NPC Details

Ultimate NPCs

Ultimate NPCs

Author Ian "Lizard" Harrac
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2004
OGL Section 15 unpc

The following information is Open Game Content

For Additional Details and Traits

Names

Names matter. A character’s name is their single most obvious identifying mark. Names evoke a sense of culture or place; you expect certain things when you hear a character is named ‘Takhara Morimoto’ and other things when you hear he is named ‘Ragnar Vorskaag’. This section is designed to enable the rapid generation of names falling into broad cultural and regional patterns. Historical accuracy is not a top priority; these names were culled from a wide range of sources. The goal is to get an appropriate feel, rather than to exactly mimic the name breakdown of Paris in 1170-1190. Besides, d20 postulates an insane hodgepodge of times and cultures in its ‘default’ character assumptions; a little anachronism in naming simply fits right in.

Names by Culture/Region

These names can be used for human names or for non-human names when the non-humans have a culture similar to that of humans, or just naming patterns along the same lines. For example, Celtic or Irish names often work for elves, while Scottish and Scandinavian names are often used for dwarves. Halflings in the traditional vein do well with English names.

Arthurian Names

These names can evoke Arthurian legend and have a nice, old-English feel to them.

+ show Arthurian Names table

Celtic/Irish Names

A good choice for elves, bards, warriors, druids and so on. The last names are a more modern invention and should not be used with more ‘primitive’ groups of people. They work well for ‘rustic’ or ‘backwoods’ characters however.

+ show Celtic/Irish Names table

English Surnames

The following is a large batch of surnames with an appropriate ‘fantasy England’ feel. Combine with either Norman or Saxon first names and damn historical accuracy! Roll 1d6 to determine the column and then roll 1d100 to determine the name.

+ show English Surnames table

French Names

The names are good for nobles, swashbucklers, knights and makers of cheese.

+ show French Names table

German Names

Well-suited for knights, evil nobles, demonologists and guys in heavy armour with scarred faces prone to elaborate plans which never quite work out. The addition of a ‘Van’ or a ‘Von’ prior to the surname is a nice touch. One warning – to English speakers, many German surnames straddle the line between imposing and silly, so re-rolls on the surname table might be important to set the mood. Conrad Van Decker – good name for a knight; Conrad Van Simmendinger – bad name for a knight.

+ show German Names table

Gypsy

Good for scoundrels, traders, wanderers, wise women, fortune-tellers, keepers of secret lore, thieves, etc.

+ show Gypsy Names table

Italian Names

Excellent for noble families, wizards, scholars and other learned types or, on the other hand, for criminals, thugs and gangsters.

+ show Italian Names table

Norman Names

An excellent source for names for a pseudo-English setting. These can be used by themselves, or as the names of the ‘upper class’, with Saxon names for the ‘lower class’.

+ show Norman Names table

Japanese Names

Japanese names are of use, of course, in any games set in a pseudo-Japanese environment. While Ultimate NPCs is designed primarily for use with fantasy games, these names are also very useful in futuristic and cyberpunk settings, especially if combined with non-Japanese surnames (i.e. Takaharo Jones, Nani O’Toole.)

+ show Japanese Names table

Russian Names

Russian names tend to be less common in fantasy gaming. They are good for big, strong, burly types, folk from the fringes of civilization, often very traditional and given to heavy drinking.

+ show Russian Names table

Saxon Names

Good, solid, English-like names. While useful for any pseudo-English society, they work especially well for the lower classes, with the Norman names serving as apropos to the upper classes.

+ show Saxon Names table

Scottish Names

Rogues, bards, barbarians, bandits and dwarves all work well with Scottish names.

+ show Scottish Names table

Viking Names

‘May the good Lord take a Viking to you!’ These names are great for raiders, barbarians and, very often, dwarves. Combine these names with the Dwarf Surname chart and produce such doughty stalwarts as Agdir Madhelm or Bera Glumboulder.

+ show Scottish Names table

Dwarf Surnames

Dwarves tend to have strong, hard sounding names involving metals, mining and beards. Their first names often come from Viking or Scottish sources, often freely intermixed: Angus Von Rockbeard, for example, or Ulf MacGreystone. Use those tables as source for first names and follow with a family name determined from the lists below. Dwarves are also very family-oriented, so terms indicating descent, such as ‘Mac-’ or ‘-Son’ should be freely added to the name.

Roll once on each column and combine the results as seems best. Feel free to reroll.

+ show Dwarf Surnames table

Elf Names

Elves tend to be given flowery names – literally. They often are named after||plants,||trees, nature and so on. These are usually given names and do not always reflect an individual elf’s personality. Roll once on each column and combine the results as seems best. Feel free to reroll. Rolling twice on the same column also works well; this can give names such as Foxpond or Cleardark. As with dwarves, reversing the order of the parts is also possible, giving names such as Foxfallen or Snowquiet.

+ show Elf Names table

Orc and Similar, Names

These names can be used for orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, ogres and other ‘big, tough warrior’ races. Use the syllable table to generate a first name (one syllable for the less intelligent races, 1d3 syllables for the smarter ones) and add a suitable epithet. Very militaristic races may include military rank and affiliation as well: Gragzuk of the Fourth Legion.

+ show Orc Names table

Clothing

A complete ‘random clothing’ generator is beyond the scope of this book. It is far too culture and class dependant and would likely result in a degree of randomness which would make even the most cosmopolitan city street look more like a masquerade ball than a marketplace. Rather, this section of the rules is designed to enable quick variation to whatever is the ‘standard garb’ for an NPC of the appropriate class and profession. The Games Master should have a good mental image of what a ‘merchant’ or ‘noble’ generally wears in a given region; this provides modifications to that, enough to be able to say: ‘The prince is wearing a particularly large hat’ or ‘The merchants boots are exceptionally scuffed.’

+ show Clothing tables

Appearance

How an NPC looks is often as important as how they act. Appearance has only a limited mechanical effect – the more distinctive an NPC is, the easier it is to find them in a crowd, the harder it is to be disguised as them and the easier it is to track their motions through a city via the Gather Information skill. Rarely, features such as missing a leg will make them easier to Track, while missing eyes, limbs or ears will have more serious game effects.

Random appearance should be tempered by the fact that most cultures tend to be fairly uniform in skin colour, hair style and general facial cast. While cosmopolitan cities are teeming with travellers from distant lands, most towns and villages contain only one species and culture. In a Nordic fishing village, you’re going to see a lot of blondes. Hairstyles tend to be culturally determined too, without a great deal of room for individual expression. For more culturally homogenous areas, a Games Master should limit the results to the normal range of appearances, or interpret the results as relative to what is considered standard for the area.

Exceptional appearance often merits bonuses or penalties, as noted above. This is specified along with the charts by the notation ‘(D+n)’, where ‘n’ is a number, usually one. The total value is the ‘Distinctiveness modifier’ and it applies as follows:

It is added to the difficulty of disguising oneself as the person. It is subtracted from any Disguise check made by the person.

One-half the value (round down) is added to any Gather Information check made to locate the person or to find out if someone has seen him recently. If there is a notation in the form ‘(T+n)’, it is added to any rolls to Track the person. This usually is the case only for people with very unusual gaits.

The modifier can be nullified by common sense – cutting hair can remove a distinctive hairstyle, for example. The Games Master should consider that an NPC who is very distinctive likely knows it and will take steps necessary to make himself less so, given access to reasonable tools and magic. Potions of alter self, a ring or amulet which changes hair colour or the like can be used. Even a moderate Disguise kill will usually overcome the distinctiveness penalty.

Furthermore, a distinctive feature only matters if those involved with the character know about it. If a ranger does not know his quarry has big ears (and figuring that out from the quarry’s tracks is about a DC 50 check!) then he cannot gain any bonus by asking after ‘a dwarf with very large ears’; therefore, there is no bonus to his Gather Information checks.

In many cases, appearance is given relative to an implied standard. ‘Large ears’ for one ethnicity or culture might be ‘normal ears’ for another. The Games Master should have at least a rough idea of what the ‘average’ man or woman looks like in the dominant culture of the game and adjust
descriptions accordingly.

The features marked with a Distinctiveness modifier assume a ‘typical’ fantasy culture – anachronistically cosmopolitan but with a general patina of medieval Europe. Different cultures will find different features distinctive. In a culture where baldness is very rare, for example, being bald will be D+1 or more.

A few rare features reduce distinctiveness, by causing the character’s appearance to change regularly, thus making him hard to track down or identify. These are noted as (D-n)

Sometimes, distinctiveness is better defined by social standing – a noble with long hair might be commonplace, while the lower classes rarely have the luxury of growing out their hair. Thus, a peasant with long hair will be distinctive.

Games Masters are encouraged to make features more or less distinctive based on the above factors and to ignore or reroll results which do not fit.

Limiting the Unusual
It is generally recommended that no one has a distinctiveness modifier of more than +1 per every
3 character levels.

Humans, Half-Elves and Halflings

+ show Humans, Half-Elves, Halflings table

General Features

Note on the following: Most people have ‘normal’ features, whatever those are for the culture. Only a few people have a nose, ears, etc, so distinctive people would remember it and use it when describing the individual.

+ show General Features table

Elves

Elves tend to be similar to humans, except in a few key areas, such as hair and eye colour and, of course, the ears. Half-elves who take after their elven parent should use these charts.

+ show Elven Appearance tables

Dwarves

Dwarves tend to be distinguished from each other primarily by their beards, at least by humans. Among themselves, of course, they see great distinctiveness.

+ show Dwarf Features table

Gnomes

Gnomes are similar in many ways to dwarves, save that facial hair is generally less mandatory.

+ show Gnome Features table

Half-Orcs

Half orcs tend to strongly resemble humans, except in a few key areas. Many tables refer back to the human tables. Double the chance of a distinctive general feature – the blending of human and orc blood leads to many oddities.

+ show Half-Orc Features table

General Distinguishing Features

This section lists features which any individual of any of the listed species may have. There is a 1% chance of an individual having one or more of these traits.

+ show Distinguishing Features table

Alignment

Alignment is often evident from the role an NPC occupies. Torturers are not going to be Chaotic Good and the high priest of the god of healing and love is unlikely to be Neutral Evil. Sometimes, however, alignment is less self-evident.

Since typical d20 fantasy games tend to straddle the line between free will and predestination when it comes to alignment, there are some things to consider. Races are ‘Often’, ‘Usually’ or ‘Always’ a given alignment and this influences the odds of an individual being, or not being, of that alignment.

+ show Alignment table
Page tags: mongoose name npc
page revision: 37, last edited: 13 Aug 2009 21:18
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