PDA

View Full Version : Behind the DM Screen



Hallavast
2011-02-05, 10:43 PM
As a "rule", non-rules/mechanics related threads rarely get a lot of mileage on this particular forum. Maybe that claim will goad some of you into proving me wrong here. :smallwink:

:

Here's the short version of my latest DnD game: the PCs are on the lam after being falsely accused of murdering the King. During their flight from the capitol, they ran into a gate guard captain whom they bribed for passage out of the city.

The bribe in question was a promise of knighthood (and a magic sword). See, the PCs are largely a group of young nobles who have run afoul of the central political arena of the kingdom. Now they are fugitives trying to make their way back to their own lands. I plan on making the journey difficult for them.

The nature of the bribe suddenly makes the NPC guard captain a bit more interesting to me, and I wish to flesh out the character further and incorporate him into the campaign in the future. I hadn't expected to do this, so now I've got some work to do. Maybe the playground can help out with some brainstorming. Here's what I've drawn up so far about the captain:

-even tempered and opportunistic
-war veteran of a recent civil war
-he's taking a considerable risk in the bribe, itself
-may be willing to help the PCs in the future to protect his investment
-or willing to backstab them if a better deal comes along
-before the war he held a good-natured, optimistic outlook on life (now he's a good deal more cynical)
-holds the trust and admiration of his 6 subordinate guardsmen who look up to him as a charismatic leader and mentor with their best interests at heart.

The political landscape of the campaign will be a nation fractionalized by the loss of their strong leader and by the schemes of lesser noble houses trying to grab power.

So, if this were your NPC, what plotline tropes would you like to use with him and are there any character traits that would make him more interesting? There are a lot of ways he can go, I think, so the more suggestions the better.

Alternatively, feel free to describe your own situations where you've been inspired by the PCs' actions to elevate or add depth to an otherwise minor NPC. I love hearing gaming stories from the playground about these. I hope I'm not the only one.

LansXero
2011-02-05, 10:54 PM
Why would a Guard-Captain want knighthood? Maybe because he needs the power to get revenge. He feels used in that he and his men put the king where he was during the war, and got squat back. Poor people are still poor and rich people are still jackasses to whom he has to cowtow and kneel. So, knowing the ins and outs of the palace's security he rigs a bunch of foolish, bratty young nobles to be framed for the murder of the king. He stands right at their only way out, ready to take a bribe of wealth or power from them. So he gets offered to become a knight. Which eventually he does. Which, with the support of the guard and intimidation of the right people, in time, lets him crush the other factions and rise as king. He becomes a just and benevolent king, with the best interests of the people at heart, but destitutes the nobles and strips them off their riches. Thats when the group of young nobles find out he was behind the whole thing from the beginning, and challenge him atop the palace's roof during a storm. xD

valadil
2011-02-05, 11:03 PM
Another option is that he was somehow opposed to the previous king. Maybe he didn't care about the bribes and let the PCs go because he approved of the murder.

Popertop
2011-02-06, 02:49 AM
Why would a Guard-Captain want knighthood? Maybe because he needs the power to get revenge. He feels used in that he and his men put the king where he was during the war, and got squat back. Poor people are still poor and rich people are still jackasses to whom he has to cowtow and kneel. So, knowing the ins and outs of the palace's security he rigs a bunch of foolish, bratty young nobles to be framed for the murder of the king. He stands right at their only way out, ready to take a bribe of wealth or power from them. So he gets offered to become a knight. Which eventually he does. Which, with the support of the guard and intimidation of the right people, in time, lets him crush the other factions and rise as king. He becomes a just and benevolent king, with the best interests of the people at heart, but destitutes the nobles and strips them off their riches. Thats when the group of young nobles find out he was behind the whole thing from the beginning, and challenge him atop the palace's roof during a storm. xD

is this from something?

Knaight
2011-02-06, 02:56 AM
is this from something?

Assuming that this is a serious question, it bears more than passing resemblance to a few other characters. The best implementation of this I've seen would be one Colonel Roy Mustang, from a certain Full Metal Alchemist.

LansXero
2011-02-06, 04:33 PM
is this from something?

Came up with it as I was answering; probably not that original so it could resemble something else.