The NPCs I'll be writing occupy Neverwinter as it's described in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting, though it's easy as always to use them in whichever era your Realms game is set in.
Feel free to add your own NPCs to this list (from any era of the Realms timeline). I'll happily list the names of your creations in post #2 of this thread and link their names to your post for them.
Enjoy!
Narvos Heg
Chelios Khor
Talessa Heldargar
Samreeza Tharmrise
Felmryn Harnhask
Aldornar Blackfall
Seevalar Konth
Vorn the Wary
Storvauld Hammergrim
Alathea Grypohshar ... LATEST UPDATED
Narvos Heg is a round, balding, red faced man with large hands and wide, flat feet. On his tip toes Narvos is as tall as a short woman, so he has boots made with thick soles to add to his height. Narvos' crooked nose protrudes from his face like a pair of curled up fingers. His big ears wing out from the sides of his head, their tops covered in a shag of horizontal salt and pepper hair that makes him appear to be always standing in front of a small storm cloud.
Narvos attests his lack of height and his too-big-for-his body features to a line of noble dwarven blood on his father's side. None know who is father is or where Narvos came from, so the matter rests on Narvos' word alone.
Books, scrolls, parchments, chapbooks, letters, runes and scraps of writing are Narvos' specialty. He prizes personal writings--letters to loved ones most of all, though journals and even written orders from kings or merchant princes are also worth collecting—above all else. Narvos is forever on the lookout for such material, pays handsomely for anything not in his collection and does not express concern over an item's provenance.
Narvos occasionally circulates rumors that he's selling his prized collection, just to see who will bid the most for it. As well who will attempt to steal it or prevent others from doing so.
Narvos keeps a host of magical traps in the upper floor of his residence, where many of his books, his writing desk and a plush chair for reading are kept. The upper floor is open and wide, with stained glass windows standing in front of thick, iron bound shutters that close and lock from inside. The windows are enchanted to become translucent on command, allowing sunlight to filter into the reading room and provide a magnificent view of Castle Never to the north.
Rare books, spellbooks and fragile written items are kept in a basement level bellow the cellars of Narvos' home. This level is identical in size and height to the upper story reading room and is of dwarven make and design. Narvos is as yet unaware that his basement connects to several other chambers beneath other nearby homes, as well as pathways that lead to the Underdark.
Narvos cannot cast spells, preferring to keep spellbooks only because this is what "men of power" do. However, Narvos is accomplished at operating magic items owing to a career in illicit dealings and thievery, his skills earned in cities far to the south of Neverwinter some two decades ago. Narvos' time as a thief taught him early on that information was power. Wielded correctly, it allowed one to exercise control without facing immediate danger.
While operating as a fence for stolen goods in Waterdeep, Narvos acquired the personal journals of two former dancers who'd worked at the popular Moonstone Mask. The journals detailed much overheard information about the wealthy patrons who frequented that once famous festhall. Later on Narvos came to own a large portion of the collection formerly housed at Maskado’s Maps and Legends (the ruin of which overlooks the Chasm).
He travelled north some years later, intent on bribing and blackmailing the rich and moneyed of Neverwinter, as well as uncovering hidden riches alluded to in the journals. His book collection made these tasks all too easy.
Though few realize it, Lord Neverember’s presence in Neverwinter owes at least as much to Narvos’ willingness to share information (for a stiff price) about the secret doings of Neverwinter’s more powerful citizenry as it does Lord Neverember’s tenaciousness and drive.
Narvos charges inflated rates to view his collection, anywhere from 100gp to 500gp per hour. He even charges a fee (5gp), paid upfront, before he will confirm or deny that he has a given book. Though he might have a book, this is no guarantee he’ll let it be viewed.
Narvos never allows anyone into his home until he knows for certain who they are and what they wish to see. If he decides to let them view an item that exists in his basement collection he always makes sure to bring the item to the upper floor reading room before allowing it to be viewed, so as not to betray the existence of the basement level collection.
He does not allow copies to be made of anything he owns, fearing this will devalue his collection.
Occasionally Narvos will invite one or two respected members of Neverwintan citizenry to view a new addition to his collection, and to talk about politics and rumors while sipping firewine or zzar. Though some consider this an honor, others view it as a necessary evil in order to deal with "the fat old rat nobody has yet been able to rid from his nest," as one disgruntled merchant put it recently.
It's not uncommon for Narvos to use these get togethers to show off some long lost diary, collection of letters or second sets of account ledgers that, in the wrong hands, would bring embarassment or ruin to his guest's families or businesses.
Narvos does not appear to entertain underlings or hirelings at his home, yet he is rumored to employ factors in several cities up and down the Sword Coast, including one agent who works diliegently at finding seekers intent on trading their offerings to Candlekeep (for permission to view its collection) and separating these individuals from their written possessions before they reach the keep.
Narvos considers himself a silent partner in Lord Neverember’s work. He thinks of himself as the equal to Mayor Galt and one day expects to replace him as mayor of Neverwinter.
He is convinced that in his fortress home nobody can harm him or his prized collection.
Chelios Khor is a mustachioed, round-faced man who favors elegant, fashionable dress clothes and smells of pipe smoke. A wine merchant and seller of spirits in Neverwinter, Chelios has begun selling varieties of pipe-weed in an effort to draw his customers and peers into the habit.
Chelios sells many varieties of wines, liqueurs, spirits and whiskies from his modest shop, which overlooks Neverwinter's docks. He does a brisk trade with sailors, importing a variety of drinkables from other cities along the Sword Coast, which he sells to his Neverwintan clientele.
He has renovated the back rooms of his shop and opened them to select customers and friends, where he packs a pipe and invites his guests to do the same, claiming certain Lowerdark-derived varieties of pipe-weed enhance the flavors of the many drinkables he sells, Neverwintan black icewine in particular.
Talk during these gatherings invariably turns to Neverwinter, its past, its future, the designs of Lord Neverember and the goings on in this once beautiful city. A native of Neverwinter, Chelios resents the presence of "outlanders and outsiders" and has an abiding hatred of Narvos Heg, book collector and “all around annoyance who isn’t happy unless his fat nose is up some law abiding person’s backside.”
On a whim Chelios recently purchased a wooden cask of Fimbrul Stonedraught from Abeiran traders. He is unaware that this drink is really gulluk (made from, of all things, fermented cooking broth drawn from the cook pots of giants, which is mixed with a liberal dose of herbs and spices to replace the leathery taste of the gulluck and make it more palatable), but has noted how swiftly even one cup of this thick, translucent liquid (the mixture is aged upwards of a month at a time before the herbs are filtered out and the remainder bottled or stored in casks) can send the stoutest of men into a drunken stupor.
Though the idea usually doesn’t come to him until well after his shop has closed, he’s seen the last of his clients out and consumed half a bottle of increasingly rare Wyvern Whisky while taking in the nighttime view of docks from the rooms above his shop, Chelios' thoughts invariably turn to considering just how much better off Neverwinter would be if a certain blackmailing, greedy old book collector were to suffer the tragedy of having "accidentally" set fire to his home after consuming one drink too many.
Talessa Heldargar is a short, buxom woman who dresses in soft woolens, worn leather boots and a wimple to keep the sun off her head and neck. The wimple also serves to conceal a set of Neverwinter Knives (such bejeweled knives are small and made to be concealed), one pair in her hair and a third on a chain (crafted to break apart when tugged sharply) resting over her breast.
The city's old nickname (the City of Skilled hands) is something Talessa wants to see returned to use in Neverwinter. Though most Neverwintans think this name came as a result of the fine craftwork once produced by skilled artisans in the city, Talessa knows it was the hard work of gardeners and not craftsmen that made the city so beautiful and earned for it the reputation from which the name was derived.
She cares little for politics and has no firm opinion about who should rule Neverwinter, so long as that ruler sees to renewing the magnificent gardens that once graced every street and home in Neverwinter.
Talessa is known to be a kind, hardworking woman who keeps to herself and speaks little while working. Her tranquil disposition evaporates under certain conditions, however: she will not hesitate to lash out at anyone who trods uncaring through her garden work or carelessly uproots her plantings.
Lately the Mintaran mercenaries employed by Lord Neverember have found themselves on the wrong end of Talessa's biting, cruel remarks after thrashing and hacking their way through her hedge-work while hunting for members of the Sons of Alagondar (specifically members of the Nashers faction who were fleeing the mercenary reinforcements who'd come to the aid of their brothers after the Nashers ambushed a street patrol).
Talessa is skilled at cultivating guardian plants of different varieties (thorny, poison-on-contact plants; aggressive, tentacled flesh eaters; pollen and spore producers of the noxious, toxic and sleep-inducing variety; plants that produce a glue-like sap when their branches are torn or cut and so on) and will, for a price, install such guardian creatures into the gardens of her customers.
Talessa's home sits in the River District. It has no wooden fence or stone barriers, just a mix of bushes, trees and vines. Two tall trees stand at the front of her home, their tops woven together to form an arch over the path that leads from the trees to her front door. Most River District residents know to keep well back from the many vines that snap and bite at intruders along the edges of her property.
The interior of her home is awash in competing scents of drying herbs, cooked vegetables, cheese and wood smoke. Talessa commands a small staff or workers (numbering eight to ten at any given time), most of whom reside in her home and tend to its gardens and the cooking and cleaning when they are not assisting Talessa or working on their own somewhere in Neverwinter.
Talessa and her staff teach garden lore for free to any who come to her home and wait patiently at the arch. She keeps a small, private shrine to Chauntea and prays daily that Neverwinter will someday be renewed and more green and magnificent than ever before.
She is always on the lookout for new varieties of plants, fungi and seeds and is willing to pay a fair price for anything she hasn't seen before. Second to this is her desire for lorebooks discussing garden work as it is practiced in other parts of Faerûn, as well as books on the subject of Neverwinter's gardens. She sometimes works with and hires mages for her garden work, particularly when attempting to recreate the once common spell-sheltered arbors that allowed plants to grow in the dead of winter.
Talessa is perhaps the closest thing to a "plant sage" that can be found in Neverwinter. Of late she has been frustrated by the refusal of Narvos Heg to sell her a book of illustrated arbors found in Neverwinter that she suspects is among his collection.
Narvos' last words on the subject were, "Why, that book is nigh worthless and falling apart! What would it do to my reputation to sell you such an ugly tome? I may just use it for kindling and spare you the expense."
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(Chaotic Neutral Human Barbarian 4 Fighter 2)
Seevalar Konth is a wandering barbarian who has traveled the length and breadth of the Savage North.
Seevalar's past is an open question. He was one of several children collected in the wake of orc massacres that were raised by the barbarians who'd saved them. He remembers his name, but little else about his past.
Seevalar wields a two-headed battleaxe and uses it to split wood for fires in addition to fighting. He envisions the head of a live orc resting on a stump each time he delivers a vicious two-handed chop to a defenseless piece of wood.
There is no love lost between Seevalar and the orcs of the Savage North. Keen to see all orcs driven out of Neverwinter, Seevalar has joined with the mercenaries employed by Lord Neverember to police the city. He will taunt, spit on and challenge any orc (half-orc or particularly ugly human) he sees and is always eager for battle.
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Brother to Belvaun, Hoarvaunt and Dagskon, Storvauld is the third son of Malcer Hammergrim and Numestra Forar.
Of Storvauld’s brothers, Belvaun resides in Waterdeep and is a successful investigator for hire. Hoarvaunt yet lives, though none know his whereabouts, while the eldest brother Dagskon died a relatively peaceful death in Baldur’s Gate within the last year.
The Hammergrims are descended from Mintaran raiders and mercenaries. Their father sailed up and down the Sword Coast, first as a raider, then as a merchant when he found his taste for profit outweighed his desire for mayhem and plunder.
Malcer came to settle in Waterdeep and married the daughter of an impoverished wheel right. The mother of the Hammergrim boys is a stern, unflinching disciplinarian who did not fear her husband and was quite capable of whipping four gangly youths into shape, even when her eldest son towered over her at the ripe age of twelve.
The elder Hammergrim would tell stories of his adventures to his wife at night after the boys were put to bed, spinning tales of daring do, tests of valor and honor, the fall of deceivers and liars, romance and the capture of beautiful woman from all over the Sword Coast; the women meant to be the pleasure slaves of their seafaring masters but instead tamed the hearts of their lords, becoming wives of equal power and influence.
The four Hammergrim brothers—Storvauld in particular—would strain their ears to hear these stories told one room over, and then fall asleep to dream about wild adventures on the sea.
Growing up, Storvauld would tell the tales he’d heard as a boy to a young woman he fancied. The stories did not win him her affections, but did earn him an audience of several women--the sisters, friends and aunts of the one he sought, all eager to hear his stories. Storvauld did not have an orator’s voice, but on a lady's suggestion took the few coins in his possession and chapbook published the stories most requested by the young ladies, giving them such titles as “The Bold, Brave Blade” and “Seafaring Strongheart”.
These he managed to sell quickly to factors of the idle rich who frequent the Market at the heart of Waterdeep—and daily collect all the written "gossip and doggerel" (one rich noble’s description of all the broadsheets and chapbooks published in Waterdeep collected by his wife) to be found in the city.
Storvauld found a ready clientele not just amongst rich noblewomen, but the common folk as well. Both populations were eager to read and hear the stories of honest, seafaring plunderers who live by their wits and blades, capture women and riches with equal gusto, cross swords with arrogant nobles, flaunt the laws of the sea and thwart the despicable aims of the greedy rulers along the Sword Coast.
Foolishly Storvauld let it be known that perhaps some of these tales were based off of his own exploits, just as certain of the characters in his chapbooks were based off of recently bankrupted and disliked nobles of Waterdeep. Storvauld ignored the quiet threats leveled at him and crossed swords with bullyblades hired by unknown nobles who intended to assault him and burn his home to the ground.
He continued to publish his chapbooks at the rate of one a month until the sudden death of his father left Storvauld wallowing in anguish, and unable to write. At the urging of his mother, Storvauld set sail on a merchant boat headed north, that he might see the wider world beyond Waterdeep’s walls and come to know the places his father once called home.
It was not until he found himself in Neverwinter that the desire to write returned to him. Storvauld returned to his worth with an enthusiasm he thought lost to him, intending to send his works back to Waterdeep for printing and distribution. Only one completed chapbook was sent, however, as the arrival of Waterdeep’s Open Lord in Neverwinter soured Storvauld’s mood a second time.
Lord Neverember’s transparent desire for power and abdication of his responsibilities in Waterdeep ignited a hate in Storvauld for all men of wealth who lack principle. Storvauld has come to frequent establishments unfriendly to Lord Neverember and listens closely for complaints and rumor of Neverember's worst doings in the city for inspiration.
Storvauld has since written several broadsheets telling the story of "Lord Neverenough", for whom greed stands above responsibility and honor, caprice is perfectly excusable in the pursuit of wealth and lies told are acceptable for glossing over an illegitimate claim to the throne of Neverwinter.
Even when writing, Storvauld is alert and ready to defend himself with sword and wit should anyone try to silence him a second time.
Alathea Gryphonshar is but a memory to her five sisters: Alathea disappeared from her native Waterdeep thirteen years ago (1466 DR) and no sign of her has been found since. Her adventurer sister Trarleene was away from the city when Alathea vanished but spent three seasons searching for her after learning of her disappearance.
Alathea’s father Andremon was well-liked amongst the merchant class in Waterdeep and doted on all of his daughters, seeing to their education while encouraging them to pursue their own interests: for Alathea it was the history and architecture of Waterdeep and its many structures. To this end Andremon apprenticed his daughter to the knowledgeable, self-styled Sage of Waterdeep (one Meurold Navaraekur) who was regarded by many as an expert on Waterdeep’s history and its buildings from the early to mid 1400s.
Alathea grew to love her teacher like a second father. Meurold was exacting and precise in all things, allowing no room for doubt when it came to the subjects whose mastery he lived by. Meurold’s death in 1451 DR, followed a few short years later by that of Alathea’s father, left her doubly wounded.
This pain was only enhanced by the loss of Meurold’s legacy: the deathbed theft of his entire collection of books, scrolls, notes and records of Waterdeep. These were to be Alathea’s and their loss while Meurold lay dying hurt Alathea almost as much as Meurold’s passing.
She kept word of the loss from Meurold that he might die peacefully, but vowed to find and recover both his work and her work, as much of Meurold’s collection had been organized and re-copied by Alathea as part of her training. For years she searched Waterdeep, coupling her father’s reputation and her knowledge of the city’s many hiding places, back allies and forgotten buildings-within-buildings to explore likely places where the collection might have been taken.
As she grew up, she grew to learn many secrets of Waterdeep, but never did she find the collection. In time her searching waned in favor of writing down what had changed in Waterdeep, as well those things she discovered about the buildings of Waterdeep and their history that not even Meurold had known.
In 1466 DR, while helping a book dealer assess the value of a deceased noble’s collection, she happened upon a weathered parchment page in her own handwriting. She confronted the dealer who claimed no knowledge of the page. Alathea’s suspicion would not waver and she broke into the dealer’s building that same night. She spied the dealer and his hirelings hauling up from a subbasement the last of Meurold’s weathered collection, as well as several other famously stolen collections, but she was discovered and apprehended before she could summon the Watch.
Alathea was bundled out of the city and sold into slavery in Skullport where she spent thirteen of the darkest years of her life. She bought her freedom with a blade to the heart of her long-time owner and tormentor, but not before she’d carved out of him as much knowledge as he possessed of the book dealer who had sold her to him.
Alathea arrived by boat in Neverwinter in 1479 DR with one name on her mind: Narvos Heg.
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Thanks to Ed Greenwood for detailing the Gryphonshar family and for introducing us to Meurold Navaraekur.