| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| initiate |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 00:36:28
NpCs: They are central to every campaign, and are, in my opinion, one of the areas in which DMs can get really creative. Since this is so, I thought it might be interesting to share some NpC experiences. As DMs, what are some of the favourite and-or most memorable NpCs you've created? (friends or foes). What made them memorable, frightening, or likable? What NpC concepts have you tried that haven't worked so well in the game and why?
I'll return with some of my own later.
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| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| gribble_the_munchkin |
Posted - 18 Apr 2007 : 15:18:38
In a game i ran recently, the city of Baldurs Gate was at war with a large group of fire giants and Azeri (fire dwarves). They were the vanguard of a much larger army that had been battling the Efreeti on the plane of fire and had lost the war. They were looking for a new home. Upon arriving in Faerun they enslaved the local villages (of orcs, elves and humans) and set them to work building a new fortress from which to operate.
The slave overseers were experienced Azeri gangmasters that were cruel and used beatings to "motivate" their charges.
The characters, in a daring plan, allowed themselves to be captured so that they could gather information about the Azeri/fire giant operations. Their slave overseer was an incredibly cheerful and overweight Azeri. He carried the severed (stuffed with sand and resewn) penis of a bull, which he had a tendency to use as a cudgel to punish slaves. After a few beatings with the phallus/cudgel the players developed a burning hatred of the overseer.
They never did manage to find him during the following pitched battles that they took part in. I may bring him back in future stories.
And for those that read Neal Stephenson, yes, the idea is blatantly stolen from his System of the world Trilogy |
| Daviot |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 23:14:06
Perhaps it's not nearly memorable yet, but through a unlikely turn of events, combined with good roleplaying and several natural 20's on Diplomacy checks, my party gained a (male) young adult fang dragon as a party member. ^_^;
It goes like this: the PCs were traveling north to Shadowdale when they hear a cry for help emanating from a nearby cave. They dismount, climb up a short, narrow cliff (via the one zig-zagging footpath) and find a long tunnel. The Silvaeren moon elf diplomat (rogue with a couple levels of fighter) spots a mysterious bypass trail that leads back onto the tunnel. He and one other party member take it, get to the end of the tunnel to discover an abandoned drow bolthole (devoid of any items of value). And notices the rest of the party hasn't come. He backtracks, and through the aid of marbles (namely, hitting himself on the head with them), Amyr Moonspeaker and the party discover that there's a permanent teleportation field to fool intruders into thinking the tunnel is endless. While Amyr is insistent on scouring the tunnel for anything important, the druidess/sorceress (a fifteen year old Dales girl named Xan) points out that this side trip was probably pointless.
So the party returns to find a slightly emaciated ten-foot long (plus another 12 feet of tail), six foot tall (withers) slaying one of the party's horses, having killed the other light horse, having ignored the druid's wary Lhesperan horse and the three Dales ponies. It begins eating. The party bothers it. The dragon responds that he's starving and asks not to be bothered. So, Amyr keeps on talking, and the fang dragon vows to eat him, if solely to shut him up.
The party (5 level 5 characters) squeaks by, having pounded on an injured CR 8 dragon. So when it's done to a mere 20 hp, the dragon casts sanctuary on itself, and Amyr makes an ultimatum: take the dead horses and leave the party be, or die. The dragon nods, slinks off with the two corpses to eat (while cautiously eying the party), and another PC points out that's exactly what the dragon was doing to begin with: the PCs had essentially picked on him for little reason.
So the druidess goes over to the dragon to apologize and asks to heal him (he accepts) and the two chat. Turns out the dragon hatched without parents, has no name, is fifty-one summers old, and recently had been humiliated, beaten/acid burned by the green dragon Verthandantalynx, before she ran him out of his territory (just west of Myth Drannor) and stole his hoard. And while injured and out of his normal range, he'd been having trouble finding large game. So Amyr walks up and suggests that the dragon throw in their lot with the PCs: with a ranger and a druid in the party, he'd be well-fed, and there'd be plenty of loot to go around. He accepted.
So, it's been one month in-game since then. The fang dragon was given a name, Thricominak (lit. "No Name"), or "Nameless" in Common, by a friendly (and over-talkative) brass dragon. So far, he's avoided eating the party or other intelligent creatures, with the exception of an Eldreth Veluuthra agent the party interrogated...and accidentally tortured. The PCs threatened her with leg dismemberment by the dragon if she didn't capitulate before the count of three, and when the diplomat Amyr hesitated to say three, the dragon ripped a leg off the EV moon elf at the point where he should have said three. This left a catatonic, screaming-in-pain elven woman that the party had to mercy-kill. When the PCs went to slit her throat, the dragon pointed out that such a method would not be painless nor instant, and instead asked to place a fang through the base of the elf's neck, through her brain. And after he did so, the diplomat went off to sulk about torturing someone, while Nameless enjoyed a meal of elf maiden.
Interestingly enough, the brass dragon (Baratathlaer) made a great suggestion to the young dragon: with his hoard gone, why not take up "human magic" (wizardry) as a method of acquiring an easily portable hoard? So, Nameless currently has a level of sorcerer (and two in wizard), and is working towards the Ultimate Magus PrC.
But as a DM, having a dragon in the party has actually given me more options. I can toss larger, more deadly things at the party, and since he can't polymorph, Nameless has to stay out of any towns the PC's happen to visit. And then there's the issue of other dragons, who might not lift a wing towards humanoids passing through their range, but toss in a fang dragon, and many chromatic (and even metallic) dragons are likely to confront the party. And with a CN dragon, Nameless is still somewhat greedy, and very free-spirited and random in his actions, and still doesn't hesitate to flaunt his abilities and inherent sense of superiority. ^__^ |
| Victor_ograygor |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 22:02:37
I just have to tell you this story..
A long time ago we were a large group of players…. About 10 players, one female. Half of the group were evil believing in Bhal Talos and Bane.. The other half were god players’ believing in Meliki and Mystra.
The group were divided into two, and the Evil group were hunting the god group because they wanted a part of a treasure map leading to an artefact.
The Evil group were lead by lord Hexthor the avenger of Talos (2 nd. edition), with a “Holy avenger” And a demon pet.
In the god group the leader was a famous elven wizard with his silver dragon Nnuki.
The god group were terrified by the (Hexthor) The Pit bull as they called him, because they didn’t know his true name. And the evil group were terrified by Hexthor, because they were killed if they didn’t follow his orders, and were afraid of the elven mage and his dragon.
After ˝ year “real time” playing each Friday the group met in a final battle. (Players were between level 8-12) and the leading npc were level 14 – 16.
The evil group trapped the god group up at the great glacier, and the battle began.
Imagine that you don’t know how are playing how and everybody around the table were quiet, and just locking at each other.
Steal met steal and magic were cast and after 10 rounds the forces of god had to retreat, the dragon decide to stay back fighting the evil group and the others in the god group had a chance of escaping.
The good group ran and Hextor and the other evil players attacked this dragon.
Nuki died killed by Load Hextor and his pet and the god group could hear the dragon final and last roar.
All in the god group were irritated at those playing evil and swore revenge, the female in the group were crying and ran out to the toilet.
This is our memories of the most evil and cruel Npc ever - The pit bull also known as Lord Hexthor avenger of Talos.
Hexthor the avenger avenger of Talos
http://www.123hjemmeside.dk/Drakul/3357487
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| Bladewind |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 20:04:35
Charissa Lamstrand the beautiful petite-gnome divine seeker of Helm. Cheerful and resourceful, she is a bit clumsy as well. ^^ Her knack for mechanics and architecture was learned at an early age on the Lantan Isles by her fellow Lamstrands. She's all the other Helmites are not, which makes her shine all the more. |
| Sian |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 05:27:39
my most memorable npc is proberly a female arctic dwarven cleric of Akadi (former Auril) / Elemental Archon ...... just sad that the party wiped before they ran into her again |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 10 Apr 2007 : 01:30:09
Planescape:
Lord Oberious, friend of many, and body exchanger extraordinaire.
He's an Uridezu (rat-fiend) with hands of pure chaos (from a petitioner who made a wrong deal before entering limbo), who exchanges body parts under Little Arcadia in Sigil, city of doors.
I wish I had all my notes on his stocks, but suffice to say he is a grafting expert, and has grafted everything from a Doppelganger's head to a Paladin's eyes to any number of other things. That was the wonder and joy of Planescape to me... And I'm absolutely certain he'll be making a cameo in my current Realms campaign.
/d |
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