Tam Fletcher: A Mandolin Playing Fighter From ULTIMATE NPCS: SKULDUGGERY

I mentioned (and shared a preview of) Nord Games' Ultimate NPCs: Skulduggery Kickstarter a couple of weeks ago. It's now in its final days, and they've sent along another preview from the 200-page book crammed with useful 5E NPCs. This is Tam Fletcher, a mandolin-playing fighter. Each NPC is included in the book at levels 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20.

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The Kickstarter is already 400% funded, with 3 days to go. You can get a PDF for $15, a softcover for $20, or a hardcover for $35. The books are available for D&D 5E, Pathfinder, and Swords & Wizardry.

 

[collin]

Curious they decided to create this character as a Fighter rather than a Bard or Rogue. An fascinating twist, at least character-wise, but I'm not sure what to make of it. Anyway, the NPC book may be more interesting than I originally thought if they are going with unusual/expected characters such as this one.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

The fact that "Weapons, Armor & Items" is shown on both pages, and are not even the same, concerns me a little. Is this another one of those 3PP books that could have really used a good editor?

 

[JudgeMonroe]

The fact that "Weapons, Armor & Items" is shown on both pages, and are not even the same, concerns me a little. Is this another one of those 3PP books that could have really used a good editor?

I don't see the problem. The two pages present two versions of the same NPC, first at level 1 and then at level 4. The problem isn't that they've repeated the "Weapons, Armor & Items" box, it's that in 3 levels of adventuring the guy's only added 11cp to his kitty.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

I don't see the problem. The two pages present two versions of the same NPC, first at level 1 and then at level 4. The problem isn't that they've repeated the "Weapons, Armor & Items" box, it's that in 3 levels of adventuring the guy's only added 11cp to his kitty.

That's a good point. Either list it once, or make substantive changes. The fact that it's only different in an insignificant way is silly.

 

[JudgeMonroe]

That's a good point. Either list it once, or make substantive changes. The fact that it's only different in an insignificant way is silly.

Nah, it's not silly. It's a design sensibility. They're presenting two versions of the same character, and all the data that describe each version should be present in both cases. There wasn't a "substantive change" to his "Fighting Style (dueling)" ability yet it's printed on both pages. The fact that his gear list didn't change much is kind of Tam's fault, but it's not a design failure.

 

[Morrus]

That's just the levels 1 and 4 versions. I bet the gear changes a lot more at 8, 12, 16, and 20.

 

[Nord Games]

Hi Guys,

To Colin's point - we felt that instruments shouldn't be limited to Bards. As much as Tam may beg to differ, a Mandolin does not make you magical.

There is repeated information on the various level pages so that you can photocopy or print them from the PDF and have everything you need for that character at their various levels. This is especially handy for DMs running single shot encounters like at conventions where you want to build a party before hand and give the player's everything they need to know about their character in one page.

We rolled for wealth and/or made logical decisions regarding possessions for each character. Tam for example is not good with money. Yes, he's been on some adventures, and no doubt acquired some gold pieces along the way... but he's spent most of it on ale! w00t!

Thank you for your observations. We are very excited to see the turnout so far and there are only 2 days to go!

-Chris & Ralph

 

[ChrisCarlson]

Fair enough. I just thought it looked odd. Maybe in context of the whole book it makes more sense.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

Really, really looking forward to this book, love the previews and the implied versatility. (Yep, I'm backing!)