AP with the best NPCs?

[Ron Hay]

This is a variant of the "suggest an AP" thread. My group loves interacting with NPCs, it is undoubtedly their favorite part of RPGs. I'm on Book 2 of Rise of the Runelords with them, and so far I've been a bit disappointed with the NPCs - they're ok, but a bit dull. I really like the AP format, though, and it's proven a great springboard for my own style of GMing (which is largely improvisational).

So I ask, what AP (beyond RotRL) has the best NPCs? As in the most fun for players to interact with, and fleshed out in the AP itself.

[Ajaxis]

Which AP had the most intering characters, that frequently interact with the PCs, and our re-occuring and intergrated throught the AP?

For me, Curse of the Crimson Throne.

[Lord Fyre]

Ajaxis wrote:

Which AP had the most intering characters, that frequently interact with the PCs, and our re-occuring and intergrated throught the AP?

For me, Curse of the Crimson Throne.

Agreed. Curse of the Crimson Throne (especially the first three chapters) has some of the most interresting and best fleshed out NPCs of all the adventure paths - that none-the-less do not "take over" from the PCs.

[Disclaimer: I have not played in or read the Jade Regent.]

[Laithoron]

I've really enjoyed GMing the NPCs from Serpent's Skull thus far. I daresay more than a few of them have grown on the PCs as well. One of my players is even hoping to keep Sasha on as their cohort and has become romantically involved with her.

Disclaimer: I haven't read Carrion Crown at all, don't know much about Legacy of Fire, have only read the first part of Crimson Throne, and only know the pre-existing NPC from Jade Regent (Ameiko and Shalelu).

[Ron Hay]

Are the NPCs well described in a single location? One of my complaints about RotR is that while there are NPCs, they are haphazardly described here and there, so if you have to look up information on them, you need to scour the document, and much of the time the info isn't even there.

CotCT comes up a lot as people's favorite, but it makes it more appealing to me that it is because of the strong RPing potential. Is the first book of that series a good example of the kind and quality of NPCs for the whole series?

[Gorbacz]

Curse of the Crimson Throne. One name: Laori Vaus.

[FallofCamelot]

Haven't played CotCT but I have heard good things about the NPC's in that one.

Of the AP's I have run I reckon the adversary/allied NPC's I had most fun running are:

Legacy of Fire::

Best Adversary: Kardswaan was the most impressive opponent and the most memorable fight (Pugwumpi notwithstanding)

Best Ally: Undrella. I just played up the wrongness of her and gave her a really creepy voice. Didn't stop some of my players trying to romance her however... (shudder)

Kingmaker:

Best Adversary: Grigori. My players hated the rat b*****d and they eventually had to pay him off. Vordakai was the best of the big bads.

Best Ally: Kobold High General Mikmek the Centipede Slayer! The Old Beldame was also cool in a Granny Weatherwax kind of way. But my favourites have to be Pervalash and Tig-Titter-Tut, now that was a great encounter to run!

Carrion Crown (first two books):

Best Adversary: Vorkstag and Grine so far but I suspect my players will grow to hate some of the residents of Ascanor Lodge...

Best Ally: Ben (or the Beast of Lepidstad as he's more commonly known) and the plucky Kendra Lorrimor are my two favourites.

So far my favourite roleplaying bits have been in Carrion Crown and that may end up being my favourite AP the way it is going.

Kingmaker is what you make of it NPC wise. Due to the necessity to fill roles with NPC's during the campaign the NPC's don't really have a lot of flesh to them and most don't really have any defined goals after their first appearance. It's therefore a bit light on memorable ally NPC's. The adversary NPC's are much more interesting.

Legacy of Fire has plenty of decent NPC's both adversaries and allies. The trick here is to use the NPC's as a way to hint at the ongoing plot and on occassion provide direct exposition.

The point with NPC's is that some just jump off the page and become really interesting characters (my players still talk about Pervalash and Tig-Titter-Tut from Kingmaker for example) whereas others just don't resonate with me. In sure Oxvard was a great character for some LoF groups but for me he was just this guy with a spike in his head.

tl;dr: NPC's are what you make of them, my favourites so far have been from Carrion Crown.

[walter mcwilliams]

Currently running CoCT and the NPC there are wonderful, and very memorable. However, Savage Tide had some wonderful NPC as did Shackled City.

Overall, I think all the NPC's are wonderful in the AP I have DM, played and run. Memorable NPC differ from group to group as everyone keys on something different.

[Sunderstone]

FallofCamelot wrote:

tl;dr: NPC's are what you make of them, my favourites so far have been from Carrion Crown.

+1

In my "Burnt Offerings" (RotR) playthrough, Sandpoint came alive in a big way. Ven Vinder's promiscuous daughter Shayliss saw alot of gametime with us. Orik Vancaskerkin became an ally/meat shield temporarily as I tied him to the PC fem Rogue's past in Magnimar. Their reunion was "interesting" to say the least. Savah from the armory completed the love triangle with the PC that got caught with Shayliss, gossip seems to spread fast in Sandpoint. Ameiko and Shalelu of course and the Goblin Druid, Gogmurt. I made him part of the Birdcruncher tribe refugees (along with some of the external goblins C1-9) trying to salvage their home here. He agreed to stand down with a few goblins and let the PCs deal with Ripnugget in exchange for Gogmurt to become Chieftain and an ally to the PCs and the non-raiding of sandpoint and its roads, etc.

Breath life into any NPC's in any AP to your heart's content. :)

[J-Bone]

Serpent Skull for me. The first module Smugglers Shiv sets you up right off the bat with several very interesting NPCs with clear ways to get them friendly... or against the PCs. They can even play a major role in the AP later on if you with to continue them on as friends or adversaries.

[DM Jeff]

Curse of the Crimson Throne, hands-down.

Don't ask me specifically why but when my group tells old stories about other APs we've been through, there's plenty of NPCs referenced, but they can't always remember their names. Everyone from CotCT is always remembered with a name. As a DM it was sheer circus time with the NPCs from this campaign. I loved it.