D&D General Who are the iconic NPCs in each D&D campaign setting?

[pemerton]

I see there was a Kara-Tur boxed set back in the 1e days, but not sure about anything else, no. Not my area of expertise, obviously...

I have that boxed set, and have used it a fair bit. I don't remember any NPCs from it . . . not to say there aren't any, but they are fairly low traction.

Whereas some of the modules have some interesting characters. As well as the ones I mentioned, there's the Opawang and his Ochimo (elemental spirit warriors) from OA3.

And Dragon Claw from OA5.

 

[JEB]

There were protagonists in the various novels, but those are explicitly non-canon possible futures.

There are novels, but they are supposed to be non-canonical, so they don’t really count.

Out of curiosity, were there recurring heroes in the novels? Or were they pretty much one-offs?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Can you clarify what you mean by NPC? Would novel characters like Drizzt and Tanis count as NPCs or are they essentially PCs?

So for FR, would it be people like Elminster, the Seven Sisters, Szass Tam, etc? Or would it also be Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar, etc?

For DragonLance, would it be Tanis, Flint, Laurana, Sturm, Kitiara, etc? Or would it be people like Derek Crownguard, Alhana Starbreeze, Elistan, etc?

FR would have too many to name, and that's just from BG3, never mind the novels, movie, comics, other video games, MtG cards etc...

 

[JEB]

FR would have too many to name, and that's just from BG3, never mind the novels, movie, comics, other video games, MtG cards etc...

Sure, but I'm asking about for the top-tier iconic NPCs, not every single NPC who's ever been featured somewhere in Realms lore. I'm fond of the cast from the DC Comics in the 1990s, for example, but iconic they are not.

 

[pukunui]

Out of curiosity, were there recurring heroes in the novels? Or were they pretty much one-offs?

I have not read any, but I think there were a few series. No idea who any of the characters were. They effectively don’t exist in the setting. Neither does Vi.

 

[JEB]

Neither does Vi.

If she appeared in 5e sourcebooks, seems Wizards is arguing that she exists... at least in 5e Eberron, anyway.

 

[pukunui]

If Vi is being used as an NPC in adventure modules and such, I wouldn't see that as a deal-breaker. Certainly many of Greyhawk's icons started off as PCs, and Elminster is basically Ed Greenwood's avatar...

She isn’t. She has only appeared in a few art pieces. She has not received an NPC statblock, does not appear in any published adventures, nor is she mentioned by name in the Eberron setting book.

EDIT: OK that last bit is incorrect. She’s mentioned by name in the “Artificers in Other Worlds” sidebar in the 5e Eberron book: “In the City of Sigil, artificers share discoveries from throughout the cosmos, and one in particular — the gnome inventor Vi — has run a multiverse-spanning business from there since leaving the world of her birth, Eberron.”

If she appeared in 5e sourcebooks, seems Wizards is arguing that she exists... at least in 5e Eberron, anyway.

Nope. She’s just an Easter egg for Jeremy Crawford fans. (And also a way for WotC to make Eberron part of the multiverse instead of its own thing like it was originally.)

It’s possible they have more planned for the future — Joe Manganiello’s PC, Arkhan the Cruel, got an official statblock and a bit part in Descent into Avernus after all. But for now, I would not class her as an iconic NPC for Eberron.

Crawford also calls her a planeswalker, so she’s a multiversal character who just happens to come from Eberron. EDIT: See the quote above.

 

[Demetrios1453]

She isn’t. She has only appeared in a few art pieces. She has not received an NPC statblock, does not appear in any published adventures, nor is she mentioned by name in the Eberron setting book.

EDIT: OK that last bit is incorrect. She’s mentioned by name in the “Artificers in Other Worlds” sidebar in the 5e Eberron book: “In the City of Sigil, artificers share discoveries from throughout the cosmos, and one in particular — the gnome inventor Vi — has run a multiverse-spanning business from there since leaving the world of her birth, Eberron.”


Nope. She’s just an Easter egg for Jeremy Crawford fans. (And also a way for WotC to make Eberron part of the multiverse instead of its own thing like it was originally.)

It’s possible they have more planned for the future — Joe Manganiello’s PC, Arkhan the Cruel, got an official statblock and a bit part in Descent into Avernus after all. But for now, I would not class her as an iconic NPC for Eberron.

Crawford also calls her a planeswalker, so she’s a multiversal character who just happens to come from Eberron. EDIT: See the quote above.

OK, that's all well and good, but to re-ask the original question, who would be an iconic heroic NPC for Eberron (we already had several villainous ones mentioned)? Vi is pretty much the closest thing we have. If not Vi, then who?

 

[pukunui]

OK, that's all well and good, but to re-ask the original question, who would be an iconic heroic NPC for Eberron (we already had several villainous ones mentioned)? Vi is pretty much the closest thing we have. If not Vi, then who?

There isn’t one! That’s the whole point. The setting is built around not having any iconic heroic NPCs. The PCs are the heroes!

 

[Tonguez]

OK, so far we've had input for Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Mystara, Ravenloft, Planescape, and Birthright. (And more input is welcome!)

But does anyone have any ideas about iconic NPCs from Spelljammer, Dark Sun, Eberron, or Nentir Vale? Or any of the smaller settings or sub-settings (like Kara-Tur or Al-Qadim)?

For Al-Qadim the only one I recall is Sheikh Kamal al-Asad a level 20 Desert Rider and most powerful of the Desert Sheiks. There was also a redhaired female Sheik

Also Golden Voyages had the Sultan of Gana (who I always imagined was a retired Sinbad)