as my topic mention it, I'm trying to build a bank of interesting ideas, anything is welcome (homebrew included), but for now I'm more looking for the following :
Short quest
Interesting NPC
Low level items (group will start lvl 1, item can be funny or useful)
Traps that lead to encounter
Advise you would have love to have before dMing for the first time.
ChatGPT; Used to combine the name, basic physical characteristics, personality, bond, ideals, and flaws into a compelling physical description with a simple prompt like "I need a physical description that takes into account the following information..."
The following is an example of how Hamun Kost came together for my Phandelver campaign using these resources. I don't do this for all NPCs, just the major ones. For others, I might just have a physical description, the personality, ideals, bonds, and flaws, and maybe some sort of memorable quirk;
Appearance: Hamun Kost is a stout figure, standing at around 5'6" in height, with a robust build that suggests a fondness for rich foods and sedentary pursuits. His skin is sallow, giving him a sickly appearance, while his bald scalp and thin, arched eyebrows give him an unsettling aura. His piercing black eyes are always darting around, seemingly searching for any signs of danger or betrayal.
He is dressed in a long, flowing robe of deep crimson embroidered with intricate designs. A black tattoo in the shape of a twisted rune adorns his forehead.
He carries himself with calculation, suspicion, and a deep-seated belief that he is surrounded by enemies who seek to steal his secrets or undermine his power. He is utterly convinced of his intellectual superiority and dismisses those he feels are intellectually inferior to him.
Personality: I'm convinced that people are always trying to steal my secrets. Ideals: Power. Knowledge is the path to power and domination. Bonds: I collect ancient, eldritch texts that hold terrible secrets; the more terrible, the better. Flaws: I believe that I'm intellectually superior to people from other cultures and have little patience in dealing with them.
Role Playing: - Treats all with suspicion and distrust. Immediately skeptical of most claims and promises (Advantage on deception/persuasion challenges). - Eyes dart around, searching for danger or betrayal. - Impatient with foreigners (non-Thayvians) - Not interested in a fight. Will do most anything to just get back to work.
- readily admits to capturing Sister Garaele, citing not wanting to be disturbed and the fact that the well has been obviously abandoned and not under any particular ownership or protections. He has no desire to harm her or the party and merely wishes to be left alone to continue his research.
- If the party attacks or a conflict breaks out, Hamun will send his zombies into the fray while he makes a (very annoyed) escape (Misty Step behind broken walls to the immediate west then dash away). He will return to finish his work once all the excitement has died down. (ideally I want to save him for a possible party nemesis down the road).
Key Info: - He is searching for a tome containing the Ritual of Ysmanic an ancient Netherese Lich King rumored to have strengthened his own power through a secret rite that siphoned the natural magical ties sorcerers have to the weave. Stays tight-lipped about the reason for his presence in the region and refuses to answer any questions regarding his activities.
- Willing to free Garaele and promises to leave the area once his work is complete if the party agrees to do a favor for him. If the characters give Kost some indication of what they want, he shares one or both of these requests:
He wants the orcs at Wyvern Tor removed, since they have scouted out his camp and seem inclined to cause trouble.
He wants to ask a question of Agatha the banshee: “What was the name of Ysmanic's familiar?” Perhaps down in Old Owl well there’s a magic door that can only be opened by knowledge of this odd bit of information? Kost won’t risk the banshee’s anger, but the characters could ask the question for him. (Agatha knows the name: Arthindol.)
Background/Additional Notes: Kost's ideals are centered around the pursuit of power, which he believes can only be achieved through the acquisition of knowledge, particularly of the ancient, eldritch texts that hold terrible secrets. He is obsessed with collecting such texts, with a particular fondness for those considered taboo or forbidden.
However, his flaws lie in his arrogance and condescension towards people from other cultures. He tends to view them as inferior and has little patience for dealing with them, often dismissing their opinions and beliefs. This has led to him isolating himself from potential allies and collaborators, making him vulnerable to betrayal and treachery.
I am DMing a campaign with a big ending where the main character has been under an illusion spell the entire campaign, and at the end of it wakes up to find themselves in a wizards dungeon. To make it simpler, what if you have two characters who are siblings, one a lot younger and the other just old enough to be an adventurer (e.g. 10 and 19), and the younger was under an enchanted sleep and does something in the dream and when they wake up they have enough experience to be an adventurer. You could even use this for the big bad guy who they would never suspect is the 10 year old boy because he wouldn't have enough experience.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
I am DMing a campaign with a big ending where the main character has been under an illusion spell the entire campaign, and at the end of it wakes up to find themselves in a wizards dungeon. To make it simpler, what if you have two characters who are siblings, one a lot younger and the other just old enough to be an adventurer (e.g. 10 and 19), and the younger was under an enchanted sleep and does something in the dream and when they wake up they have enough experience to be an adventurer. You could even use this for the big bad guy who they would never suspect is the 10 year old boy because he wouldn't have enough experience.
The young one could have ended up as a warlock, when a being founds it way into the dream (fey, devil, goo) and started training the child. Like the Sandman or something walked into his dream, and eventually helped the child to break the spell from the inside. Whether they are benevolent being or malevolent could change how it plays out from there.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
If you like turning the 'bad guys' into misunderstood. Have a village or something beset by marauding orcs, bugbears, goblins what have you only to find out the village had made agreement or treaty, and went back on their word and the 'bad guys' are pissed about it. Like a mutual aid agreement and as soon as the danger to the village was over they turned on them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Exploring through an ancient forest, looking for a lost temple to a deity of magic. Traps, angry undead haunting it. A few bits for everyone on the team to shine.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
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Good day everyone,
as my topic mention it, I'm trying to build a bank of interesting ideas, anything is welcome (homebrew included), but for now I'm more looking for the following :
Thank you all !
Here you go: https://www.npcgenerator.com/
I use the following tools to put together interesting NPCs and adapt NPCs from written campaigns;
Memorable NPC Appearances: https://www.dndspeak.com/2023/02/22/100-memorable-npc-appearances/
https://www.kassoon.com/dnd/5e/personality-ideals-bonds-flaws/
https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/37916/roleplaying-games/universal-npc-roleplaying-template
ChatGPT; Used to combine the name, basic physical characteristics, personality, bond, ideals, and flaws into a compelling physical description with a simple prompt like "I need a physical description that takes into account the following information..."
The following is an example of how Hamun Kost came together for my Phandelver campaign using these resources. I don't do this for all NPCs, just the major ones. For others, I might just have a physical description, the personality, ideals, bonds, and flaws, and maybe some sort of memorable quirk;
Appearance: Hamun Kost is a stout figure, standing at around 5'6" in height, with a robust build that suggests a fondness for rich foods and sedentary pursuits. His skin is sallow, giving him a sickly appearance, while his bald scalp and thin, arched eyebrows give him an unsettling aura. His piercing black eyes are always darting around, seemingly searching for any signs of danger or betrayal.
He is dressed in a long, flowing robe of deep crimson embroidered with intricate designs. A black tattoo in the shape of a twisted rune adorns his forehead.
He carries himself with calculation, suspicion, and a deep-seated belief that he is surrounded by enemies who seek to steal his secrets or undermine his power. He is utterly convinced of his intellectual superiority and dismisses those he feels are intellectually inferior to him.
Personality: I'm convinced that people are always trying to steal my secrets.
Ideals: Power. Knowledge is the path to power and domination.
Bonds: I collect ancient, eldritch texts that hold terrible secrets; the more terrible, the better.
Flaws: I believe that I'm intellectually superior to people from other cultures and have little patience in dealing with them.
Role Playing:
- Treats all with suspicion and distrust. Immediately skeptical of most claims and promises (Advantage on deception/persuasion challenges).
- Eyes dart around, searching for danger or betrayal.
- Impatient with foreigners (non-Thayvians)
- Not interested in a fight. Will do most anything to just get back to work.
- readily admits to capturing Sister Garaele, citing not wanting to be disturbed and the fact that the well has been obviously abandoned and not under any particular ownership or protections. He has no desire to harm her or the party and merely wishes to be left alone to continue his research.
- If the party attacks or a conflict breaks out, Hamun will send his zombies into the fray while he makes a (very annoyed) escape (Misty Step behind broken walls to the immediate west then dash away). He will return to finish his work once all the excitement has died down. (ideally I want to save him for a possible party nemesis down the road).
Key Info:
- He is searching for a tome containing the Ritual of Ysmanic an ancient Netherese Lich King rumored to have strengthened his own power through a secret rite that siphoned the natural magical ties sorcerers have to the weave. Stays tight-lipped about the reason for his presence in the region and refuses to answer any questions regarding his activities.
- Willing to free Garaele and promises to leave the area once his work is complete if the party agrees to do a favor for him. If the characters give Kost some indication of what they want, he shares one or both of these requests:
He wants the orcs at Wyvern Tor removed, since they have scouted out his camp and seem inclined to cause trouble.
He wants to ask a question of Agatha the banshee: “What was the name of Ysmanic's familiar?” Perhaps down in Old Owl well there’s a magic door that can only be opened by knowledge of this odd bit of information? Kost won’t risk the banshee’s anger, but the characters could ask the question for him. (Agatha knows the name: Arthindol.)
Background/Additional Notes:
Kost's ideals are centered around the pursuit of power, which he believes can only be achieved through the acquisition of knowledge, particularly of the ancient, eldritch texts that hold terrible secrets. He is obsessed with collecting such texts, with a particular fondness for those considered taboo or forbidden.
However, his flaws lie in his arrogance and condescension towards people from other cultures. He tends to view them as inferior and has little patience for dealing with them, often dismissing their opinions and beliefs. This has led to him isolating himself from potential allies and collaborators, making him vulnerable to betrayal and treachery.
I am DMing a campaign with a big ending where the main character has been under an illusion spell the entire campaign, and at the end of it wakes up to find themselves in a wizards dungeon. To make it simpler, what if you have two characters who are siblings, one a lot younger and the other just old enough to be an adventurer (e.g. 10 and 19), and the younger was under an enchanted sleep and does something in the dream and when they wake up they have enough experience to be an adventurer. You could even use this for the big bad guy who they would never suspect is the 10 year old boy because he wouldn't have enough experience.
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
The young one could have ended up as a warlock, when a being founds it way into the dream (fey, devil, goo) and started training the child. Like the Sandman or something walked into his dream, and eventually helped the child to break the spell from the inside. Whether they are benevolent being or malevolent could change how it plays out from there.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Cool!
Why do ships ship cargo and cars carry shipments? Why do we have fingertips but not toetips and can tiptoe but can't tipfinger. These are all the questions of the universe.
If you like turning the 'bad guys' into misunderstood. Have a village or something beset by marauding orcs, bugbears, goblins what have you only to find out the village had made agreement or treaty, and went back on their word and the 'bad guys' are pissed about it. Like a mutual aid agreement and as soon as the danger to the village was over they turned on them.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Hey, thank you everyone for the ideas so far.
If this can help, the group will be constitute of : Ranger, Rogue, Wizard (Necromancer), Barbarian and a Cleric.
Exploring through an ancient forest, looking for a lost temple to a deity of magic. Traps, angry undead haunting it. A few bits for everyone on the team to shine.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."