Fantasy Novel Characters As NPCs?

[Jdvn1]

I have major NPCs who've affected the world, so I play up the history of the world a lot. Then, if I have one of them make a cameo, everyone's jaw drops.

It's a nice effect, I think.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I'm thinking about adding Greyboar and Ignace from Eric Flint's The Philosophical Strangler. Halfling Rogue/Assassin and Ogre Monk, probably.

I'm still not sure what I think of those books

I thought there were some very cool moments and ideas... but I couldn't get into the world.

I haven't bothered with the second one yet.

(I loved the council of elders at the bar... 'Sounds like downright lawyerin'!')

-Hyp.

 

[Ace]

I has Hansel and Greatl as NPC's in a rather twisted one shot --

They were assassin hobbits -- and the witch was chaotic good

Beyond that I did try to have a Wolverine Totem warrior named Logan in a buffy game but that was too silly

I thought that was a little wierd considering Duke Nukem was a major NPC in the same game

 

[Laundreu]

I'm still not sure what I think of those books

I thought there were some very cool moments and ideas... but I couldn't get into the world.

I haven't bothered with the second one yet.

(I loved the council of elders at the bar... 'Sounds like downright lawyerin'!')

-Hyp.

Really, there isn't much world to get into. It's the character, and the feel, of it that sold it on me, not the political rivalries of New Sfinctr and the Ozarines.

Which doesn't bar the fact that, if I could, I would so play a DnD game in that world.

 

[Dagger75]

Well not Fantasy, but in a Star Was game I had the players meet Lando Calrisian on Bespin once. Also they saw Darth Vader walk into a building on Coruscant once.

 

[argo]

I don't do cameos per se but one of my favorite tricks is to file the serial numbers off of a favorite character from a book/movie/whatever and use him as an NPC. Saves me a lot of time from having to flesh out these NPC's and also helps keeps me in character because I have a better mental picture of the NPC.

 

[ptolemy18]

I've used characters from literature and history, rather than fantasy. Generally I'm subtle enough with the allusions that the characters actually don't work out that they just picked up Hawkeye (from Last of the Mohicans and the other 'Leatherstocking' novels) as a guide or are sitting in the Mermaid Tavern with a guy called Will working on his latest play at the next table, so it's more for my own fun than theirs. Man, I am such a geek

Preach on, brother!

I'm running a pseudo-historical ("historical with magic and, uh, dragons and stuff") campaign set in ancient Egypt & Rome. I've discovered that since I've done the most research into the setting, I can throw in as many historical characters as I want, and the characters won't recognize 'em. But at least *I'm* happy. (I'm keeping really obvious ones like Cleopatra out of the picture, though....)

The problem with having famous characters show up is the same as having any really powerful NPCs show up: the characters run the risk of being overshadowed and feeling insignificant while you, the DM, have the NPCs act tough and fight one another.

Jason

 

[fanboy2000]

Other than characters from the D&D Novels, have you ever used characters from fantasy novels as NPCs?

If so, how did your players react?

I've contemplated guest appearances by Elric and Corwin (from the Amber series) in the past but haven't found the right way to do so yet.

I love a good cameo. If the cameo fits, it can led a certain realism to the world. In my Norse campaign, the PCs met Kull while he was a galley slave. I don't generally do D&D novel NPCs, but I did use Drizzt once. It wasn't an FR campaign though, so I could play with the characterization with out disrupting continuity. This is why I love homebrew.

 

[Dr Simon]

Actual Fantasy cameos?

I'm currently running a Dragonlance game, so some of the big characters are obviously going to be in it (Kit, Soth, Verminaard etc. but not the Innfellows - the PCs are the heroes of this one. Or bloody Fizban).

A previous loooong-running campaign of mine used a large dollop of Fritz Leiber, and so pretty much everyone from his books apart from Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (see above, PCs as Heroes etc. etc.) turned up. Not that anyone noticed but me, as no-one else had read the books!

I do nick character ideas from lots of other sources, though, mostly either (a) historical, (b) obscure or (c) both. At the moment a rather unpredictable playboy Senator of Palanthus with a gang of ruffians who tend to harrass anyone thinking of voting against him is based on Publius Clodius (and there's a stiff-necked rules-sticker based on Cato too).

I was once writing a scenario that revolved around cattle ranchers, and the efforts of one big conglomerate ranch to force out a small-time farmer using goblin mercenaries when I suddenly realised that I was writing a Western. At that moment of revelation the bad guy instantly turned into Jack Palance.

 

[Caius]

I've based a lot of NPC's off fantasy characters, because a) some of the people wouldn't know who they were if they made a cameo and b) again they might try to exploit that "fame" and I don't want to deal with that if it's part of the story I'm trying to tell. it would take away so it's easier to just replace that character sometimes.

While I'm playing we don't generally deal with cameo's. Usually elminster, for example is tossed out the window in favour for one of our pc's being famous in his place.