| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 13 May 2012 : 07:14:16
For however long I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons and reading about the Forgotten Realms, I don’t think I ever came close to getting a proper education (if that’s the right phrase) in terms of creating NPC descriptions until I read, and read again, then reread a third time Volo’s Guide to Cormyr.
Ed Greenwood’s style of writing lends itself superbly to the task of creating one’s own NPC descriptions and his NPCs found in the Volo’s Guides are of immediate use in pretty much any game set in any campaign world using any edition of the D&D rules.
What follow are some NPC’s based in and around Cormyr that I’ve created. I hope you find them of use for your games or as inspiration for NPCs or PCs of your own devising.
************************
Folk of Cormyr:
Aurbrand "Firebrand" Ambrival
Endeir Ambrival
Daervin "the Bold Lion" Ambrival
Challantha Rhondar
Jallask "Old Crow" Downtlurk
Daskur Windsur
Ondaver Sarlarth
Dratha "the Old Wagon Wizard" Shelduzun
Orndamar Windwise
Auntiver Dunshield
Dreskyn Hamanthor
Haldo Ittreer
Handrith of Bogbrook
Thanestra Goldharp
Tamphras Bloodcandle
Sir Brussgurt of Tyrluk, aka "Nobledoom"
Malurantra Telgauntlet, Adventurer For Hire
Old Druk, aka Sheldrukharinthos the Sword Sage
Darthal
Cymbrarra
Mordgrandgur
Gelliard "Gell" Salrikoat
X (placeholder)
Mazryth
Orm
Lady Bard Nararanralee of Manyghosts
Dalatha of Wormtower
Nars Whitesail
Voruld
Rasalra of the Many Daggers
Randelio
Drunn Arngoblet
Belmer "the Blind" Ambrival
Gardragath the Unseen Mage
Melmuth Orsborg
Gwennath Stormchaser
The Veiled Mage
Helhantra Blackbrace
Ithrim Langhorn of Hillsfar
Baerstus “Red Bear” Sulphander
Tamthrice
Enevra Shadowshield
Felnethor of Hillmarch, Sage Most Learned
Bildorf “Keglegs” Tunneldelver
The Rogue Cloak
Sasbrenor the Stormbringer
Crimmorn
Essard
Raskival
Tressa Ironcoat
Lhornadan of Arabel
Sember “the Laughing Lady” of Arabel
Janesse Ironboots
Semphra “the Silent”
Malamper “Twice Drowned” of Swampgate
Thurgal of Stagsteads
Mythandra Jhansibur
Sir Andram Duskrose
Hanifae Rowanmantle |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 28 Nov 2015 : 06:00:42
quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
You've given me plenty of good reading after my hiatus. Thanks.
You're welcome, Fellfire. 
quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
Still hoping you will polish up Hound the Huntsman, particularly his lycanthropy and relationship with Selune.
Me too. It'll happen one of these days.
Arabel is loaded with so much potential; you gotta dip your foot in and get back out before it swallows you whole.
EDIT: I'm playing around with the opening quotes for the Huntsman's entry. Hopefully this gives a hint as to the state of the Huntsman's lycanthropism, and suggests there may have been others like him in the past. Let me know what you think. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 27 Nov 2015 : 03:48:37
You've given me plenty of good reading after my hiatus. Thanks. Still hoping you will polish up Hound the Huntsman, particularly his lycanthropy and relationship with Selune. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 06 Nov 2015 : 15:29:25
You might be a Realmsfan if...  |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 06 Nov 2015 : 15:06:44
Yeah, I meant 'west'.
I made myself stay up late last night to write this NPC. Was ready to fall asleep at the keyboard when I stopped writing. |
| xaeyruudh |
Posted - 06 Nov 2015 : 09:31:44
Hail and well met again sir! I like this Drunn.
quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
The road carries Drunn as far east as Scornubel.
Did you mean west, here? And do Scornubel, Urmlaspyr, and Westgate form the limits of his regular travel?
And I'm afraid I'm already speculating about what he got himself into, in Elturel. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 06 Nov 2015 : 08:49:52
Drunn Arngoblet
(Fighter 3)
Drunn is a reputable merchant that deals in all manner of tomes, broadsheets and chapbooks. He keeps a stable of wagons on his route, and owns the buildings whose ground floor is given over to the wagon’s storage. As he travels the Heartlands, Drunn collects the rents from the tenants that occupy the floors above his wagons, and gives a discount if the wagons are found in good shape and untouched upon his arrival. He is fond of every wagon in his fleet, and treats them much like a warrior might treat a good horse that’s seen him through many battles, because he’s had to fight for his life from atop his wagons in the past.
Drunn’s route takes him through Cormyr twice a year. He’s a welcome sight in the smaller communities of the Forest Kingdom, and he rarely fails to deliver on promises made to acquire something of interest for the people he befriends. The long overcoat he wears has many pockets inside and out, from which he produces chapbooks and other readables, to the delight of customers who’ve been waiting months for the latest installment of this or that series.
Once a hard-drinking mercenary prone to sullen moods and stormy outbursts of anger, Drunn found little in the way of happiness during the long waits between battles save for when he was reading. This happiness was doubled when he gave a rundown chapbook to a little girl in a nameless village torn apart by conflict, and saw her tear-streaked face turn into a smile. Nowadays the smiles of children, and of happy customers, are nourishment to Drunn’s soul.
He enjoys reading aloud, and reads stories to children and adults that gather around his wagon. His taste for drink hasn’t gone away, but it has refined into a preference for strong whiskey or brandy, of the kind that makes one’s lips and tongue tingle, the scent of which never fails to give a shiver after the bottle is opened. Drunn shares “the good drink” with his favorite customers, never charging for it.
The road carries Drunn as far west as Scornubel. He’s not welcome in Elturel, and won’t speak of why to anyone who bothers to ask. In the other direction he used to travel deep into Sembia, but now goes no farther than Urmlaspyr, where he drops off his wagon and finds passage on any of the small caravels headed south to Westgate. His life in Westgate is one of gambling, a fight or two, warm beds and much dealing. It’s here that he spends his winter months.
Once the ice has thawed and the waterways are clear, Drunn returns to Urmlaspyr with a supply of new readables.
|
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 20 Apr 2015 : 23:00:31
4/20/2015: Doing minor edits to entries as I cross-post them to the WotC forums.
10/13/2015: Changed Cymbrarra's hair from red to black. Added a link to an Instagram image showing what she looks like. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 12 Mar 2015 : 05:30:33
Thank you!
I purchased a book called "Werewolf Cop" by Andrew Klavan, from which I hope to draw inspiration for The Huntsman. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 24 Jan 2015 : 19:29:15
Cogratultions. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 24 Jan 2015 : 07:51:49
By that standard, I am working on something awesome: a second child. A son, to be precise.
My wife is of course doing all the heavy lifting, but it falls to me to assist her however I can, and to wrangle the house into something approaching orderly and clean, and to keep an eye out for our one year old, who is growing by leaps and bounds and daily tests her physical ability to do the same.
I don't have the option to write as much as I have been--that is, keep to a nightly schedule of a couple hours in which to satisfy my desire to read and to sit down and write. I hope to do what I can, when I can, until my son makes his first appearance into the world. Should be a little over a month from now.
My...that was a longish answer, wasn't it? |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 24 Jan 2015 : 03:03:18
Where've you been, Jeremy? I hope your working on something awesome. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 10 Jan 2015 : 13:09:42
Keep up the good work. This has become one of my favorite scrolls to peruse these days. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 09 Jan 2015 : 05:32:51
quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
X, a.k.a. Hound still giving you a hard time?
Yeah. I think I'm trying to do too much with this one. Every time I get started I go on a roll, look back on what I've written and can't bring myself to cut anything.
I definitely want to highlight the Huntsman's lycanthropy, but I am having difficulty keeping it simple and cool.
quote:
Originally posted by Fellfire
Loved Rasalra's armor. Hearkens back to the good ol' days of magical items.
...
Diggin' Randelio's Drunken Master dirty tricks too. Nice little wordplay in the final footnote too. Props.
Thank you sir! Rasalra's armor came to me right at the end of the writeup. I hope a DM somewhere reads her entry and decides to fill in the details on who her lover was and what other magic items he (or she, or it) made before dying.
Randelio and Voruld are based loosely on a couple of people I know in real life. I have not seen the 'drunken master' in action, but I've heard enough stories to be glad he counted me a friend. I would not ever want to tangle with that guy. Ever. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 09:19:58
X, a.k.a. Hound still giving you a hard time? Particularly interested in his lycanthropic nature or are you intentionally leaving that mysteriously vague? That would be typical of the OG(B) style you claim (and succeed at, huzzah!) to be emulating. Still, I crave more backstory. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 09:17:16
Diggin' Randelio's Drunken Master dirty tricks too. Nice little wordplay in the final footnote too. Props. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 09:07:11
Loved Rasalra's armor. Hearkens back to the good ol' days of magical items. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 07 Jan 2015 : 07:38:50
Randelio
(Fighter 2)
A hard drinking ex-Purple Dragon, Randelio is easily recognized by his bald head, pockmarked face, small eyes and deep voice. He is blunt with those he does not know, but warms in the company of others he shares drinks with (lots of drinks over several nights, that he might take the full measure of someone).
Randelio remembers every slight and rarely forgives anyone; his manner cold and efficient with anyone he dislikes. His selfish way is balanced by an impish humor that catches others off guard.
Once earned, Randelio’s loyalty is genuine--but that loyalty follows the shortest path to readily accessible drink. When he came to work at the House of the Lynx, he quickly befriended Voruld and soon found his position elevated. As a result he oft left at the close of business with one or more bottles of strong drink that were not paid for.
Randelio and Voruld are close comrades who hold court around campfires and steal the attention of their fellow Gauntlets in the long hours between adventures. Their humor is infectious—the sort that spawns new jokes and plays on their listeners, even when the same old stories are being told.
In combat Randelio holds back, guarding Voruld’s flank until the later elects to join the fray. Whereas Voruld claims a need to assess the enemy, Randelio states that he is built for stability, not speed, and running full out into combat is more likely to injure him than any foe he might face.
Randelio sleeps with a hand flask of eye-watering whiskey in one hand.[1] If surprised while resting, he will spit a mouthful in the eyes of the nearest foe and use the moment of blindness to hurl his enemy headfirst into the campfire. A similar tactic has served him well in dark dungeons and lightless caverns, as he wields a torch in his other hand and expectorate liquid fire at anything dangerous that gets too close.[2]
[1] The handflask is Randelio’s most prized possession. Made of steel, with a threaded mithril cap joined to the spout by a fine chain, the flask sits in a sturdy leather sleeve with a flat strap that fits snugly over the hand. Randelio’s is one of a matched set found at the House of the Lynx, the flasks given to the highest paying and most well regarded customers for their personal use while in attendance. Each flask is linked by magic to a barrel filled with the strongest and most expensive of drink, the barrel sequestered behind locked doors in the cellars below. Whenever liquid is imbibed from the flask and the cap replaced, liquid is drawn from the barrel and magically transported to the flask, refilling it. Only the reputation of the Gauntlets has kept the owner of the Lynx from hiring bullyblades to take it and the hand that carries it back.
[2] Leading Vorold to thank him later for shedding light on the situation. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 06 Jan 2015 : 07:47:46
Rasalra of the Many Daggers
(CN Half-Elf Fighter 3)
The blood of elves runs in Rasalra’s veins, but one would be hard pressed to notice at first glance. Rasalra stands six feel tall, her nose bent from the many times its been broken, the points of her ears long ago torn away and never fully healed. The sheen of old scars up and down her face reflect campfire light, and the few hairs above her eyelids are the last remnants of eyebrows burnt away by forge fire. Her shoulders are broad on a bony frame covered in tight cords of muscle.
Toil and violence are Rasalra’s lot in life, but not by misfortune or a poor allotment from the gods. She welcomes violence—accepts it like a merchant eager to accept a buyer’s coins—and holds no grudge against those seeking to do her harm. She does not work violence on the weak or undeserving, but she treats equally all who choose to visit it on her.
Turmoil lurks in Rasalra’s mind like a storm cloud. For years she's lived as a capable assistant to forgemasters in Arabel, hardly speaking as she hammers out her frustrations by day and retreats to a simple hovel by night, choosing to interact with others as little as possible. When her roiling thoughts turn into a dark tempest of contempt for the world at large, it manifests in the form of a barely concealed rage. Then does she go out into Arabel seeking conflict--something she rarely fails to find.[1]
One such conflict saw her knock cold the warrior Orm with a well-placed throw of a tankard, which so impressed the leaders of the Company of the Errant Gauntlet that they bypassed the usual order at the Dragon and approached her personally, offering her a share of coin and the promise of numerous battles if she would join them.[2]
In battle she wears battered head-to-foot leathers of a deep brown color, covered in dagger sheathes.[3] Those daggers visit death at a distance when hurled from her long arms (she’s equally proficient at throwing with either arm). Combat finds her wielding short sword and dagger or a longsword two-handed, as her mood takes her. Despite the many injuries she’s suffered down the years she is as nimble as a thief—a skill she utilizes when running at full speed in the dead of night, or when she leaps from a rooftop to come crashing through a window.
Her regular mood is taciturn, but her fellow adventurer Voruld has discovered she will readily talk about Arabel because she’s lived there for the last fifty years. As well that she will not speak of her life before she first walked through Arabel’s gates. Rasalra does not get along with her fellow adventurers, but the necessities of working with others to survive in battle with monstrous foes have curbed her temper and taught her the value of teamwork in the face of certain death.
[1] The Dancing Dragon tavern in Arabel is one of her favorite places to find a good fight. Tavern regulars with long memories avoid her and steer others her way, that they might enjoy the beating she delivers to newcomers and braggarts.
[2] At the Dancing Dragon it is customary to utilize runners to deliver messages to and from hirers to prospective hirees. See "Volo's Guide to Cormyr," page 62.
[3] The gift of a lover now deceased, her armor is magical. Treat as leather armor +2 with the property of turning any non-magical melee or ranged weapon Rasalra wields into a +1 weapon—including improvised weapons. Note: Rasalra has had a hand in forging the many weapons she wields, and spends much time on their sharpening and upkeep. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 09:20:19
Ha. No worries. This isn't fast food, I can wait. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 06:26:07
I like Voruld. Sounds like he'd easily fit into a snug Purple Dragon-oriented campaign without too much hassle.
Inspiring as always, Jeremy. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 05:35:10
Added in December:
12/18/2014: Started an entry for Nararanralee of Manyghosts. Edits to Cymbrarra (added a footnote and fixed some wording). Fixed spelling for names and cleaned up some links in the OP.
12/19/2014: Added Dalatha of Wormtower.
12/20/2014: Added Nars Whitesail.
12/22/2014: Added Voruld. Got a little ways with X, but not quite there yet.
12/29/2014: Forgot to post a link to Voruld's writeup in the opening post. Fixed that. Also minor edits to X. (Fellfire, X--now the Hound and the Huntsman--is proving a hard one to write. Apologies for the delay.) |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 15:58:09
I could not find a reference either. If it's not in the Encyclopedia Magica I doubt it's anywhere. Er, Spell Compendium which I can't find. rrrr
Had to hunt down my hardcopy, nope, not there either.
Thanks. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 15:47:53
I made the spell name up for that particular entry, figuring a DM could flesh it out.
But since you asked I double checked using a Google search (just to make sure I wasn't using a spell name dredged up from a memory made twenty years ago) and I did not find anything. To my knowledge the spell does not exist in any sourcebook. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 08:56:24
"She cast a spell to shrink his manhood and did not dispell it until he succeeded in passing a tenday without speaking a single word."
That's harsh. I'd be nice to her too.
Looking forward to it.
Where is the spell thorncloak detailed? |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 23 Dec 2014 : 08:36:29
Voruld
(Fighter 2)
A crafty old fighter of some fifty winters, Voruld is shorter than average and wider at the waste than the shoulders, with hair gone gray at the temples.
He relies as much on his wit as his sword arm to survive, and has developed a healthy relationship with drinkables—one he renews on a nightly basis.
Voruld served for fifteen long years in the Purple Dragons. Some of that time was spent in the stockade, the rest in far off posts on the border with hostile nations or roaming humanoids not far away, and far too little of it closer to Cormyr’s heart, where warm beds and willing wenches are easier to come by.
The years taught Voruld how to pass the time through small talk and storytelling, how to pick his battles and how to diffuse a fight using calm words or intimidation. But the years also took the lives of Voruld’s closest comrades, and with it a desire to remain a Dragon.
He left the Purple Dragons and wandered south into Cormyr, spending a decade in Arabel before moving on to Suzail where, at the House of the Lynx, his status as regular customer was soon elevated to head queller of troubles.
Voruld’s ready wit and confidence impressed many customers, including a pair of lordlings who precipitated a brawl that found Voruld in the position of hurling the nobles into the waiting arms of the watch. The pair returned to make amends and pay for damages, but not before making off with Voruld and one other member of the Lynx’ staff.[1]
Voruld tells stories whenever the chance presents itself and he does not care if the story has been told before. Most involve his exploits as a Dragon and a door guard, and revolve around him outwitting someone or finding the time to bed a customer while on duty. He flirts constantly with the female members of the Gauntlets, but pays only compliments to the wizard Mythandra.[2]
In battle Voruld is a dependable, if predictable fighter. He prefers to let the younger sword swinging Gauntlets wade into battle ahead of him, while he assesses the enemy before joining the fray. He is loyal to all of the members of the Company of the Errant Gauntlet, but he believes time will finish killing off the more hot-headed members. Randelio is his only true friend
Voruld thinks of Garlamond and Vorast as young Purple Dragon commanders in need of the patient council that only a veteran First Sword can provide, and he walks a careful line between obedience and criticism in his interactions with them.
[1] Randelio the fighter.
[2] She cast a spell to shrink his manhood and did not dispel it until Voruld succeeded in passing a tenday without speaking a single word. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 21 Dec 2014 : 16:19:12
I have not thought about X in awhile, but I am happy to give him another shot.
Thank you also for your kind words, Fellfire. Keeps me going. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 20 Dec 2014 : 18:52:29
Jeremy, I really liked your rough draft of the ranger X. I'd wondered if you had gotten farther in the development of him. In your footnotes you mentioned lycanthropy. I'm toying with an idea about a werehound (dog) PC and thought that might fit well with your description of the, as yet, unamed ranger. Your stuff is excellent and I would love to see you expand upon this character. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 19 Dec 2014 : 09:01:51
Nars Whitesail
(Thief 4)
One a profligate dealer of slaves in Sembia and living under a different name, the adventurer Nars Whitesail was expert in the swift and quiet relocation of captured spies, servants who grew to know too much about their master’s business, and the unwanted bastard children of Sembian merchant princes, Cormyrean nobles and the moneyed of Westgate (all desiring to rid themselves of their undesirables, and preferring a less brutal solution than murder), and selling them into servitude at inflated prices to interested buyers throughout the Inner Sea.
His ability to swiftly and discreetly move people around Sembia won Nars much business, which in turn expanded to the abducting or otherwise “disappearing” of individuals in nearby Cormyr and Westgate. In some cases those sold into slavery by Nars never set foot in Sembia: one day they were in Cormyr, the next they were in chains on a boat sailing out of Marsember and destined for Thay.
Awash in coins and confident in his ability conduct business without handing off work to other, trusted agents, Nars made poor choices in whom to hire, as well as to whom to sell his abductees, which resulted in not a few individuals returning to seek their vengeance upon him.
Having never planned for such an eventuality, Nars was forced to flee Sembia--a handful of coins and the clothes on his back his only possessions. He found passage by boat to Suzail where he elected to assume a new identity and forge a new life, having no interest in returning to Sembia to start over.
In his current role as an adventurer, Nars has resurrected the self-taught thieving skills he plied as a youth before clawing his way to power and prestige as a slave trader. He is loyal to both Garlamond and Vorast (in his mind they are like a pair of customers that must be looked after) but Nars cares little for the other adventurers in the Company of the Errant Gauntlet save for Semphra, with whom he shares a rivalry that has left him torn between a desire to treat her as an equal (and possibly even a friend) and a desire to have her abducted and shipped away.
Nars is amoral, but not cruel. To his way of thinking, all of life is one opportunity after the next that is either seized or lost. Those who grasp first win; those who do not are prey to whatever fate the gods have set aside for them. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 18 Dec 2014 : 09:02:41
Dalatha of Wormtower
(Fighter 3)
Though she claims the village of Wormtower as her home, Dalatha is a native of the Archendale. An orphan claimed by the church of Tempus, she grew up to become an assistant to the Battle-Chaplain at the Shrine of Swords at Swordpoint[1], a position she won through acts of endurance and strength, and the lone slaying of monsters.
Dalatha’s reasons for departing Archendale are a secret she shares with no one, and she argues strenuously against any travel into the Dales. Her fellow adventurers in the Company of the Errant Gauntlet are unaware of her history[2], though all have noted that talk of the Dalelands is the only thing to cause Dalatha to show anything like concern or worry; at all other times she is utterly fearless.
She may be found wearing spike-covered field plate the color of gray stone, and is as comfortable in her armor as others are in well-worn leathers. Dalatha rarely removes her armor, save to mend torn or broken pieces of plate or bathe herself, and readily goes to sleep in it.[3]
In battle she favors the greataxe.[4] She eschews shields and swords, though her skill at arms affords her the ability to wield any weapon with deadly confidence. She will readily drop her greataxe to smash and impale foes with her armor when mobbed by several foes at once. She is expert at disarming enemies when she is weaponless, and prefers to wield a foe’s weapon against him after she has dispatched his comrades.[5]
Dalatha stands six feet tall and is covered in slabs of muscle. Her armor is made to flex and stretch over her massive shoulders and thighs, and she is capable of overturning wagons, hurling blocks of stone and felling several foes at a time by rushing headlong into them.
Assembling and repairing weapons and armor, tending the wounded and looking after the battle-weary are all skills Dalatha utilizes daily. Otherwise she practices with her greataxe or prays silently to Tempus.
She does little else, preferring deeds over words in all things.
[1] A fortress that overlooks Archenbridge.
[2] She avoids her fellow adventurer Orlagar of Tempus, except in times battle when she addresses him as "idiot priest."
[3] Dalatha is not fatigued by sleeping in armor that she has either personally assembled or modified for her own use.
[4] Dalatha’s greataxe is a +1 greataxe of sharpness.
[5] Treat Dalatha as having proficiency in any weapon she wields, regardless of type. If Dalatha slays a foe with his own weapon, she will keep it as an offering to be made to Tempus. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 18 Dec 2014 : 08:49:28
Nararanralee of Manyghosts
Your father gifted you a brand new horse.
I borrow an ass and wagon.
Your uncle gifted you a sharp new sword.
I found a wooden flagon.
Your mother bought you sheets of silk.
I sleep in moth-eaten lagen.
Someday you’ll become a Stag,
And I’ll become a Dragon.
From Act I, Scene III of the play
The Stag and the Dragon: A Play In Four Parts
by Lady Bard Naranralee of Manyghosts,
first performed in the Year of the Strangled Jester
(…all I have for now. It’s a start.) |
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