"Oh hello, it's me the wood witch
I've got plants in my bag"
Hey friends!
A few weeks ago I made a video
where I shared three NPCs that you could adopt or adapt for your own tabletop games
Each one has a personality, a look, a voice, and a quest hook
My hope is that you can drop these NPCs straight into your campaign
for an easy side quest
Or even use them as a starting point for something a little better suited
to whatever story you're already building
In this video, I'm gonna bring you more NPCs like that
But with a little twist
Because this video is sponsored by Wyrmwood
to promote their elvish dice vaults for Valentine's day
And I know, they're pretty
But they are so much cooler than that
When you buy one of these vaults you send Wyrmwood a message of your choice
anything you want
And they actually send it to a professional linguist and Tolkien language scholar
who then translates it into Quenya Elvish
for Wyrmwood to engrave or inlay onto your vault
Use the link in the description to order your own vault before February 14th
and you can use the code GINNYDI for free domestic shipping
or GINNYDINT for $10 off international shipping
Now this may surprise you, it shouldn't
But I love elves a lot
So I have designed three new elf NPCs
inspired by the three different wood and inlay options that Wyrmwood is offering
Since this is for Valentine's day
I have tied all of their quest hooks to love and romance in some way
And I hope you like them!
The Wood Elf is a cherry dice vault with your message engraved on the top
Morelia the wood witch lives in a quaint vine covered cottage in the forest
just outside of a small town
She's well known there
She serves the people of the town with healing potions and poultices,
divination charms, and other small magics
You'll be sure to hear about her in town
Many of the people there feel strongly about Morelia these days
They'll tell you in wistful tones about how wonderful she is
How kind, how beautiful
If you come by her cottage
You might find one of the town's people gazing dreamily towards it as they wander past
Or tucking a love letter under the front door
MORELIA: Oh no, not again
We're closed for business!
-When your players encounter Morelia
she will immediately recognize that they are not from the town
which will cause her visible relief
with some embarrassment she will tell them the whole story
MORELIA: I'm still kicking myself about it
I've made a thousand love potions they're not even difficult
I must have been so distracted that day
Anyway they all went wrong
A whole batch
Whatever I did it's made me the target of all their affections
Young, old, men, women
They'll be so embarrassed when it's fixed
-She knows how to make an antidote
but was not prepared to have to produce it in bulk
and she's missing a key ingredient
MORELIA: It's called Pixie's tongue, sort of a creeping ivy with little pink flowers
long and thin, very hard to cultivate
I don't need much
It grows in the caverns at the foothills of the mountain range to the west
Not such a long journey, but it's wyvern territory I'm afraid
You'll have to be either very sneaky, or very strong
Morelia doesn't have much gold, but if the party is willing to work for trade
She can offer all kinds of potions and charms
Feel free to adjust the rewards and the monsters based on your party's level
The High Elf is a Bolivian rosewood dice vault with your message inlaid in brass
Next time your party is seeking some kind of information
They may meet Nymwen in a library, university,
or knowledge domain deity's temple
She is a scholar
Rarely seen without her nose in a book or a scroll
NYMWEN: I have the information you seek, but you see I have a problem of my own
If you will help me solve mine, I can help you solve yours
-She shows you a book
A collection of love letters written by a poet
Dead, over a century from some wasting sickness
But Nymwen doesn't speak of this poet as if she's long dead
In fact she speaks of her quite intimately
Ayanna speaks of love, the way only a true lover can
She knows her own heart, and I am certain, would know mine
In this world I have found none suited to be by my side
But since discovering this collection, I think
perhaps it is only because she and I merely ran afoul of time
-Before she shares the information your players need
Nymwen asks that the party help her break into the graveyard
where Ayanna has been interred
If your party includes a cleric or a druid
She will ask them to cast a spell for her
Otherwise, she herself can be a cleric and simply ask that the party protect her while she casts
NYMWEN: All I seek is to speak with her spirit, just once
I've found a scroll that makes that possible
A challenging spell to be sure
But love is worth a challenge, is it not?
-Perceptive party members may sense that Nymwen is not telling the whole truth
She will not surrender the scroll until they are at the grave
At which point a cleric or druid will be able to recognize that the spell
is not a spell for communication at all
But true resurrection
NYMWEN: Can you fault me!
Would you not do anything to be united with your soulmate?
The being you are truly meant to love
Who are you to stand in the way of destiny?
Please!
-It's your choice whether Nymwen will simply try and persuade the players
or take more drastic measures to achieve her ends
And if Ayanna is successfully raised
It's up to you how she feels about all this
The Drow is a macassar ebony dice vault with genuine bone inlay
If your party is seeking work they may hear that a local noble
has put out a hush-hush call for a person or group
willing to take on some non-traditional work
If they're interested they'll be put in contact with Lady Pyriel of Tarave
A drow who is clearly going through something
PYRIEL: Excellent, you're here
You look like exactly the people I need
-She has an unsettling undercurrent of rage running beneath every word and movement
But it's not directed at your players
PYRIEL: I can picture him now probably meeting with his tailor
for final alterations on the doublet I picked for him
And my own gown a perfect match
I should burn it
Pyriel was unceremoniously dumped the previous night
by Veldren, an earl, known to be handsome, charming, and capricious
Pyriel had planned to accompany him to a much anticipated banquet
The social event of the season this very evening
Anyone who is anyone in the city will be there
Now shamed, she herself will not be attending
But she does plan to get your party on the guest list
PYRIEL: He doesn't know you, he'll never see it coming
Veldrenora that vapid excuse for a woman on his arm
Oh, I wish I could see their faces when you humiliate them in front of the entire city
I don't care how you do it
I just want him to never be able to show his disloyal face around here again
-She's happy to outfit your party in lavish clothing,
provide appropriately grand transportation to the manor where the banquet will be held,
and pay handsomely for the service they'll be providing her,
either in gold, or in secrets, information, or a point of contact
if that better suits your campaign's current direction
I don't want him hurt, only his pride his reputation
I want that flimsy little waif he left me for to laugh at him
to be ashamed to be seen with him
Then he'll regret it
Then he'll remember just how good he had it
Fool
-At the banquet your party may meet any manner of important well-connected NPCs
perhaps even connecting them back to your main plot
or into a new one
Veldren will respond poorly to being publicly embarrassed
And Pyriel will take great glee in hearing players recount his public meltdown
If they really get creative with it she may even tip
I hope you like my three new elves
I'm out here hoarding elf characters like it's my job
I guess it kind of is though
Anyway remember that these are just a starting point
Maybe they'll work in your game exactly as I've represented them here
But if not, you are more than welcome to change them in whatever way you need
in order to suit your own plot, your own characters, and your own world
And remember if you want one of these beautiful custom elvish dice vaults from Wyrmwood
You have until Valentine's day, February 14th, to place your order
Check the description for the link
And for coupon codes to save you some money on shipping