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averagejoe
2011-05-27, 11:25 PM
The unsung heroes of any game. Or, non-heroes, rather, but important nonetheless. It seems like I hear about what all the PC's are doing a lot, but I never really hear about fun NPC times.

One of my favorites were actually fairly minor in the scope of a campaign, three rather grim goatfolk brothers who guarded a bridge that the PC's had to cross. There wasn't a lot to them besides their rather goofy premise, but it ended up being a fairly memorable encounter. The PC's eventually ended up befriending them, and the party warrior would get drunk with them and challenge them to headbutt contests. Which he lost horribly, but good times were had by all.

Another was in a game I was a player in. We met these diminutive mushroom people who communicated telepathically (Dunno what it was.) One of us figured out that this basically gave us telepathy so long as all of us could speak to one of them and have them relay the message. So we asked for volunteers and one of the little guys came along. He never said much, but we kept him with us through our adventures, and he basically became a member of the group despite contributing in only minor ways.

What fond memories of NPC's do y'all have?

LoneStarNorth
2011-05-27, 11:43 PM
Years ago in my current campaign, the party ran into a friendly (but gross) ettercap who wanted to apprentice himself to the party wizard. They determined quickly that he was too stupid to wizardry but let him tag along because he was funny. Then, the next morning, they wake up to find him and the wizard's spellbook both missing. They found him trying to cast spells on a harpy, which was beating him up, saved him and got the spellbook back. They made him promise no more stealing and sent him on his way with a pat on the back and a bag lunch.

Fast forward to now, three real-time years after that incident. The ettercap is now a mid-level vermin druid joining the current party (not one original character remains) in going to take out the BBEG once and for all. He also helped them out during a city siege by getting a bunch of monstrous spiders to leap off the rooftops onto the invading army.

They really like that guy.

Necro_EX
2011-05-28, 12:10 AM
Last campaign I ran had Garrel Festwright and Faelor (last name...I can't recall.). Garrel Festwright was a wizard that lived out in the wild between Waterdeep and Ardeep Forest in a strange stone house that was larger on the inside than the outside, absolutely filled to the brim with books and serviced by several unseen servants and golems. He was a Harper and a well-traveled adventurer. He was also Billy Mays.

"If you buy a copy of The Adventures of Garrel Festwright right now, I'll throw in a copy of Labyrinths of Undermountain for free! That's a 200 platinum piece value and I'm practically giving it away at only 100 platinum! That's right, you'll receive two books hand-penned by myself for the price of one!"

He also looked like Nikki Sixx, but y'know...a wizard.

Man, I loved that guy. He was great fun to roleplay as even if he was only there for the one session.

Faelor wasn't anything too spectacular at first, just a duskblade that was a retainer of the party's benefactor. He ended up doing half the fetchquesting on his own and saved their cleric's life in a fight against a pyrohydra by throwing himself in the way.

He was later revealed to be the BBEG. The same guy that ambushed them out in the North and left half the party next to death, including the party member that was his childhood friend.

He was more fun in the enemy position, really.