Hi Guys,

I have a few npc's kicking about I want to bring them more into my campaign.

Just wondering what homebrew NPC's you have added to your campaigns and how they have come into play?

Cheers,

BigSteveUK

I have this annoying habit of introducing a suave, cunning, a touch dastardly knight as a Nemesis for my PCs. Someone they'd love to hate. Or hate to love, as the case may be.

In the first campaign I ran, this was Sir Caradoc of Levcomagus, who had been one of the suitors of Lady Meleri, the fairest damsel of all Salisbury. Finally, she married one of the PCs, but that didn't stop Sir Carador from trying to kidnap her from time to time, or raid the PCs Manors. He met his end after having finally succeeded in kidnapping Lady Meleri, and fighting a duel against her husband. He won the duel, but I offered the player a choice: the PK could summon his last reserves of Strength to sit up and sink his sword into Sir Caradoc's back (who was already turning away to celebrate his victory), but that would mean that the major wound he had just received would be a mortal one. The player chose to kill Sir Caradoc, which of course then lead to accusations by the Levcomagus side that it was cowardly to strike at the man's back, while the Salisbury side contended that the duel hadn't yet been over and it was Sir Caradoc's own fault for having underestimated the fighting spirit of the perished Salisbury knight. Needless to say, a couple of years later, the suitor of Sir Caradoc's beautiful sister and heiress came over the border to wreck havoc on the surviving PKs manors in retaliation for the death of her brother...

The guy I am even more proud of is Sir Lucius, the Black Snake of Dorset (due to having a black serpent on a golden field in his shield). This worthy met the PKs after having organized a raid on one of the PKs father-in-law, at the same time having kidnapped the PK's wife who had been visiting her father. The PKs pursued, and caught up with the dastardly Dorset knight, who had three other knights with him, making the sides even at four against four. Rather than make a full melee out of it, Sir Lucius suggested handling the matter as gentlemen, with a duel of the lances. If the betrothed knight would win, Sir Lucius would return the loot and the damsel. But if the knight would lose, he would become a prisoner as well. Sir Lucius, a skilled wielder of the lance, unhorsed the PK without too much problems. Then another PK challenged him, pitting his freedom against the just captured PK. Sir Lucius accepted, gave the PK a major wound, and took him captive, too. And then came the twist. Seeing that the odds were now 4:2 in Dorset's favor, Sir Lucius called the remaining two PKs to surrender, while preparing his men to charge. The look on the players' faces was priceless! One player (playing the Roman Knight mentioned in the St. Albans -thread, although this was still in 480s) exclaimed that Sir Lucius is now his new idol. :) One PK surrendered, the Roman Knight fled the battle, fought a delaying action to let his squire flee to Salisbury with the news, and then fled to the forest, promptly getting lost with his Hunting 2. Once the Earl heard from the squire that his knights had been captured, he of course sent people to negotiate the ransom. Sir Lucius cheerfully priced his 'package deal' according to four knights and a damsel, even though he only promised to release 'all Salisbury knights and the damsel in his custody'. The Roman Knight actually arrived back to Salisbury only after the ransom was paid.

This episode was a major deal in sowing discord between the PK husband and his wife, shadowing their marriage with nagging doubts of infidelity. After all, the PK was a suspicious brute with little idea or interest in keeping her happy, while Sir Lucius had been showering her with attention and flirting all through the captivity. Suffice it to say that the marriage was a disaster, the lady eventually petitioning her husband to let her spend some time in a convent. The PK, being quite religious, accepted, muttering something about her probably needing to make penance for her many sins. Sir Lucius rode to her rescue almost as soon as the doors of the nunnery had closed, carrying her off to Dorset once more. The PK husband happened to die before he could mount another (doubtless unwanted) rescue attempt.

Sir Lucius was not done, yet. He rose to the occasion in the confusion of St. Albans by gathering the men of Dorset and 'securing' the treasury of King Uther (swollen with loot from the battle). He then used this loot to buy support in Dorset, effecting a coup against the heir of the previous ruler and making himself the Praetor of Dorset. In the continued turmoil in Salisbury, Ebble and the environs rebelled against the Countess and swore allegiance to Dorset. Sir Lucius of course leaped at this chance to expand his power, but at the same time, offered a conciliatory hand to Salisbury... Wanting to wed Lady Jenna, and her dowry could be those southern marches, legitimizing the landgrab. The players' paranoia ran high that the Black Snake was angling to make himself the Earl of Salisbury by offing Robert and claiming the inheritance by the right of his then-wife, if he were allowed to marry Jenna. Weakened by the aftermath of St. Albans and doubting they could take on Dorset, Salisbury's knights counselled the Countess to approve the marriage of her daughter with the Praetor of Dorset. Sir Lucius organized a tournament to celebrate his wedding, gifting participating Salisbury knights with fancy swords and making sure that Salisbury and Dorset knights were on the same side in the Grand Melee, making them see each other more as being on the same side than not. He was also instrumental in opposing Wessex and was trying to make an alliance between Dorset, Salisbury and Silchester to crush Wessex between them, but in a surprise twist, the PKs splintered pretty even in the middle for pro-Dorset and pro-Wessex camps...Leading to a naval battle off the coast of Isle of Wight where two PKs fought in the Dorset side, while two fought for the Saxons. Alas, the group disintegrated soon after that.

I still think of Sir Lucius with a smile on my face, as you can probably guess from the length of this post. :)

Lol Morien, they both sound like brilliant NPC's and Lucius is a very colorful character.

Your whole game sounded brilliant and it's a shame it came to an end.

Just wondering what homebrew NPC's you have added to your campaigns and how they have come into play?



Thinking it over, it's usually squires, members of a knight's retinue, or a wife that makes it to PeeweeC status:

-Lady Rayburh, who was immodestly indulgent and very skilled with handaxes, married to a knight with a high Hate Saxon passion post-Badon. Oh, we were sad the day she finally died in childbirth!

-Squire Mordecai, who often ran away during battles, only to turn up safe in camp when the action was over. Until one day he never showed up again. I figure he's causing trouble somewhere in the Midlands now...I can't wait to bring him back to vex the player knights!

-Squire Cardamon, the polar opposite of Mordecai. Cardamon once made the mistake of capturing a loose mount on the battlefield...a mule! His knight beat him for that, and now he's quite good at capturing real horses during battles. Good man. Don't know what the future holds for him, or...

-The Carters, a peasant family that carted a gravely-injured player knight from his burning manor. Might they end up like Yeoman Bowman or Father Merle (now an abbot), he of the lute Mass and gentle ways? ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

They seem to make better foils than those Round Table guys, or villain knights lurking about.

Suzanne

Some NPCs of recent vintage in my Lindsey game:


The Duke (and Duchess) of Lindsey - the PCKs liege. The Duke and a sizeable entourage went missing early in the saxon invasion that preceded the battle of St Albans, leaving the Duchess and a regency council with the tricky task of holding the Dukedom together whilst everything goes to crap in the aftermath. So far things have been just about OK, although voices agitating for the Duke to be declared dead and a successor annointed have been getting louder and louder of late. It has helped that most of the nobility of Roestoc and Bedegraine were lost at St Albans, so that the reivers of Malahaut and Sorestan have had some easy pickings to distract them for a year or two. That won't last for much longer however and the chivalry of Lindsey won't stand for being led by a woman if war presses close, so some kind of resolution of the Duke's status needs to be reached....

Lord Madoc - he's the younger brother of the Earl of Lambor and was in command of the Lindsey detachment in Uther's invasion of Frankland. He didn't impress the PCKs and they didn't impress him*. Currently he has adopted the cause of the dispossed Countess of Huntingdon (a rebadged Countess of Rydychan) and hopes to acquire land by dispossessing the villainous usurpers.

*] Despite the name and spookily parallel role in Frankland, he predates the appearance of Prince Madoc in the GPK by several years.

Sir Brunor Ironsided (deceased) - a classic 'might makes right', mercenary knight who had great potential as a nemesis (he was "rough wooing" a PCK's widow) if he hadn't had an unfortunate encounter with the lances of a couple of my PCKs in quick succession. At some point one or more of his equally disreputable kinsmen are likely to make themselves known.

Sir Erec Whitehaired - a young and somewhat foolish knight who conceived an inappropriate passion for the widow who was being pursued by Sir Brunor, whilst waiting to be ransomed. He is a part of Lord Madoc's following, but is currently under a cloud with his chief (for showing him up by getting caught and needing a ransom) and is likely to gravitate towards the PCKs if they show him any sympathy or good fellowship.

Sir Ambrut - another suitor for the hand of the same widow. Whisper it, but as a young man he was engaged in trade. He has been the Duke's man of business for many years and is now Chancellor to the Duchess and a signifiant presence at court. He is, naturally, unpopular with many courtiers but as long as he is protected by the Duchess his position will be secure. A source of patronage and sponsorship for the PCKs.

Lord Crassus - the man who ended up successfully courting the widow everyone else was after. The dead PCK's treasure has helped defray some of his more pressing debts and having a ?12 fief without any mortgages is going to be useful, but he still needs to clear Saxons out of all those manors his family have by the coast if he's going to maintain himself in a fashion appropriate to his station and lineage...

Sir Bleoberis de Sauvage - an amiable knight, skilled in hunting, who was in company with the PCKs and Prince Pellinore when they first encountered Glatisant in the Lincoln Forest. He's not much seen in court as his fief is rather isolated; furthermore he has to look after his sickly widowed mother and the youngsters (twin brothers since you ask...).

Earl of Lonazep - he has been chafing under the authority of the Ducal regency council. He is suspected of intriguing with the Huntingdon usurpers to the south and may well defy the Duchess if she supports Lord Madoc and the Countess in their campaign to regain those lands.

Earl of Lambor - the Duchess's cousin. He resents the fact that his grandfather broke off a significant piece of the family estates (what has become the County of Leicester) in order to secure a marriage alliance with the Duke of Lindsey. Blood is blood, so he won't be moving against the Duchess directly - but he wants Leicester back where it belongs eventually...

Regards
Luke