NPCs (non-player characters) are part of the rich narrative tapestry of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Whether they're mission-critical or just add a little extra flavor to the adventure, they're essential to effective world-building. While some interactions go smoothly, other dealings with the inhabitants of the local population can become quite chaotic – sometimes through self-sabotage by the players and sometimes through the evil machinations of a trickster DM.
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Experienced dungeon masters know how to use these troublesome NPCs to create devilishly clever traps, puzzles and storylines for their players. But sometimes it backfires in spectacular fashion. I had a chat with a Dungeon Master, Oskar, who explained some of them Dungeons & Dragons NPCs that he and other DMs love to bring to the table to unleash on unsuspecting players.
Barkeepers and tavern owners
Always be nice to the people cooking your food and pouring your beer
On paper, bartenders and tavern owners are respectable local people who can help by gossiping, pointing out directions, and providing other important information. However, players often see these NPCs as a challenge to steal, break, or kill something without being noticed. These opportunistic acts of folly usually lead to chaos through miscommunication and often expose conflicts within the party.
In smaller settlements, the local tavern is often a hub of the community and the first port of call for many weary travelers. Immediately upsetting someone who might be valuable to the party for a variety of reasons can therefore make a simple campaign infinitely more difficult.
Filler NPC
Meet Bob – Bob is trying to run his own business
In an effort to bring a scene to life and engage the players, a DM may describe a scene in detail. Sometimes, to help the world building, they decide to describe one or two NPCs present. These guys aren't very important and are just there to set the mood. But players can latch on to the poor, irrelevant NPC and try to unravel his deep, dark secret significance to the plot.
A party fixating on a small, relatively insignificant character can leave a DM trying in vain to bring players back to the quest, often with limited success. An experienced DM can turn this to their advantage, and suddenly this guy who was just trying to enjoy a pint at the local pub becomes a key player in a story of fantasy intrigue and espionage.
The curators
Never underestimate librarians
Curators can often act as harmless knowledge holders, bookworms and historians. But many players forget that curators are specially selected by organizations chosen for their ability to protect something very important. This often leads to obnoxious parties crossing paths with curators under less than ideal circumstances and being put in their place by an angry librarian with powerful spells or unexpected martial arts prowess.
A good example is the Curators of War Domains archive. War Domain clerics and acolytes in general are already highly skilled in weapons of war and battle arcana, with only the most experienced or zealous among them selected as Curators to defend books that sometimes tempt the mind with violence and conquest, meaning Curators also require a tempered will.
The pet
Protect him with your life!
TTRPGs like Dungeons and dragons are notorious for their evil enemies, but all players know that there is plenty of humor and joyful whimsy to be found in the world of magic. The extent to which a party will go to protect or socialize with any random woodland creature they come across is insane.
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Players will make improvised leather armor for their pup or give the random animal a mystical crystal that grants spell-casting abilities that rival the gods themselves. Often the party's hamster will live through the horrors of the campaign and go on to live a long and fruitful life. Possibly with some kind of award or knighthood.
The Familiar or Mount
Can we keep him?
Familiars or mounts elicit similar responses from pets, but they are usually stronger and potentially more dangerous. A player's familiar or mount says a lot about the player's companion. Usually these creatures are some kind of ravenous beast or monstrosity, which a party member insists they can control. This hubris is often proven wrong ten minutes later when it hits a key allied NPC.
Unlike the pet, the familiar is the close companion of only one player, and can be the bane of their party's existence. The player attached to the familiar or attachment will treat it as if it were a teddy bear and not a 9 foot tall Owl Bear. Fasteners can be completely impractical, get in the way or be completely forgotten.
The street eight
Riff Raff… Street Rat…
The streets of a fantasy metropolis are a tough place for a kid, so any kids the party will encounter are likely to be orphans, mischievous pickpockets, or pranksters. They may be on the run from a deadly threat or the law. The parties could virtually adopt the child or turn it in to the city guards for a reward.
A rogue can teach him how to charge dice, while a priest can attempt a spiritual conversion. Tank builds have been known to take them under their wings and teach them to fight. Regardless, the street rat can single-handedly derail or save a situation with the right inspiration from the right party member.
The lone henchman
He only had 3 days left until retirement
Sometimes a brief moment of characterization given to an enemy NPC can lead to an entire unintended side story. When a stealthy party passes a patrol of unconscious henchmen, a particularly downtrodden and disgruntled henchman may complain and be reprimanded by name. This goon now has a massive target on his back.
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The party can choose to hunt him down personally or defend his honor by killing the rest of the patrol for bullying him. Players always love a random henchman to harass as he rises through the ranks of the Big Bad or goes on an unexpected redemption arc.
The Returning Guard
He used to be an adventurer like you, then he took an arrow to the knee
The recurring guard is the authoritative, more official version of the henchman. They are normally ambiguous figures whose loyalty to the party is often dependent on their behavior. As bureaucrats and authority figures, they are fun to tease and undermine. They act as a foil for the heroic adventurers and are often publicly shamed by less legitimate parties.
Ultimately, these less legal parties tend to adopt these figures as a form of nemesis-lite, seeing the act of agitating them as a way to relax after an intense encounter. The parties can go out of their way to seek out and psychologically torture that particular stuffy, tense guard.
Dragon
When there is a bard…
Where some players see a formidable foe, some bards see a dragon encounter as a unique dating opportunity. Having a chaotic bard in your party who can't help but try to romance every ridiculous creature that crosses their path can add an unsettling new dimension to the quest.
On the rare occasion that the bard doesn't get the entire party in trouble with his dangerous liaisons, it can lead to surprisingly positive conclusions. A slain dragon can only spare players. Even better, the dragon may decide to keep the troublesome bard. Everyone is a winner.
A player character's family members
Surprise! It's Trauma Time!
Family reunions in D&D never go according to plan. When a DM decides to enroll a family member of a player character in a campaign, things can get out of hand very quickly. A party will rarely have the decorum to keep things civil and respectful. It can even be a matter of life and death depending on the player's mood.
Sometimes social tension can be the most devastating. The villain of the party might not be too pleased when their parents trot out a childhood nickname. On the other hand, a troublesome party member may decide to attack another player's grandmother. The possibilities for traumatic experiences are endless.
- Franchise
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Dungeons & Dragons
- Original release date
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1974
- Designer
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E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
