Maybe I'm just used to playing Divine games, there are just always those nice little fringe options that let you get anything you may want or need. Anyway, as I admitted that was a tangent off a tangent. SO Down to Business, @EpitomyofShyness hit it on the head, by suggesting NPCs, Let's flesh out some NPC basics just in case any of the developers want to draw inspiration from us!
Male Barbarian, Aasimar, CN, for Males. Raised by Barbarian tribes, Anger issues conflict with a racial conscience. Inherent hatred/mistrust of women due to being expelled from the tribe by an Elder (Female). Inner struggle between an Evil Personality and a Good Heritage, CHARNAME influences alignment through dialogue options.
Female Sorcerer, Nymph, NG, For Males & Females. A rare abnormality in the Nymph race, developed higher levels of self-actualization than others of her kind. Now the Nymph's Lust for new experience has led her to travelling (This abnormality was caused by latent dragon blood in the "family") and gaining knowledge. She heard of the Sensates of Sigil and seeks to gain enough power to travel the planes and join them. Insatiably curious, oblivious of evil. The aforementioned draconic heritage lead to her manifesting Sorcerous powers when her consciousness was actualized. Seeks to experience, develop her identity, and learn.
Male Swashbuckler, Half-Fiend, Chaotic Evil, For Males & Females. Self-Proclaimed Captain of a spelljammer ship, actually the son of a captain. After a failed Coup'de'etat, father left him on Faerun to rot. Seeks vengeance on is father, power, freedom and to finish his Coup' stealing his father's ship. Will do anything, make any alliance that he views as favorable, though has low wisdom, can't make smart decisions, trusts the wrong people, etc. Natural Born Croney wanting to be a leader. Overconfident, wheedling, won't leave if Rep > 18
Female ?non-magic-Class, Human, Chaotic Good, For Females. Met early, in the first couple of levels, Bad stats. Common girl from a farming household, father tries to marry her off to a minor noble for status and money to feed the family of a failing farm. Flees to avoid the marriage, begs for money/job to send back to negate the need for the marriage.
Come on Fellow GMs, We've all had to come up with NPC archetypes! Let's throw some Ideas Around! Especially @Moira and @LadyRhian since you two have a much better handle on Forgotten Realms Lore than I do.
N/A Illusionist, Lantern Archon, Lawful Good, For Males & Females. Ambitious Archon desperately trying to prove itself and thus transform into a higher angelic form. Influence Law-Chaos through Dialogue options. At end of personal quest morphs into Higher form of Archon/Angel/Eladrin depending on influenced Alignment. Judgemental, rash, respect for celestial Heirarchy. Possibly assigned as a watcher by weary gods/celestials, after being tracked down, joins the party, thinking it can advance some plan to raise it's status.
It could be a weakened form of Lantern Archon, DMs have made more drastic adjustments before But considering.. it can't use weapons until it's transformation... It'd be hard to balance, but ANY party is more awesome with a little floaty glowy orb that can do magic hovering around.
Female Paladin romance for women, strong and courageous, beautiful and serene, this LG female paladin is neither talky nor preachy, but knows what she wants. Is open to being romanced by any other good female character. Paladin worships Nobanion (essentially the Realms' version of Aslan). Loves cats and has no significant past bad experiences that need to be assuaged with a romance. Can be caught by a brief romance, but is looking for something permanent.
Maybe a little quest where she can adopt one of the many stray cats running around the Sword Coast! Or, y'know, maybe an item to summon a large cat to fight at her side.
Modding would be a solution, but What I'm really trying to do is make the creative process easier for the official devs by giving them basic character archetypes they can make their own and incorporate into our beloved game
Well, not to disillusion you, but it was mentioned, in the Reddit, I believe, that they can't use fan ideas (specifically story ideas were mentioned, but it follows), for legal reasons.
I still think these are good character ideas for overall use.
Gods blast it, well If the Devs can't use this stuff then I'll push the ideas to modders, doesn't stop it being good ideas, Maybe the devs can use it as sample data and make their own ideas with these archetypes in mind as what the community may want.
And if they want my Affidavit of Forfeiture of IP then they can have it
Female gypsy bard, for both men and women. Pretty and seductive, with a low, rich voice. she sings and dances while accompanying herself on a small tambor (drum). She has travelled the Realms with her family, and though she has seen many wondrous things, she still takes joy and shows wonder in the world all around her. She has a delightful air of innocence while projecting experience, and is looking to fall in love with someone amazing. Problems come from her family, who believe no one is good enough for their child/sibling/relative, and will try to dissuade the character from the romance through all sorts of methods, but not murder. Female Bard is Neutral Good and still believes in the goodness of most people.
Male Cleric of Gond, LN, for women and men. Short for a human, but with a gentle, folksy wisdom, this priest enjoys building all sorts of machines and carting them around with him on an adventure. Learning to smith his own works and carrying them around have made him strong and massively muscled, but he shaves his head so it won't get burned in forge fire. Soft-spoken and smiling, he enjoys listening to people talk and dispensing his own brand of wisdom to help them. He was once married, though his wife was unfaithful to him, and they dissolved the marriage without recriminations on either side, though he still carries a large load of regret that his travels for his faith somehow led to her feeling abandoned. Wants to know he still has worth and can still be cared for. He's the kind of guy who picks you small flowers and leaves them in your stuff to let you know he cares... and he also likes you to help him test out his ideas for machines... all *sorts* of ideas. ::Waggles eyebrows.::
Male Fighter, Elf, CN For Women. An ostracized Elf who values personal strength above all else. Impatient and hot tempered, elven society didn't fit him well and he chose to leave of his own accord to seek his fortunes. Initially completely uninterested in romance, proven physical ability yields respect which can morph to Admiration to romance. Attempts to abrasively interfere in other's lives to increase their strength, doesn't understand magic well. Completely lacks social graces, but understands this and chooses to shut up when diplomacy is required, though is the first to draw weapons if he can smell combat. Character Growth potential to Good through dialogue (Shared strength is greater than individual). Growth to drop the abrasiveness as a dominance game, CHARNAME shows greater strength, and tells him to cut the crap. No differentiation of gender or race, all that matters is strength. Disdains politics and group mentalities, and refuses to judge anyone until he's tested their strength for himself. High Phys stats, low Cha, variable low-mid Wis, variable Int.
Human male Fighter Archer for women. Carrying a massive Composite Longbow, this tall, thin man likes to stand back and pepper your foes with arrows. Gruff and curt on the battlefield, he becomes surprisingly easy to talk to once out of battle, and especially convivial over a tankard of ale. In romance, he is similarly straightforward and straight shooting. No beating around the bush for this guy- if he likes you, you know it, and he'll leave you no doubt as to his feelings or intentions, and he has no problems whatsoever "hitting his target". But to really make him blossom, you have to be equally straightforward when you tell him your feelings. Once he knows he has your regard, he'll loosen up a great deal, and be more free and romantic in expressing his feelings for you. Edit- forgot to add- NG in alignment and will romance just about everyone but halflings and gnomes (because of the extreme height difference). His problem is in feeling connected with people- his tendency to stand back means that he sometimes feels disconnected from other people, and it's hard for him to let go of his reticence with strangers and just be himself. On the other hand, he's very much a family man, and continues to support his aged parents, who live near the Misty Forest, just as he did when he was young and hunted game in the forest with his father to keep the family fed.
Male Half-Giant (Firbolg) Fighter Berserker for men. From the High Northern Reaches of Hartsvale, this young Firbolg got his start wrestling bears and his fellow half-giants, even scuffling with Hill and Frost Giants. But killing one of them in the midst of a wrestling match got him banished, and he pulled on his snow bear furs and headed south. Forever feeling too large and too strong for those around him. he keeps to himself a lot and has sworn off women of all races as "too fragile" for his tastes. He likes and wants to feel needed, and to keep himself fed, he often can be found putting on wrestling shows for money, wrestling everyone and everything into submission. He feels like he lacks a real place to belong, though, and wants that more than anything. His rough, untutored ways mean that the CHARNAME is going to have to initiate the romance, though once you "show him the way", he'll become very enthusiastic about the idea. He shaves his entire body (harder to hold onto him when wrestling), though if you can catch his heart, he'll show you a few secrets to use for that. There's no one better to have at your back, and who can deny he can cover your back with no problems at all. TN alignment.
Male CN Gnome Illusionist Thief. Small and cocky, this young gnome is supremely cocky, and his favored weapon is the club, the better for smacking unsuspecting foes over the head with (or, depending on their size, battering their kidneys or shins with). He thinks he's the best at everything, and he's willing to try his luck with anything, in the manner of an overactive Chihuahua. Once he's gotten your attention and you've conceded he's got potential, you can spend time sanding off his rough edges, which is going to be a long job because he thinks he's tops at everything, and can be combative when you don't agree with him. He can't be argued with, you have to SHOW him better before he'll change, but he has youth and energy, and when he goes nuts for you, he's very physically demonstrative and affectionate. Express an appreciation for flowers and find your pack stuffed with them. Say you like animals and he'll run all over finding you the cutest kitten/puppy, only to turn up with 20 because he couldn't choose which one was the cutest. He also talks a mile a minute and the only way to shut him up is to tie and gag him or kiss him. Your choice.
Female elven mage LN for women. This shy beauty has lived her life more in academic circles than out in the world, but the feeling that she is missing out on what life really is has led her to shun the library and classroom for life as an adventuring wizardess. Her intellect is razor-sharp, but her wisdom lies more in book learning than street smarts. She's more than willing to learn both, but has to feel that she is valued for herself as well as intellect before she opens up to a romance. While she isn't excessively strong, she does have stamina, and her spells are utilized to maximum effectiveness in every situation. Generally shy and retiring, she finds every situation, even combat, to be refreshing after a life confined to the classroom and stuffy libraries. Her eyesight is not the greatest after studying so many tomes, and she wears a small pair of corrective lenses (Made by clerics of Gond) to see properly. In love, she is uninhibited and cheerful, and expresses her love through small notes left in your items to let you know she is thinking of you.
Comments
Male Barbarian, Aasimar, CN, for Males. Raised by Barbarian tribes, Anger issues conflict with a racial conscience. Inherent hatred/mistrust of women due to being expelled from the tribe by an Elder (Female). Inner struggle between an Evil Personality and a Good Heritage, CHARNAME influences alignment through dialogue options.
(CHEEEESY
I still think these are good character ideas for overall use.
EDIT: HOLY COMMAS, BATMAN!
And if they want my Affidavit of Forfeiture of IP then they can have it