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Message: <blockquote data-quote="L R Ballard" data-source="post: 7467896" data-attributes="member: 40307">True. Creating unique abilities for NPCs sounds like fun. I’ll probably leave that to individual DMs, who can imagine precisely the kind of ability they’d like a certain NPC to have.However, I’ll include famous spells known by the powerful wizards. For example, Elminster’s Evasion is a spell that Hall of Heroes refers to as “an enhanced and customized version of the contingency spell of which Elminster is quite proud” (30). That spell goes in the conversion.In the Avatar Trilogy, which I’m converting, Ed Greenwood describes powers available only to the chosen of Mystra. For example, his chosen wears a star pendant that confers special powers to the wearer (FRE1 5). The pendant’s powers have been converted.Greenwood also introduces the party to an apprentice wizard who may one day serve as the Magister. Her name is Beluane Brighteyes. Her special power is protection by the demigod Azuth (FRE1 24). I’m translating the power as the ability of the chosen of Azuth to reroll a saving throw with advantage any time she misses the initial one. Limit one reroll per spell against which she suffers a missed save.That sounds right. In the late 1980s, I didn’t stat out some of the powerful, regularly appearing NPCs for precisely that reason. Players simply knew not to mess with some allies.The only reason I want to make sure the named friendly NPCs are powerful enough is so the players respect them. My old group played super characters. They used to boast that they could defeat the Knights of Myth Drannor, though they never actually fought them (Just imagine running a session for Conan O’Brien, and you’ll get a sense for how snarky they could be.). The possibility of hearing “I scoff” was high even when speaking with or about high-level NPCs in the Realms.My goal is to make Elminster believable, not Sean Connery on an SNL Jeopardy! skit . . .</blockquote>

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