DM help. Making a Hero NPC for a game im running.

[Drackstin]

I'm running a game for a group of friend of mine and i wanted to add a NPC that could help the PCs in bad situations and/or add side quests to the game itself. i have a good idea of what i want to do for him but i need some help building it.

The Character is based out of the new Magic the gathering Ravnica 5e DnD book. He is a Young (26) Izzit Scientist that was sent to the world by the guild to find new materials for magic experimentation. He himself is Human, arrogant and full of himself, and loves to talk about his "accomplishments"

He has a specialized magic item (MIZZIUM APPARATUS) that came from the Ravnica book, that also has 2 cylindrical Rifles built into the gauntlets of the item. so both hands are free.

What i have picked out so far is the classes to get him to what i envisioned.

Alchemist (Gun Chemist, Visionary Researcher) 2
Magus (Eldritch Archer, Hexcrafter) rest

I don't really have any feats, Magus arcana, or hexes picked out. his discovery i would like to keep Cartridge Savant, but if there is a better option i would love to hear it.

So basically I"m looking to use him with the ranged spell strike with the firearms for touch AC. not sure if he would need two-weapon fighting, or just let him shoot them separately for more turns before reloading.

Now the touch AC and the INT to damage for the guns should help land the spell strikes a lot better. But with so many option to pick from i have no idea where to start. Can anyone help me out or give me some pointers on this build.

[legomaster00156]

I will warn you that the personality sounds like the kind of grating DMPC that players often come to despise. Giving him an ultra-special weapon nobody else has from an entirely different system is not helping.

[EisenKreutzer]

As always, NPCs like this are a recipy for disaster. With that kind of personality, always acting arrogant and telling the players how awesome he is, while also wielding a super specila weapon that lets him do awesome things the players just can’t do, I suspect the players are not going to have fun.

[pabelfly]

Helping NPCs out in bad situations - I'd let the plot dictate how that help happens. One NPC that the GM controls that always swoops in to save the day - with custom weapons no less - would feel very Mary Sue-ish. Not a fan.

Quests - players have plentry of ways to find quests and they'll be clear when they're looking for them. If you have special quests that you want the players to do for story, don't make the person giving out the quest OP - the players will not like it, and the OP person can do their own quests anyway. And they'll likely ignore your preferred quest option anyway.

[Drackstin]

I will warn you that the personality sounds like the kind of grating DMPC that players often come to despise. Giving him an ultra-special weapon nobody else has from an entirely different system is not helping.

Honestly the weapon is from the system, none of them would ever be able to use it and the item itself is repetitively simple, letting a caster use a spell slot to cast a spell not on his list or it fails and a random other spell goes off. and the players actually like him a lot. he would only be around rarely and I'm using him as a quest hook. at the moment. but they like his personality.


As always, NPCs like this are a recipy for disaster. With that kind of personality, always acting arrogant and telling the players how awesome he is, while also wielding a super special weapon that lets him do awesome things the players just can’t do, I suspect the players are not going to have fun.

Well other then none of the party being able to cast any magic at all he is just doing things a normal 3rd level magus can do. nothing he has is super special other then it cost more to have it custom built, and they really seem to like his personalty. he also will not be around all the time. but a way to add a hook to the story if they want it.


Helping NPCs out in bad situations - I'd let the plot dictate how that help happens. One NPC that the GM controls that always swoops in to save the day - with custom weapons no less - would feel very Mary Sue-ish. Not a fan.

Quests - players have plentry of ways to find quests and they'll be clear when they're looking for them. If you have special quests that you want the players to do for story, don't make the person giving out the quest OP - the players will not like it, and the OP person can do their own quests anyway. And they'll likely ignore your preferred quest option anyway.

Well the fist time they met his they actually saved him so its no really that much of a problem, and he wouldn't be handing out any quest, he has his own, but its an option for the players what they want to do, it also ties in to the main story. also he is not OP at all, just a level or two higher.

[EisenKreutzer]

Instead of a powerful NPC that helps the characters, consider creating an NPC that constantly gets into trouble and needs help.
This way, the players will feel like THEY are accomplishing something, and aren’t just an audience to your GMPC.

[Drackstin]

Instead of a powerful NPC that helps the characters, consider creating an NPC that constantly gets into trouble and needs help.
This way, the players will feel like THEY are accomplishing something, and aren’t just an audience to your GMPC.

That's pretty much what happened already. the players are comparing him to Gilderoy Lockhart from harry potter, he dose have some unique abilities but he isn't over powered and can get in just as much trouble as a low level mage can adventuring solo.

[pabelfly]

...is not OP at all, just a level or two higher.

Custom weapon and higher-level than the NPXs certainly comes across that way.

Remember the golden rule - the person that players care about the most is their character. I would carefully think about how you interrupt that before you do.

[Drackstin]

Ok, now that everyone is done telling me how its a bad idea, but my players like him. can anyone offer actual help on the build?

[Gauntlet]

Make him a level lower than the PCs, instead.

[Drackstin]

Make him a level lower than the PCs, instead.

they are level one

[WesleyVos]

Easy answer - don't do it.

If you must do it, here's what you need to do:

1) Make him an NPC class. That gives him less power than the PCs, so they feel like they are doing things themselves. Even your example (Lockhart) was taken down by the heroes fairly easily. He was revealed as a fraud and a fool. If you make him, say, a level 1 expert or even a level 1 adept, you're limiting his functionality while still providing the personality.

2) Don't give him a forefront role. Make him the support - give him transmutation and abjuration spells, if he's an adept. If you have to make him a PC class, make him a bard who stands and makes inspiring statements the whole time.

3) Don't give him a special magic weapon. That's just a bad idea. Your players might be OK with it now, but they will resent it later if they don't get nicer things.

4) Have the PCs rotate playing him, particularly in combat. Each time through, let someone else have his character sheet. That way, you're not playing him - he's another tool in the PC's bag of tricks.

Hope this helps.

[Selion]

As a DM you don't need boosting this NPC combat abilities, you need interesting features to show to your players, if you need him to be powerful, give him another level, if you need him weak, dump his stats, or change the rules, you can do anything you like, being the arbiter of this game, so basically I don't understand what kind of suggestions you are searching for.
So, my only suggestion is, don't care about how well this guy can land his touch attack spells but work more on character concept, ATM i see just two hand rifles that shot spells, and he's already enough competent in this to wipe the floor with any encounter for a Lev 1 party.
If you give me insight of his depth, his behavior, his purposes, i could help finding some feats or arcana, or even designing new ones, but if the question is about optimization i don't get the point.

[BWR]

1. Give the PCs a reason to hang out with this person. Political power, religious authority, personal connection, employer, etc. Doesn't matter why, just make him someone the characters have a reason to meet, interact with and return to.

2. Make him likeable. If the players don't like a PC they will dislike any encounter with it and having a friendly NPC the players can't stand will just ruin everyone's fun. This is the single most important thing you can do in your case. If the players like the NPC they will excuse most things you do with him.

3. Make him rely on the PCs and take them along on missions. Along the lines of "guys, I could use a little help with something here. I need to do X and it would be nice to have lookouts/someone to watch my back/ sneak in and find the info while I distract the guards/take out the mooks while I try to find the boss."
In this way the PCs can be on their own and if things are going bad he can show up or the mooks can say "let's split up, these guys aren't a threat, go take that other one" so the PCs get a breather. Conversely if the PCs stomp the opposition they can go and help out the NPC.



I disagree to a degree with certain posters: there is nothing wrong with having NPCs be more powerful and more important than the PCs. That's just the way the world works. It's even ok to have the NPCs do bigger stuff than the PCs in a situation. What is important is that the PCs are the focus of their game, so any awesome stuff NPCs do is either a brief cut scene or just told about afterwards. Sort of like how Gandalf's fight with the Balrog is more impressive and epic than anything the Hobbits did, but since it's the Hobbits' story it's they who get the most pages.
The benefit of this is showing the players and PCs how they start low but can aspire to more, and if/when they finally get there the sense of accomplishment is all the greater.

[Drackstin]

Well I'll give some insite on the game so far. The group of PC (rogue, ranger, bard, monk) were brought together when a town they were all in was razed to the ground by a unknown cult. They were the only survivors. They traveled to the next town to warn them about what happened and when they got to the bar they over heard a rambunctious person. 3 PC just went to sleep and one PC (the rogue) when to go talk with him. Found out he is on a mission for his guide to do something but didn't really believe his story. That night the docks of the town got attacked and the boats set on fire. The PC went to investigate and got blamed by the guards. What they found was electric singe marks on a window sill in a room at the inn and singe marks on the dock. One PC found claw marks but didn't think anything of it. When the PC got arrested they told the guard captain about the other town being destroyed the guards didn't believe them. The cells were in the basement of the guard barracks and the walls of the basement was blown up and troglodytes attacked the town. The PC went into the sewers to stop the attack and found the NPC down there. For the fights that happened he did minor but what he did was a great display. Seeing shocking grasp being shot out of hand. The PC and the NPC cleared out the sewer and found a troglodytes shaman threatening the PC about someone called the "god eater" the NPC left to see if the town needed help topside and the PC looted the dead.

Now my players love seeing cool character designs because it makes them want to grow and get stronger.

And for the people saying just do anything you want. I like to build my NPC don't to the last skill point. Because I want to PC to see what the system is capable of and I also like to keep them on file to be used later if the PC want to talk with them or need help. It's also good to have build so you can use them at any level range and also if I ever wanted to play them in a game I have every writing down.

As for the PC, they like him. They think he is a little bit of a joke but they saw what he can do and think he is cool. What's going to happen in the next sessions is up to the PC where it goes, they are going to level up once they get the town cleared. And the NPC won't so that will be a big boost of confidence to the PC.

So that's why I'm asking for actually build help. For a recurring character that may need the PC help or may help the PC.

Thank you for all the feedback, but like I said I know my players and I can adjust the story with the NPC at whim but his build is the real question.

[Asmotherion]

they are level one

Preciesly :P

if you want to have a deus ex machina guy the best way to have him not be hated by the players is to have his influance as subtle as possible. if you want a DM PC either build him as an unoptimal low tier class (a fighter for example) or introduce him as an ally that latter turns antagonist/BBEG of the campain.

in my early days as a player i remember my (also inexperianced at the time) DM introducing us routinelly to his DM PC that was about 10 levels higher than us and acted as a complete murderhobo when the lore we were discovering didn't involve him. The guy would practically mysteriously show up every heavily unbalanced encounter and "Save the Day".

Campain ended when an other player intentionally triggered a death trap to get everyone (including the DM PC that showed up "because he had information we'd need his help at the ruins eventhough we were railroaded there in the first place and never actually intended to visit them).

Tl;Dr: Nobody wants to see the DM play with himself.

[Drackstin]

Preciesly :P

if you want to have a deus ex machina guy the best way to have him not be hated by the players is to have his influance as subtle as possible. if you want a DM PC either build him as an unoptimal low tier class (a fighter for example) or introduce him as an ally that latter turns antagonist/BBEG of the campain.

in my early days as a player i remember my (also inexperianced at the time) DM introducing us routinelly to his DM PC that was about 10 levels higher than us and acted as a complete murderhobo when the lore we were discovering didn't involve him. The guy would practically mysteriously show up every heavily unbalanced encounter and "Save the Day".

Campain ended when an other player intentionally triggered a death trap to get everyone (including the DM PC that showed up "because he had information we'd need his help at the ruins eventhough we were railroaded there in the first place and never actually intended to visit them).

Tl;Dr: Nobody wants to see the DM play with himself.

That just sounds like bad Dming. Used the guy as a way to make you do things. And you couldn't compete with him. My PC where dealing equivalent damage. Just not as flashy. And he is part of the story. But to each their own. I had my PC in a different game see a god fight a horde of orcs. They never met him or talked to him. They were about 500 ft away. But it was also a small hint to the severity of the situation they were in.

[Selion]

Ok, no more complaining, i won't judge your game just on this detail. Let's talk about the build
I think on a power perspective you already know magical lineage and magical knack are powerful traits in this kind of build.
Be aware that Eldritch Archer at the beginning uses ranged touch attacks for spellstrike, so you cannot apply shocking grasp to your gun shots.
However, at magus level 9 (11 for you because of the dip on alchemist) you can pick the magus arcana "reach spellstrike", which allows you deliver touch spells with ranged attacks, but only at close range. To increase further their range you need another magus arcana, which is distant spellstrike. I don't know if it's a good idea, you may also stick with rays, there aren't many high level touch range spells anyway.

Until then you need to use ranged touch attacks and rays, at level 1st the only spells available are snowball and Ray of Enfeeblement. Consider applying magical lineage on snowball instead of shocking grasp.
You also don't need two weapon fighting, because spellstrike already gives you a free ranged attack, so you can fire your first attack and the second attack using spellstrike.

You need point blank shot and precise shot, which leaves you with only one feat left, if you're a human. I don't know exactly how these peculiar guns work, but a nice idea could be some feats to decrease their recharging time.

Common choices are also:
Witch hex: flight, slumber (depending on how high you want your intelligence score)
Magus arcana:
3th: Arcane accuracy/lingering pain/spell shield
6th: empowered magic
9th: reach spellstrike/ hasted assault
12th: distant spellstrike/ maximized magic
15th: quicken magic/ reflection

On a narrative perspective, you said your character is a collector. There are a few magic item creation feats that make you use parts of creatures you defeat as crafting material, but i don't consider them good feats.
Also, being a magus/alchemist, you could consider the metamagic feat "toxic spell"

[Drackstin]

Ok, no more complaining, i won't judge your game just on this detail. Let's talk about the build
I think on a power perspective you already know magical lineage and magical knack are powerful traits in this kind of build.
Be aware that Eldritch Archer at the beginning uses ranged touch attacks for spellstrike, so you cannot apply shocking grasp to your gun shots.
However, at magus level 9 (11 for you because of the dip on alchemist) you can pick the magus arcana "reach spellstrike", which allows you deliver touch spells with ranged attacks, but only at close range. To increase further their range you need another magus arcana, which is distant spellstrike. I don't know if it's a good idea, you may also stick with rays, there aren't many high level touch range spells anyway.

Until then you need to use ranged touch attacks and rays, at level 1st the only spells available are snowball and Ray of Enfeeblement. Consider applying magical lineage on snowball instead of shocking grasp.
You also don't need two weapon fighting, because spellstrike already gives you a free ranged attack, so you can fire your first attack and the second attack using spellstrike.

You need point blank shot and precise shot, which leaves you with only one feat left, if you're a human. I don't know exactly how these peculiar guns work, but a nice idea could be some feats to decrease their recharging time.

Common choices are also:
Witch hex: flight, slumber (depending on how high you want your intelligence score)
Magus arcana:
3th: Arcane accuracy/lingering pain/spell shield
6th: empowered magic
9th: reach spellstrike/ hasted assault
12th: distant spellstrike/ maximized magic
15th: quicken magic/ reflection

On a narrative perspective, you said your character is a collector. There are a few magic item creation feats that make you use parts of creatures you defeat as crafting material, but i don't consider them good feats.
Also, being a magus/alchemist, you could consider the metamagic feat "toxic spell"

I was just reading over the rules of ranged spell strike, and it has no limitations on spells, it just says, "whenever an eldritch archer casts a spell that calls for a ranged attack," to me this makes any ranged spell not just touch spells work. the only time it says anything about rays is for multiple spell targets. unless its saying you can only cast spells that you need to make an attack roll, but then a spell like magic missile wouldn't work because it would auto hit and therefore not qualify. But since it dose take so long to get reach spell, i would definitely pick a spell like fireball (if it works), or snowball for my traits.

The gun itself is from a book paizo published and it counts as a early firearm. its basically a musket with lower damage (1d8 over 1d12) but has a cylinder like a revolver, so it has 8 shots before you need to take 2 full rounds to reload it, rapid reload and alchemical cartridge bring this down to a standard action. It only has a 40ft range, just like the musket, so reach spellstrike feat would work fine, but distance spellstike might not be worth it. because by the time i can take the feat reach spellstrike already is past my range with the gun. if i wanted to be a sniper and deliver stuff like fireball or something but i think the penalties might be too high.

I'm planing to only have a dex of about 16-20 with magic items, and his int should be hitting about 30 or so, the alchemy class adds int to damage on the gun shots so that's another way to deal more damage and get more spells per day.

as for feats there is one galled armature gunslinger, it adds grit to your character, something the alchemist doesn't get, this would help out the gun fighting and unlock other feats. but i was also thinking about rapid shot, dragon shot and a few others later on, mixed with some meta magic feats. but im not sure what ranged feats are worth it once you can add spell damage.

[Selion]

I was just reading over the rules of ranged spell strike, and it has no limitations on spells, it just says, "whenever an eldritch archer casts a spell that calls for a ranged attack," to me this makes any ranged spell not just touch spells work. the only time it says anything about rays is for multiple spell targets. unless its saying you can only cast spells that you need to make an attack roll, but then a spell like magic missile wouldn't work because it would auto hit and therefore not qualify. But since it dose take so long to get reach spell, i would definitely pick a spell like fireball (if it works), or snowball for my traits.

The gun itself is from a book paizo published and it counts as a early firearm. its basically a musket with lower damage (1d8 over 1d12) but has a cylinder like a revolver, so it has 8 shots before you need to take 2 full rounds to reload it, rapid reload and alchemical cartridge bring this down to a standard action. It only has a 40ft range, just like the musket, so reach spellstrike feat would work fine, but distance spellstike might not be worth it. because by the time i can take the feat reach spellstrike already is past my range with the gun. if i wanted to be a sniper and deliver stuff like fireball or something but i think the penalties might be too high.

I'm planing to only have a dex of about 16-20 with magic items, and his int should be hitting about 30 or so, the alchemy class adds int to damage on the gun shots so that's another way to deal more damage and get more spells per day.

as for feats there is one galled armature gunslinger, it adds grit to your character, something the alchemist doesn't get, this would help out the gun fighting and unlock other feats. but i was also thinking about rapid shot, dragon shot and a few others later on, mixed with some meta magic feats. but im not sure what ranged feats are worth it once you can add spell damage.

Ranged Spellstrike (Su)
At 2nd level, whenever an eldritch archer casts a spell that calls for a ranged attack, she can deliver the spell through a ranged weapon she wields as part of a ranged attack

Fireball cannot be used on ranged spellstrike IMHO because it doesn't require an attack roll. BTW it's not a great loss, touch attack spells and rays are just as good if not better, as they don't require a saving throw. If you plan on using spells that don't require saves, you don't need so much intelligence, you will land almost every ranged attack anyway, high DC may be used on powerful debuff spells like "slow", though. You could increase further your damage with deadly aim, but this feat's bonus pales in comparison to your spell damage, so I don't know. To be honest in a few levels your attack bonus on touch will be so high you could even spare precise shot

[Drackstin]

Ranged Spellstrike (Su)
At 2nd level, whenever an eldritch archer casts a spell that calls for a ranged attack, she can deliver the spell through a ranged weapon she wields as part of a ranged attack

Fireball cannot be used on ranged spellstrike IMHO because it doesn't require an attack roll. BTW it's not a great loss, touch attack spells and rays are just as good if not better, as they don't require a saving throw. If you plan on using spells that don't require saves, you don't need so much intelligence, you will land almost every ranged attack anyway, high DC may be used on powerful debuff spells like "slow", though. You could increase further your damage with deadly aim, but this feat's bonus pales in comparison to your spell damage, so I don't know. To be honest in a few levels your attack bonus on touch will be so high you could even spare precise shot

Ok thanks, ill need to look into the spell list a bit more, to see if there is a good spell to use my traits on and will keep up the damage as i level.

Is there a feat that works with other attacks then unarmed strike like the feat "Hex strike" im guessing that was made to be used with the hair hex, but i was wondering if one existed for applying hexes though weapons. since accursed strike seems lackluster since most of those spells i can used ranged spell strike for anyway.

for metamagic feats, empower, maximize and intensify looked like the way to go. maybe quicken if i wanted to double cast in one turn (finally use that fireball or maybe lightning bolt)

As for ranged combat feats, i like the armature gunslinger just for the quick clear but helps in a few other ways. point black is needed, but the rest I'm not sure about. getting rapid shot might be good for using multiple rays in one turn, but as you said, hitting touch isn't that hard to do so i might not need to invest heavy at all into them.

As for hexes, their are a ton of options, i have narrowed down the arcana i would use a lot, but it looks like my hexes would all come from (extra hex or extra arcane) feat slots. i would really like ice tomb and slumber, but the amount of cool hexes available are daunting to go through. and the fact that you can get 9th level magic for a magus is very awesome.

For arcana I'm having the hardest time with the 3rd level selection. lingering pain, spell bending (might be better at a higher level). but their are a few like wand wielder and familiar that are really good also. accuracy shouldn't be needed.
For 6th arcana empowered magic is a must, but disruptive just seems really good with ranged combat.
9th reach spellstrike seems like the best option, because i can just cast haste.
12th maximize magic is probably the best option here since even with long shot my guns only have 50 range and reach spellstrike gives me 65 range with all spells. so distance spell strike is not really needed. devoted blade dose look nice though but bane weapon at 15th would be better.
15th quicken magic is very usefull. so is bane blade and reflection. so this is a hard pick also, being at range might make reflection a better option here, being a big target of spell casters.

of course any extra feats can give me more.

[Kurald Galain]

Note that the Gun Chemist's ability to add int to damage only works with cartridges that deal a different damage type. As far as I can tell, there's only one of those (dragon's breath cartridges), and it (a) gives you a 30% misfire chance, and (b) doesn't work with spell combat or spellstrike.

So yeah. Gun-based Eldritch Archer is solid, and I don't see the alchemist adding much to the equation. Spellslinger Wizard would probably be a better dip.

[Drackstin]

Note that the Gun Chemist's ability to add int to damage only works with cartridges that deal a different damage type. As far as I can tell, there's only one of those (dragon's breath cartridges), and it (a) gives you a 30% misfire chance, and (b) doesn't work with spell combat or spellstrike.

So yeah. Gun-based Eldritch Archer is solid, and I don't see the alchemist adding much to the equation. Spellslinger Wizard would probably be a better dip.

A gun chemist is adept at using his know-how to infuse his ammunition with volatile chemicals and his own magical reserves. When loading a firearm, he can infuse the ammunition as a free action. The compounds are unstable, and if not fired within a number of rounds equal to the gun chemist’s Intelligence modifier (though no sooner than the end of his next turn), the alchemical ordnance becomes inert and loses its additional effects; he can still fire the firearm as normal. Each day, the gun chemist can infuse a number of pieces of alchemical ordnance equal to his class level + his Intelligence modifier, and he can fire no more than one piece per round.

The alchemists ability lets me add Int to damage a number of times per day equal to my class level + my int, it also adds fire damage to the roll. cartridges are not needed at all, they are needed for Cartridge Savant, so maybe i can cut down my dip to 1 level. ill look into spellslinger again, but i remember looking into it and not liking it at all.

[Edit]
So i looked up spellslinger again, the casting magic though the guns is just for looks really, but its makes casting worse because as your spell can now fumble twice. so that's a feature that's not needed, the mage bullet is just a more expensive arcane pool. i'm not sure if the penalties to the magic schools carry over to the magus spell casting. overall i feel like alchemist is still better since i can use formulas for buffs, can add int+1d6 to damage, and have mutagen for +4 dex and some armor.

[Kurald Galain]

Well I thought you were using Cartridge Savant since you mention it in your top post. The issue with Alchemical Ordnance is that it only works once per round, and requires a standard action to activate (i.e. it only works a handful of rounds after your reload action).


So i looked up spellslinger again, the casting magic though the guns is just for looks really, but its makes casting worse
Spells either require an attack roll or a saving throw, not both. So it makes your casting better since it boosts the save DC; there's no "fumbling twice". Casting a cone spell (via arcane gun) is generally more effective than using ranged spellstrike.

[Drackstin]

Spells either require an attack roll or a saving throw, not both. So it makes your casting better since it boosts the save DC; there's no "fumbling twice". Casting a cone spell (via arcane gun) is generally more effective than using ranged spellstrike.

sorry i meant two different ways, normally your hands don't blow up is your target makes a save. but i can see how the +5 to a DC check would be helpful on a cone, or any spell i cant use ranged spell strike for and want to cast solo.

so i have a few questions then.
1: would the 4 forsaken schools of magic carry over to the magus spells?
2: When the magus gains cantrips will this allow him to gain mage cantrips as well or only magus?
3: the Alchemical Ordnance states that you can infuse the ammunition of a firearm when you reload it as a free action, you can one use one per turn, but if your firearm has 8 capacity. could you say when you reload you infuse every other ammunition charge? the infusion last a number of rounds equal to your int, so a 18 would let you go threw all the ammo and use spell strike for 4 turns.
4: Range spell strike already uses the guns enhancement bonus to hit, and only works with spells you need to roll an attack for, but if you use accursed strike, would the DC bonus apply to the curse save since these spells have both an attack roll and a save?

i think that covers what im thinking about.

[King of Nowhere]

Ok, now that everyone is done telling me how its a bad idea, but my players like him. can anyone offer actual help on the build?

i can't say about build, because it's a different system than i know.

but i can say that this forum is way too aggressive at the barest hint of dmpc. or railroad. or a few other hot topics.
You can and should ignore advice from this forum if your tabletop experience dictates otherwise.
I also disagree that he is necessarily going to be hated. i made an npc that fits most of the description (though instead of being gratingly arrogant, he was gratingly misanthrope, and I played it mostly for laugh), and the character was so well received that the party did ask for his help other times, and after i ended the campaign and gave an epilogue, they asked what happened to him.

I also disagree that having a couple levels more would make him overpowered. he's one, and the players are four to six, so they still are more powerful and it makes sense that the guy needs their help.

Now, as I said I cannot give a build, but I can give advice to make that kind of npc (i loathe the term dmpc, because it implies one who takes over the scene) work.
- don't steal the scene, and don't step on the pcs toes. this guy will be good at doing something the party doesn't do, but he won't be able to compete with the party specialists in their areas of specialization. you said this guy is a wizard and nobody in the party is, so that's good. in my case, he was a specialist in survival, orienteering and tracking, which the party lacked.
- keep his screen time limited. if he's accompanying the party, don't roll dice for his actions, as that would steal the scene from the players. desribe shortly him doing something to contribute to the fight. when planning the encounter for the party, put one more enemy for this guy to fight offscreen. since this guy is a caster, you can also have him bufff the party. don't have him monologue too much, or spend too much time telling his backstory unless it's the party prodding him.
- make him strong enough that he can conceivably help the party, but weak enough that he can conceivably be helped too. he should be able to swoop in and save a fallen party member with a specific action if needed, but he should not be able to take alone an encounter.
- it's good to have an npc there that can save the day in case of accidental party kill, but try to not have to use it. keep him as an emergency plan, possibly to be never used. it's ok if you have to be saved once, but if it happens too often it sucks.
- when you design an adventue with this guy, plan for a few obstacles that he's going to solve; that will keep him consistently capable in the eyes of the party. but plan the rest of the adventure as if this guy can't interfere too much. perhaps there is a magical puzzle in the dungeon that will require this guy to spend all his spells to solve, and the party is going to do everyhting else.
- giving him some elements of comedy relief may help make him feel unthreatening to the party's status as protagonists.

from what you say, it seems you are already mostly on this lines, and i'm not surprised your party is reacting favorably to the npc. So I'd say, keep at it.

And I wouldn't worry much about his build, as I suggested not using him to roll much. While I did build my npc, I ended up never really using those stats, except for a time when a monster was trying to eat him and i needed to see if he had enough hit points to survive. my guy was there to make survival checks, and he had the skill boosted into automatic success. except when i needed him to fail for plot reasons.
your guy is there to cast the right spell when it's needed. he dooesn't need a detailed build for it.

[Drackstin]

i can't say about build, because it's a different system than i know.

but i can say that this forum is way too aggressive at the barest hint of dmpc. or railroad. or a few other hot topics.
You can and should ignore advice from this forum if your tabletop experience dictates otherwise.
I also disagree that he is necessarily going to be hated. i made an npc that fits most of the description (though instead of being gratingly arrogant, he was gratingly misanthrope, and I played it mostly for laugh), and the character was so well received that the party did ask for his help other times, and after i ended the campaign and gave an epilogue, they asked what happened to him.

I also disagree that having a couple levels more would make him overpowered. he's one, and the players are four to six, so they still are more powerful and it makes sense that the guy needs their help.

Now, as I said I cannot give a build, but I can give advice to make that kind of npc (i loathe the term dmpc, because it implies one who takes over the scene) work.
- don't steal the scene, and don't step on the pcs toes. this guy will be good at doing something the party doesn't do, but he won't be able to compete with the party specialists in their areas of specialization. you said this guy is a wizard and nobody in the party is, so that's good. in my case, he was a specialist in survival, orienteering and tracking, which the party lacked.
- keep his screen time limited. if he's accompanying the party, don't roll dice for his actions, as that would steal the scene from the players. desribe shortly him doing something to contribute to the fight. when planning the encounter for the party, put one more enemy for this guy to fight offscreen. since this guy is a caster, you can also have him bufff the party. don't have him monologue too much, or spend too much time telling his backstory unless it's the party prodding him.
- make him strong enough that he can conceivably help the party, but weak enough that he can conceivably be helped too. he should be able to swoop in and save a fallen party member with a specific action if needed, but he should not be able to take alone an encounter.
- it's good to have an npc there that can save the day in case of accidental party kill, but try to not have to use it. keep him as an emergency plan, possibly to be never used. it's ok if you have to be saved once, but if it happens too often it sucks.
- when you design an adventue with this guy, plan for a few obstacles that he's going to solve; that will keep him consistently capable in the eyes of the party. but plan the rest of the adventure as if this guy can't interfere too much. perhaps there is a magical puzzle in the dungeon that will require this guy to spend all his spells to solve, and the party is going to do everyhting else.
- giving him some elements of comedy relief may help make him feel unthreatening to the party's status as protagonists.

from what you say, it seems you are already mostly on this lines, and i'm not surprised your party is reacting favorably to the npc. So I'd say, keep at it.

And I wouldn't worry much about his build, as I suggested not using him to roll much. While I did build my npc, I ended up never really using those stats, except for a time when a monster was trying to eat him and i needed to see if he had enough hit points to survive. my guy was there to make survival checks, and he had the skill boosted into automatic success. except when i needed him to fail for plot reasons.
your guy is there to cast the right spell when it's needed. he dooesn't need a detailed build for it.


He really is just a side character that will help out if he is around, that has a hook of his own for the part. he might be an off and on again NPC if the players like him enough. what happens in the next session will depicted what happens to him. they might ask him to come join them, or they might ask to join him. they don't really have a quest yet, but they are basically running from something. as the bigger picture unfolds to them, they are going to find little things here and there to focus on.

i do a lot of what you said above already. keep his effect on the story to a minimum unless its needed, the little that the PC have seen was just to show what he is capable of. to get them to know him and what he is about.

the build details are for me, as i said somewhere above, i like to keep any character i make, even the BBEGs legit. i know blah blah I'm DM i can do what ever i want. yes that's true. But i want my players to see what the system is capable of and what you can do with some thought and a vision. making things that are out of reach is great and all but letting your players see what cool things can be done makes them want to do more themselves. also if i ever wanted to, i can use his sheet in a game i play.