad portly around the middle, with a ruddy face. Finally, there's Brother Jehnsen, who is among my very favorites because he's so beloved by the party. Jehnsen is young (15 when we started, 16 now). He's a gifted healer, but not very good at fighting. He's also too serious some of the time, and very well-read. The party took to protecting him immediately. There was something about him, a vulnerable quality they liked. Whent he Duke's nephew showed up (very spoiled and arrogant and returned from too long at court), the dynamic of the two complete opposites really made the party feel for Jehnsen and stick up for him alot. Seems the nephew and Jehnsen both took early lessons as kids from the Parson, and so have an almost sibling rivalry. When any combination of these guys gets going, the roleplaying maximizes. There's always something for the party to play off of, either defending one from the other, or smirking at the antics of another. You have the mean, miserable guy in charge, the wise and goodly lowerling countermanding his orders, the young and impressionable genius intimidated by the world and teased by everyone, and the spoiled brat rattling off snide comments. Best of all, you have trust. These are good people, for the most part. They function as a haven in a very dangerous place and time. The group gets really animated when it's involved with these guys. I think one of the secrets of their success, is that as much as the party can learn from these guys, they also get to teach the younger ones a lot. It gives them a sense of ownership.
NinjaE 08-23-05, 12:39 PM	The totally topsy-turvy team(of doom) (tm) Goblins are not very nice people. Not at all. Neither are they very tolerant. So, when five goblin youngsters discovered that they were "special", they knew they couldn't stay. They spent the next few years living off of their abilities, then decided their skills could be better used in the most risky business existing; namely, adventuring. Mylf: Well, if you didn't want us to blow it up, you shouldn't have had so many structural flaws! Mylf to a non-satisfied customer The daughter of the tribes' shaman, Mylf was never in any sort of doubt that she was special. Good luck followed her in everything she did, she never got in the way of the chief, and she had even been blessed with looks surpassing her mother, father, and everyone else in her lineage you cared to recall. Most assumed that this was some blessing of the shaman, but when Mylf realised she could cast spells without any form of induction or training, she started being wary. She's generally level-headed, but can easily get angry when threatened. She tends towards a lot of sarcasm when speaking, but she's still the groups' spokeswoman. Physically, she's almost frighteningly non-ugly from a human perspective; she has a broad mouth, size of a halfling and unhealthily yellow skin, true, but that's all. She's got jet-black hair pulled into a ponytail, and more earrings than you can count. In combat, Mylf tends to simply fling around AoE spells like they're going out of style. Chaotic Evil Adept Abilities at first level; 6 STR 12 DEX 8 CON 16 WIS 16 INT 16 CHA Powers: Continuous See Magic Magical reserves: Mylf has spells per day as if her casting stat was +4 what it really is. Enza -So then I killed him. -typical end of a retelling of a part of Enzas life story. Enza's... Odd. He always has been, and will probably always be. Before he left the tribe, he was a loner. Constantly got into trouble, but his powers allowed him to escape unharmed, most of the time. Enza looks like a small guy, even for a goblin, but his frame hides a strength few people seem to notice until he jabs a dagger straight through their chest. He usually covers his face in the hood of his cloak, which is weighted by a number of hidden pockets, containing his daggers, among other things. In combat, Enza uses his powers to get the jump on enemies, letting him get sneak attack with both his daggers. His tricks include, but are not limited to; Hiding in a coil of rope as the rest of the group pulls back, letting him sneak up behind their pursuers. Standing on thin ice, then pouncing once the attacker falls through. Putting something hard-to-traverse between he and his foes, then charging with a speed he shouldn't be able to. Lawful Evil Rogue Abilities at level one: 12 STR 18 DEX 14 CON 10 WIS 14 INT 10 CHA Powers: Light-footed; Enza crosses mud, sand, ice and other hard-to-traverse ground without penalty or risk. Size change; As a standard action, Enza can shrink to diminutive size. Ragan Hell if I know. Whaddya think? -Ragan Ragan is not smart. Saying that would be downright wrong. He knows this, and therefore doesn't do much talking. Back in the tribe, he would regularly get pummeled by other kids, but his powers allowed him to ignore nearly anything they threw at him, except for the humiliation. This resulted in him not having much self-confidence, which is good; Mylf alone has more than enough for the entire group three times over. Ragan is heavily built, bald, with scars all over. In combat, he generally stands right where he's needed; usually in front of Mylf and the twins. He dishes out nearly as well as he takes it in the first place, so he's not a nice prospect to face in battle. Neutral evil Fighter(Mace-and-board) Abilities at first level; STR 16 DEX 14 CON 14 WIS 12 INT 8 CHA 8 Powers: Regeneration 1 hp/round. Can't be stopped. Bork n' Lork And then I died. Again. -A typical end of any of Bork or Lorks lifestories Bork and Lork were born as siamese twins, but the mother cashed in on a favor the shaman owed her, and he seperated them. However, the magic left them no less joined in spirit than they had been joined in body before, as they discovered when, years later, Bork fell in the river; neither could leave this world without the other. This "immortality" resulted in them being careless, however, and Borks' dip in the river was far from the last time they made use of their talent. Nowadays, though, they've got over their "WE'RE INVINCIBLE!" phase, and have instead adopted a disturbingly detached and morbid sense of humour. Physically, the two are exactly alike; Small goblins, extremely agile, with long whips of reddish-brown hair reaching down to their waist. In combat, the two stay in the back and lay the ranged smack down with their light crossbows. Neutral Evil Rogue(crossbow snipers) Abilities at first level: STR 10 DEX 20 CON 8 WIS 10 INT 10 CHA 8 Powers: Reincarnation: When reduced to -10 hp or below, they don't die unless the other's below -10 as well.