In this video Professor Dungeonmanster talks about 3 key NPCs. After watching this, I decided to look at my Isle Of Dread Campaign.
For the most part I intend to centre all of the major NPCs around the village of Tanora.
Sage: Ramses's is the ex privateer that has gone with the PCs to the Isle. He is well versed in numerous areas of expertise (multi class dude, thief and wizard). The intention is the Ramses will stick around the Village, make friends with the locals, repair the ship, look for merchant marketing opportunities, etc. He will be the guy they can talk to about the goings on in the village. As he is a outsider, he may have a better perspective in some cases. Eventually he may ingratiate himself with the locals and stay long term.
Contact: There are going to be a few contacts.
Meeka is a young girl, and the welcoming party when the PCs arrive. She will know the going's on, and any possible leads for the PCs (as well as Ramses's). She will remain neutral, however if the PCS threaten the village in someway she will not hesitate to let the authorities know. Namely Gar. Meeka is also a guide, and knows a great deal about the area.
Kuna: Tribal Leader, is against open war and is fighting with “Gar”, wants to create trade with the mainland. She will attempt to keep the peace, but will also try to get the PCs to thwart any of Gar's activities (at least on the down low).
Villain
War Leader: Gar, he wants to fight the other villages, he believes that if the Tanorrans can take over other villages they will be a stronger tribe.
Zombie Master: Hazeem. I haven't quite figured out his purpose and what he will do.
Pirate Captain: A slaver, who raids all of the villages. I'm hoping to have him be an old enemy of Ramses (perhaps Ramses was marroned by him at some point). At some point the Pirate Capn will send in pirates dressed as merchants to scope out the village.
How do you know who the key NPCs will be before the campaign?
ReplyDeleteExcellent question. I don't really. In isle of dread they talk about the war and tribal leaders (no names) and the zombie masters. Ramses just popped into my head when we were playing. Of course they were nervous about him and figure he may stab them in the back. Meeka just seemed like a good idea when I thought it up.
DeleteOhhh okay let me see if I understand.
DeleteYou sketch out the power structures but then when the players arrive, you assign names and personalities to the specific NPCs they decide to interact with. Is that right?
Yeah basically. Do you have a copy of isle of dread? There's a really interesting section on the village detailing everything. THe nice thing is its vague. There are no names. In the back of the book there are suggested names and personalities. For me, this is just abit of prep thats all. I find that if I'm not gaming I'll do a bit of prep, but when I am gaming I just fly by the seat of my pants. This whole above premise is very "NEW DM" style, or 5e kinda. It's just a bit of world building.
DeleteI have the pdf. I will go look.
DeleteI do the same thing. I have a list of NPC names with two traits to make them memorable. Then when an NPC pops up, they get the next name on the chart.
I do detail some NPCs ahead of time but they are not necessarily for the players but rather to inform my own world building. It’s all kind of behind the curtain stuff. The player side I generate procedurally.