NPCs (non-player-characters) are part of the rich narrative tapestry of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Whether they are vital to the quest or just add a bit of extra flavor to the adventure, they are essential to effective world-building. While some interactions go smoothly, other dealings with the inhabitants of the local population can get quite chaotic — sometimes through player self-sabotage 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 a spectacular fashion. I had a chat with a Dungeon Master, Oskar, who explained some of the Dungeons & Dragons NPCs that he and other DMs love to bring to the table to unleash on unsuspecting players.
The Barkeepers and Tavern owners
Always Be Nice To The People Who Make Your Food And Pour Your Ale
On paper, bartenders and tavern owners are respectable local figures 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 foolishness usually lead to chaos through miscommunications and often expose in-party conflicts.
In smaller settlements, the local tavern is often a community hub and the first port of call for many weary travelers. As such, immediately upsetting someone who could be valuable to the party for a whole host of reasons can make a simple campaign infinitely harder.
The Filler NPC
Meet Bob—Bob is Trying To Mind His Own Business
In attempting to bring a scene to life and engage the players, a DM may describe a scene in detail. Sometimes, to aid world-building, they decide to describe one or two NPCs present. These guys are not especially important and are just there to set the mood. But players may latch onto that poor, irrelevant NPC and try to work out his deep, dark secret significance to the plot.
A party fixating on one small, relatively insignificant character can leave a DM vainly trying to get players back onto 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 tavern becomes a key player in a tale of fantasy intrigue and espionage.
The Curators
Never Underestimate Librarians
Curators can often seem like harmless holders of knowledge, bookworms, and historians. But many players forget that curators are specially chosen by organizations chosen for their ability to safeguard something very important. This often leads to obnoxious parties crossing paths with curators in 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 Domain archives. War Domain clerics and acolytes in general are already highly skilled in martial weapons and combat arcana, with only the most experienced or zealous among them being chosen as Curators to defend tomes that sometimes tempt the mind with violence and conquest, meaning the Curators also require a tempered will.
The Pet
Protect Him With Your Life!
TTRPGs like Dungeons and Dragons are notorious for their vicious enemies, but every player knows that there is plenty of humor and joyful whimsy to be found in a world of magic. The extent to which a party will go to protect or socialize with any and every random woodland animal they come across is insane.
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Players will make improvised leather armor for their puppy or give the random animal an arcane crystal that provides spell-casting abilities rivaling the gods themselves. Often, the party's hamster will live through the campaign's horrors, going on to live a long and fruitful life. Potentially with some sort of accolade or knighthood.
The Familiar or Mount
Can We Keep Him?
Familiars or mounts elicit similar responses to pets, but they are usually stronger and potentially more dangerous. A player's familiar or mount says a lot about their player companion. Usually, these creatures are some form of ravenous beast or monstrosity, which one party member insists they can control. This hubris is frequently proven wrong ten minutes later when it mauls an essential ally NPC.
Unlike the pet, the familiar is the close companion of just one player, and it may be the bane of their party’s existence. The player who is attached to the familiar or mount will dote on it as if it were a teddy bear and not a 9-foot-tall Owlbear. Mounts may be completely impractical, get in the way, or get completely forgotten.
The Street Rat
Riff Raff… Street Rat…
The streets of a fantasy metropolis are a tough place for a child, so any children whom the party will encounter are likely to be orphans, mischievous pickpockets, or pranksters. They might be on the run from a deadly threat or the law. Parties could practically adopt the child or hand him in to the town guards for a reward.
A rogue may teach him how to load dice, while a cleric may attempt a spiritual conversion. Tank builds have been known to take them under their wing and teach them how to fight. Either way, the street rat may be able to single-handedly derail or save a situation given the right inspiration by the right party member.
The Lonely Henchman
He Only Had 3 Days Left Until Retirement
Sometimes, a brief moment of characterization given to an enemy NPC can lead to a whole unintended side story. As a sneaking party passes a patrol of unaware henchmen, a particularly downtrodden and malcontented henchman may complain and be rebuked by name. This goon has now gained a massive target on his back.
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The party may choose to hunt him 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 Big Bad’s ranks or goes on an unexpected redemption arc.
The Recurring 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 allegiance 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 to the hero adventurers and are often embarrassed publicly by less lawful parties.
Ultimately, these less lawful 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. Parties may go completely out of their way to seek out and psychologically torture that one stuffy, uptight guard in particular.
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 a worrying new dimension to the quest.
On the rare occasion that the bard doesn’t get the whole party in trouble with their dangerous liaisons, it can lead to surprisingly positive conclusions. A smitten dragon may just spare players. Even better, the dragon may decide to keep the troublesome bard. Everyone’s a winner.
A Player-Character's Family Members
Surprise! It’s Trauma Time!
Family reunions in D&D never go to plan. When a DM decides to write a family member of a player character into a campaign, things can get out of control very fast. A party will rarely have the decorum to keep things civil and respectful. It could even be a matter of life and death depending on the player's mood.
Sometimes, social tension can be the most devastating. The party’s rogue may not be too pleased when their parents trot out a childhood nickname. On the other hand, a troublesome party member might decide to attack another player’s grandmother. The possibilities for traumatic experiences are endless.
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson