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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scarbonac" data-source="post: 896796" data-attributes="member: 9129">Hmmm, back in tha day, when our main DM used to have NPCs that would appear to pull our chestnuts out of the fire, it got boring fast (but he was the one who liked DMing the most, and no one else had the comittment to do it more-or-less full-time); one PC had a pet silver dragon that did whatever he told it to, usually polymorphed into something inconspicuous; another had a ''Guardian Angel'' who would appear to help out the party at really tight moments, and so forth. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f644.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll eyes    :rolleyes:"  data-smilie="11"data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> I grew to hate having these guys inflicted upon us, particularly when one became attached to my primary character.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f621.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":mad:" title="Mad    :mad:"  data-smilie="4"data-shortname=":mad:" />  I never minded the ''giver of vague hints'' NPC, who would very obliquely pass on info to the PCs that they'd have to figure out, but the ''problem-solver'' NPCs who would explain every aspect of the dungeo/mystery/et cetera to us...<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f621.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":mad:" title="Mad    :mad:"  data-smilie="4"data-shortname=":mad:" /> Worse, he'd have his PCs come along as party members and try to give them artifacts  (to be fair, almost every time that  anyone else DM'd, they'd try to pull something similar, with varying amounts of success -- it must be noted that this was over 20 years ago with high schoolers, for the most part).  Thank Ishtar we got over that nonsense.As a DM, I do have some NPCs who travel with the party; this is a collection of people whom the PCs have rescued from various dungeons, et cetera, who initially stuck with them 1) cos they had nowhere else to go and 2) had a sense of obligation for the rescue. Those who have stayed have done so for in-character reasons, and several have left the party after their ''sense of obligation'' faded.None of them are higher in level than the PCs (usually 2-4 levels lower, in fact), nor are any of them particularly uber (with flashy stats, items or abilities). Some are fiercely loyal to the PCs, others are just there for the gold, ale and whores. I'm rather fond of all of them, but don't stint on dishing out damage, curses or other bad stuff to them, just as with the PCs.The PCs often get just as attached to them, frequently rushing to the aid of a downed NPC rather than that of a fellow PC, and not because the NPC has a special ability, item, et cetera that can be of use to the group. I like that about my gang.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" />[Edit: Stupid typo. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f621.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":mad:" title="Mad    :mad:"  data-smilie="4"data-shortname=":mad:" /> ]</blockquote>

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