Npc adventurers backstory

[Redhood101]

My campaign starts with a “festival of heroes” where the party is there in awe of all these amazing adventurers. This is to help set up my villain cause the plan is to have him come in and wipe the floor with all the high level NPCs so the party knows what the stakes are. What I need help with is coming up with cool backstories and various adventurers. Anyone feel like lending a hand? The villain would send his henchmen which are both around 12-14 CR. One is a necromancer who would also raise and army of the dead so the party has some low level baddies to fight.

[Unoriginal]

Sure.

Do you have something specific in mind? Campaign elements we'd need to know? What CR should we expect for the BBEG, just to know the adventurers' relative power level?


Also, be careful when Worfing people. Otherwise the players may believe they're all talk and no walk.

Maybe include a tournament at the feast so they can show their skills?

[Man_Over_Game]

"Oso"- A Gnomish Moon Druid who lived with bears, wrestled bears, and he now wrestles people as "El Gran Oso" (The Great Bear). He doesn't talk much, and he only responds to the word Bear, but knows it in every language,

"Phylactery Jones". Hexblade human who was saved from a lich's phylactery ritual. He gained dark powers, and uses them to thwart evil. Many people have mixed feelings around him, enjoying his company while also being extremely suspicious of his open behavior. They think he is the Devil, attempting to claim your soul when you are no longer vigilant, but he's just a bit hedonistic and relaxed.

"Justice, of the White Thunder". Life Cleric Tiefling who was raised within the White Thunder, a group dedicated to the preservation of champions, arenas, and any celebration of combat. She stands on the front lines, hitting enemies hard and only protecting those who show they have earned it. Rumors say she is a Valkyrie, but her only response to these rumors is laughter and demanding a duel. People think she is intense, like she's always anticipating a threat around the corner, and that it would make her day if something destroyed the local village just so she could fight it.

"Mattias Scrollbottom". Halfling Divination Wizard. Got tired of the uncertainties of Halfling lives, and decided to decide his own future. He is stubborn, learning Divination magic simply because someone told him he couldn't! He seems a bit grumpy for a Halfling, but his actions show he's actually quite kind when his words speak otherwise.

"Talgin Fargreaves". A Battlemaster Fighter/ Thief Rogue Human. Was originally a combat medic in an army, before joining a group of deserters after the army started filling in ranks with the undead of civilians. He still is an excellent medic, but now has a lot of combat experience. Seems a bit of a coward at first glance, despite being the first to dive into danger after someone, on top of being a crackshot with a crossbow.

[Vogie]

If none of your players play Magic: the Gathering, you can make the Gatewatch as the high-level adventuring party who is about to bite the dust. I made homebrew subclasses for the middle 4 to better meet their flavor, which are in the link in my signature, and I'll reference in parenthesis.

Human Pyromancer Sorcerer (Printed on PlaneShift:Kaladesh)
Human Crown Paladin (Oath of the Heiromancer)
Elvish Land Druid with Pet Elemental (Circle of Awakening)
Revenant Necromancer Wizard (The Soulless patron)
Human Illusion mage (College of Mentalism)
Tabaxi War Cleric
The Revenant Necromancer that is PART of the party may use the festival of heroes as a way to publicly backstab them.

To be fair, You could probably also do if they do play it, with the names changed, and see if they pick it up.