Sean Does Games

Skyfell Geography: Organizations of Highwater In my homebrew campaign of Skyfell, there are dozens of organizations (both public and clandestine) actively working to affect not only the daily life of its denizens but also its cultural, scientific, arcane, and historical direction. Many of these organizations are in the city of Highwater on the continent of Doraku. This post outlines a few of them. As the campaign progresses, I’ll add more. Clockwork Authority The Clockwork Authority is a semi-secret, loose collective of like minded individuals who  charge themselves with investigating any strange and unusual events involving technology, securing that technology should doing so prove useful to the greater good of society, destroying it should it prove dangerous, and bringing to justice those who dabbled in illegal or otherwise dangerous activities involving it. Ultimately, their stated goal is to preserve the safety and well being of Skyfell in general and the reign of Te...

Once again, I return to gnome NPCs. This one is a bit of a chaotic lad with an unhealthy infatuation for games of chance. Enjoy. Doubledown Waggletop (DOUBLE-down waggle-TOP) "Well, now. Why don't we let Lady Luck decide?" Doubledown (CN) is a charming, 111-year-old male chaos gnome who thinks nothing of betting someone else’s farm on a semi-sure thing. While Doubledown is quite good at collecting large winnings at a number of card, dice, and other games of chance, he is not primarily motivated by a love of coin. His love for gambling has more to do with an obsession for the intersection between chaos, luck, and skill, and for the exhilaration of beating the odds. That's why a vast majority of his winnings go to family members who have come to rely upon the somewhat consistent income he provides. He has learned never to overstay his welcome--especially when he’s surrounded by angry suckers with a pile of their coins on the table in front of him--but true to ...

Here's a new gnome NPC, just in time for your Christmas-themed Dungeons and Dragons adventures. She's a Celestial Toymaker living the tinker life in Bytopia. Enjoy! (As a side note, the drawing is inspired by the tinker outfit from Neverwinter Online. And for full disclosure, this is sort of my character in that game.) Breena Vardin (Bree-nah VAR-din) "Here now. Why the long face? I have just the right thing to cheer you up." Breena (NG) is a spritely, 240-year-old female rock gnome who manufactures unique and quirky magical toys for all ages. Her reputation is such that items bearing her maker’s mark are prized delights. She sells her fancier creations at various high-end markets throughout the land as specialty goods. Breena is also the current incarnation of The Tinker Cousin (see The Tinker Cousin below), a legendary gnomish figure known for delivering gifts from her flying broom to those deserving of or in need of a little joy. She keeps this aspect...

Non-player characters, typically referred to as NPCs, are the characters that appear in any roleplaying game who are controlled by the game master (Dungeon Master in D&D) instead of the players. If the players’ characters are the protagonists of the story, then the NPCs are everyone else. If the players’ characters are the lead in the movie, then the NPCs are the supporting cast.  NPCs come in all sizes and flavors. Over the years, through the various games that I have run, I’ve created many, many NPCs. Truth be told, it’s one of my favorite tasks as a game master. Some of these fictional folks still knock around in my head at unexpected moments, commenting on what’s going on and reacting to what’s going on around me. What has always surprises me, though, is which NPCs become memorable favorites and which fall into obscurity.  In thinking on this for a bit, I believe every memorable NPC I can recall shares four basic aspects: They were appealing to the players ...