#26: Who or what was the most memorable NPC you've ever encountered? Why?
That'd be my version of "One-Eyed" Hank Ketchum. Again, I'm going back to my classic Deadlands campaign. He ended up being in Veronica's character, "Black Widow" Beth's, background as the guy who recruited her. I brought him in as a one-off to kick off the campaign. He was well-liked by the group, so I ended up making him recurring.
He wasn't one of those GM characters that stayed with the group or anything, but he did show up now and then to give the group a mission or nudge them in one direction or another. I never had him saving the day or anything--that's never fun for a group when a GM character has to bail them out all the time.
The thing that made Hank such a nifty NPC was how organically the character grew.
ReplyDeleteLet me explain. This campaign was different then many others because the PC's started out with only basic background ideas. The meat of each character's history was developed using flashbacks and "memories" as the present day story unfolded. Hank started out making a one-shot appearance, but immediately got dragged to different memories and plot points. Before we realized it, he had become a vital part of the storyline and not just the plot device Ron had intended. He ended up as fleshed out as any PC (and more than some I've seen!). So much so that when we made a soundtrack CD for the game, he got his own track right alongside the PCs!