Some Npcs from my campaign

[markodude]

Next week I'll have to run a fantasy one shot adventure, here's two main Npcs

Ertam, wizard adventurer



Defense 2
Endurance Reserve 2
Filthy Rich 2
Occult Knowledge 2
Illusions 4
Invisibility 3
Smart 2
Servant 2 (His brother, Ofil, a tavernkeeper: Combat skill 2, Defense 1, Weapon 1 [bat], Boorish -1 Hobby: Streetwise 2 )

Fussy -2
Arrogant -2
Jittery -1
Weak -1
Stubborn -1
Secret -1 (not a real mage, just a good illusionist)

Ertam is (more or less) the main bad guy of the story. He is the owner of the tavern "Magic Flame" (he created the magical tavern sign, a blue flame, that is, of course, an illusion) that he bought with he made after years of quests and adventures.

Note: while he doesn't possess the ability "Flunkies", there are a lot of... flunkies and guards that spend time in his tavern. They will defend the establishment but won't really answer to his commands. (but he could always use his Filthy Rich ability to hire some footpads...)


Dahel, paladin of Pelor



Combat Skill 4
Defense 3
Armor 2
Heal 4
Willpower 2
Charisma 2
Quick 1

Pacifist -1
Stubborn -2
Unperceptive -1
Code of conduct -2 (celibacy, sincerity and being a pious man)
Servitude -2 (to the Church)

Dahel is the good guy of the story, but this doesn't make him an ally for the Pcs. In the past, when we played D&d Clerics and Paladins of Pelor were a recurring element as annoying characters in a lot of humorous situations.

[markodude]

About the adventure-

The adventure is set in a stereotypical fantasy city (Baldur's Gate, Amn, Neverwinter, who cares!).
The characters are a group of losers working for the Thieves Guild and looking for a former associate (Jadhack the Damned) that fled with a purse (for those who know D&d, it's a sort of Bag of Holding, but the Pcs don't know that, also it needs a special password to be opened, password who is written in dwarven runes on it..... pity that no one of the characters can read the runes!).

Since Jadhack killed a couple of thieves that were sent after him, the Lord of Thieves decided to send the Pcs, Jackal doesn't know them, they think they are going to get just a normal purse and they are desperate for money.

But Jadhack died in the Tavern of the Magic Flame and... maybe he was really Damned since every time someone approach his dead body, he comes back from the dead trying to bite who tries to fiddle with his body.
Ofil, the tavernkeeper, asked his brother to find a cleric and exorcise the body, BUT Ertam, after studying the situation, decided to build a cage around the body, inside the tavern, in order to take advantage of the situation, organizing combat matches with the undead.

That, being damned and without a resting place, will never rest in peace. But hey, this means more patrons, gambling, and people paying to try to kill the unkillable! A perfect business!

Of course the Church of Pelor has a different idea and wants to save the unfortunate soul but... Ertam and everyone else in that tavern won't let anyone perform an exorcism and ruin their fun.

Oh and the magical purse still hangs to the neck of the neck of the poor Jadhack, hidden under his clothes (Ertam isn't a real mage so he could not detect the magical aura).
Will our Pcs be able to bring it back and become real thieves?

Possible Complications

- Jadhack was killed and Damned by the cook (because he criticized her soup!), who is a real witch!! Of course she doesn't want to see her curse lifted.

- Other thieves of the Guild will wait outside for the characters, in order to ambush them, steal the purse and take credit for the success.

- The two thieves that were killed while looking for Jadhack were ambushed by Geppo, a greedy halfling that works in the tavern as entertainer, and Ulia, an elf prostitute. They know everything since Jadhack spent a lot of time with Ulia, and told her many things (except of the purse) so they will surprise the next group sent by the Guild in order to kill and rob them.
And it's a good idea since Jadhack will be blamed!

[markodude]

Here's the Pcs (well just three of them)




Octavio

Combat Skill 2
Defense 2
Quick 1
Charisma 2
Weapon 1 (Little Knife, armor piercing)
Agile 2
Acrobatics 2
Hobby: pickpocket 3
Hobby: streetwise 3

Lecherous -2
Languorous -1
Hate: religious figures -2
Impulsive -2
Easily Distracted -2
Coward -1


Rurik the Red

Combat Skill 4
Defense 2
Willpower 2
Intimidate 1
Vitality 1
Strong 2
Weapon 3 (Claymore, armor piercing, unbreakable)

Dependency (alcoholism) -2
Bizarre Appearance...or well Ugly-1
Hate: nonhumans -2
Boorish -1
Fear (occult and supernatural creatures) -2
Impulsive -2


Erresia, the Alchemist

Combat Skill 1
Defense 3
Beauty 2
Smart 1
Perception 2
Art of Invisibility 2
Hobby: alchemy 4
Hobby: lockpicking 2
Weapon 1 (throwing darts, ranged)

Guy Magnet -1
Bizarre Appearance -2 (violet hair due to an alchemic incident... also, she has many tattoos)
Fussy -1
Pacifist -1
Frail-1
Overconfident -2
Naive -2



Beside these three we also have:
- a retired gladiator with a bad reputation, also really unperceptive.
- a martial artist who was rejected by the monks of a monastery. Also a glutton.
- a huge dumb barbarian warrior (probably a half-orc).
- a cute and young tavern wench that is also a cleptomaniac pickpocket.
- a female smuggler with a bad temper. Also really good at intimidating people, but quite weak.
- a former prostitute,clam and lazy but with a lot of "persuasive" skills.
- a savage female warrior that is totally nuts.
- a superstituos and arrogant mercenary crossbowman.
- a naive, pacifist and calm huntress new to the big city.

(ok I made many of them so my players will have the possibility to choose their favourite, as we usually do)

[markodude]

I'm back!
The Fantasy Ova Session went really well. (two players even asked me to lend them my Ova manual...)
Pity I didn't use Magic, Power Moves, and other abilities...we had few time so I left them for next time, but I see that even the unexperienced players had no time understanding the game.

I also used a "underpowered" version of the characters... just 30/30 Hp/Endurance (modified by the abilities, of course!) since I wanted a "grittier" but still heroic feel.

Anyway I'll put one more character of this adventure:

Lazarus



Combat Skill 3
Defense 3
Agile 1
Art of Invisibility 2
Acrobatics 2
Martial Arts 3
Hobby: Insult & Taunt enemy 2

Soft Spot: food & wine -2
Pacifist -1
Stubborn -2
Impulsive -2
Fear (supernatural) -1
Dependenct: Alchool -1
Unperceptive -1

[markodude]

Extras

for this game I added a couple of things: Armors and Magical Items.

Leather Armor (light): Armor 1, -1 Acrobatics/Agile
Metal Armor (medium): Armor 2, -1 Acrobatics/Agile/Quick

Healing Vial: +10 Hit Points
Healing Potion: +30 Hit Points

Magic Ring: Evil Eye
Cost: 5 Endurance
Effect: Ranged attack that doesn't cause damage but enemy is blind (-3 penalty) for 2 rounds.

Magic Glove: The Hand of God
Cost: 10 Endurance
Effect: Ranged explosive attack (X5 damage), area attack x1, inaccurate. Also -1 to Agile while wearing it (heavy)

[markodude]

Yao, the Stone Turtle



Hobby (fighting unarmed) +2
Hobby (stone working) +2
Defense +4
Martial Arts +3
Smart +1
Endurance Reserve +1
Power Moves +2
(Angry Turtle Attack: Increased Damage, Extra accuracy... And some others variations of this move)

Servitude -1 (old master)
Code of Conduct -1 (always polite and sincere)
Naive -1
Pacifist -2
Slow -1 (he is NOT slow! He has just a passive behaviour, waiting and observing before acting)
Cautious -2 (as before,it's the opposite of the "impulsive" Weakness )


Yao is a friend of the Pcs, a good hearted young martial artist that also works with stone creating statues, stone lanterns and so on (in a standard game he works using tools, in a humorous campaign like ours he uses his martial arts to carve stone!).
Yao uses the style of the Stone Turtle, a combat martial art that emphasize Defense and is based on controlling and stopping conflicts rather than starting them. Like every other student of this art, Yao is rather calm and meditative, and always uses his attacks to defend those he cares (and this means the people of his village).
He was involved in a quest about some rogue garden gnomes but I won't tell you more about that! ^^'

[markodude]

Pengai



Defense +1
Combat Skill +1
Weapon +1 (light spear)
Lucky +1
Hobby (gambling) +2
Hobby (area knowledge [Pavis]) +2
Protected by Guilds (flunkies?) +3

Servitude -2 (city watch)
Soft Spot -1 (gambling)
Poverty -1
Dumb -1
Coward -2
Jittery -1
Debts -3 (with the Thieves Guild, Merchant Corporation and many others)

Pengai of Pavis is a typical guard in the small town of Pavis.
BUT this guard lost a huge amount of gold (gambling? Or it was stolen from him? You decide!) in the past so still now he owes an incredible quantity of money to various organizations and moneylenders.
But has a side effect: since he is slowly repaying his debts and it'll occour probably all his lifetime to be free (he can't even leave the city, anyway he doesn't care!) EVERY guild protects him from any harm in order to get their money back.
This is the reason for "Protected by Guilds", an indirect influence (Pengai MUST be protected!) and minions sent to defend and help him in case of trouble.

If Pengai is killed by someone, the assassin will become the debtor of the incredible amount of money (-3 to Filthy Rich if he has that attribute!!!)

[sniffycrab]

Will you convert these to the new edition?

May I steal them?

[markodude]

Finally... I am back!
I was able to go back to Ova, revised edition of course, and to start a new campaign.
So I don't think I'll convert the old characters to the new edition since I do a lot of one-shots and short campaigns... never used the same characters twice. Anyway feel free to use them.

The new campaign is set in a sort of futuristic setting. Well it's a sort of cyberpunk but with no cyberpunk gear (restricted to military personnel, not for common people), no guns (well, they are available on the black market), in a huge city called "Neo Edo".

Four gangs ruled the city, despite the efforts of the police and the military agencies led by the mayor, Mr. Gold, a corporate ex mercenary who is a leader of a corporation specialized in security.
This was because many of the criminals were exceptional men, not only expert martial artist but also master strategists and cunning diplomats...even if it seems they possessed some other mysterious power to mantain control, by the way this lasted until their alliance fell apart.
The oldest boss, leader of the alliance and called "King", was assassinated, while the young boss of the Spades, Cain Cross, disappeared. Other events made the gangs turn on each other, and some criminals even betrayed their bosses and became supporter of Mr. Gold.
But most of them still roam the street, trying to become the new King of Neo Edo.


Abel Cross, Black Spades gang member (and probably future boss)



Abel is the younger brother of the infamous Cain Cross, leader of the Black Spades gang. Even if Abel is not the leader of the gang, since his brother is disappeared, some criminals follow his leadership. He joined some like minded individuals (the other Pcs) to fight Mr. Gold uniting the four gangs once again, anyway his main focus is still finding his brother, and, if he was killed like the old boss, King, avenge him.
Abel, not unlike his brother, is a determined and proud individual and exactly like him he despises guns, seen as weapons made for weak people.

Attack 3 (katana, weapon & armor piercing)
Combat Expert 3
Evasive 2
Intimidating 1
Minions 2 (gangsters)
Position of Power 1 (Black Spades gang leader)
Quick 1
Wealthy 2

Arrogant 2
Impulsive 2
Rude 1
Obsession 2 (find what happened to his brother/avenge him if he's dead + become more powerful)
Wanted 3 (he's not only a criminal but also a member of the Cross family, suspected of killing the King)

Special moves:
- Spinning blossom of death: weapon, armor piercing, area effect (cost: 10)
- Furious assault: weapon, armor piercing, overwhelming, effective x2 (cost: 20)

[markodude]

Jed Faest - fixer, diplomat and mediator



Not every criminal is a gung-ho martial artist. Jed, for example, is a quiet individual that learned to profit in Neo Edo using his many talents. He worked and still works with many gangs but he retains his independence. He is currently worried that the wars between the gangs will lead to ther defeat and to a militarized city. He doesn't want to see Mr. Gold apply his strict rules.

2 Attack (revolver - weapon, ranged, effective)
3 Charismatic
2 Combat Expert
1 Evasive
2 Companion (Freya, his bodyguard)
4 Knowledge: streewise
2 Smart

-1 Coward
-2 Fussy
-2 Greedy
-1 Lecherous
-2 Overconfident
-1 Pacifist

[markodude]

Arthur King, White Diamond gang boss



Arthur is the only son and heir of the legendary Mr. King, leader of the White Diamond gang and boss of the bosses, that forged the gang alliance and ruled Neo Edo.
Now that Mr. King is dead, killed by a mysterious assassin, Arthur will lead the White Diamond Gang and try to unite the gangs once again, but it seems that his thirst for revenge makes him reckless and impulsive.
Like Abel Cross (see his entry), Arthur is a skilled fighter, but unlike him he's extremely traditional, he is like a honorable samurai and despise modern technology.
Arthur has many rivals that are looking to replace him (maybe even Abel) if he won't prove himself as a capable leader and strategist.

1 Agile
3 Attack (katana, weapon and armor piercing)
2 Beautiful
3 Combat Expert
1 Evasive
2 Knowledge: Etiquette
1 Iron-Willed
4 Minions (gangsters)
1 Position of Power (White Diamonds gang leader)
3 Wealthy

-2 Arrogant
-2 Code of Conduct (Bushido)
-1 Impulsive
-2 Ineptitude (Modern Technology)
-3 Obsession (avenge father's death and rule the city)
-2 Rival(s)
-1 Shy
-2 Stubborn

Special Moves:
White Tiger Strike - weapon, armor piercing, accurate, effective x2 (cost 15)
Deadly Fangs of the Predator - weapon, armor piercing, accurate x2, ranged (str powered),(cost 15)
Implacable Assault - weapon, armor piercing, accurate, overwhelming (cost 15)

[markodude]

Kim Dunlop, Golden Flowers gang boss



Kim is the youngest boss, this happened because her father and brother were poisoned by a close associate. They both died after gunning down the traitor, so she became the leader of the gang, despite being considered by many a spoiled brat. The Golden Flowers is the richest gang in Neo Edo, they own many casinos and gambling dens, but if she won't prove herself as a capable leader the whole gang will be weakened... and this is exactly what their rivals want.

2 Attack (gun - ranged, effective)
2 Agile
3 Beautiful
1 Combat Skill
3 Lucky
3 Minions
1 Position of Power (Golden Flowers gang leader)
4 Wealth

-1 Ageism
-2 Airhead
-1 Frail
-2 Fussy
-2 Hatred (those that underestimate her saying she's weak/frail/young)
-1 Jittery
-1 Naive
-2 Short Tempered
-2 Weak

[markodude]

Wolf (Wolfgang Krauser) - Assassin for hire



Wolf is a professional hitman in Neo Edo. He does everything to support his family and to keep them safe. He does his best to become the n.1 killer on Neo Edo. Luckily so far he was able to avoid making enemies while working for the four main gangs, but now that their alliance has ended he will be probably employed by one gang against the others.
He had a troubled past (was an orphan, his parents were killed and survived living in the streets as a thief) and this left him as a loner but estremely protective of his sons and wife.

2 Agile
3 Art of Invisibility
3 Attack (katana, weapon and armor piercing)
3 Combat Expert
2 Evasive
2 Knowledge: gather info
1 Intimidating
2 Quick
1 Tough

-1 Code of Conduct (professional killer)
-2 Emotionless
-1 Greedy
-2 Guardian (his family)
-1 Kindhearted
-2 Loner
-1 Mute
-1 Shy
-3 Wanted (he's an assassin)

Special Attacks:

Nerve Strike - impairing, effective, weapon, armor piercing (cost: 15)

Silver Blinding Powder - accurate, blinding, no damage, weapon (actually, the scabbard: Wolf keeps the blinding dust hidden in the scabbard of his katana) (cost:0)

[markodude]

Crazy Cesar, Crimson Hearts gang boss



Cesar is a former pimp that became the leader of the Crimson Heart gang by siding with Mr. King and simply following his leadership. Cesar isn't a particularly brilliant man, and that's why, now that King is dead, he has become a paranoid reclusive boss. He's infact the only original boss of the gang alliance (two were killed and one disappeared), and he knows that some suspects he's behind their assassinations. This is far from the truth, since he too avoided some attacks... if they were not staged.
Cesar is a wild card, he can be an innocent paranoid that tries to stay alive, or a trickster that has planned everything for his rise to power. Soon the truth will emerge.

2 Attack (blade - concealed, armor piercing)
1 Agile
1 Beautiful
1 Charismatic
2 Combat Skill
1 Evasive
1 Lucky
4 Minions
1 Position of Power (Crimson Hearts gang leader)
3 Wealth

-2 Absent Minded
-2 Coward
-1 Frail
-2 Fussy
-2 Jittery
-1 Languid
-2 Lecherous

[markodude]

Castor & Pollux, combat twins (secondary characters)

Now a couple of bad guys: they are two martial artists that works as agents for a military agency belonging to Mr. Gold. This means that they work against the gangs, trying to destroy them by following the instructions of Raven, their sensei.
They are good swordsmen, with a talent for combined attacks.




1 Agile
3 Attack (katana, weapon and armor piercing)
2 Combat Expert
2 Evasive
1 Dexterous

-2 Impulsive
-2 Overconfident
-2 Restricted Freedoms (agents of Mr. Gold)
-1 Rude
-2 Servitude (Raven)

Special moves:
Iron Wing: accurate, armor piercing, weapon (cost 5)
Steel Wings of Death: accurate, area effect, armor piercing, effective, assisted, weapon (cost 5)