D&D NPCs

A demonic warlord that has been imprisoned in a magically-sealed chamber for so long, it doesn't remember anything about its existence before being sealed away. It is simply Bound.

When the party encounters it, they have the option of smiting the demon, or releasing it, at which point "Unbound" becomes a reliable Barbarian/Barbarian stand-in for the party as it comes to terms with the world outside its sealed chamber, and its purpose within said outside world..

Bard who writes songs about the party whenever the PCs tell him about what they've been up to. Gives the players an opportunity to improve their reputation. Also sells the party healing potions and goofy magic items.

Preferably this bard would be a scruffy old troubadour named two-eyed Joe, with an eye patch on one eye and a monocle on the other; but that is up to you as a DM.

A disgraced dwarf hunter/ranger looking for the owl bear who took his eye (which ruined his career and lead to his wife leaving). I'd have him help the PCs through a specific stretch of forest. They fight the biggest, meanest owl bear and it turns out to be the one who took the dwarfs eye. The PCs lay down for the night, the dwarf being quieter than usual during dinner. The next morning they find him a few yards from the camp, hanging from a tree.

A demon who's disguised as an inquisitor of a foreign nation. Takes a liking to the party, and offers them a job/accuses them as an escaped prisoner to lure the party to the underworld.

A manic but harmless wizard who manages to save the town from countless disasters.
He's actually cursed with true seeing, and sees the future, along with the solutions to the problem, no matter how nonsensical it seems. But he doesn't know that he's angered some old God with his abilities, and the God is what's causing disasters to strike the town.

A traveling salesman, who keeps popping up wherever the player characters are going. He's actually a thief, and is following the players, sneaking ahead of them when they go into a dungeon, and steals loot the party would find eventually while the occupants are busy dealing with the players. He sells it to the party at a discount.

A king/God/Famous person disguised as a commoner.

The BBEG's right hand, who isn't so evil, but is bound by duty. He helps the PC's with a mission.

A traveling prince, who's followed by hidden gaurdians.

A traveling circus.
They're all Druids and Druid-monks.

Our DM gave us 2 kids whom we adopted. One of them liked the warlock, and became a disciple of sorts and eventually made his own pact when he worked at being relevant and earned a level. The other character fell in with our resident fighter and the fighter drilled him into gaining his first level as a fighter. Then the two urchins made off on their own and had wacky adventures, popping up from time to time while we were on our travels. It was kinda fun.

The Toll Troll, you have to pay him if you want to go into certain caves or cross certain bridges.

Keep your shitty fetishes out of my game

Doth his prices be INSANE???

We were always sad when we had to deal with the Toll Troll.
Sometimes, we'd have to go back and search for loose change along the path because he only took exact change, no extra.
It was Toll Troll Trail Trawl Travail.

>Roll for intimidate

>"Lest ye cross, amidst my mind, pay me toll, to get behi-"
>"SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP"
>"...Okay"

A unicorn that guards a jungle. A concrete jungle.

A formerly adventuring sorceress who settled down to run an inn. If the party gets on her good side, she'll teleport homecooked meals to them every morning. One day she stops without warning. Something must have happened.

A paladin who sends away nearly everything he earns to his ex wives.

An princess who is renowned throughout the land for being an unstoppable baddass in duels. She's actually a fraud, it's the court wizard rigging the fights in her favor.

Someone who is a big fan of the PC's work, and follows them around quoting them and spouting off stats and generally trying his best to be helpful but also being kind of annoying. In a future game, your players discover that he murdered their previous characters.

A sword that talks mad shit and says "double kill" and other things in battle. It's compensating for it's small pommel.

>meh

>cool

>why, but okay

>^vote

>bad idea, very bad idea. Horrible idea, never give your pc's a death they don't witness themselves.

>9/10 great weapon

The Sixth Royal Kobold Siege Engineers.

They're neither engineers, nor sanctioned by the king, and there aren't six regiments of them. It's a band of kobolds that are really good at stealing siege engines and wreaking havoc with them. They just think that adopting the name gives them permission to do so.

Also, they're really good at harassing the PCs and have a miraculous habit of always appearing right in the middle of other shit that they're trying to accomplish.

The mad wizard who once accidentally let an experiment go. He created a second experiment to kill the first one, but ti went on a rampage. He then created a third to kill the first two but it also went on a rampage...

A giant, who happens to be a dragon Hunter. The man carries around a greatbow with javelins for arrows. Every so often, a bit of lightning arcs between now and string. He asks if they've seen (insert dragon description).

An intelligent owlbear, that wears robes, and glasses. It's the result of a failed experiment.

An animal Druid, as in an animal who learned to shapeshift into a sentient, intelligent animal.

My players surround themselves with NPCs, both helpful and otherwise.

There's an ogre bard with more enthusiasm than ability who is currently still working on his own first composition which is actually just "Hot Cross Buns" which he heard a long time ago, forgot about, and no believes is a melody he thought up. PCs don't want to step on his dreams or him to lose faith in himself though so they actually go out of their way to keep him from discovering the truth.

A vampire trying to escape an estranged human lover. She was turned into a vampire in front of him, against her will.

The man always manages to catch and kill her, but doesn't know how to make her stay dead. The woman can't bring herself to kill him, because he's the last remainder of her humanity. She wants to hire the party to fake her permanent death.

Fucking hell these are good.

Some of these are incredible, you know.

You guys should be my DM.

I'm definitely taking inspiration from these.

Sasquatch.

Actually just a peaceful forest spirit, who's wondering why humans are destroying his home. He wants them to stop, but is non-violent so just watches from the tree line.

The PC's go through a town, not marked on any maps. While staying at the local inn They hear about a lost boy, and decide to go look for him. They only find an old gruff ranger, who's not used to travelers, living miles from the town. Upon hearing about the lost boy, he demands that the PC's take him to the town. When they return, only the ashen remains are there. Not only that, but the remains are impossibly old.
The man breaks down and tells the party to meet him back at his cabin. But when the PC's get back, there's nothing there. If they return to the town, it will appear again to them, but the man will be gone.

That second one gives me a confusion

Someone posted this as part of a list one time, so I don't want to take credit for it, but
>retired magic-user
>had enough of adventuring
>cast "Enlarge" and "Permanency" on himself because lol
>hangs out in bars gambling and drinking
I always pictured him as Gary Busey, and I loved the idea of some giant wizard or sorcerer, drunk, just hanging out somewhere and dispensing good advice along with a lot of crazy stories. He'd be a good "push" character to give the characters a hint to push them in some direction without getting in their way.

Got this idea from Skyrim, that guy who waylays adventurers outside on the road from Whiterun -- I
>Braddock and Hanson, the "villain bros"
>act annoyingly like bros
>total assholes, will turn up when adventurers least expect them, and bully them
>often wear ill-fitting clothing and pretend to be clerics or wizards -- badly
>Always getting away with shit, even if the players get them arrested, or even killed. They turn up again.
>cruel to player characters -- exist to deny players the ability to feel like heroes
>don't even go for the kill if they get it, they'll instead kick people in the balls, pee on wizard's spell books, and take PC's stuff

It just sounds like you're saying "boy's hole."

The man is the lost boy. Through curse, or fae Magic, he lives in a pocket demension where the town was burned down. Anyone can enter the pocket demension, but traveling with the man prevents them from returning.

But they can only enter the dimension when they aren't looking for it.

NPCs who are just the player's past PCs changed to make them fit into the setting. Never exactly the same character but similar enough that it gets noticed and appreciated.

Officer Bumby, the gnome detective who hires out the party to help him solve a foul murder in his small and peaceful community.

Little does he know the PCs did it

Gay.

Wow, what a great post. It adds so much more to thread. Thank you user for your well thought out and clever response. You're a blessing on this community.

Sounds like someone's gay

Obviously not as gay as you, stop riding my dick homeboy.

From my campaign ideas doc

-Hedge Magic
=A [mustached British archetype] salesman shows up, sensing strong magic of players. Offers them to put their magic power into a magic hedgefund. Returns of 300%+ expected! Wild magic shennanigans when spell slots are split up into tiny impossible to count or name spells. Magic Market Bubble collapses eventually.

An intelligent doppelgänger Slime monster would be pretty cool.

The BBEG before he becomes the BBEG

Literal John Cena, the half-giant dragon-suplexer.

>mfw my games tend to have at least one asshole occasionally taking potshots at the party

Of course he'd get in the way anyways since he's so big.

Goblin who thinks he's a questing knight.

Has a steed. It's actually a goat.

Has a squire he shouts at and gives orders to all the time. It's actually a scarecrow he's tied onto the back of the goat. It's name is "Squire"

Has a sword and shield. It's a large butchers knife and a cracked pot lid.

His helm is a dried pumpkin or the pot that the lid goes to.

His lance is a broom handle that he's lashed a knitting needle to the end of.

He does classic knight things. Rescues a princess. Actually kidnaps a whore from the brothel she works at.

Slays dragons. Actually challenges the sign of the local tavern carved in the likeness of a dragon. Destroys it every time the owner gets it replaced.

Currently working on a biography. He can't read though so it's really a collection of childlike drawings of his adventures.

Fights highwaymen. Except they're actually collectors on the kings toll road.

>Fallen cleric turned Peter Popov style faith healer scamming the peasants out of their meager coin. Cant actually cast healing magic, just has amazing bluff and deception.

>Ranger who's the fantasy version of Steve Irwin. Obsessed with the most dangerous magical creatures. Doesn't want to hunt them. Just wants to educate people about them.

>Dwarven Bob Villa. Has a series of DIY scrolls popular among tradesmen called "This Old Ruin". Renovates ancient sites.

>Intelligent mimic who honestly just wants to be the best mimic possible. Wants to have the most convincing disguise, including letting people store things in him, instead of eating people. Not actually as good as disguising as other mimics.

>Ex-adventurer who buys rare monster-corpses from adventuring parties to make strange culinary dishes
>Bearded alcoholic who practices a dangerous martial-art that mimics the movements of a drunkard
>Misfortunate but plucky Elven enchanter who tries to make magic items aimed for mundane household uses, most of which fail spectacularly
>Two Halflings who can flawlessly impersonate a human by standing on eachother's shoulders and putting on a long coat
>Mustachioed aristocrat that hunts rare and dangerous monsters for sport, his various weapons carried for him by an Orcish child called Umbubu
>Elven scholar who is obsessed with 'human culture' and brags about his genuine pig-iron broadsword he had commissioned from a human blacksmith that could totally bisect an elven knight in one stroke i swear guys
>Orcish Bard with absolutely no talent at singing, but nobody has the heart to tell him because of how hopeful and confident he is, and how happy he looks wailing out his newest ballad

Man appearing to be a bard (actually a warlock) who speaks with a weird accent and instead of singing songs of great tales or having a quick wit, plays string instruments incredibly well but every song is super depressing.

Made a deal with a devil at a rural crossroads for musical skill.

>In a future game, your players discover that he murdered their previous characters

It's like you want to be hated.

>He's actually a thief, and is following the players, sneaking ahead of them when they go into a dungeon, and steals loot the party would find eventually while the occupants are busy dealing with the players. He sells it to the party at a discount.
see

...

>the "bros"
Annoying, they do not do anything but frustrate the players. 1/10

What a tweest! I like it!

Is it a female?

Has potential, I think. As long as it's not to frustrate the players, I give it a 7/10

>cleric
It's got purpose. 6/10
>ranger
memey. 4/10
>dwarf
Potentially interesting 7/10
>mimic
I don't really see the point just yet. 5/10

>Ex-adventurer
Make him gluttonous. 8/10
>Bearded alcoholic
Jackie/10
>Misfortunate elf
It shall be funny. 8/10
>Two Halflings
That is one trait... needs to be more fleshed out. 6/10
>Mustachioed aristocrat
Bonus points for racism. 7/10
>Elven scholar
Make him the punching bag. Otherwise, 6/10
>Orcish Bard
Is he really necessary? 6/10

>Man appearing to be a bard
See the orcish bard. 7/10 for the extra detail.

Old homeless beggar who will give the party valuable information if they give him a good amount of money, thanks to his incredible skill in gathering information and going unnoticed.

>rates other peoples' suggestions
>gives generic informant character that doesn't actually make sense

Enserric the longsword. A great and powerful wizard slain in his prime and imprisoned within the metal of the sword. Always cheerful, he gives advices and aids the party however he can, as well as informing them of the sword's ability and producing never-ending quips.
Actually a lich whose soul became trapped in the sword rather than returning to his phylactery. He's been away from his phylactery for so long he wants to check up on it before returning, and wants to get the party to help him. If they do, willingly or unwillingly he'll be genuinely grateful and in their debt for the help.

I was the party's lawyer as the DMPC. More fun then you would think.

One character my players liked from precedent games was Oscar the Traveling Vendor
He was an intelligent human-sized cockroach, could be found almost everywhere, and would sell "anything which exist, even the things which don't" for the right price
Surprisingly enough, the players never tried to rob him

I have a character named Godsfray the Ill-Fated. He travels around collecting magical items and evaluating them, keeping the cursed ones and trading everything else. PCs can buy and sell magic items when they visit him, and they can also have him explain how the items work if they havent figured it out. Of course, if it has a curse, he refuses to give it back "for their own safety"

A mute Orcish Barbarian who falls in love with one of the characters. Every so often will bring them the severed heads of his kills along with a small amount of loot.
Little does the party know this is a mating ritual, by accepting the tokens offered, it's accepting his marriage proposal
The party might have to put him down if things go the wrong way, which is sad, because the dudes only doing what he was taught.

An undead man claiming to be looking for his soul, though he doesn't even know what one is. He's a random encounter that can happen multiple times. Each time, he'll give the players a a different name and different stories of who he is, as well as "a piece of him" (I.e. An old buckler, sword, or piece of armor) claiming that his soul will fasten to such a device so that when they meet again he can reclaim his soul.
He's an artificial human, created with artificial memories of dead people.

Bumpity

A foreign explorer on his way around the world with his retinue of mercenary bodyguards, scribes, cartographers, chefs, assorted hangers on and their menagerie of pack animals and livestock.
Whenever the players run into him he'll have fallen on hard times and be forced to sell some of his his exotic goods or run into an obstacle that he'll ask them to clear for coin and mentions in the epic that is being written about him as they speak.

That was possibly the saltiest response you could have managed. Your idea sucked.