I want to make an NPC who is also a hero. It is going to be an Eberron NPC, and I planned on making him into an old war hero. Somebody who was alive during the last war and who is now living off the dregs of his former glory.
Once, long ago the people hailed him as their champion, but as the years past and Eberron began to pull itself up from the horrors of the last war, the new generations had little time for him. To them, he is nothing more than a relic of a time that they would rather forget.
Shunned and no longer celebrated as the peoples champion, he wanders about the world trying to do other great deeds and meeting with some success and eventually finding a new purpose.
The players meet him just after he has finished a rescue quest. He rescued some children from slave traders and is escorting them back to their families. I am going to have the slave traders come back for the children and attack the airship port where the players are waiting for an airship that is meant to take them to their first destination.
In the ensuing battle, I want the NPC to be able to hold his own for a while but then get overrun as he is trying to protect the children and fight at the same time.
The idea is that together with the NPC, the party survive the attack on the airship port, defeat the slave traders once and for all and save the children. The party learns that the NPC is going to the same place they are, so either they travel with him and deliver the children back to their families, completing the quest together, or they can go separately.
Either way, the children get to their families safely, and the people of that area recognise the party.
Throughout the campaign, the party will hear of this NPC and his exploits. Mostly his one-person war against the slave trade.
I don't know how to make this NPC though because I want him to be an old war hero who has found a new purpose fighting against the injustice of slavery, but I don't want him to overshadow the party.
Also, I am not sure which race I should choose for him. He needs to be somebody who would have been a soldier during the last war and who has a lifespan long enough that he could still be capable in the present day.
I want to establish him as a friendly reoccurring NPC right from the get-go. Someone from the past, who has found a new purpose. A Captain America type guy but someone the party will eventually surpass as they start to become the heroes of the modern age.
Modern from the perspective of the people of eberron, of course.
Do you have any ideas about how can make a not like this without him ending up as a DMPC?
Thanks
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
I think, just the fact that you are concerned about it him overshadowing the party means it won’t likely happen. Awareness of the issue is the biggest hurdle. I haven’t played Eberron since 3e, so I don’t know the setting specific changes to the races, but from your description, I’m feeling a dwarf fighter. Maybe a bit cranky, grizzled, a pot belly from drinking too much. Probably a champion so you don’t have to think too much about managing his abilities or mess with tracking spell slots.
Maybe start him out 1-2 levels above the PC’s, so it’s reasonable that an encounter he would fail at solo can be won by a party. And if it looks like he might win anyway, go ahead and fudge the die rolls; it’s in the service of making the PC’s look good, so it should be fine. And then let him level at whatever rate is needed for the story. If he’s much slower at leveling, well he doesn’t have a cleric with him and needs to take lots of long rests to heal. And maybe he’s not very good at investigating so it takes him a while to find his next target.
One potential inconsistency here is that this backstory makes the last war sound like it was years and years ago. In the standard Eberron setting, the treaty that ended the war was only signed 2 years ago, so most soldier/former soldier types would have been involved.
One of the main thematic focuses of the Eberron setting is how many tensions from the last war are still alive and well, the wounds inflicted during it have not had time to heal, and it remains to be seen whether the peace will be a lasting one or just the calm between two storms.
One potential inconsistency here is that this backstory makes the last war sound like it was years and years ago. In the standard Eberron setting, the treaty that ended the war was only signed 2 years ago, so most soldier/former soldier types would have been involved.
One of the main thematic focuses of the Eberron setting is how many tensions from the last war are still alive and well, the wounds inflicted during it have not had time to heal, and it remains to be seen whether the peace will be a lasting one or just the calm between two storms.
Unless you're doing a future Eberron setting.
Thanks for putting me straight on this. I am trying to make a game using the Eberron setting with only a very basic understanding of the world and the races who inhabit it.
I was thinking that the treaty was signed longer ago than just two years and that the war itself had went on for over 100 years.
I have been trying to put off investing in the the newly released book because I don't know if my players will enjoy this campaign or not. This one is basically like me testing the waters to see if my players will enjoy playing in Eberron as much as I have been enjoying learning about it.
I had planned of buying "Eberron, rising from the last war" if my players enjoyed this short campaign, so that I could make something much more intergrated with the setting, the world it's themes.
So I have been using fan wikis and stuff to learn about it. Maybe I should just give in and buy the book anyway, since all the little inconsistencies like this would most likely be solved by having the book.
But thanks for setting me straight regarding the dates as this could mean even a 50 year old human soldier could likely have seen a lot of the war and still be young enough to be pretty active.
Solves the problem with lifespans that I was having when I was thinking the war had ended years ago.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Yeah no problem. Not buying the book till you know you need it is sensible, and there's plenty of lore stuff online to support you. You may also wanna check out Kieth Baker's blog on the subject: http://keith-baker.com/
He's always talking about his own homebrew or expanded lore stuff or answering fan questions.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Hi fellow DMs,
I want to make an NPC who is also a hero. It is going to be an Eberron NPC, and I planned on making him into an old war hero. Somebody who was alive during the last war and who is now living off the dregs of his former glory.
Once, long ago the people hailed him as their champion, but as the years past and Eberron began to pull itself up from the horrors of the last war, the new generations had little time for him. To them, he is nothing more than a relic of a time that they would rather forget.
Shunned and no longer celebrated as the peoples champion, he wanders about the world trying to do other great deeds and meeting with some success and eventually finding a new purpose.
The players meet him just after he has finished a rescue quest. He rescued some children from slave traders and is escorting them back to their families. I am going to have the slave traders come back for the children and attack the airship port where the players are waiting for an airship that is meant to take them to their first destination.
In the ensuing battle, I want the NPC to be able to hold his own for a while but then get overrun as he is trying to protect the children and fight at the same time.
The idea is that together with the NPC, the party survive the attack on the airship port, defeat the slave traders once and for all and save the children. The party learns that the NPC is going to the same place they are, so either they travel with him and deliver the children back to their families, completing the quest together, or they can go separately.
Either way, the children get to their families safely, and the people of that area recognise the party.
Throughout the campaign, the party will hear of this NPC and his exploits. Mostly his one-person war against the slave trade.
I don't know how to make this NPC though because I want him to be an old war hero who has found a new purpose fighting against the injustice of slavery, but I don't want him to overshadow the party.
Also, I am not sure which race I should choose for him. He needs to be somebody who would have been a soldier during the last war and who has a lifespan long enough that he could still be capable in the present day.
I want to establish him as a friendly reoccurring NPC right from the get-go. Someone from the past, who has found a new purpose. A Captain America type guy but someone the party will eventually surpass as they start to become the heroes of the modern age.
Modern from the perspective of the people of eberron, of course.
Do you have any ideas about how can make a not like this without him ending up as a DMPC?
Thanks
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
I think, just the fact that you are concerned about it him overshadowing the party means it won’t likely happen. Awareness of the issue is the biggest hurdle. I haven’t played Eberron since 3e, so I don’t know the setting specific changes to the races, but from your description, I’m feeling a dwarf fighter. Maybe a bit cranky, grizzled, a pot belly from drinking too much. Probably a champion so you don’t have to think too much about managing his abilities or mess with tracking spell slots.
Maybe start him out 1-2 levels above the PC’s, so it’s reasonable that an encounter he would fail at solo can be won by a party. And if it looks like he might win anyway, go ahead and fudge the die rolls; it’s in the service of making the PC’s look good, so it should be fine. And then let him level at whatever rate is needed for the story. If he’s much slower at leveling, well he doesn’t have a cleric with him and needs to take lots of long rests to heal. And maybe he’s not very good at investigating so it takes him a while to find his next target.
One potential inconsistency here is that this backstory makes the last war sound like it was years and years ago. In the standard Eberron setting, the treaty that ended the war was only signed 2 years ago, so most soldier/former soldier types would have been involved.
One of the main thematic focuses of the Eberron setting is how many tensions from the last war are still alive and well, the wounds inflicted during it have not had time to heal, and it remains to be seen whether the peace will be a lasting one or just the calm between two storms.
Unless you're doing a future Eberron setting.
Thanks for putting me straight on this. I am trying to make a game using the Eberron setting with only a very basic understanding of the world and the races who inhabit it.
I was thinking that the treaty was signed longer ago than just two years and that the war itself had went on for over 100 years.
I have been trying to put off investing in the the newly released book because I don't know if my players will enjoy this campaign or not. This one is basically like me testing the waters to see if my players will enjoy playing in Eberron as much as I have been enjoying learning about it.
I had planned of buying "Eberron, rising from the last war" if my players enjoyed this short campaign, so that I could make something much more intergrated with the setting, the world it's themes.
So I have been using fan wikis and stuff to learn about it. Maybe I should just give in and buy the book anyway, since all the little inconsistencies like this would most likely be solved by having the book.
But thanks for setting me straight regarding the dates as this could mean even a 50 year old human soldier could likely have seen a lot of the war and still be young enough to be pretty active.
Solves the problem with lifespans that I was having when I was thinking the war had ended years ago.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Yeah no problem. Not buying the book till you know you need it is sensible, and there's plenty of lore stuff online to support you. You may also wanna check out Kieth Baker's blog on the subject: http://keith-baker.com/
He's always talking about his own homebrew or expanded lore stuff or answering fan questions.