DM's: What was your favorite NPC?

[ichabod]

One time my players did something incredibly stupid, which would have been a TPK, but I let it slide. So I ended up having to improvise a character, and he ended up mumbling. And one of my players hated it. Now, this was not my favorite NPC, but I built on it to make Creech and Lowbrow.

Creech was a tall, skinny dwarf, and Lowbrow was a short, fat elf. They were fixers. As Creech would say, "You've come to the right guys. We can get you anything, you name it. We know people all over town, we know people doing everything, we can't find the people who have the stuff to fix your problem. Isn't that right, Lowbrow?" And Lowbrow would then say, "Ah eye. Ee oh eheheee oo. Ee ih oo eye uh!"

Basically, Lowbrow only talked in vowels. The players loved the shtick, and Creech and Lowbrow became a running gag for the next two years. Once they accused me of using actual words. I replied, "I've always been using actual words, you're just starting to understand them." They'd walk into a bar and go up to the bartender. "Do you know Creech and Lowbrow?" The bartender rolls his eyes. "Everybody know Creech and Lowbrow."

Not high drama, to be sure, but it was good fun and good memories.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Those are extremely solid NPCs with world class names, @ichabod. Well done.

 

[aco175]

I had a drow assassin back in 3e days that happened to flee from an encounter. She kept coming back every couple levels to strike at the party and then flee again. This seemed to happen for over half the campaign until the players dreaded seeing me reach for the figure in the box. When they finally killed her, there was a great celebration at the table.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Creech was a tall, skinny dwarf, and Lowbrow was a short, fat elf.

Reminds me of a campaign in which I played a giant dwarf (5’6”, nearly 400lbs) and another guy played a dwarf giant (6’6”, something like 550lbs). They were both warriors, and outcasts from their respective communities, but who became blood brothers.

And Lowbrow would then say, "Ah eye. Ee oh eheheee oo. Ee ih oo eye uh!"

Basically, Lowbrow only talked in vowels. The players loved the shtick, and Creech and Lowbrow became a running gag for the next two years. Once they accused me of using actual words. I replied, "I've always been using actual words, you're just starting to understand them."

I was thrown a curveball when a party’s Druid unexpectedly cast Awaken on another character’s pet giant lizard (which could run very fast in short bursts). For some reason, I defaulted to an Elvis impression when they decided to talk to it. I had to keep that up for almost a year.

My best NPCs came from a home-brewed supers setting that grew out of Space:1889 and other materials, using HERO. While I thought I’d done a good job creating a BBEG based on Marvel Comics’ Mandarin, the NPC that captured EVERYONE’S imagination was one of his more powerful minions. Imagine a version of Iron Man in a massive steam-powered suit of armor, armed with twin flamethrowers. And evil enough that he didn’t care who was in his arc of fire.

I dusted off that setting a decade+ later for a different group in a different city, using M&M2 for the ruleset. The BBEG in that iteration was Dr. Zeus, an orangutan whose intellect had been exponentially increased by a Dr. Moreau-type mad scientist. Essentially, he was a mashup of Dr Zaius, Gorilla Grodd, Monsieur Mallah & Mojo Jojo. He was well versed in the theories and inventions of Nicola Tesla, which he weaponized, Alas, the campaign fizzled out before the big reveal. The party only ever saw him caged, with a glasslike dome revealing & protecting his mutated giant brain…

 

[R_J_K75]

I'n going with Halaster Blackcloak....Or Hilister as he was known when he came from the Plains of Purple Dust

 

[overgeeked]

One time my players did something incredibly stupid, which would have been a TPK, but I let it slide. So I ended up having to improvise a character, and he ended up mumbling. And one of my players hated it. Now, this was not my favorite NPC, but I built on it to make Creech and Lowbrow.

Creech was a tall, skinny dwarf, and Lowbrow was a short, fat elf. They were fixers. As Creech would say, "You've come to the right guys. We can get you anything, you name it. We know people all over town, we know people doing everything, we can't find the people who have the stuff to fix your problem. Isn't that right, Lowbrow?" And Lowbrow would then say, "Ah eye. Ee oh eheheee oo. Ee ih oo eye uh!"

Basically, Lowbrow only talked in vowels. The players loved the shtick, and Creech and Lowbrow became a running gag for the next two years. Once they accused me of using actual words. I replied, "I've always been using actual words, you're just starting to understand them." They'd walk into a bar and go up to the bartender. "Do you know Creech and Lowbrow?" The bartender rolls his eyes. "Everybody know Creech and Lowbrow."

Not high drama, to be sure, but it was good fun and good memories.

Sounds like Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar from Neverwhere. Classic ectomorph and endomorph comedy duo.

My favorite NPCs are a type rather than a specific instance. The Contrarian. Take a classic stereotype of a character, career, profession, etc and twist or invert at least one aspect of that. The shopkeeper who’s a hoarder and is reluctant to sell things. The cranky and unhelpful doctor. The loud and outgoing librarian. The blasé guard.

 

[Blue]

I've had dozens of really fun NPCs to run in various campaigns. And then I move on to a new campaign in a new setting, and forget about them.

Somewhere in my formative D&D years, I got to dislike when certain players would recreate the same character in different campaigns, and even in different games. I never attempted to port NPCs from one setting to the next... except one. Because it was explicitly a multidimensional demigod. So I guess I need to give props to the only NPC I've run in multiple different campaigns.

Ambrose, the Lord of Cats. Looks like one of those long haired Maine Coon cats, but his size depends on how much the cats of the particular plane he's on give a damn about him. He's often the size of a pony, though claims to sometimes be of enormous size.

Just like the Greek gods were said to embody the traits of humans, but only more-so, so is Ambrose. He is the Cat's Cat. He embodies "I meant to do that" and all of the other catlike traits. For example, the first time I ever ran him was in a faerie court connected to the material plane (this was before "The Feywild" was a thing), where he was trapped on an island in the middle of a lake because he didn't want to get wet. But Oh Ho, he wasn't trapped. That would imply something was beyond him. For the same reason he couldn't accept help. So the party talked to this incredibly pompous Cat, who wanted to get off this island but could in no way imply he needed or wanted help. Eventually one player caught on, and under the guise of providing various appropriate tribute to the Lord of the Cats, including freshly caught fish, ended up bringing him via raft out of the lake. Ambrose "allowed" the character to provide tribute, imperiously. And then went on his uncaring way without a look back.

But the Lord of the Cats did reward the character for his service. Ambrose bestowed on him the only worthwhile gift. So the next morning when the character awoke, he found himself rather more cat-like.

Ambrose shows up maybe once a campaign, and since I usually run 3+ year campaigns we don't get tired of him. And it's the same Ambrose - he can travel anywhere there are cats. He's even "recognized" a character played by a player who met him in a previous campaign, celebrating the moment with a comment about reincarnation and old souls.

So I present to you: Ambrose, Lord of Cats.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Egge Lefthand, a likeable rogue, card shark, smuggler, rumor and information monger. He started off just as a onetime NPC to provide a clue to the party but then he started to appear all the time. Players enter a tavern and who do they see...Players throw into jail, who do they see...Party travelling down a long dark road, who do the see. He always seemed to be about to get into trouble or running from it. In one, I had him hanging by his neck with a sign around his neck saying, thief but he was faking it. Got to the point where the party was looking for him.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Skirovan was a gnome alchemist / necromancer who was working for the bad guys in my campaign, but was obsessed with worshiping and studying the draconic god of death. He whooped the butts of the PCs the first time they encountered him, so they ran away and came back ready to negotiate. They promised him power if he helped take down his own boss, and (after some very good rolls) he agreed!

Skirovan helped defeat his vampiric boss and was installed as the new ruler of the town. Because he was so obsessed with his studies, he basically left everyone alone.

The characters would use the town as a safe haven, checking in each time with Skirovan to make sure he wasn't up to anything too evil.

It was fun playing a monomaniacal bad guy who the characters loved to interact with.