So, I recently found a map called "The Arcanist's Mill". Great map. Great artist. Check him out (link to the map below). I want to create an arcanist. I have a general idea of who she is but still I could use some help. The Players are a, Ranger (Beast Master) human, CN. The other is a NE Tiefling (druid, Coastal) of Auril. The NE goddess of cold and winter. As you can see in the map there are beds for prisoners, and this arcanist makes these... constructs, out of them. I don't know if she would've created them, but maybe.
She has not captured willy-nilly people. Only people who she sees are worthless, or useless. This could very well be say, an elf who has an affair. She doesn't think that it would be a bad idea to take him. I want to test my players morally. As we have barely started the campaign, I want to set up some encounters that are morally challenging. I don't expect them to care that much, but they'll have to deal with her... view of the world. Anyway, the arcanist.
She is a white tiefling, with silvery hair and pointy (elven) ears. She has purple eyes, no iris. Aaaand that's about it. Maybe I've already done to much so it might be hard to add more without changing her? I don't know. If you have an idea, please share it! Even if it might change her race, or something else that I've created.
Short Version: I have a white tiefling arcanist who lives at a mill but has morally questionable views of the world. Help me fill some spots. She can possibly become a frequent NPC.
So we basically have a teifling that captures people who she deems irredeemable. Does she have any other quirks like one of my NPC's has a pet guinea pig named bandit and he drinks with the pet lol. You don't have to go that route but adding funny quirks can make for some funny roleplay. Maybe you can add something such as a diary for the players to discover that kinda let's the players get a better understanding of why she does these morally questionable things. Sometimes I have a villain that makes my PC's ask was he really evil because of his dark past. It all depends on how important you want this npc to be. Because if it is important add a lot because you never know what the player will do when they try to gather more information about her.
So we basically have a teifling that captures people who she deems irredeemable. Does she have any other quirks like one of my NPC's has a pet guinea pig named bandit and he drinks with the pet lol. You don't have to go that route but adding funny quirks can make for some funny roleplay. Maybe you can add something such as a diary for the players to discover that kinda let's the players get a better understanding of why she does these morally questionable things. Sometimes I have a villain that makes my PC's ask was he really evil because of his dark past. It all depends on how important you want this npc to be. Because if it is important add a lot because you never know what the player will do when they try to gather more information about her.
Well I'm hoping that she could become the "high level (ish) wizard NPC". No I don't have quirks yet. I was thinking she was flirtasious, as her heritage comes from a pleasure devil (or an erinyes). I was thinking she would have a familiar. Though I don't know what she would have (nope. Not a spider) I hate those things xD). She could certainly have a diary. Would be an interesting find before they find her.
Personality wise, I had some time to think: She smiles and seems VERY positive. Even when working. She is joyful and pleasant and surprisingly willing to help at times. She doesn't see herself as doing bad and dark things. In the modern world it would probably be severe case of something related to Autism or ADHD. She does not understand every social rule. I guess, actions outweight intentions. You could be a helpful person. Helping beggars get a house and job, lending a hand in a school or something. But worshipping a god of... I dunno. Pain! Lovitar. If you were kind during your quest to ressurrect a champion (level 11 fig/ cleric 7 of lovitar for example), she would judge you for the actions you did leading up to the moment, not the intentions of them. If that makes sense.
A quirk. Maybe she has blood spatters across her face most of the time? Handing over parts of a body like fingers or a lung while talking to people. Assuming they aren't disturbed by it? That kinda thing? Thank you for the input. Was starting to get scared I would have to make this one myself xD. Never been good at NPC creations. My last group travelled back and forth so I never got to use an NPC more than 3 or at max 4 sessions before they moved on.
Developing Characters is no different in D&D than it is in any other kind of writing.
The checklist I have for the core things I need to understand about a major character are:
As much of their History as I need to understand them, as a person ( and no more, this can be huge )?
What are their goals (why are they doing what they are doing ), what are their personal/moral limits pursuing those goals, what are their "go to" tactics to try and achieve those goals ("Hulk smash!")?
What are their capabilities and resources to achieve those goals?
What do they believe, and know?
What is their personality like ( Introverted/Extroverted, Open/close-mined, Optimistic/Pessimistic )?
And also, things you need to understand about you and your scenario:
What role does this Character play in the scenario/potential story?
How sympathetic/antagonistic/ambiguous do you want this NPC to be for the Player(s)?
That's a lot - so you only do all of this for major, or central characters. You strip it down a lot for minor characters ( until, stock Characters are just a voice and an attitude - if you watch Critical Role, notice how random Guards all sound the same, and all random Dwarves are Scottish ).
For this character, you've got a lot of this already worked out.
Let me see if I can riff off of what you have so far. It's not the answer, it just would be a version of an answer I'd come up with.
She's a morally ambiguous Villain, who is meant to cause the Players to ponder a moral issue (a moral test).
For those reasons, you either want her to be sympathetic or she could be unsympathetic, and the means of defeating her require a serious sacrifice from the Player(s). Let's go with sympathetic for now.
This might be an issue, however - as you're describing her as self-centered, cold, and lacking empathy for her victims. That makes for a great villain, but it makes it tough to be a sympathetic one.
Let me spin her a bit differently - let's look at her goals.
She has suffered a great personal loss. Someone she loves desperately (lover, spouse, family member, child?) has suffered some debilitating disease or curse, rendering them physically transformed, or incapable, or deformed. Curse would be better, since diseases are easily curable with Divine magic.
Unable to remove the curse, she wishes to move the soul of her beloved into a construct body, where they can live free of the curse ( I have this mental image of the Party finding a beautifully made metal and ivory clockwork form of a little girl in a beautiful dress - the shell she wishes to relocate the soul of her tortured daughter into ).
She is using her victims to test the process of soul transmigration - with limited success ( that could even be a Party hook; the failures create shambling half-sentient mechanical monsters that are terrifying the locals - please help us, Party! ).
That's an easily relate-able and sympathetic goal - and a moral dilemma. Who would not be sympathetic to the plight of the little girl? Does the Party really want to stop the Villain and condemn her daughter to an eternity of the curse? Do they let her continue her work and kill more people, instead?
History: Her family history a bit, information about her daughter, and reasons as to why she ended up here. Perhaps she's drawn here because of the The Arcanists Mill. She didn't make it, but in her studies she learned of it, and there is something about it which makes her work possible, so she came here.
Resource-wise: Clearly she has formidable Arcane abilities, and a base of operations. She has familiars, or otherwise bound servants. Earlier experiments from her soul transmigration work, giving her servants which are stable, but not quite sane, or human? Sort of an Island of Doctor Moreau vibe going on there.
Personality: Here, I'd keep her relateable and sympathetic. I'd keep her as "good" as possible to keep her sympathetic. You wanted to keep her pleasant, positive, joyful, and positive - and that works. She's not malevolent, she's tortured and flawed. She is generally good, empathizes with people, would generally be a kind and pleasant person in other circumstances. She's just horribly driven - she must save her daughter, and while she agonizesover the things she must do to save her daughter, she still is willing to sacrifice others to save her child. This is why she only experiments with "the dregs of society" - she is trying to limit the damage and horrible things to people who are more likely to "deserve" them.
Beliefs: She believes in good, she believes in society, and morality, and treating people properly and with empathy. She also believes that she must save her child. Her grief is what has split her personality, and made her a flawed character, and thus - the villain.
You could spend a lot of time polishing her ( mannerisms, quirks, deeper history, appearance, etc. ) - but that gives us a core to run with.
Note how quickly you get a totally different character, by just changing a few of the answers to those questions: what if her motivation is revenge for a horrible wrong done to her in the past, and she wants to inhabit her constructs as a machine to wreak vengeance upon those who wronged her? What if she is cold and uncaring about the people she sacrifices? If she's cold and uncaring at her core - look how much she changes with a pleasant bubbly charming personality, vs a cold and withdrawn one. What if she both - a split personality - her "light side" living in a state of denial about the carnage around her "dark side" is creating, and neither side remembering what she does when the other side is in control?
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Developing Characters is no different in D&D than it is in any other kind of writing.
The checklist I have for the core things I need to understand about a major character are:
As much of their History as I need to understand them, as a person ( and no more, this can be huge )?
What are their goals (why are they doing what they are doing ), what are their personal/moral limits pursuing those goals, what are their "go to" tactics to try and achieve those goals ("Hulk smash!")?
What are their capabilities and resources to achieve those goals?
What do they believe, and know?
What is their personality like ( Introverted/Extroverted, Open/close-mined, Optimistic/Pessimistic )?
And also, things you need to understand about you and your scenario:
What role does this Character play in the scenario/potential story?
How sympathetic/antagonistic/ambiguous do you want this NPC to be for the Player(s)?
That's a lot - so you only do all of this for major, or central characters. You strip it down a lot for minor characters ( until, stock Characters are just a voice and an attitude - if you watch Critical Role, notice how random Guards all sound the same, and all random Dwarves are Scottish ).
For this character, you've got a lot of this already worked out.
Let me see if I can riff off of what you have so far. It's not the answer, it just would be a version of an answer I'd come up with.
She's a morally ambiguous Villain, who is meant to cause the Players to ponder a moral issue (a moral test).
For those reasons, you either want her to be sympathetic or she could be unsympathetic, and the means of defeating her require a serious sacrifice from the Player(s). Let's go with sympathetic for now.
This might be an issue, however - as you're describing her as self-centered, cold, and lacking empathy for her victims. That makes for a great villain, but it makes it tough to be a sympathetic one.
Let me spin her a bit differently - let's look at her goals.
She has suffered a great personal loss. Someone she loves desperately (lover, spouse, family member, child?) has suffered some debilitating disease or curse, rendering them physically transformed, or incapable, or deformed. Curse would be better, since diseases are easily curable with Divine magic.
Unable to remove the curse, she wishes to move the soul of her beloved into a construct body, where they can live free of the curse ( I have this mental image of the Party finding a beautifully made metal and ivory clockwork form of a little girl in a beautiful dress - the shell she wishes to relocate the soul of her tortured daughter into ).
She is using her victims to test the process of soul transmigration - with limited success ( that could even be a Party hook; the failures create shambling half-sentient mechanical monsters that are terrifying the locals - please help us, Party! ).
That's an easily relate-able and sympathetic goal - and a moral dilemma. Who would not be sympathetic to the plight of the little girl? Does the Party really want to stop the Villain and condemn her daughter to an eternity of the curse? Do they let her continue her work and kill more people, instead?
History: Her family history a bit, information about her daughter, and reasons as to why she ended up here. Perhaps she's drawn here because of the The Arcanists Mill. She didn't make it, but in her studies she learned of it, and there is something about it which makes her work possible, so she came here.
Resource-wise: Clearly she has formidable Arcane abilities, and a base of operations. She has familiars, or otherwise bound servants. Earlier experiments from her soul transmigration work, giving her servants which are stable, but not quite sane, or human? Sort of an Island of Doctor Moreau vibe going on there.
Personality: Here, I'd keep her relateable and sympathetic. I'd keep her as "good" as possible to keep her sympathetic. You wanted to keep her pleasant, positive, joyful, and positive - and that works. She's not malevolent, she's tortured and flawed. She is generally good, empathizes with people, would generally be a kind and pleasant person in other circumstances. She's just horribly driven - she must save her daughter, and while she agonizesover the things she must do to save her daughter, she still is willing to sacrifice others to save her child. This is why she only experiments with "the dregs of society" - she is trying to limit the damage and horrible things to people who are more likely to "deserve" them.
Beliefs: She believes in good, she believes in society, and morality, and treating people properly and with empathy. She also believes that she must save her child. Her grief is what has split her personality, and made her a flawed character, and thus - the villain.
You could spend a lot of time polishing her ( mannerisms, quirks, deeper history, appearance, etc. ) - but that gives us a core to run with.
Note how quickly you get a totally different character, by just changing a few of the answers to those questions: what if her motivation is revenge for a horrible wrong done to her in the past, and she wants to inhabit her constructs as a machine to wreak vengeance upon those who wronged her? What if she is cold and uncaring about the people she sacrifices? If she's cold and uncaring at her core - look how much she changes with a pleasant bubbly charming personality, vs a cold and withdrawn one. What if she both - a split personality - her "light side" living in a state of denial about the carnage around her "dark side" is creating, and neither side remembering what she does when the other side is in control?
The possibilities are almost endless :)
Hope some of that is useful to you.
Good Luck, and have fun!
Phew, that is a lot. Alright. I like this. A lot. Really good! I could use a lot of this, however I haven't even decided whether she is making constructs or not. But the soul body swapping made me think of Pillars of Eternity. And the "Beyond". It could be interesting if she required souls (maybe even specific souls, such as those of Evil or Chaotic alignment) to live. Feeding on them. The thing is, she is not a villain. She could be. Depending on how to players act, and from personal experience I have to make sure to prepare for it, if they decide to attack or otherwise end her plans. I like the idea (and I already have another NPC planned who has another thing like this) where an NPC, knows about something that the books don't have. For example, I have a witch planned. Who has had contact with a tribe of stone giants. They taught her runemagic, and along with different kinds of magic and her own runic magic she has a special kind of arcane magic, the players can gain access to. Which is more fun than being just another "high level caster who gives them information or otherwise magical objects" NPC. What if this arcanist, can learn them a very sinister and very questionable kind of magic involving souls.
You've definetly started some gears I'll tell ya that! But now that I've gotten a place to start written down who she is in terms of goals,life and generally alignment based stuff. I was hoping for some small.. I dunno. Quirks? Erh. Something that would be notable, a trait that would make her special in a different way than "Joyful, smiling, defiant, focused". Like Gilmore, he was flirtatious, charming, and the way Matt poses his arm. I am playing over discord, so I can't really do a lot of movement to display a character sadly. But maybe that she collects, I dunno. *******.... Flasks. Or has an owlbear in the pen instead of a horse. Something that isn't normal and something that could give her a special sheen. Or she talks to the constructs (if I ever find out whether or not she makes them. Maybe she collects them? For the soul stuff?)
Thanks though! You really got some gears turning and some ideas turning on the light! I have to throw this into my drive so I can find it again, should I need it. I just, have a hard time coming up with NPCs that aren't just totally weirdos and usually not boring. I'm trying to get better at it. But, most of my players have a tendency to be... chaotic. Anyway, I ramble. Thanks! ^^
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I may use this villain design in my campaign myself :D
I'm glad! ^^ I don't know how you feel about soul manipulation but I highly recommend Pillars of Eternity. Both the first one (and white march), but the second one. It's such a great story, and the world is very interesting. And there is this Animancy. Which is basically soul magic. So if you are looking for inspiration to that, I cannot recommend it enough. Thanks for the help! ^^ I'm going to play in about 40 minutes! (Shit xD).
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So, I recently found a map called "The Arcanist's Mill". Great map. Great artist. Check him out (link to the map below). I want to create an arcanist. I have a general idea of who she is but still I could use some help. The Players are a, Ranger (Beast Master) human, CN. The other is a NE Tiefling (druid, Coastal) of Auril. The NE goddess of cold and winter.
As you can see in the map there are beds for prisoners, and this arcanist makes these... constructs, out of them. I don't know if she would've created them, but maybe.
She has not captured willy-nilly people. Only people who she sees are worthless, or useless. This could very well be say, an elf who has an affair. She doesn't think that it would be a bad idea to take him. I want to test my players morally. As we have barely started the campaign, I want to set up some encounters that are morally challenging. I don't expect them to care that much, but they'll have to deal with her... view of the world. Anyway, the arcanist.
She is a white tiefling, with silvery hair and pointy (elven) ears. She has purple eyes, no iris. Aaaand that's about it. Maybe I've already done to much so it might be hard to add more without changing her? I don't know. If you have an idea, please share it! Even if it might change her race, or something else that I've created.
Short Version: I have a white tiefling arcanist who lives at a mill but has morally questionable views of the world. Help me fill some spots. She can possibly become a frequent NPC.
Edit: Forgot link.
http://www.fantasticmaps.com/2016/02/the-arcanists-mill_a-wizards-tower-map/
Cool map!
So we basically have a teifling that captures people who she deems irredeemable. Does she have any other quirks like one of my NPC's has a pet guinea pig named bandit and he drinks with the pet lol. You don't have to go that route but adding funny quirks can make for some funny roleplay. Maybe you can add something such as a diary for the players to discover that kinda let's the players get a better understanding of why she does these morally questionable things. Sometimes I have a villain that makes my PC's ask was he really evil because of his dark past. It all depends on how important you want this npc to be. Because if it is important add a lot because you never know what the player will do when they try to gather more information about her.
-Sol
Well I'm hoping that she could become the "high level (ish) wizard NPC". No I don't have quirks yet. I was thinking she was flirtasious, as her heritage comes from a pleasure devil (or an erinyes). I was thinking she would have a familiar. Though I don't know what she would have (nope. Not a spider) I hate those things xD). She could certainly have a diary. Would be an interesting find before they find her.
Personality wise, I had some time to think: She smiles and seems VERY positive. Even when working. She is joyful and pleasant and surprisingly willing to help at times.
She doesn't see herself as doing bad and dark things. In the modern world it would probably be severe case of something related to Autism or ADHD. She does not understand every social rule. I guess, actions outweight intentions. You could be a helpful person. Helping beggars get a house and job, lending a hand in a school or something. But worshipping a god of... I dunno. Pain! Lovitar. If you were kind during your quest to ressurrect a champion (level 11 fig/ cleric 7 of lovitar for example), she would judge you for the actions you did leading up to the moment, not the intentions of them. If that makes sense.
A quirk. Maybe she has blood spatters across her face most of the time? Handing over parts of a body like fingers or a lung while talking to people. Assuming they aren't disturbed by it?
That kinda thing? Thank you for the input. Was starting to get scared I would have to make this one myself xD. Never been good at NPC creations. My last group travelled back and forth so I never got to use an NPC more than 3 or at max 4 sessions before they moved on.
Developing Characters is no different in D&D than it is in any other kind of writing.
The checklist I have for the core things I need to understand about a major character are:
And also, things you need to understand about you and your scenario:
That's a lot - so you only do all of this for major, or central characters. You strip it down a lot for minor characters ( until, stock Characters are just a voice and an attitude - if you watch Critical Role, notice how random Guards all sound the same, and all random Dwarves are Scottish ).
For this character, you've got a lot of this already worked out.
Let me see if I can riff off of what you have so far. It's not the answer, it just would be a version of an answer I'd come up with.
This might be an issue, however - as you're describing her as self-centered, cold, and lacking empathy for her victims. That makes for a great villain, but it makes it tough to be a sympathetic one.
Let me spin her a bit differently - let's look at her goals.
That's an easily relate-able and sympathetic goal - and a moral dilemma. Who would not be sympathetic to the plight of the little girl? Does the Party really want to stop the Villain and condemn her daughter to an eternity of the curse? Do they let her continue her work and kill more people, instead?
You could spend a lot of time polishing her ( mannerisms, quirks, deeper history, appearance, etc. ) - but that gives us a core to run with.
Note how quickly you get a totally different character, by just changing a few of the answers to those questions: what if her motivation is revenge for a horrible wrong done to her in the past, and she wants to inhabit her constructs as a machine to wreak vengeance upon those who wronged her? What if she is cold and uncaring about the people she sacrifices? If she's cold and uncaring at her core - look how much she changes with a pleasant bubbly charming personality, vs a cold and withdrawn one. What if she both - a split personality - her "light side" living in a state of denial about the carnage around her "dark side" is creating, and neither side remembering what she does when the other side is in control?
The possibilities are almost endless :)
Hope some of that is useful to you.
Good Luck, and have fun!
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Phew, that is a lot. Alright. I like this. A lot. Really good! I could use a lot of this, however I haven't even decided whether she is making constructs or not. But the soul body swapping made me think of Pillars of Eternity. And the "Beyond". It could be interesting if she required souls (maybe even specific souls, such as those of Evil or Chaotic alignment) to live. Feeding on them. The thing is, she is not a villain. She could be. Depending on how to players act, and from personal experience I have to make sure to prepare for it, if they decide to attack or otherwise end her plans. I like the idea (and I already have another NPC planned who has another thing like this) where an NPC, knows about something that the books don't have. For example, I have a witch planned. Who has had contact with a tribe of stone giants. They taught her runemagic, and along with different kinds of magic and her own runic magic she has a special kind of arcane magic, the players can gain access to. Which is more fun than being just another "high level caster who gives them information or otherwise magical objects" NPC. What if this arcanist, can learn them a very sinister and very questionable kind of magic involving souls.
You've definetly started some gears I'll tell ya that! But now that I've gotten a place to start written down who she is in terms of goals,life and generally alignment based stuff. I was hoping for some small.. I dunno. Quirks? Erh. Something that would be notable, a trait that would make her special in a different way than "Joyful, smiling, defiant, focused".
Like Gilmore, he was flirtatious, charming, and the way Matt poses his arm. I am playing over discord, so I can't really do a lot of movement to display a character sadly. But maybe that she collects, I dunno. *******.... Flasks. Or has an owlbear in the pen instead of a horse. Something that isn't normal and something that could give her a special sheen.
Or she talks to the constructs (if I ever find out whether or not she makes them. Maybe she collects them? For the soul stuff?)
Thanks though! You really got some gears turning and some ideas turning on the light! I have to throw this into my drive so I can find it again, should I need it.
I just, have a hard time coming up with NPCs that aren't just totally weirdos and usually not boring. I'm trying to get better at it. But, most of my players have a tendency to be...
chaotic. Anyway, I ramble. Thanks! ^^
Glad it was at least inspirational :)
I may use this villain design in my campaign myself :D
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I'm glad! ^^
I don't know how you feel about soul manipulation but I highly recommend Pillars of Eternity. Both the first one (and white march), but the second one. It's such a great story, and the world is very interesting. And there is this Animancy. Which is basically soul magic. So if you are looking for inspiration to that, I cannot recommend it enough. Thanks for the help! ^^
I'm going to play in about 40 minutes! (Shit xD).