D&D General Who are the iconic NPCs in each D&D campaign setting?

[JEB]

Mystara:

• Grand Duchy of Karameikos has Duke Stefan Karameikos and his evil cousin, Baron Ludwik Von Hendrix, as well as Aleena the Cleric from red box starter set, and evil wizard Bargle who killed her. Characters involved in A LOT of beginner adventures, they etrenched themselves in hearts of countless players over the decades
• Principalities of Glantri has Ettienne d'Amberville and rest of the Princes, especially Donna Carnelia de Belcadiz y Fedorias of Belcadiz, Jaggar von Drachenfels, Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany and Brannart McGregor. Among the Princes they have by far most personality.
• Empire of Alphatia has Prince Haldemar and rest of the crew of Princess Ark, heroes of Bruce Heard's series of short stories. To lesser extent there's Empress Eriadna and her children, especially Prince Zandor, due to Mr. Welch popularizing idea of Zandor as "Wizard Gaston".
• Broken Lands has King Thar, a ruthless Orc warlord and vampire, who stole title of Broken Lands Gazzeteer, which is known as Orcs of Thar
• Hule has Hossadus, Master of the Desert Nomads, reocurring villain and threat to the whole world.
• Ethengar has Moglai the Golden Khan, another iconci antaognist and, similiarly to Thar, Ethengar gazzeteer is named Golden Khan of Ethengar.
• Denagoth has the Shadow Lord, the villain from Saga of the Shadow Lord
• Ghyr has Strongheart the Paladin and rest of Valor's Call and their enemies, League of Malevolence, lead by sorcerer Kelek and warrior Warduke, the toyline characters

Thanks for the Mystara knowledge! Would you say all those sets of characters are equally iconic? Or do certain regions/groups seem to be ahead of the rest?

one could also argue first PCs from Basic Set - Belarin the Elf, Clarion the Cleric, Derek the magic-user, Fleetwood the Fighter, Greegan the Thief, Tochberry the Halfling and Rolf the Dwarf - or playable characters from Chronicles of Mystara games - Crassus the Fighter, Dimsdale the Dwarf, Greldon the Cleric, Lucia the Elf, Moriah the Thief and Syous the Magic-User - are the most well-known, even if not everyone knows their names.

I certainly have a soft spot for the latter, but I would argue that if their names aren't even well known, they're probably not iconic enough.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Thanks for the Mystara knowledge! Would you say all those sets of characters are equally iconic? Or do certain regions/groups seem to be ahead of the rest?


I certainly have a soft spot for the latter, but I would argue that if their names aren't even well known, they're probably not iconic enough.

The issue with the game characters is that their names weren't included in the game but supplementary materials. But if you showed anyone who is into beat 'em ups this picture

And more people would recognize these characters than most others.

When it comes to others, I'd rank it like this:

1. Karameikos characters due to inclusion in Basic Set and adventures, as well as PCs from red box
2. Ghyr characters due to being in a toyline nad few episodes of 80's cartoon
3. Princess Ark characters due to being in short stories in Dragon Magazine
4. Princes of Glantri because Glantri is popular
5. Various rulers and antagonists on roughly the same level

 

[TheSword]

Thanks for the Birthright knowledge! So it sounds like Rhobbhe would be the #1 most iconic Birthright character, in your view? Where do the other characters feature in Birthright material?

All the characters are referenced in the Campaign boxed set and to a lesser extent in Sword and Crown. Also in the anthology Legends of the Hero Kings. Gavin Tael is important as he’s set up as a major foe in proximity to the four starter set kingdoms that each have their own domain book. Darrian Avan is important because he is in control of the imperial city of Anuire which holds the iron throne.

Blood Enemies details the three Awnsheghlien I mentioned. There are others like The Raven, The Serpent, the Magian etc but they are less relevant because of proximity. There’s also the computer game the Gorgons Alliance that shows the Gorgon as the Greatest threat, but also includes the Spider.

 

[Enrico Poli1]

Are all those characters equally iconic in your view? Can you cite some of your reasoning?

Sure! They were the same level of iconic in the original Gygaxian lore but now they're different levels of iconic. I think that some are better known nowadays because of 5e using them, for example Mordenkainen, Tasha, Vecna.
Back in 3e times others were used, such as Robilar.
People from 1e and 2e times is more familiar with Iuz as a villain.
If you have read Gygax' novels, you know why one of the most iconic is Gord, but who has?

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

Sure! They were the same level of iconic in the original Gygaxian lore but now they're different levels of iconic. I think that some are better known nowadays because of 5e using them, for example Mordenkainen, Tasha, Vecna.
Back in 3e times others were used, such as Robilar.
People from 1e and 2e times is more familiar with Iuz as a villain.
If you have read Gygax' novels, you know why one of the most iconic is Gord, but who has?

I agree you have to put the Circle of Eight - pretty sure the ORIGINAL Wizards of the Coast - as iconic. I mean, how many spells are named specifically after them through all the editions?

 

[Mad_Jack]

If you have read Gygax' novels, you know why one of the most iconic is Gord, but who has?

I loved those books... I still have the full set.


I don't know that the characters from the old LJN toy line are necessarily iconic in any particular setting - although they were used as the pregens for the old Search for the Heartstone module and listed in The Shady Dragon Inn npc book, as well as appearing in the modern Witchlight campaign, those are largely their only in-game appearances*...
They're really one of the earliest instances of characters created for ancillary media (i.e., toys, cartoons, etc.) being ret-conned/added into the canon of the source material.


*You might argue Warduke's visual image has become somewhat iconic, but the character himself hasn't really done much over the years.

 

[Tonguez]

Fleetwood the Adventurer (friend of Aleena)
BelraIn the Callarii Elf
Clarion of Chardastes,
the brothers Greegan (thief) and Felonius (Magicuser),
Morgan Tochberry the halfling,
Rolf Stronghollow the dwarf

before them
Morgan Ironwolf the fighter
Silverleaf the elf
Sister Rebecca the Adept
Fredrik the dwarf
Black Dougal the Footpad

Also
Hank the Ranger
Eric the Cavalier
Diana the Acrobat
Presto the Wizard
Sheila the Thief
Bobby the Barbarian
Uni

oh and does Conan count?

Minsc and Boo of Baldurs Gate

(dis)honourable mention to poor Blackleaf and Elfstar

 

[pukunui]

They're NPCs.

Yes to both. Any non-PC.


Most definitely.

OK great. Then for FR I would say:

Drizzt Do’Urden: he has probably been in the most novels; he’s been in video games; he’s got action figures; he’s spawned countless imitations; etc. He was the illustration of the drow in the 2014 PHB as well.

Eliminster: FR’s randier version of Gandalf and Ed Greenwood’s stand-in. He’s featured in several novels and in lots of art. There’s a picture of him in the SCAG delighting children.

Szass Tam: FR’s closest thing to an uber-villain. A lich who took over his homeland and rendered much of its population into subservient undead. He had a cameo in the D&D movie.

The Seven Sisters: Mainly Laeral these days, since she’s now Open Lord of Waterdeep, but in previous editions her sisters Alustriel, Storm, and the Simbul were big names. The others not as much. They are the nigh-immortal demigod children of Mystra, the goddess of magic. Alustriel features in Vecna: Eve of Ruin.

The Companions of the Hall: Drizzt’s friends – the dwarf king, Bruenor Battlehammer; Bruenor’s adopted human daughter and Drizzt’s sometimes lover, Catti-Brie; Reghed barbarian Wulfgar; and halfling scoundrel Regis. All of them got reincarnated so RA Salvatore could keep writing novels about them after the 100-year time jump in 4e. Bruenor was featured as an example PC throughout the 2014 PHB.

Volothamp “Volo” Geddarm: The author of numerous FR travel guides.

Honorable mentions:
*Mirt the Moneylender
*Manshoon
*Cadderly
*Jarlaxle Baenre
*Artemis Entreri

 

[pukunui]

For DragonLance, I would go with:

Tanis Half-Elven: The brooding leader of the Heroes of the Lance who gets torn between love (Laurana) and lust (Kitiara).

Flint Fireforge: The stereotypical grumpy, stompy dwarf who is like the Heroes’ father figure.

Caramon Majere: The stereotypical dimwitted strongman torn between love (Tika) and duty (Raistlin).

Raistlin Majere: Caramon’s much smarter but weaker twin who has magic and ambition in spades. The setting’s edgelord.

Laurana: The real star of the series who gets the most character development out of everyone, going from a lovesick “teen” (she’s an elf so is at least a century old or so) who runs away from home to chase after Tanis only to become the “golden general” leading the fight against the Dragonarmies.

Tika Waylan: The self-conscious buxom barmaid and Caramon’s love interest. She also gets a decent amount of character development, as she gains confidence and skills and becomes a competent fighter in her own right. She also featured in the 2014 PHB as an example PC.

Tasslehoff Burfoot: The loveable kleptomaniac kender and the Heroes' comic relief.

Riverwind and Goldmoon: The star-crossed, white-washed tribesmen who provide the impetus for the adventure detailed in Dragons of Autumn Twilight as they magically appear amidst the others carrying the special magic macguffin staff. Goldmoon becomes the setting’s first magic-using cleric in centuries.

Sturm Brightblade: The noble knight with a tragic past, an equally tragic future, and a debatably tragic moustache.

Fizban: The setting’s crazier Gandalf who is actually the god Paladine in disguise.

Kitiara: The loveable bad girl who is the Majere twins’ older half-sister. She goes to the dark side. She seduces Tanis. She kills Sturm. She hangs around with Lord Soth. And so on.

Lord Soth: The iconic death knight with the distinctive look. He was the illustration for the death knight entry in the 2014 MM. He has the tragic backstory where he could have prevented the Cataclysm but let his insecurity get the better of him. Kind of the Darth Vader of the setting.

Honorable mentions:
*Elistan the cleric
*Derek Crownguard the jerk
*Gilthanas, brother of Laurana and lover of Silvara
*Silvara, a silver dragon disguised as an elf and lover of Gilthanas
*Huma, the legendary first wielder of a dragonlance
*Takhisis, the evil dragon goddess who may or may not be the same being as Tiamat

 

[Theory of Games]

That one guy, Acererek, from Tomb of Horrors.