Friendship is Dragons
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Page 1319 - One Giant Leap
Author Notes:
Notice: Guest comic submissions are open! Guidelines here. Deadline: February 20th.
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18 Comments:
I don't remember specifics but I do remember that none of the expository NPCs I've encoutered were phased or even really reacted to my snark and badmouthing towards them.
Next strip...
"WORST TIMELINE!! WORST TIMELIIIIIIINE!!!!"
"WORST TIMELINE!! WORST TIMELIIIIIIINE!!!!"
"Hey, you probably wanna hustle. I think they just said something about ripping my beautiful horn off my face? My beautiful, beautiful horn."
Horrified screams for four panels. Pauses to look in a mirror. Resumes screaming in last panel.
My primary NPC is the quest-giver. The PCs are members of the City Guard SWAT team, and the Captain does nothing except barge into the barracks at the beginning of each session and shout, "You, you and you! There's a flock of dire seagulls harassing the dockyards. Go handle it."
"Who are you?" [shrug]
"What is the villain's plan?" [shrug]
"Is the unladen airspeed of the African swallow faster than that of the European swallow?" [shrug]
"Do you want tacos?" [shrug]
"Can you speak at all?" [shrug]
"Let's see if tickling will get you to speak!" [smile, shrug, shrug, shrug, smile]
The best NPC sidekicks are functionally indistinguishable from a portable library that is also a toolbox.
So, bards, in other words.
You don't even need to explain why they're following the party, because you can just show them by making songs of their latest adventure.
So, bards, in other words.
You don't even need to explain why they're following the party, because you can just show them by making songs of their latest adventure.
Greatest NPC ever: Figment the dragon. Yes, the little purple dragon from EPCOT's Imagination Land.
The campaign was a mix of Fallout New Vegas and Final Fantasy elements, and at one point the party made their way through the derelict Disney park where they found Figment, the 2070s fully aware robot version that stood about 4 feet tall. The party took him along in the promise of an adventure full of Imagination!
...he became the party's caddy.
However, Figment was useful in that he retained a wireless connection to an old data server full of information as long as he was within a certain range of it. And let me tell you, the Walt Disney company in the year 2070 knew a scary amount of information. Figment was like a walking Wikipedia as long as whatever info you want was within "six degrees" of the Walt Disney company's interests.
The campaign was a mix of Fallout New Vegas and Final Fantasy elements, and at one point the party made their way through the derelict Disney park where they found Figment, the 2070s fully aware robot version that stood about 4 feet tall. The party took him along in the promise of an adventure full of Imagination!
...he became the party's caddy.
However, Figment was useful in that he retained a wireless connection to an old data server full of information as long as he was within a certain range of it. And let me tell you, the Walt Disney company in the year 2070 knew a scary amount of information. Figment was like a walking Wikipedia as long as whatever info you want was within "six degrees" of the Walt Disney company's interests.
Figment is my favorite Disney character!
In a campaign I was in that lasted almost a decade, our main bad guy was a demon named Yensid Tlaw. No one got the joke until someone finally wrote it down and was able to read it backwards.
In a campaign I was in that lasted almost a decade, our main bad guy was a demon named Yensid Tlaw. No one got the joke until someone finally wrote it down and was able to read it backwards.
I was in a group many, many moons ago, and we were playing in a homebrewed setting using GURPS, first or second edition, I don't remember. We needed information, so naturally, we went to the local tavern, my character went to buy information from the bartender, because as we all know, the bartenders hear and know everything. Except, this one didn't. Gained no viable information from him whatsoever.
Had a player with a cohort in a recent campaign who maxed out all the knowledge skills to such an unreasonable degree that it became law at our table that the kobold knows fucking everything, which ended up being very convenient for me.
The Paladin in my party, some time ago, adopted a street kid, who provided a fair deal of exposition while they were in that town. The adoption was heavily supported by the bard, who caught the kid farming the paladin for charitable donations and figured it would be HILARIOUS if they wound up family.
This is a common one for me, as I tend to have small parties, I often supplement them with NPCs... The usually supportive or skill based classes... My current one has a NPC cleric(a PCs time displaced daughter, whom is a Changeling... He does not KNOW she or her mother are changelings however, she left out a red herring regarding her being a exceptionally comely half-Orc to avoid sensitive personal topics.), and a tiny Ginget gnomes have Sass Elemental rouge... Whom is the Manager for the PC's bardic troupe.
One of the other PCs is an inevitable, using Warforged Stats, with a whistle that summons Modrons... Two, specifically, once a week, that remain until slain, so... They are kind of extremely mute and boring to interact with.
One of the other PCs is an inevitable, using Warforged Stats, with a whistle that summons Modrons... Two, specifically, once a week, that remain until slain, so... They are kind of extremely mute and boring to interact with.
Guest Author’s Note: “Alternate Title: No Dungeons or Dragons
I’ll readily admit to this one. I relish when players take NPC party members, because it means I always have someone who can vent out some expository knowledge when required. It’s way easier to come up with a reason why they might know something than it is to find someone to appear in a particular location just to give the same information. I literally do keep “Exposition” in my notes for things that just cannot be said or implied in a simpler manner, and it will be said by whatever NPC is most appropriate.
My penchant for this is counteracted by the fact that I’m just as fond of the NPC who never says a word.
Any stories about Expository and/or Silent NPCs?”
Newbiespud's Note: Oh, and Happy New Year, everybody!