Two: Guards NPC has "convenient" relationship with city guards, who may follow, harass, or imprison the player characters with little reason or evidence. Once imprisoned, they will be at the mercy of the antagonist. Three: Spy A spy will follow players. Every place they visit will be visited visited shortly thereafter by the spy, who will quietly inquire as to the nature of the players' visit. The spy will note useful information such as equipment purchases, and will usually report daily, keeping his master informed of the players' activities. Four: Traitors: The players will meet one or more NPCs who will seem to be friendly, helpful, and even stout enough of heart to accompany them on their quest. Indeed, the new friend(s) will join the players only to betray them at a critical instant. Traitors will usually not turncoat to fight, but rather will duck fights. They might abet an attack when they have guard duty, steal a powerful magic item, or poison the camp's food, making everyone too weak to fight. Five: Assassins: The art of assassination is never to let a person even suspect that he is a target. Assassins will follow the movement of the most powerful player by quizzing the local townspeople, tavern workers, or other bystanders. When they gain a general plan of the character's usual activities, they arrange an ignoble end. Assassins will rarely jump out from nowhere to back stab a target, rather trust in cunning and subterfuge. Poison, dropping heavy things off roofs, and archery are all favorites of experienced assassins. Six: Revelers: Revelers will appear as a large group of drunks, perhaps too aggressive for their own good, but not dangerous. In truth they will be a group of warriors and sneaks gathered together for the sole purpose of killing or maiming one of the players. They will usually engage only a single character in action (preferably the weakest), and then only when help is too far away to come in time. Seven: Slanderers: Slanderers will meet and talk with the players at great length, perhaps even guiding them around the area, and will be extremely friendly. Then after a day or so, the slanderer will inform a local lord or other powerful person of the players' evil nature and terrible plans (invented, of course, by the infamous antagonist that the players are hunting), which the slanderer alone "just happened to hear." Eight: Rumors: Upon their arrival in the local village or town, the players will hear rumors greatly distorting the power of the antagonist. Several people will go out of their way to warn the players to abandon their quest. Local nobles may try desperate measures to prevent the players from angering the powerful antagonist. Nine: Thieves: Thieves will be dispatched to steal the players' most powerful items. Obviously, they will strike at night, when the players are asleep. They routinely use items such as blow darts and sleep gas to render guards helpless. Thieves may also pickpocket players when they rove the streets. Ten: Informers: Informers will go out to the townspeople, nobles, or local wizards, spreading tales of the diabolical players. These tales will play up the fearsome and evil nature of the party. Informants will rarely back up what they say, always in a hurry to move on "before they get me too!" Instead, they will generally appeal to ignorance by name dropping and half-truths. Jack: Politicians: With the local nobles and leaders loyal to the antagonist, life will be rough for the players. Speeches and rallies will whip the local populace into a frenzy of murder and revenge. Every ill the community has suffered or imagined will be blamed on the players, and the people will stage murderous hunts through the area looking for the players. Queen: Bards: Bards will carry the tale of either the players' evil intent or the power of the antagonist's wrath throughout the countryside. There will be few people who have passed through the area who have not heard the tales. This will make it very difficult for the players to obtain any kind of information or assistance. King: Mata Hari: The antagonist will dispatch a single person with the intent to become the lover of one of the most powerful player characters. The lover will be most helpful in any endeavor the players wish. The ultimate goal is for the lover to spy on the players, learning their innermost secrets and plans and then to betray her partner, leaving him at the mercy of the antagonist, alone and helpless. Ace: Mob: When the players arrive in the town, or village, they are greeted by shouts of "There they are!" ' "Kill them!" "Blood! Bloodl Blood!", as hundreds of inhabitants begin to throw stones and rush them. The players must decide whether to retreat from the area, or enter into combat with a mob of normal townsfolk, who are obviously under the influence of some sinister power. Mobs are usually started by the politicians and certain key citizens. Illuminating the Enemy Quick Rules for Beefing Up Your NPCs Introduction Clubs: Followers Diamonds: Locations Hearts: Tactics and Diplomacy Spades: Magic and Magical Items Back to Shadis #17 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com