What about Bevelek and Vankor?

[LeadPal]

We have tons of material written on JR's four major NPCs. But what about the other two guys?

The Jade Regent Player's Guide wrote:

Sandru's caravan starts with six travelers—Sandru, Koya, Ameiko, Shalelu, and two Varisian brothers named Bevelek and Vankor (additional drivers for the caravan, with Sandru himself serving as the third driver).

I want to spotlight these two characters next session--I think I'll have them get upset and protest that they're being ignored by the rest of the caravan. "You act like we don't even have faces!" Does anyone have any ideas for how to roleplay them from that point on? And especially, does anyone have any good artwork to depict the two?

[erikdlan]

I did not use them much in my game, but they had a sad end.

Spoiler for Night of Frozen Shadows:

Vankor was killed by the Frozen Shadows. Bevelek didn't want to stay at the caravan after his brother's death. Both events had a deep impact on Sandru and Koya.

Some ideas for Bevelek and Vankor:
- One of them could fall in love with one of the ladies in the caravan (Ameiko, Shalelu or even one of the female pcs), this could create some roleplaying situations or even the upset you describe: "I would give my live for you and you act like we don't even have faces!"

- They are not heroes so they can get really scared of any of the terrible monsters or supernatural events they face during the adventure.

- One of them could be offensive or openly racist against people from other countries and cultures (ulfen, erutaki or minkai people). This could create some troubles for the party.

- One of them could betray the PCs and help the evil guys. Onis and ninja can be very persuasive if they want to and nothing is more persuasive than gold.

[Chernobyl]

The only place they're even mentioned by name is in the players guide...they're not mentioned in the books!

[Doram ob'Han]

In my game, Bevelek is superstitious. He knows every urban legend in Varisia, and belIeves them all. He knows all the Varisian superstitions (like spitting over your shoulder whenever you see a black dog).

Vankor is married to a woman who stays in Varisia, and talks about her constantly. He tells stories incessantly about his "crazy wife," and says that she is the reason he spends so much time away from Sandpoint. If anyone sy pathizes, however, he curses them for insulting the love of his life. Recently, the party was attacked by a Hodag, which reminded Vankor, yet again, of his wife.

Both brothers are inveterate gamblers, and are always on the lookout for games of cards. When they find one (in Ravenmoor, for example), they work together to fleece the locals.

I also have character slugs for a magewright, a cook, some guards and a couple passengers, if you're interested.

[LeadPal]

erikdlan wrote:

- One of them could fall in love with one of the ladies in the caravan (Ameiko, Shalelu or even one of the female pcs), this could create some roleplaying situations or even the upset you describe: "I would give my live for you and you act like we don't even have faces!"

I've got the perfect character for this. The caravan has hired two guards, Melvus and Lanalee, who are having a not-so secret affair. The party has so far resisted intervening, even though their romance has been interfering with their duties, but if it turns into a love triangle with Bevelek...

Doram ob'Han wrote:

In my game, Bevelek is superstitious. He knows every urban legend in Varisia, and belIeves them all. He knows all the Varisian superstitions (like spitting over your shoulder whenever you see a black dog).

I've already given the role of superstitious Varisian to Sandru--he never misses an opportunity to point out a bad omen. I can definitely borrow your other two ideas, though.

Doram ob'Han wrote:

I also have character slugs for a magewright, a cook, some guards and a couple passengers, if you're interested.

Absolutely. I'm certain my players will want to hire more NPCs as soon as they can afford it--they seem to enjoy designing their dream caravan as much as actually adventuring.

[Doram ob'Han]

LeadPal wrote:

Doram ob'Han wrote:

In my game, Bevelek is superstitious. He knows every urban legend in Varisia, and belIeves them all. He knows all the Varisian superstitions (like spitting over your shoulder whenever you see a black dog).

I've already given the role of superstitious Varisian to Sandru--he never misses an opportunity to point out a bad omen. I can definitely borrow your other two ideas, though.

In that case, he could borrow from my Sandru and be a lovable womanizer (meaning that he flirts with everyone, maybe has a few one-night stands in towns the caravan passes through, but isn't terribly serious about it, until he meets and falls in love with one of the PCs).

LeadPal wrote:

Doram ob'Han wrote:

I also have character slugs for a magewright, a cook, some guards and a couple passengers, if you're interested.

Absolutely. I'm certain my players will want to hire more NPCs as soon as they can afford it--they seem to enjoy designing their dream caravan as much as actually adventuring.

I borrowed some of the names from Richard Pett's _Your Whispering Homunculus_, which I highly recommend to GMs who like to include random world elements in their games.

Spoiler-tagged for my players, and length:

On the way north, the party picked up six passengers. A family who had been scarred in a goblin attack (a child who had a goblin phobia; his mother, who had been facially scarred; and his father, who had lost his voice), a father and his almost-adult daughter, and a single man. The last two, Cessily and Fat Ferris (who is not fat, nor is his name Ferris) wound up staying with the party after Losthome. Cessily flirts with every male in the caravan, although she has an order of priority that goes, roughly: rich, handsome, single. If a male PC hits the trifecta, bonus. She gradually learns to be the cook, and just wants to get out of the LLK and find a place where the men are better looking, and more wealthy. Fat Ferris is wanted by the law, although he doesn't tell the party that, and it will catch up with him eventually.

In Kalsgard, the party looked for a magewright. The problem is, any wizard high enough level to craft the kind of items a 6th-level party wants is too high level to go with them. So they found Ortsdotter. Ort is an armorer with five daughters, all of whom are involved in the family business. Ortsdotter has a first name, but no one calls her by it. She's a 1st level Wizard, 4th level expert, with all of the crafting feats. If you've ever seen _A Knight's Tale_, she's a bit like the blacksmith: brilliant, experimental, and very much wants to get out of the LLK, where, as a woman, her contributions are less recognized. By hitching her wagon to the party's star, she hopes to become a better wizard, and found her own smithy.

In other news, they rescued a huldra as a spellcaster, because one of them is a kitsune and I thought it would be fun.

Those are some of my NPCs, anyway. I hope that helps!

[Cthulhudrew]

How about playing them like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, from the Stoppard play?

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/349563

[Chaos_Descending]

I, like a lot of the DMs, have struggled with the caravan rules. However, I have paid plenty of attention to the minor NPCs.

Bevelek and Vankor are twins to a tee. Both of them seem to enjoy the game of looking exactly alike each other and trading names on a whim. I run an abbreviated relationship score thing with the minor NPCs, so as a player gets to know them after a while (or puts effort into it) they start to finally notice the difference between them.

Bevelek almost always gravitates towards animals. While he isn't shy, he just likes animals better. He doesn't really care for the pranks that Vankor insists on, but goes along with it out of love for his brother. When encountered alone, Bevelek rarely lies about which twin he is, is warm and inviting, and always interested in talking shop. If he gains class levels he would take Rogue (Varisian Driver).

Vankor prefers people and games. When able he likes to maintain the wagons, keep them in good repair and then go on with interacting with other people. He loves playing off of the twin aspect, and will never pass up an opportunity to try to confuse someone. Of the two he is the most dissatisfied with his life, hoping to find a nice woman and eventually settle down or start a family caravan of his own. However, he loves his brother too much to abandon him.

Spoiler in case anyone in the party reads this post.

Spoiler:

He currently dreams of settling down with the party's summoner, but is afraid to approach her due to the fact that
a. she is a 20 cha bombshell who he feels is out of his league.
b. she is a Taldain noble-woman who he feels is out of his league.
c. only recently did he receive confirmation that the varisian slurs she spouts out was just her way of getting under Sandru's skin, and that this wasn't because of any actual hatred against Varisians just the Taldain form of "being friendly"

[PhibbyRizo]

I have their current most defining feature as a language barrier. I have them only speak Varisian and only a few characters can understand them. Mostly the talk only with each other and laugh at the party behind their backs.

[Scharlata]

Tony Palmer wrote:

I have their current most defining feature as a language barrier. I have them only speak Varisian and only a few characters can understand them. Mostly the talk only with each other and laugh at the party behind their backs.

Nice! :)

I made both to be very different brothers: Bevelek is the tidy, friendly, and subservient one--always asking if he can help anyone or doing the odd jobs. On the other side, Vankor is the unshaven drunkard--always complaining about his "burdensome" job and his "miserable" life. The two have become some sort of running gag.