Cameo appearances at your gaming table.

[Geddy2112]

Hello forum,

I have been in a consistent gaming group for the last 3 years or so. Over that time, we have all been DM and players for campaigns of several different game systems, settings, and styles. One thing that is becoming increasingly common is the cameo appearance of a previous character or NPC, even if they switch setting(I.E. a Shadowrun NPC shows up in a high fantasy Pathfinder game). Overall, my group(as both players and DM's) have responded to these cameos with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Most of the time, these characters are present for one or two major scenes(~20 minutes real time), then they take an exit. I am currently the DM of our group, and some players are requesting cameos from previous campaigns(their old character, other PC's, and NPC's) and I am favoring adding in these characters at various times in the game. I also am prone to using famous real or fictitious people as NPC's for a cameo appearance.

My main question is how to make these the awesome Alfred Hitchcock, Quinton Tarentino, and Stan Lee style cameos without being shameless fan service or laziness in NPC design. I would also like to know if you even use cameo NPC's. If so, are they previous PC's of your own design? NPC's you made as a DM? PC's you played with? NPC's you saw as a PC? What about incorporating real or fictitious people into your game?

Thanks!

[BigKahuna]

One time, I joined a game my friend was running in a different city when I was passing through. He was GMing and let me join in for a cameo appearance as an NPC that the party fought.

Unfortunately, I rolled really poorly and ended up dying a horrible death. That being said, it was an interesting approach to cameos, and we all thought it worked pretty well.

[Inevitability]

I once had a pirate villain called 'the Dread Pirate Roberts'.

The problem? No one got the reference.

[Jay R]

Don't plan for a specific character to have a cameo.

When the plot calls for an NPC to show up with a particular clue, or to be rescued, decide if it's reasonable for that role to be filled by one of the old characters.

For instance, don't just decide you want to do a Superman cameo. But if the story calls for them to bump into another hero, look over the options for one who fits. If they're in Metropolis, go ahead and use Superman. But if they are in Gotham City, it should probably be Batman

Similarly, don't just decide to use D'Artagnan. If they are supposed to interrupt a swordfight, but they're in old California, it should be Zorro.

[Keltest]

We once had a friend who played a wizard character. He quickly became the group damage dealer, because wizards do what they want. Unfortunately, he moved out of town. In our next campaign, his wizard turned up as an NPC who had achieved immortality and ultimate arcane power.

[valadil]

I love having old PCs as cameos. I am a lazy GM and a poor actor. When I recycle a character I played before, or even watched someone else play, I get an NPC who is fully fleshed out and who I can express well. The game is better for it. I don't think the players fault me for being a lazy game prepper if it means I perform better.

Where I tend to draw the line is with celebrities/movie characters/PCs the players have seen before. Something like that is jarring and will break immersion in the game.

[DragonBaneDM]

I'd save the reveal for the end, making it more fun and dramatic for everyone.

For example, I have Puck the Fey in my 5E game. I also have members of the Unseely Court posing as Puck to trick the Warlock into working for Team Evil. Problem is: no one's sure what Puck looks like. So the Unseely are posing as a very Midsummer's Night Dream-esque Faerie with bright, shimmering wings. Our warlock chose the Seely Court as her Fey Patrons for Titania, Oberon, and Puck, so she gets that reference on her side.

The true Puck is a Faerie Dragon, straight out of the DotA universe. Our Monk was an avid Warcraft III and DotA player back in the day, so that one's for him. He's gonna show up in the fight where Unseely-Puck tries to kill off the party once they've taken out the dirty laundry for him and his. Needless to say, he's not happy about the Unseely stealing his name. Faerie Dragon is furious, but doesn't speak Common, although he can write it. So it's not until he can put it into writing that the party knows who their new ally is.

As for old PCs, I'm definitely guilty of bringing back old characters as exarchs to gods or quest givers. I'm going to resurrect my old Kalashtar Cleric of the Path of Light as a mentor figure to the above mentioned Monk. I don't really expect anyone to get that one, but it'll still be fun for me to roleplay as him again.

[BootStrapTommy]

It became standard practice in the groups I run with for the following to happen:
For my first PC to make an appearance as a quest giving NPC, usually as Lord of Orquacourt.
For Orquacourt to make an appearance. And inevitably be destroyed.
For the party to get a dragon-worshipping NPC ranger named Steve.
For one of Steve's innumerous brothers to appear as the BBGs mook.
For demonic help to arrive in the form of a homosexual balor lord named Fire Guy.

[mikeejimbo]

We've had PCs become BBEGs of subsequent games.

[Kid Jake]

I enjoy cameos from time to time, though they're often more for my own amusement than anything else. During the finale of Mutants and Masterminds campaign I made sure to include or at least reference every character of any importance they'd come across in some minor way and even managed to sneak in a former PC from my Pathfinder game to finally answer the question posed by my readers of who would win in a fight Roger McCrow or Gandil.

[illyahr]

I like using a player's previous characters to argue with him/her. I tease people for talking to themselves.

That being said, I have a trio of characters that show up from time to time in my various campaigns that the group has learned to be on the lookout for. They always represent the hidden third option that the group hadn't noticed before. For example: the group was caught between two feuding kings, which do they choose? Then they notice the trio browsing the library...

My players learn to be more observant because I won't make it obvious. The only reason they discovered the trio in the above example is because one of them curses like a sailor so they heard him getting scolded by the librarian as they were passing.

[Garimeth]

I have a handful of recurring NPCs and also sometimes use old PCs (of the players, not mine) as Cameos. I don't use them frequently, but they have been well recieved.

The sequel to my current campaign will probably take place about a century after the current game and certain PCs and the institutions they are forming will become fixtures in the setting. For example one PC is creating a group like the Harpers. In the following game that will still be a faction and his old PC will be somewhat of a legend. Not quite a cameo, but somwhat similar.

[YossarianLives]

I once had a pirate villain called 'the Dread Pirate Roberts'.

The problem? No one got the reference.

You need to start playing with new people.

[illyahr]

You need to start playing with new people.

People who know the difference between dead and 'mostly dead.'

[TheThan]

I usually insert two characters. The Hellborne Sisters Raquel and Carmella Hellborne. They’re a set of Tiefling twins from the city of Sigil. They’re thieves and con artists. They’re usually on some zany adventure that took them to the prime material plane or are laying low until some mess they've caused blows over.

[Freelance GM]

Hello forum,

My main question is how to make these the awesome Alfred Hitchcock, Quinton Tarentino, and Stan Lee style cameos without being shameless fan service or laziness in NPC design. I would also like to know if you even use cameo NPC's. If so, are they previous PC's of your own design? NPC's you made as a DM? PC's you played with? NPC's you saw as a PC? What about incorporating real or fictitious people into your game?

Thanks!

So, especially once a campaign ends, I ask each player what that character continues to do. This leaves the door open for future cameos.

My campaign from two years ago ended with one player seizing the reins of the leaderless criminal Cartel, and another starting several businesses. So, Schneebly Lumber Co, Schneebly Trade Goods, and various other references have popped up in my games.

However, the other character's legacy was a protege named Miles, who became a significant NPC in my previous campaign. Miles has a distinct appearance- his face is magically cursed with a creepy Joker-like grin, which is constantly at odds with his serious, calculating personality. He established himself in my player's memories as a deviously cunning and frighteningly competent crime lord, but a dependable ally, so long as your interests aligned with his. At any rate, my PC's liked him so much, I've started finding places for him in my next campaign.

[Erth16]

One campaign ended with the party becoming gods, as such players later asked if they could worship them, and once a character had one come to him in a vision.

There was a Sorcerer/Wizard mercenary/cannibal hired to hunt down the party in our first campaign, she appeared in the next 6 or 7 as a minor character in the background of taverns, and twice took an active role in battle, once as essentially a force of nature end a fight between the pc's and an attacking army, the second time to help kill a god.

Our first campaign where the players were minor pirates, they later became a 'scourge' to the government and our second group was sent to hunt them. The first group won by popular demand from the players, they wanted to die to them.

There will probably be a reference to our most recent two parties in our current game, if I can figure out how to work them in without the party dying to them since they literally grouped together with the stated goal of being murderhobos.

Patches the Hyena will show up in the current game, should the pc's decide to split the party again.

[Velaryon]

I do this semi-frequently for several reasons. First, I am like valadil in that I'm a lazy GM and if I can use an NPC I already have written up and with a developed character, I would rather do that than make a new one. Second, I like to get a quick nostalgia pop whenever a character from an old game makes an appearance and does something either helpful or badass, but I try not to let them overshadow what the current group is up to. Third and most appealing to me, it's a great opportunity to get more use out of characters whose arcs ended too soon because the games didn't run to completion (this was a frequent problem for me for years).

Some of the cameos I've used:

1. I have two recurring shop owners named Lance and Vance. They've popped up everywhere from Forgotten Realms to Star Wars, but they're always the same, even if the things they have for sale are vastly different. They hate each other with a passion, and if they find out you've been buying from or selling to the other guy, they won't do business with you. However, savvy PCs figure out how to play off that hatred and entice one shopkeeper into giving them a discount as an incentive not to deal with the other guy... and then usually do the same thing to the other shopkeeper if they can pull it off.

2. I've been sneaking a lot of my old Forgotten Realms PCs into my most recent campaign. The drow Mystic Theurge for whom I named my account (which in turn is named after... someone from A Song of Ice and Fire) appeared just off-screen once, where the PCs missed a close call encounter with him that would have ended badly for them. A spiritfolk Ninja of mine was a prominent member of a local thieves' guild that they were able to ally with against another thieves' guild. The PC druid (or rather, his gorilla companion) got into a tavern brawl with my old dwarf Battlerager. An NPC druid is a worshipper of one of the players' former characters that ascended to godhood. I have a few more planned for the future as well.

3. Once in awhile, I will throw in characters from another universe, usually for some kind of humor. I once had the PCs ambushed on the road by Robin Hood and his merry men, who wanted to relieve them of their magic items so they could sell them and give the proceeds to the poor. The PCs thrashed Robin, but once they were convinced of his good intentions they gave him some money and sent him on his way.

By contrast, I try to avoid using the most iconic characters in a setting too often. For example, I have no intention of bringing Drizzt or Elminster into my Faerun campaign unless the story takes a weird turn where it makes a lot of sense. I usually like to take more obscure characters and flesh them out, alongside making a bunch of my own. Also, players in my experience like to mess with canon in ways I'd rather not get into - killing off Luke Skywalker before he faces his father, that sort of thing. So I try to just keep those characters out of the way whenever possible. Those kinds of campaigns can be a lot of fun, but they aren't the ones I want to run myself.

[Geddy2112]

First off, thank you all for such incredible replies! I am glad I am not the only one who does this!

I love having old PCs as cameos. I am a lazy GM and a poor actor. When I recycle a character I played before, or even watched someone else play, I get an NPC who is fully fleshed out and who I can express well. The game is better for it. I don't think the players fault me for being a lazy game prepper if it means I perform better.

I agree; it helps to have a fleshed out character that you know well. If the PC's ask their favorite color, you have an answer and reasons why.

So, especially once a campaign ends, I ask each player what that character continues to do. This leaves the door open for future cameos.
The other character's legacy was a protege named Miles, who became a significant NPC in my previous campaign. Miles has a distinct appearance-He established himself in my player's memories as a deviously cunning and frighteningly competent crime lord, but a dependable ally, so long as your interests aligned with his. At any rate, my PC's liked him so much, I've started finding places for him in my next campaign.

Both great points. This further fleshes out a PC, and tailors them for cameo roles they would excel at! I also like the idea of an overwhelming favorite; I tip my hat to you, as my players are less fond of my NPC's and each others characters...

I'd save the reveal for the end, making it more fun and dramatic for everyone.

I don't "reveal" Cameo's, but I do make them increasingly obvious depending on the nature of the Cameo. Normally there is a tell that was a signature of an old PC: A weapon, unusual hair, catch phrase, lucky hat etc.

One campaign ended with the party becoming gods, as such players later asked if they could worship them, and once a character had one come to him in a vision.

I have never considered that one, but it brings up some interesting possibilities.

Don't plan for a specific character to have a cameo.

When the plot calls for an NPC to show up with a particular clue, or to be rescued, decide if it's reasonable for that role to be filled by one of the old characters.

For instance, don't just decide you want to do a Superman cameo. But if the story calls for them to bump into another hero, look over the options for one who fits. If they're in Metropolis, go ahead and use Superman. But if they are in Gotham City, it should probably be Batman

Similarly, don't just decide to use D'Artagnan. If they are supposed to interrupt a swordfight, but they're in old California, it should be Zorro.

This is the nuts and bolts of cameo mechanics I needed to hear. Everybody provided examples of cameos, the hows and the whys, and I think this hit that nail on the head. Recently, I cameoed a former PC of mine as an NPC. I was introducing a new PC to the party, when the party was on a river in BFE jungle where Grippli are native.
I needed:
1. A Local
2. That could protect themselves and another character
3. That had means to travel in the area
4. That could provide for themselves and another character

I had:
1. A grippli inquisitor who never leaves their home unless ordered by their deity
2. Who was 2 levels higher than the party last time they were a PC
3. Who crafts beautiful canoes and is an avid paddler
4. Is an expert angler

It would have been hard for me to build a character much different from the concept I already had. Based on the replies, I believe cameo's are an important tool that all DM's should have in their toolbox. Like any tool, they are only fit for certain jobs, but when they fit they are the right tool for the job and should be used. When I need a baseball player and religious defender, I have a paladin for that. When I need a self sufficient frog to paddle a canoe, I have an inquisitor for that. Every character concept I have seen and played is a tool that can and should be used when needed.

One thing not addressed is how to cameo other players PC's. It is bad form for a DM to roleplay a PC, and a cameo can encroach into dangerous territory. Any advice on how to play a PC that is not your own without gravely offending and insulting the player?

[illyahr]

One campaign ended with the party becoming gods, as such players later asked if they could worship them, and once a character had one come to him in a vision.

I did something like that once. I still have players who worship Random on occasion.

[Friv]

I've used them from time to time. Usually in small roles, plus one running joke (it is well established that the first time the players ask for the name of a probably-recurring NPC and I don't have one prepared, I'ma gonna call him Josh.)

Generally, it's well-received as long as I don't make them literally the same character. I mention a name, and players have a rough archetype to instantly slot into place, and everyone's pretty happy. (Also generally, I don't do it with characters who were big deals in earlier campaigns; it's just the minor NPCs who hop around.)

[Shadowsend]

If you do cameos, make sure they are within the wheelhouses of at least one player. Otherwise, shouting green flame may not mean anything.

[Velaryon]

One thing not addressed is how to cameo other players PC's. It is bad form for a DM to roleplay a PC, and a cameo can encroach into dangerous territory. Any advice on how to play a PC that is not your own without gravely offending and insulting the player?

If the original player is in the game, I have them play the character. I talk to them in advance of the game and let them know that I would like to use X character for Y purpose. I have never had a player refuse such a request - generally they're happy to dust off an old favorite even if it's only for a few brief moments.

If the original player is not in the game, you could either have them stop by and play the character if it's feasible (depending on the size of the cameo), or simply ask permission and get their thoughts on how the character would do whatever it is you need them to do.