Simple. Players started running their tavern in Waterdeep Dragon Heist, and I’m trying to come up with some unique npc that fill the role of a “regular” at the establishment. Any ideas are appreciated.
Depends is their tavern a respected establishment for the upper class or a shady taproom for the ruffians and criminals. if its upper class consider a resident noble or important person or maybe a rich member of a thieves guild (i think you should have at least one contact for the players). if its a shady place maybe the players can always find a table full of members of the local gang or maybe a jaded former noble who has fallen from grace and now lives among the peasants and commoners he once thought he was above.
Do you or the party have any characters from previous campaigns that are completely unrelated to this story? Have them show up as a regular at the tavern. Or build a regular based on them.
There’s “types” you can go with. The Flirt. The guy with all the connections. The deadbeat.
You could use the Secretary of a Lord of Waterdeep who has all the gossip from the movers and shakers.
There’s a city watch guard who has the scoop on all the weird crimes he’s called to deal with.
There could be agents of Artor Morlin, so Lycanthropes or vampire spawn, who just try to blend in but tend to order stuff that’s just a little weird.
Personally, there are so many pre-written minor NPCs in the published materials, I’d think one of those could be your regular. Even like Willifort Crowley (I think is his name) the doppleganger butler of the Cassalanters who tends to keep the form of an elderly tiefling.
You'd have your normal locals too. Trades people, workers. Nothing special, but you can give them a bit of colour and make them fun. The incognito important person. Remember no one knows the identity of the lords of waterdeep. Maybe one of them slumming it with the commoners. The braggart. Tells the most ridiculous stories. Thieves guild local gathering intel. Guild spies. Making sure you're not selling any contraband. The drunk. Nice enough, but drinks himself under the table every night. Why does he do it? Make it up. He can be a sympathetic or pathetic character.
Characters the players can really engage with are fun. Every pub should have a table of career gamblers (I default to a pair of shady rogues, but they could be anyone!) for the party to roll with. If there's no bard in the party, you might have a band that plays there nightly. Depending on your tone, a tavern is a good place for a "fish out of water" good-aligned monster, like a friendly ogre or kobold. And it could be interesting to have an annoying character who constantly gets himself thrown out (mad prophet of doom maybe, like a fantasy street preacher, or town drunk) who drops a key piece of information later on, showing he's not as dumb as he looks.
Have the annoying drunk guy who always comes up and inserts himself into your conversations and gets your name wrong. Then he makes incorrect assumptions about you based on him overhearing things you say to your friends that don't involve him at all. Also have Nikki. She's annoying, kind of racist and thinks she can act charming and you'll buy her a drink. But she's wrong. Nikki is always wrong.
Hmm, maybe I'm projecting from my local dive bar...
Simple. Players started running their tavern in Waterdeep Dragon Heist, and I’m trying to come up with some unique npc that fill the role of a “regular” at the establishment. Any ideas are appreciated.
watch episode of cheers.
turn each character into a D&D character.
watch episode of the office.
repeat.
watch episode of parks and Rec.
repeat.
etc. Do this for any show with a bunch of people that are bizzare in everyday settings.
Beat me to it. Besides Cheers, the one I was going to suggest was It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The players are probably going to be the gang, but their are some secondary characters. Also Moe's from the Simpsons, Ricks Cafe Americain from Casablanca, and since it's D&D maybe one of the cantinas from Star Wars.
Don't know if you wanted a character for RP and "spice" or one that could also be useful. I went for the first (RP and "spice").
A really huge and mean looking half-orc who is the local EXECUTIONER. Everyone is afraid of him, and he is banned in all other tavernas for no other reason than his occupation. More superstitious people of course thinks he brings bad luck.
He comes in every night and just sits in a corner and drinks quietly. Not looking anybody in the eyes. He drinks exactly 5 pints of the same ale each night. If he's harassed, he will simply leave. Only exception is days he's been "working" then he gets really drunk. If anyone has pity with him, he'll admit he hates to kill people.
It also appears he's married to the meanest lady in the city. She loathes both his weakness AND his drinking. If you want to elaborate, she will after a while come to the taverna and start to threaten the players to have them stop serving him. And she is simply the meanest and scariest wife EVER. Rumors have it that she once this really big bad scary outlaw that was hanged for his crimes, returned as an undead. She simply scared him back to the grave by giving him her evil eye. The rumor insists that the necromancer who raised the bandit was so scared that he lost his powers and now works as a local grave digger. (Well any story that is really over the top should work).
Norm: Porty 1/2 Orc rogue. Rotund, loves his ale, well loved by the tavern patrons. Often hangs out with the 1/2 elven fighter/courier Klyff. Character sheethere...
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Simple. Players started running their tavern in Waterdeep Dragon Heist, and I’m trying to come up with some unique npc that fill the role of a “regular” at the establishment. Any ideas are appreciated.
Depends is their tavern a respected establishment for the upper class or a shady taproom for the ruffians and criminals. if its upper class consider a resident noble or important person or maybe a rich member of a thieves guild (i think you should have at least one contact for the players). if its a shady place maybe the players can always find a table full of members of the local gang or maybe a jaded former noble who has fallen from grace and now lives among the peasants and commoners he once thought he was above.
Do you or the party have any characters from previous campaigns that are completely unrelated to this story? Have them show up as a regular at the tavern. Or build a regular based on them.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
There’s “types” you can go with. The Flirt. The guy with all the connections. The deadbeat.
You could use the Secretary of a Lord of Waterdeep who has all the gossip from the movers and shakers.
There’s a city watch guard who has the scoop on all the weird crimes he’s called to deal with.
There could be agents of Artor Morlin, so Lycanthropes or vampire spawn, who just try to blend in but tend to order stuff that’s just a little weird.
Personally, there are so many pre-written minor NPCs in the published materials, I’d think one of those could be your regular. Even like Willifort Crowley (I think is his name) the doppleganger butler of the Cassalanters who tends to keep the form of an elderly tiefling.
You'd have your normal locals too. Trades people, workers. Nothing special, but you can give them a bit of colour and make them fun.
The incognito important person. Remember no one knows the identity of the lords of waterdeep. Maybe one of them slumming it with the commoners.
The braggart. Tells the most ridiculous stories.
Thieves guild local gathering intel.
Guild spies. Making sure you're not selling any contraband.
The drunk. Nice enough, but drinks himself under the table every night. Why does he do it? Make it up. He can be a sympathetic or pathetic character.
Characters the players can really engage with are fun. Every pub should have a table of career gamblers (I default to a pair of shady rogues, but they could be anyone!) for the party to roll with. If there's no bard in the party, you might have a band that plays there nightly. Depending on your tone, a tavern is a good place for a "fish out of water" good-aligned monster, like a friendly ogre or kobold. And it could be interesting to have an annoying character who constantly gets himself thrown out (mad prophet of doom maybe, like a fantasy street preacher, or town drunk) who drops a key piece of information later on, showing he's not as dumb as he looks.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
Have the annoying drunk guy who always comes up and inserts himself into your conversations and gets your name wrong. Then he makes incorrect assumptions about you based on him overhearing things you say to your friends that don't involve him at all. Also have Nikki. She's annoying, kind of racist and thinks she can act charming and you'll buy her a drink. But she's wrong. Nikki is always wrong.
Hmm, maybe I'm projecting from my local dive bar...
"Not all those who wander are lost"
watch episode of cheers.
turn each character into a D&D character.
watch episode of the office.
repeat.
watch episode of parks and Rec.
repeat.
etc. Do this for any show with a bunch of people that are bizzare in everyday settings.
friends, Seinfeld, etc
Beat me to it. Besides Cheers, the one I was going to suggest was It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The players are probably going to be the gang, but their are some secondary characters. Also Moe's from the Simpsons, Ricks Cafe Americain from Casablanca, and since it's D&D maybe one of the cantinas from Star Wars.
Don't know if you wanted a character for RP and "spice" or one that could also be useful. I went for the first (RP and "spice").
A really huge and mean looking half-orc who is the local EXECUTIONER. Everyone is afraid of him, and he is banned in all other tavernas for no other reason than his occupation. More superstitious people of course thinks he brings bad luck.
He comes in every night and just sits in a corner and drinks quietly. Not looking anybody in the eyes. He drinks exactly 5 pints of the same ale each night. If he's harassed, he will simply leave. Only exception is days he's been "working" then he gets really drunk. If anyone has pity with him, he'll admit he hates to kill people.
It also appears he's married to the meanest lady in the city. She loathes both his weakness AND his drinking. If you want to elaborate, she will after a while come to the taverna and start to threaten the players to have them stop serving him. And she is simply the meanest and scariest wife EVER. Rumors have it that she once this really big bad scary outlaw that was hanged for his crimes, returned as an undead. She simply scared him back to the grave by giving him her evil eye. The rumor insists that the necromancer who raised the bandit was so scared that he lost his powers and now works as a local grave digger. (Well any story that is really over the top should work).
Ludo ergo sum!
Funny, I came across this few weeks back. Seems to fir here.
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/265468/Trollskull-Manor-NPCs
...cryptographic randomness!
Norm: Porty 1/2 Orc rogue. Rotund, loves his ale, well loved by the tavern patrons. Often hangs out with the 1/2 elven fighter/courier Klyff. Character sheet here...
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Thanks for the responses.