TV/Movie Characters in your game...

[Glyfair]

IPCs in other campaigns have encountered Sherlock Holmes (conceptually, but name and everything else changed)...

The patron for the characters in my Eberron campaign has been a heavily disguised Nero Wolfe.

This gives me an idea for another NPC in my Eberron game. He's a brillant master inquisitive with a huge reputation. He never deals with people, instead working through three assistants who are obviously quite smart on there own. When the PCs eventually encounter him in person he's rude and condescending towards them.

 

[Aramax]

OK I use 4 charaters of this sort in my D&D homebrew
First I have a tribunal of 'gods'(I cant say exactly what they are)OF HP LOvecraft,RE HOward
and Rod Serling
and in the cultest ridden streets of the city of Arkam a masked Man giving out Justice! Batman

 

[Brakkart]

I have a tendency to include an eccentric gnome in every campaign I run. His name is always different, but his voice and mannerisms are always that of Gwildor from the Masters of the Universe movie.

 

[EP]

The patron for the characters in my Eberron campaign has been a heavily disguised Nero Wolfe.

This gives me an idea for another NPC in my Eberron game. He's a brillant master inquisitive with a huge reputation. He never deals with people, instead working through three assistants who are obviously quite smart on there own. When the PCs eventually encounter him in person he's rude and condescending towards them.

I have another guy based on House too - a hound archon. Kind of came up at the last minute when I realised I had no idea how this character was going to interact, so I suddenly decided to go a bit away from the expected norm of an angel and make him condesending and arrogant. The voice isn't there (didn't want to make it too specific), but the attitude is.

 

[haakon1]

I used to do this a lot for other games, like Boot Hill, Top Secret, Top Secret w/ cops & robbers storyline (DEA, actually), and RECON.

For D&D, almost all my PC's and NPC's are originals. I did play a mage based on Giles from Buffy, but he got killed in the TPK by "Prickles" and the beholder's other friends when we were about 3rd or 4th level. Tough day for us!

 

[Festivus]

I was just reading an article in an old dragon (Dragon #225) entitled "I'm Okay, You're One Dimensional" which addresses using TV characters to add dimension to your PC (or NPC in your case). The article is on page 37 if you have it.

 

[DJCupboard]

I make tv and movie based charcaters quite often. In my last oriental themed game I played a blatant rip-off of Toshiro Mifune's character in Seven Samurai (katana-shaped greatsword and a bravado well beyond his skill). I'm thinking of playing MacGyver as an akashic next time we run AE.

 

[Silver Moon]

I run a few Western campaigns that have thus far seen the Cartwrights, Barkleys, Brett Maverick, Jim West and Artemis Gordon in the game. I also plan to use Doctor Emmett Brown at one point.

 

[messy]

I was just reading an article in an old dragon (Dragon #225) entitled "I'm Okay, You're One Dimensional" which addresses using TV characters to add dimension to your PC (or NPC in your case). The article is on page 37 if you have it.

yes! that's a brilliant article! it's a great way to bring your npcs to life

i've used the following:

for a dumb-but-friendly orc fighter- a peasent from warcraft.
for a bossy elf ranger- judge judy
for a heroic elf ranger/wizard- she-ra
for a dwarf cleric- sean connery (come to think of it, ALL my dwarves sound like sean connery...)

and i've only just begun using this technique!

messy

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I've also used Curious Goods from the Friday the 13th Series. I also used Stargate SG1 setting material and references, though none of the specific NPCs from the series made it in, except a passing reference to Ne'erti, Osiris, Isis and Ra, and some of the other System Lords.