so, I’m making a homebrew world for a campaign, and I’m the most uncreative guy, so make some NPCs or something for my campaign, it can be cameos of your old PCs or something new, help populate my world!
Tiefling chef adventurer looking around the world for recipes and spices to bring a culinary revolution to the hells.
Not quite what you’re asking for but I can’t wait until my party making it to the sea so they can see the triton ship that’s fashioned to the body of a whale.
Hobbled Druid wandering the woods riding on the back of a giant tortoise
goliath Tavern owner who is terrified of small humanoids
Guard captain that follows the trope of “6 months before I retire”
child that follows the group around saying mean/annoying things whenever they are in the major city - orphanage/street urchin plothook?
minotaur barkeeper that keeps a rag of prestidigitation hanging from his horn
Skeggy the red: A Goblin samurai who has ended up in your homebrew world while fighting his dreaded enemy, Hadgar Greystone. He is now searching for a way back, back to the past. Think Samurai Jack...but as a goblin.
Hadgar Greystone: A Death Cleric Duergar with a small army of skeleton warriors with him. Arch-nemesis of Skeggy the Red. Worships Laduguer so he may or may not be cu off from his power depending on your setting. Think a more evil version of Skeletor from He-Man.
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Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric. Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
Sly roguish monster slayer with a foul mouth (always envisioned him with a Irish accent) propensity for drinking, gambling, philandering, and those are some of his better qualities.
Human early 30's with a mop top of scraggly reddish brown hair. Thick pork chop sideburns finely dressed in cloths that look like they'd cost enough to feed a large villiage.
Comes from a huge family of monster hunters. 12 siblings...that he knows of. (various races) Plus a bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins and more.
Lisette Renaldi- a drow actress who made a deal with a demon in order to make her the most famous actress in the world. She's demanding and selfish but will (begrudgingly) do the right thing if it is necessary. She is also very insecure which is her biggest weakness.
Mortis archedese: necromancer, creepy tall old man 87, likes having tea with hags, reading occult books and pleasant walks through the city graveyard, mainly uses skeletons and undead for house chores. Personality is apathetic and lazy, often dresses in a long dark cloak with the hem decorated with images of smoke and skulls spectacles, a black night cap, a silver skull toped cane, and fluffy pink bunny slippers these are his most prized possessions. Has an adopted son named Carlton age 10 who he is very proud of and would kill for despite his aversion to murder and exercise.
Urim Steadhorn: A 200 year old dwarven blacksmith who is grumpy and sick of young humans trying to "teach" him how to do things. He's old and experienced and gets really irritated when anyone young tries to act like they know more than him.
Feeper Bobstopper: A 25 year old gnome who loves pranking people. He's a child at heart and loves to have fun. Some of his pranks can include sneaking small animals into random people's backpacks. He loves using Prestidigitation on others. He is well known to the locals who tend to just let him have his fun. His fun spirit can bring smiles on people's faces.
Rog Bodrim: A 30 year old Half Orc who is a bartender and loves the occasional brawls in his tavern. He even has a fighting ring set up in his tavern for the brawls. He loves his beer, and respects those who share that passion. He looks down on those who appear weak or scrawny. He enjoys telling and hearing tales of great adventures. There is never a dull moment or conversation when Rog is around.
Yadaraki Dreadmoon - A 37-year old Hobgoblin who stands nearly six and a half feet tall and is quite out of shape with a particularly large belly. He seems world-worn, is covered with old scars and burns and has lost a hand-- luckily for him it wasn't his drinking hand. He keeps a toolbelt of various attachments he can screw onto the hand when he wants to use it for things like cooking or eating. During the day he works on the docks selling fish stew and some sort of fried poultry that people tell themselves is chicken. Both are made incredibly spicy using a rare blend of peppers that only he seems to be able to get, apparently having a contact on a ship that brings them to him. His food is so spicy in fact that the only people who ever buy it are those who don't know better (often tricked into it) or those want to dare to prove their toughness by eating it and trying to keep it down. During the night he is generally seen in the pub, half-sloshed on spiced rum and telling wild stories to anyone who would listen. He makes claims to have been everything from a pirate, a mercenary captain, a town guard and a scout-- though if one listens long enough the exact order in which he held these jobs seems to change from story to story. He also claims to have encountered just about every monster in the book and can provide some rather specific and often unusual details about them. You ask him about any monster, he has a story. His stories always involve some incredible folly or bad luck befalling him and his companions, a series of almost slapstick events and them barely escaping with their lives. He also has at least 5 different stories about how he supposedly lost his hand. Even though his stories clearly cannot all be true, he tells them all with incredibly conviction and energy. If the validity of his stories is questioned, he will become defensive and blustery about people challenging his honor. The barkeep usually allows him to drink for free as people come just to listen to his stories.
He is a Tiefling bureaucrat in charge of adventurer relations for the local lord. The Lord hates dealing with adventurers so Karris is the middleman. He works from a small wooden building next to the local constable's office and jail. There is a Job Board on an outside wall and his office inside. Karris is the paymaster players will come to for jobs done and bounties. for bounties, Karris requires the heads as proof. He has the invocation that allows Speak with Dead at will. Karris will interrogate the heads right there in front of the players.
A Hexblade at heart, Kerris always wears half plate and has a shield on the wall. Next to his desk is a potbelly stove. During any discussions with the players Karris will open the stove, reach in and pull out a piece if charcoal...and eat it. He has a collection of exotic wood scraps that he 'cooks' and eats.
Old Tom lives in a frontier area near a volcano. The soil is fantastic. His family is blessed by the deities of agriculture and wine. Now Old Tom is a halfling adventurer who never struck it rich, so he tried his hand at farming . His vineyards and strawberry fields, and his sons and daughters fields and their children's fields are the berry best in the world, as are his wine presses. Old Tom makes the most loved wines in the world, selling for 80 gold a bottle, and for more the further away one gets. Kings send ambassadors to buy a few cases.
Old Tom struck it rich after all. He owns 3 wineries, and hundreds of acres of the most fertile farmland on the planet. some two thousand halflings have followed him into the area and the local rulers built a major fort in the area just to protect the farms.
Now the PCs will run into Tom in the course of adventuring. They could rescue one of his great grand daughters, and Tom will award then the standard fee, and a bottle of either his normal stock or strawberry wines. PCs will find such wines are a treasure that opens doors to the rich and famous. If PCs drink their wine, it will be the best they ever tasted.
Today, Old Tom uses a cane to move about. He face is lined with decades of smiles. He has met Kings and Queens, but prefers ordinary folk.
Old Tom lives in a frontier area near a volcano. The soil is fantastic. His family is blessed by the deities of agriculture and wine. Now Old Tom is a halfling adventurer who never struck it rich, so he tried his hand at farming . His vineyards and strawberry fields, and his sons and daughters fields and their children's fields are the berry best in the world, as are his wine presses. Old Tom makes the most loved wines in the world, selling for 80 gold a bottle, and for more the further away one gets. Kings send ambassadors to buy a few cases.
Old Tom struck it rich after all. He owns 3 wineries, and hundreds of acres of the most fertile farmland on the planet. some two thousand halflings have followed him into the area and the local rulers built a major fort in the area just to protect the farms.
Now the PCs will run into Tom in the course of adventuring. They could rescue one of his great grand daughters, and Tom will award then the standard fee, and a bottle of either his normal stock or strawberry wines. PCs will find such wines are a treasure that opens doors to the rich and famous. If PCs drink their wine, it will be the best they ever tasted.
Today, Old Tom uses a cane to move about. He face is lined with decades of smiles. He has met Kings and Queens, but prefers ordinary folk.
I really like this one, could be the first quest that the party takes up.
He was a first level NPC in my campaign as well. Here is the first villain Old Tom had to deal with:
The town of Blackrock
The road turns black with black cinders. The soil likewise if black. Wonderful fruitful vineyards fill both sides of the road. Halflings are everywhere tending the fields. Low stone walls line the road, they too are black stone. Any player with a farming background will never have seen such healthy fields. The vineyards here are indeed blessed by Cheantea.
Mad Marian:
Scene One: In the vineyards. A group of halflings come running to you.
“Help! Help! Our children are Trapped! Skeletons!”
4-6 skeletons are chopping at the door to a shed. Children’s cries are heard within. After the party dispatches them. They are rewarded with a bottle of Old Tom Nobbins wine each and 10 gold. One of the halflings mentions he thinks this was the work of Mad Marrion. She came earlier that day demanding food and wine. They would gladly help a beggar but she was so off putting, that they refused her.
Marian swore revenge. And the skeletons arrived a few hours later. Others do not believe him.
Marian is described as a harmless crazy woman who lives in the wild. She wanders begging for food, but lately she has been very threatening. Making references to her new friends.
Marian is long gone by this time.
Marian IS dangerous. She sold her soul for the ability to make obedient “friends.” The seller is from the Necropolis (a city in the shadow Realm), he allowed her to use the Necronomicon to learn her spell: Animate Dead that makes superior skeletons. She’s making normal ones now, but soon she will be able to make leveled skeletal fighters. In fact, she has learned more than she bargained for, awakening her inherent class. Human female. 3 level shadow sorcerer 4, 2
Cantrips: Toll the Dead. Prestidigitation. Light. Mold Earth.
1) Mage Armor, Ray of Sickness,
2) Darkness (she can see through it like a warlock), Misty Step
At Will: Animate Dead - Skeletons only. She retains permanent control. Her skeletons retain skills from life. They will wait on her, performing complex tasks – far more complex than a normal skeleton could perform. She could literally raise an army.
IF she is allowed to survive and rise in level, she will have access to necromancy spells normally denied sorcerers.
Mad Marian prefers her skeletons to do the fighting while she snipes from behind. She is not brave, and will flee if the party appears to be winning. She reserves a few skeletons to delay the party while she escapes on a skeletal horse.
The party will meet her again in the ruins.
Motivation: Marian started off being lonely, she never really did anything about it, staying away from other people. When the love of her life died fighting goblins, Marian’s sanity (not that there was ever very much to begin with) left her and she ran off into the wilds. Her loneliness turned to hate, hate for goblins, hate for the people who never came to rescue her, hate for everyone.
Stewing like this made her the perfect stooge for “The Merchant.” The Merchant is from the Necropolis, a city of the living and the dead found in the shadow realm. He sells access to the Necronomicon for souls. Upon death, those souls awaken in Necropolis as intelligent undead instead of where they normally would go. Marian bought access to just one cursed spell, but she perused the book awakening her sorcerous talent. As she rises in level, she will gain other bizarre powers. The Merchant’s goal is unknown, but undead mayhem seems to wreak havoc whenever he makes a sale.
Tragic as she is, Marian is flush with power. She seeks to eventually take over Blackrock and make the people beg ‘her’ for food. The plan of course will not work, but then, she is quite mad.
Here's a couple NPC's I've used in a few of my games:
Klea Endwater, an elven reporter for a paper in (insert city here) who will do anything to get to the bottom of a story, but isn't much of a fighter herself so she's been known to hire adventurers to aid her in dangerous situations. Some of her contemporaries dismiss her as a conspiracy nut, but those that know her better know she has a shrewd knowledge of the goings on around her, and what is or isn't "crazy."
Garzl gro-Bonkolg, orc former assassin, now a shopkeeper and adopted father of two orphaned human children (Sophie and Samuel), he is a suave and cultured individual who will still genially remind you that the *did* used to kill people for a living if you try to stiff him on the goods. His shop is named after his daughter, 'Sophie's Wonderous Wares.' Sophie (15) is an amateur fortune teller who has a table in the corner where she'll charge shoppers a gold to have their fortunes read (poorly as she is entirely making it up). Samuel sweeps up, and is kind of a dud personally. Garzl kinda plays favorites, but still is a good dad to both of them. Very friendly, even when making veiled threats.
Cutter, a warforged monk and servant of the temple of Eldath. Created to perform menial labor and fight when necessary, Cutter prefers to spend their newly acquired freedom on spiritual matters, and will only fight when absolutely necessary. When Cutter was freed, they swore never again to touch a weapon, so when violence is the only solution, they settle matters with their fists. Lately they've been rooting out demonic and abyssal corruption from the waterfront district of their home city with the help of Natasha Stormcrown.
Natasha Stormcrown, human, is the granddaughter of a celebrated wizard and seer, who was meant to train her in the wizardly arts before tragically going mad after losing his foresight when she was a child. With her mother dead and her father kidnapped by fae (presumed dead), she was left to care for her ailing grandfather but she did not let this stand in the way of gaining her own knowledge of arcane secrets. Through studying the Astral Plane, the plane of Thought, she eventually made contact with a being known as The Seeker, which wanders the astral sea consuming knowledge for it's own sake. After striking a mutual bargain in which they both uncover new knowledge for the other, Natasha forged a pact with the Seeker (Seeker warlock, old UA, look it up) to aid in her own arcane studies. She's a great NPC to go to to exposition away any arcane complexities, and is an accomplished researcher and arcanist who also dabbles in chemistry, medicine, alchemy, and ritual magic. As a warlock, most of her spells are geared more towards information gathering or exploration (so she can carry out her researches from her laboratory/library), the few spells she knows that would be useful in a fight are more defensive in nature. She has a pet faerie dragon named Sundrop that was given to her by the fae court that took her father as recognition for her loss (they have a complicated relationship and there's a chance her father went willingly to aid them in some way or prevent some disaster in the material plane or the Feywild). Sundrop serves as her familiar.
Colber Halfric: The taxman lives in a fancy house with two bully boy flunkies (studded leather and clubs. Taker and Jake). He is not paid and makes a living taking more in taxes than is owed. Thus, he is hated by the people. He lives to confiscate anything Adventurers might gain. No citizen will turn in an adventuring party who beats the crap out of the taxman. The DM should have fun inventing annoying fictional taxes to hit the party with. And yes, the paladin will pick up evil intent. Colber is a poor liar and it is only a DC 11 to discern if he is lying.
Fictional taxes
Artifact Acquisitions tax 100 gps to 1000 gps Colber has no idea of magic item worth, so this is totally arbitrary
Healing potions tax 1 gold per potion
Bloodied tunic/armor tax 10 gps
Mount tax 1 gold per horse
Back talking a representative of the crown tax 10 gold for him and 2 gold each for Taker and Jake
Mallory Lemort: This aging human researcher sports a mop of white hair and pair of half-moon spectacles. He speaks in a quavering voice and wears tweedy green robes. Hard of hearing and chronically forgetful, he (loudly) offers the PCs a reward if they can find any of his lost manuscripts...which turn up throughout the game in the most unlikely places.
exciting NPC'S are fun, but sometimes you need some normal people to drop in randomly to make your world more lush.
Old lady, known locally as simply Grammy, Grandma, etc. Just your sweet average old lady who brings the community together. Can be modified to be a local leader or the village witch.
Old man. He can be a weather-beaten farmer, an old aristocrat, or the homeless person making the atmosphere in the local slums more lifelike. Choose a name that's simple, with slight modifications based on where you're using him.
Group of five children. Mixed girls and boys, around ages 6-12. put similar ages together; a six-year-old and an 8-year-old are about as diverse as I would put them. They are a close knit group of friends who can be seen playing together outdoors or in a public space.
A demilich supervillain whose skull is concealed inside an iron helmet, who poses as a Warforged Artificer in a tower full of steampunk machinery. He befriends the characters and influences their decisions in this guise until they get him what he wants and then he disposes of them.
A kenku burgomaster who can only repeat the same half-dozen campaign bumper sticker slogans, over and over. He has the rabid, violent support of half the town, because they really really like those half dozen slogans.
This is a town but it is almost an NPC. It is a mining town. a LOT of wealth is flowing through. there is a tavern/saloon/casino every 20 feet.
The ratio of men to women is 17 to 1. fights to the death occur frequently and will spill out into the streets. The rich are forced to hire private armies. The sheriff will kill people on the spot, and the judge has a gallows with fresh nooses just outside the court room. Life is quick and cheap here. Ghosts and specters haunt certain buildings.
Grave Yard. No one has died of natural causes in this town for 20 years. At night the specter of Angus (a dwarf) rises and stares at people passing by on the street. He is physically unable to leave the grave yard. Foolish drunks like to harass Angus with the one thing that would start fights when he lived: short jokes. all Angus can do is curse, but if a speak with dead is used, he will actually be able to LIE and ask for a way out of the grave yard so he can finally be at peace...in reality he will kill those drunks who made fun of him (and any PCs who joined in!).
Personality: Ograt is a goblin druid, who is very kindly and generous. However, he is often found asleep, and snores loudly when he is happy (almost all the time). Ograt has a close connection to his tribe, and loves animals, particularly Lizards and sea creatures.
Look: Ograt is a stout goblin who has a large Potbelly that often doesn't fit under his his waistcoat, which is made from leafs, grass and bits of animal fur. Ograt has a nightcap that he wears all the time, and he has a few wisps of brown hair poking out from beneath it. He carries a twisted staff, and it has blue/green sap dripping from it.
Akangan Bogfang (I think that's it. Might have to edit it once I remember the proper name):
Personality: He is a young black dragon, but is neutral good. He comes from a long line of dragons, who protect the area surrounding his lair. They are revered by everyone who lives their, and will kill any threats. He loves to assert his authority, and to visit his people.
Look: glossy black scales, he has bits of moss and a few mushrooms growing on him. His left wing has a nasty scar, and so he can't fly, unless a party member casts a spell of 3rd level or higher that heals him. Him and Ograt are friends, and Ograt can often be found sleeping on a pile of mushrooms, gold and magic items between Bogfang's claws.
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
A cursed mountain pass. All the spirits who died became overwhelmed and consumed by an evil person, becoming one indivisible spiritual force. Now no longer having any identity, it inhabits the mountain pass itself - an intelligent and malevolent hunger that's in the rocks, plants, and any creature susceptible to influence. All who are killed become part of the mountain pass, giving it power and, due to its greater presence, a greater need to keep feeding to sustain its growth.
Since the overwhelming majority of the consumed spirits died in a state of terror and confusion, the evil influences are not the primary force but simply the most coherent ones. If something could calm the parts of the spirit that is from the terrified souls, the spirit might be able to overcome its evil parts and release its life forces so what remains of everyone will pass on to their respective final destinations, exorcising the massive spiritual force by turning it upon itself.
The mountain pass is the NPC.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
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so, I’m making a homebrew world for a campaign, and I’m the most uncreative guy, so make some NPCs or something for my campaign, it can be cameos of your old PCs or something new, help populate my world!
Tiefling chef adventurer looking around the world for recipes and spices to bring a culinary revolution to the hells.
Not quite what you’re asking for but I can’t wait until my party making it to the sea so they can see the triton ship that’s fashioned to the body of a whale.
Hobbled Druid wandering the woods riding on the back of a giant tortoise
goliath Tavern owner who is terrified of small humanoids
Guard captain that follows the trope of “6 months before I retire”
child that follows the group around saying mean/annoying things whenever they are in the major city - orphanage/street urchin plothook?
minotaur barkeeper that keeps a rag of prestidigitation hanging from his horn
Skeggy the red: A Goblin samurai who has ended up in your homebrew world while fighting his dreaded enemy, Hadgar Greystone. He is now searching for a way back, back to the past.
Think Samurai Jack...but as a goblin.
Hadgar Greystone: A Death Cleric Duergar with a small army of skeleton warriors with him. Arch-nemesis of Skeggy the Red. Worships Laduguer so he may or may not be cu off from his power depending on your setting.
Think a more evil version of Skeletor from He-Man.
Hadgar Greystone, Lv 10 Duergar Death Cleric.
Call of Cantraxis campaign, Moonshae.
DM: Imperia Regnum
Ancient Rome Theros Homebrew.
Gri'im the Red, LV 7 Orc Druid
Rime of the Frost Maiden Campaign.
Beaumont; think of a Belmont from Castlevania.
Sly roguish monster slayer with a foul mouth (always envisioned him with a Irish accent) propensity for drinking, gambling, philandering, and those are some of his better qualities.
Human early 30's with a mop top of scraggly reddish brown hair. Thick pork chop sideburns finely dressed in cloths that look like they'd cost enough to feed a large villiage.
Comes from a huge family of monster hunters. 12 siblings...that he knows of. (various races) Plus a bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins and more.
Lisette Renaldi- a drow actress who made a deal with a demon in order to make her the most famous actress in the world. She's demanding and selfish but will (begrudgingly) do the right thing if it is necessary. She is also very insecure which is her biggest weakness.
Mortis archedese: necromancer, creepy tall old man 87, likes having tea with hags, reading occult books and pleasant walks through the city graveyard, mainly uses skeletons and undead for house chores. Personality is apathetic and lazy, often dresses in a long dark cloak with the hem decorated with images of smoke and skulls spectacles, a black night cap, a silver skull toped cane, and fluffy pink bunny slippers these are his most prized possessions. Has an adopted son named Carlton age 10 who he is very proud of and would kill for despite his aversion to murder and exercise.
Was one of my characters in an old campaign.
I will post more soon.
Urim Steadhorn: A 200 year old dwarven blacksmith who is grumpy and sick of young humans trying to "teach" him how to do things. He's old and experienced and gets really irritated when anyone young tries to act like they know more than him.
Feeper Bobstopper: A 25 year old gnome who loves pranking people. He's a child at heart and loves to have fun. Some of his pranks can include sneaking small animals into random people's backpacks. He loves using Prestidigitation on others. He is well known to the locals who tend to just let him have his fun. His fun spirit can bring smiles on people's faces.
Rog Bodrim: A 30 year old Half Orc who is a bartender and loves the occasional brawls in his tavern. He even has a fighting ring set up in his tavern for the brawls. He loves his beer, and respects those who share that passion. He looks down on those who appear weak or scrawny. He enjoys telling and hearing tales of great adventures. There is never a dull moment or conversation when Rog is around.
Yadaraki Dreadmoon - A 37-year old Hobgoblin who stands nearly six and a half feet tall and is quite out of shape with a particularly large belly. He seems world-worn, is covered with old scars and burns and has lost a hand-- luckily for him it wasn't his drinking hand. He keeps a toolbelt of various attachments he can screw onto the hand when he wants to use it for things like cooking or eating. During the day he works on the docks selling fish stew and some sort of fried poultry that people tell themselves is chicken. Both are made incredibly spicy using a rare blend of peppers that only he seems to be able to get, apparently having a contact on a ship that brings them to him. His food is so spicy in fact that the only people who ever buy it are those who don't know better (often tricked into it) or those want to dare to prove their toughness by eating it and trying to keep it down. During the night he is generally seen in the pub, half-sloshed on spiced rum and telling wild stories to anyone who would listen. He makes claims to have been everything from a pirate, a mercenary captain, a town guard and a scout-- though if one listens long enough the exact order in which he held these jobs seems to change from story to story. He also claims to have encountered just about every monster in the book and can provide some rather specific and often unusual details about them. You ask him about any monster, he has a story. His stories always involve some incredible folly or bad luck befalling him and his companions, a series of almost slapstick events and them barely escaping with their lives. He also has at least 5 different stories about how he supposedly lost his hand. Even though his stories clearly cannot all be true, he tells them all with incredibly conviction and energy. If the validity of his stories is questioned, he will become defensive and blustery about people challenging his honor. The barkeep usually allows him to drink for free as people come just to listen to his stories.
Karris.
He is a Tiefling bureaucrat in charge of adventurer relations for the local lord. The Lord hates dealing with adventurers so Karris is the middleman. He works from a small wooden building next to the local constable's office and jail. There is a Job Board on an outside wall and his office inside. Karris is the paymaster players will come to for jobs done and bounties. for bounties, Karris requires the heads as proof. He has the invocation that allows Speak with Dead at will. Karris will interrogate the heads right there in front of the players.
A Hexblade at heart, Kerris always wears half plate and has a shield on the wall. Next to his desk is a potbelly stove. During any discussions with the players Karris will open the stove, reach in and pull out a piece if charcoal...and eat it. He has a collection of exotic wood scraps that he 'cooks' and eats.
Old Tom Nobbins Fine Wines.
Old Tom lives in a frontier area near a volcano. The soil is fantastic. His family is blessed by the deities of agriculture and wine. Now Old Tom is a halfling adventurer who never struck it rich, so he tried his hand at farming . His vineyards and strawberry fields, and his sons and daughters fields and their children's fields are the berry best in the world, as are his wine presses. Old Tom makes the most loved wines in the world, selling for 80 gold a bottle, and for more the further away one gets. Kings send ambassadors to buy a few cases.
Old Tom struck it rich after all. He owns 3 wineries, and hundreds of acres of the most fertile farmland on the planet. some two thousand halflings have followed him into the area and the local rulers built a major fort in the area just to protect the farms.
Now the PCs will run into Tom in the course of adventuring. They could rescue one of his great grand daughters, and Tom will award then the standard fee, and a bottle of either his normal stock or strawberry wines. PCs will find such wines are a treasure that opens doors to the rich and famous. If PCs drink their wine, it will be the best they ever tasted.
Today, Old Tom uses a cane to move about. He face is lined with decades of smiles. He has met Kings and Queens, but prefers ordinary folk.
I really like this one, could be the first quest that the party takes up.
He was a first level NPC in my campaign as well. Here is the first villain Old Tom had to deal with:
The town of Blackrock
The road turns black with black cinders. The soil likewise if black. Wonderful fruitful vineyards fill both sides of the road. Halflings are everywhere tending the fields. Low stone walls line the road, they too are black stone. Any player with a farming background will never have seen such healthy fields. The vineyards here are indeed blessed by Cheantea.
Mad Marian:
Scene One: In the vineyards. A group of halflings come running to you.
“Help! Help! Our children are Trapped! Skeletons!”
4-6 skeletons are chopping at the door to a shed. Children’s cries are heard within. After the party dispatches them. They are rewarded with a bottle of Old Tom Nobbins wine each and 10 gold. One of the halflings mentions he thinks this was the work of Mad Marrion. She came earlier that day demanding food and wine. They would gladly help a beggar but she was so off putting, that they refused her.
Marian swore revenge. And the skeletons arrived a few hours later. Others do not believe him.
Marian is described as a harmless crazy woman who lives in the wild. She wanders begging for food, but lately she has been very threatening. Making references to her new friends.
Marian is long gone by this time.
Marian IS dangerous. She sold her soul for the ability to make obedient “friends.” The seller is from the Necropolis (a city in the shadow Realm), he allowed her to use the Necronomicon to learn her spell: Animate Dead that makes superior skeletons. She’s making normal ones now, but soon she will be able to make leveled skeletal fighters. In fact, she has learned more than she bargained for, awakening her inherent class. Human female. 3 level shadow sorcerer 4, 2
Cantrips: Toll the Dead. Prestidigitation. Light. Mold Earth.
1) Mage Armor, Ray of Sickness,
2) Darkness (she can see through it like a warlock), Misty Step
At Will: Animate Dead - Skeletons only. She retains permanent control. Her skeletons retain skills from life. They will wait on her, performing complex tasks – far more complex than a normal skeleton could perform. She could literally raise an army.
IF she is allowed to survive and rise in level, she will have access to necromancy spells normally denied sorcerers.
Mad Marian prefers her skeletons to do the fighting while she snipes from behind. She is not brave, and will flee if the party appears to be winning. She reserves a few skeletons to delay the party while she escapes on a skeletal horse.
The party will meet her again in the ruins.
Motivation: Marian started off being lonely, she never really did anything about it, staying away from other people. When the love of her life died fighting goblins, Marian’s sanity (not that there was ever very much to begin with) left her and she ran off into the wilds. Her loneliness turned to hate, hate for goblins, hate for the people who never came to rescue her, hate for everyone.
Stewing like this made her the perfect stooge for “The Merchant.” The Merchant is from the Necropolis, a city of the living and the dead found in the shadow realm. He sells access to the Necronomicon for souls. Upon death, those souls awaken in Necropolis as intelligent undead instead of where they normally would go. Marian bought access to just one cursed spell, but she perused the book awakening her sorcerous talent. As she rises in level, she will gain other bizarre powers. The Merchant’s goal is unknown, but undead mayhem seems to wreak havoc whenever he makes a sale.
Tragic as she is, Marian is flush with power. She seeks to eventually take over Blackrock and make the people beg ‘her’ for food. The plan of course will not work, but then, she is quite mad.
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I used Mad Marian as a recurring villain in the low levels. It was fun giving her abilities she simply could not have had.
Here's a couple NPC's I've used in a few of my games:
Klea Endwater, an elven reporter for a paper in (insert city here) who will do anything to get to the bottom of a story, but isn't much of a fighter herself so she's been known to hire adventurers to aid her in dangerous situations. Some of her contemporaries dismiss her as a conspiracy nut, but those that know her better know she has a shrewd knowledge of the goings on around her, and what is or isn't "crazy."
Garzl gro-Bonkolg, orc former assassin, now a shopkeeper and adopted father of two orphaned human children (Sophie and Samuel), he is a suave and cultured individual who will still genially remind you that the *did* used to kill people for a living if you try to stiff him on the goods. His shop is named after his daughter, 'Sophie's Wonderous Wares.' Sophie (15) is an amateur fortune teller who has a table in the corner where she'll charge shoppers a gold to have their fortunes read (poorly as she is entirely making it up). Samuel sweeps up, and is kind of a dud personally. Garzl kinda plays favorites, but still is a good dad to both of them. Very friendly, even when making veiled threats.
Cutter, a warforged monk and servant of the temple of Eldath. Created to perform menial labor and fight when necessary, Cutter prefers to spend their newly acquired freedom on spiritual matters, and will only fight when absolutely necessary. When Cutter was freed, they swore never again to touch a weapon, so when violence is the only solution, they settle matters with their fists. Lately they've been rooting out demonic and abyssal corruption from the waterfront district of their home city with the help of Natasha Stormcrown.
Natasha Stormcrown, human, is the granddaughter of a celebrated wizard and seer, who was meant to train her in the wizardly arts before tragically going mad after losing his foresight when she was a child. With her mother dead and her father kidnapped by fae (presumed dead), she was left to care for her ailing grandfather but she did not let this stand in the way of gaining her own knowledge of arcane secrets. Through studying the Astral Plane, the plane of Thought, she eventually made contact with a being known as The Seeker, which wanders the astral sea consuming knowledge for it's own sake. After striking a mutual bargain in which they both uncover new knowledge for the other, Natasha forged a pact with the Seeker (Seeker warlock, old UA, look it up) to aid in her own arcane studies. She's a great NPC to go to to exposition away any arcane complexities, and is an accomplished researcher and arcanist who also dabbles in chemistry, medicine, alchemy, and ritual magic. As a warlock, most of her spells are geared more towards information gathering or exploration (so she can carry out her researches from her laboratory/library), the few spells she knows that would be useful in a fight are more defensive in nature. She has a pet faerie dragon named Sundrop that was given to her by the fae court that took her father as recognition for her loss (they have a complicated relationship and there's a chance her father went willingly to aid them in some way or prevent some disaster in the material plane or the Feywild). Sundrop serves as her familiar.
I am actually having fun with this.
Colber Halfric: The taxman lives in a fancy house with two bully boy flunkies (studded leather and clubs. Taker and Jake). He is not paid and makes a living taking more in taxes than is owed. Thus, he is hated by the people. He lives to confiscate anything Adventurers might gain. No citizen will turn in an adventuring party who beats the crap out of the taxman. The DM should have fun inventing annoying fictional taxes to hit the party with. And yes, the paladin will pick up evil intent. Colber is a poor liar and it is only a DC 11 to discern if he is lying.
Fictional taxes
Artifact Acquisitions tax 100 gps to 1000 gps Colber has no idea of magic item worth, so this is totally arbitrary
Healing potions tax 1 gold per potion
Bloodied tunic/armor tax 10 gps
Mount tax 1 gold per horse
Back talking a representative of the crown tax 10 gold for him and 2 gold each for Taker and Jake
Vagrant Tax 2 gold per room at an inn per night
Mallory Lemort: This aging human researcher sports a mop of white hair and pair of half-moon spectacles. He speaks in a quavering voice and wears tweedy green robes. Hard of hearing and chronically forgetful, he (loudly) offers the PCs a reward if they can find any of his lost manuscripts...which turn up throughout the game in the most unlikely places.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
exciting NPC'S are fun, but sometimes you need some normal people to drop in randomly to make your world more lush.
Old lady, known locally as simply Grammy, Grandma, etc. Just your sweet average old lady who brings the community together. Can be modified to be a local leader or the village witch.
Old man. He can be a weather-beaten farmer, an old aristocrat, or the homeless person making the atmosphere in the local slums more lifelike. Choose a name that's simple, with slight modifications based on where you're using him.
Group of five children. Mixed girls and boys, around ages 6-12. put similar ages together; a six-year-old and an 8-year-old are about as diverse as I would put them. They are a close knit group of friends who can be seen playing together outdoors or in a public space.
A demilich supervillain whose skull is concealed inside an iron helmet, who poses as a Warforged Artificer in a tower full of steampunk machinery. He befriends the characters and influences their decisions in this guise until they get him what he wants and then he disposes of them.
A kenku burgomaster who can only repeat the same half-dozen campaign bumper sticker slogans, over and over. He has the rabid, violent support of half the town, because they really really like those half dozen slogans.
This is a town but it is almost an NPC. It is a mining town. a LOT of wealth is flowing through. there is a tavern/saloon/casino every 20 feet.
The ratio of men to women is 17 to 1. fights to the death occur frequently and will spill out into the streets. The rich are forced to hire private armies. The sheriff will kill people on the spot, and the judge has a gallows with fresh nooses just outside the court room. Life is quick and cheap here. Ghosts and specters haunt certain buildings.
Grave Yard. No one has died of natural causes in this town for 20 years. At night the specter of Angus (a dwarf) rises and stares at people passing by on the street. He is physically unable to leave the grave yard. Foolish drunks like to harass Angus with the one thing that would start fights when he lived: short jokes. all Angus can do is curse, but if a speak with dead is used, he will actually be able to LIE and ask for a way out of the grave yard so he can finally be at peace...in reality he will kill those drunks who made fun of him (and any PCs who joined in!).
Ograt:
Personality: Ograt is a goblin druid, who is very kindly and generous. However, he is often found asleep, and snores loudly when he is happy (almost all the time). Ograt has a close connection to his tribe, and loves animals, particularly Lizards and sea creatures.
Look: Ograt is a stout goblin who has a large Potbelly that often doesn't fit under his his waistcoat, which is made from leafs, grass and bits of animal fur. Ograt has a nightcap that he wears all the time, and he has a few wisps of brown hair poking out from beneath it. He carries a twisted staff, and it has blue/green sap dripping from it.
Akangan Bogfang (I think that's it. Might have to edit it once I remember the proper name):
Personality: He is a young black dragon, but is neutral good. He comes from a long line of dragons, who protect the area surrounding his lair. They are revered by everyone who lives their, and will kill any threats. He loves to assert his authority, and to visit his people.
Look: glossy black scales, he has bits of moss and a few mushrooms growing on him. His left wing has a nasty scar, and so he can't fly, unless a party member casts a spell of 3rd level or higher that heals him. Him and Ograt are friends, and Ograt can often be found sleeping on a pile of mushrooms, gold and magic items between Bogfang's claws.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
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A cursed mountain pass. All the spirits who died became overwhelmed and consumed by an evil person, becoming one indivisible spiritual force. Now no longer having any identity, it inhabits the mountain pass itself - an intelligent and malevolent hunger that's in the rocks, plants, and any creature susceptible to influence. All who are killed become part of the mountain pass, giving it power and, due to its greater presence, a greater need to keep feeding to sustain its growth.
Since the overwhelming majority of the consumed spirits died in a state of terror and confusion, the evil influences are not the primary force but simply the most coherent ones. If something could calm the parts of the spirit that is from the terrified souls, the spirit might be able to overcome its evil parts and release its life forces so what remains of everyone will pass on to their respective final destinations, exorcising the massive spiritual force by turning it upon itself.
The mountain pass is the NPC.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.