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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

NPC Vault: Goblins

Scene: The PCs are wandering through town/miles below the surface/in the middle of a fight, and they stop. Suddenly, they've become fixated on a single character in your world, one which you hadn't given a second thought to.

Now what?

Your best bet is to improvise, assuming you know enough about the area and the kind of creature to do so. You could always roll on a handful random tables (I love those) to come up with names, traits, and flaws, but that also requires a lot of brainwork (e.g., take 10 seconds and try to come up with a character who is "skittish" "short-tempered" and a "pacifist at heart").

Or you could turn to your very own handy-dandy NPC vault! That's right, a list of NPCs organized by race that includes at least enough information for you to hit the ground running.

That human? He's a peasant farmer named Dale who aspires to be the town smith.
The half-orc mercenary you just captured? Her name is Scarlet and her mother vanished two weeks ago.
The dwarf whose house you were just caught breaking into? She's Marta Ironblood, and she's a member of a secret cult looking for two things: new recruits and sacrifices.

Today I'm going to add to the NPC vault the oft-trod-upon humanoids of the fantasy realm, the cannon fodder of antagonists, those whose ears are prized above all else.

Goblins? Goblins.

Goblins

1. Gabble is a male goblin. He is a conscripted soldier and a pacifist at heart. Gabble wants revenge on his brother for stealing his bronze amulet.
2. Gank is a female goblin. She is a bandit chief and has recently contracted mummy rot. Gank is desperately looking for a cure to her mummy rot.
3. Gronge is a female half-goblin. She is a tunnelmage and an arachnophobe. Gronge is always seeking her non-goblin parent.
4. Giselle is a male goblin. He is an expert saboteur and a very polite speaker. Giselle wants to be chief some day.

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