RW/fictional characters in your games

[ImperatorK]

Have you ever made an NPC in your game that was a real world or fictional (but already existing) character? I do not mean making an NPC that is simply inspired by that character, I mean an NPC that is this character, with the same name, background, abilities, all adapted to the particular fantasy/sci-fi/whatever setting you are playing in, of course.

 

[Umbran]

Well, do you count real-world legendary characters? As in, people who were real, but whose lives have been so inflated in the telling that what people know about them is more fiction than fact?

I run Classic Deadlands though, not D&D - the game takes place in 1870s, and there's more Wild West legendary characters in the setting than one can shake a stick at. The PCs are in Dodge City, Kansas, during the time when Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp are the law in town, and so on.

 

[ImperatorK]

Yes, I do count legendary RW people.

I more meant settings that aren't our world (or a fantasy version of it).

 

[steenan]

I did, in my Nobilis campaign.

In this system, Powers (PCs and their NPC equivalents) are typically of human origin, but some might have been animals, aliens, objects, places or even non-physical ideas.

One family of Powers that my PCs interacted with consisted of three fictional characters, each from different source (Anakin, Kelsier and Konrad, to be exact) and one real historical person (Amelia Earhart).

And yes, it's not that unusual in this system.

 

[RangerWickett]

In my modern fantasy game back in 2005, the players needed to use the Holy Grail to heal 'the king' in order to avert a planetary cataclysm. One PC pointed out that no one today really cares about King Arthur, especially not outside the English-speaking world. They needed someone that everyone admired, someone who had been a mighty king whose power had waned due to a physical affliction.

They needed Michael Jackson.

 

[Savage Wombat]

Way back when in college, our characters encountered Jimi Hendrix. Not a fantasy equivalent - Jimi didn't die and was instead transported to a D&D world.

I remember him using "Crosstown Traffic" to teleport us across the world, and "Purple Haze" to incapacitate some monsters. He also had a vest that cast Hypnotic Pattern on anyone staring at it.

 

[Gomer212]

Back when I used to run Star Wars d6 and d20 frequently, I couldn't tell you the number of players I had that felt pretty sure they could take Darth Vader in a straight up fight.

They all died.


But yes, I did often have NPC cameos from the characters from the original trilogy. I tried to keep their appearances to a minimum of course, but the characters often enjoyed meeting some of them.

 

[Sunseeker]

Unless it's a system with specific ties to reality(such as the aforementioned Deadlands), no.

 

[delericho]

When running games set on Earth, sure, real-world people or "real-world" legends may well appear. Likewise for games set in a fictional world where 'named' NPCs from that setting may appear. I've always used them sparingly, but they have appeared.

But when running in settings that don't have such a connection? No, never.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Once or twice in d20 Modern. (PCs met the president or prime minister of Ukraine one time.)