There’s not a lot that players like interacting with more than a weird NPC. Be nice to them; they probably have some very valuable information….

Categories

1. Peasants
2. Townsfolk
3. Hermits
4. Merchants & Traders
5. Wizards
6. Clerics
7. Nobles
8. Guardians
9. Miscellaneous

1. Peasants

Peasants are commoners, both free and serf, who live in a village on a manor.

1. Turny, a boy who once saw a giant spider in the woods and talks of it obsessively.
2. Lapp, who trains cats.
3. Progit, who knows where prehistoric cave paintings can be found.
4. Tanta, who in her youth explored local ruins and can tell their secrets for a little drink but gets drunk and goes from truth to fiction.
5. Lavata, who is very superstitious.
6. Tonis, who wants to learn to read and begs the party’s spellcaster to enchant him.
7. Bargo, who has a pig that can genuinely sniff out magic, running around in circles.
8. Dryval, who practices juggling in hopes of winning a wife.
9. Poat, who is amazingly good at throwing things but wouldn’t dream of adventuring.
10. Lalia, who has carved 10 figures of locals and bowls them down as folk “witchcraft”.
11. Loganis, who has never met anyone quite like the heroes and often says so.
12. Pruce, who’s trying to sell a calf she’s deeply fond of, because she’s desperate for money.

2. Townsfolk

Townsfolk, or burghers, are free commoners who live in a town or city.

1. Nock Fresert, who wears long, pointed shoes and expects others to be envious.
2. Divestra Trig, who is waiting for her husband to return from sea but has a “love letter from him” that says he died of fever; she cannot read and so only recognizes his name: Hark.
3. Lowett & Powett, twin brothers who sabotage each other’s attempts to win a wife.
4. Elva & Portence, sisters who know information the heroes want but who argue about it.
5. Grovenor Hap, whose dog can talk after having eaten a fairy mushroom, but it mostly talks about how things smell.
6. Larter Hebbert, who is troubled by a fairy who remains invisible but always nearby.
7. Kaley Nilce, who walks on all fours because “that’s how all the animals walk. And why should we be different?”
8. Malek Dean, who is sure he can help the party, because his brother Colben is the town bailiff–or was until recently, when he was arrested, which is news to Malek.
9. Baggal Kolp, who has a brother who went to sea and fought pirates.
10. Faggle Hornby, who is bailiff of the town but thinks the party wants to sell things without being part of the merchant guild.
11. Trimothy Hamm, who has a fine idea about killing monsters: sneak up on them.
12. Corder Barnhart, who seems normal but carries a child’s doll around.

3. Hermits

Hermits are free commoners and gentry who live an ascetic life in a cave, ruins, or dungeon or in a special cell (anchorage) in an abbey, monastery, or church.

1. Farthur, who studies the clouds for portents.
2. Nella, who tries to keep herself from seeing other people by covering her eyes.
3. Felton, who is writing many “mysteries”, which are rambling theories.
4. Lunic, who hears music everywhere and likes more music played to drown it out.
5. Thrella, who dresses in burlap she calls “the finest silk of Ptalla”, her deity.
6. Holter, who has painted a fantastic mural all over the inside of his cave.
7. Mare, whose hair is cursed to grow so rapidly that she idly cuts it with a knife all day.
8. Venkle, who knows the area like the back of his hand, including where to find treasure, which he refers to as “filth” and “the shiny muck” and won’t touch.
9. Lyon, who renounced his lands and title as Lord Lyon to live a solitary life and deeply regrets it.
10. Fulger, who sleeps in a tree and insists on being paid in food for information.
11. Candalara Veltonir, a gentlewoman who took to the wilderness to be closer to the gods.
12. Fatty Treman, who says he eats poorly but remains rotund.

4. Merchants & Traders

Merchants are free commoners who deal in trade goods, typically in a fixed location (wholesale or retail). Traders are those who personally move it from place to place and typically buy from wholesale merchants and sell to retail merchants.

1. Fremant, who is surprised people aren’t buying his turnips and radishes.
2. Folino Abinis, who’s trying to sell stuffed juvenile crocodiles of great interest to locals (but none buy) and who’s sure the party’s spellcaster could enchant them somehow.
3. Fabba, who bakes bread in the shape of hearts and covers them in red gravy, symbolizing the bloody hearts ripped from the chests of her enemies.
4. Thaster Rackwile, whose cart contains a huge object that makes a clacking noise and is, in fact, a city clock mechanism he stole and will not want to uncover, instead claiming it’s a sleeping “creature of the strangest sort”.
5. Lobert Rale, a bookbinder, who is very, very interested in getting a tanned demon skin.
6. Nevert Lalicur, who deals in vegetables but keeps a pig to release if attacked by monsters, hoping to distract them or bribe them.
7. Drover Gunnal, who drives livestock to market for a fee, currently driving goats and quite handy with a spear.
8. Teeter Banknall, who wants to buy something the party doesn’t want to sell.
9. Dravier of Gander, who wants to buy blonde or red hair but will make up lies about why.
10. Nepall of Brookdale, who is very nervous, because he is a captive of the outlaws hiding under a tarp in his horse wagon.
11. Tagher Relitur, who has anonymous buyers for dangerous goods, if such goods were found.
12. Shalanty Brassert, who wants to know all about what monsters the heroes have fought.

5. Wizards

This includes mages, wizards, sorcerers/sorceresses, and such.

1. Brasilton Forkmoor, who animates children’s toys and is surrounded by them.
2. Trobill Doams, who is followed by small birds everywhere, as the result of a mishap.
3. Candalina Hynch, who talks about “my spells” constantly but won’t say what they are.
4. Corilonos the Blue, who weaves signs and symbols in the air wherever he goes, seemingly looking for something, but unclear what.
5. Thoro Devinta, who wears a long necklace wrapped around her neck 5 times, plays with it constantly, implies it’s magical, and “wouldn’t dream of parting with it”.
6. Meck McTree, who dances about to make his (dubious) points.
7. Lonance Eberil, whose twin brother Lonart is his magically enthralled servant.
8. Questor Nix, whose beautiful, devoted wife Hena must be dosed with a love philter nightly; she keeps saying rather awful things about him then pretends they were jokes.
9. Nebrit of Charr, who has no legs and rides in a dog cart pulled by Stosh, a fine dog.
10. Beril Neveris, whose hair is forever on fire due to a magical mishap and who apologizes often.
11. Nita Limpagora, who has a cat’s whiskers and a tail due to a wild magic effect.
12. Zoric Zoricson, who enjoys helping townsfolk but robs graves to dabble in necromancy.

6. Clerics

This includes clerics, druids, paladins, shamans, and such.

1. Harval Castigor, who carries a large, albino snake on his shoulders.
2. Fenta Cowel, druid who rides a bear and wants to know about nobles but won’t say why.
3. Brother Ferman, who casually scourges himself from time to time while talking with others.
4. Nature-sister Frementa, a slip of a woman druid who rides around barefoot on two tortoises, going only as fast as they go.
5. Saint Rehalde, who blesses–and curses–people freely and hasn’t actually been named a saint by the church, but his entourage believes he will be.
6. Sir Doric Nilvall, a paladin who likes to talk about his “righteous kills”.
7. Druid Bunto Filts, who takes illness from the elderly and gives it to children, “for balance”.
8. Patriarch Gonus, who asks frequently about how many temples of evil you have destroyed and how recently.
9. Sister Encilata, who is kind and humble, in part because she is followed by a tiny rain cloud everywhere she goes, a curse she bears with grace (and dampness). “It’s very useful in a drought, you know! Gentle folk ask me to come spend a week at their manor!”
10. Druid Lorn, who wears nothing but a robe of feathers and who likes to explain why goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins are necessary to the balance of the realm.
11. Friar Benatus, who has recently taken to not wearing shoes and is not used to it.
12. Father Tovin Short, who carries a sack of apples and offers them freely, worried that they’ll go bad before he can give them all away.

7. Nobles

Nobles include gentlemen/gentlewomen, lords/ladies, barons, earls, counts, dukes, etc.

1. Count Zero Von Zeromar, who can divine secrets with an enchanted (live) fish in a large bowl. However, the secrets are intriguing but not actually useful.
2. Lady Abessa of Folby, who is always surrounded by shoes (in her house) and changes them frequently.
3. Abervale of Comn, who rode away from his manor 10 days ago on a drunken bender, lost his horse, and cannot find anyone who knows the road to Comn or owns a map.
4. Labereth, Lady Carbile, who tries to outwit the party, whom she believes are assassins.
5. Forgest, Lord Knope, who seeks to be cured of a disease he refuses to describe.
6. Velby, Baron Hest, who goes about in the disguise of a clown with his servants as an “antic troupe”; they are very deferential to him, to his annoyance.
7. Therret, Lord Dombler, who is a valiant knight but paranoid of witches.
8. “Habitt, Lord Natherly”, whose talkative “servant” is really his master, having demanded they switch clothing when they travel for security reasons.
9. Lady Borta, Baroness Myle, doesn’t believe virtually anything the party says.
10. Devilin Forture, gentleman adventurer, who wants to hear the party’s stories but keeps claiming he’s done the same things.
11. Lord Devert of Drale, who just thinks commoners are so quaint and interesting.
12. Corgan, Lord Whelpern, whose bodyguard of knights is a little jumpy, what with the rabble all about.

8. Guardians

1. A golem guards the door of a ruins. The heroes may simply walk past it, thru broken-down walls; the golem guards only the door itself. If asked to open the door and step aside, it will. Touching the door, however, will cause it to attack.
2. Lonus Pekar, who guards a castle gate and wants to know the password, even tho he himself has not been given a password, because “it is secret“. He seems to be under the impression that passwords are magical.
3. Shelaya Wertal, who guards a gate and has a list of those who may enter and is dumb enough to possibly be persuaded to add your name to the list.
4. Londar the Eternal, a 1000-year-old construct that can barely move and guards a crypt and who likes to talk about the days when many people came and went and all knew the password. He freely mentions several different passwords.
5. Pike Boveril, who carries an 18-foot pike and insists that everyone say 20 feet away and shout their business at him while he shouts questions.
6. Anka, a magical apparition that guards a treasure, but who can’t do anything but try to trick intruders into triggering traps.
7. Deverona, the ghost of a librarian who guards a little private library, now in ruins. She mostly follows the heroes around and tells them not to touch things or, if they aren’t too heavy, puts them back herself. What would give her solace is if someone found the vault who promised to take the priceless tomes preserved therein to the Royal Archives. One of them is her spirit anchor, so where it goes, she goes, until they’re safe with the archivist.
8. Zanu the Four-Armed, a construct with four arms (one broken), who guards the evil temple of Pepythios and brags about treasure hunters it’s killed.
9. Dagnatha the Serpent, a giant snake that guards the entrance to an ancient ruins and likes to ask questions that seem like tests or riddles but none of which will actually allow entrance, right or wrong.
10. Thornisol, an animated bronze statue that guards a dungeon. Any may enter as they like, but will die trying to exit, if he has his way (He was told “guard this exit” rather than “guard this entrance”.) He could be persuaded to guard the entrance instead….
11. Heppert Bye, who guards a nobleman, but who is very keen on the idea of adventuring.
12. Hilgon Hogheart, the ghost of an executed outlaw who guards his buried treasure but would trade it to someone who exacted revenge for him, if they could make heads or tales of his nearly incoherent moaning.

9. Miscellaneous

1. “Sir” Walbert, who dresses in rags but carries a lance and rides a fine horse and sometimes drags a troll to town and lives on the bounties. Self taught.
2. Beefer, who is a blacksmith and likes to prove he’s the strongest man in the realm.
3. Nocturne Whyle, who composes elaborate musical pieces.
4. Carver Rink, who is personable, but distracted and constantly looking over his shoulder.