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Instant NPCs

Sometimes the players will come across someone who becomes important in the moment. When the ritual goes wrong and a poor captive gets the power cosmic what does that villager do with it? Who were they?

When you need a quick NPC all you need is an instinct and some way to pursue it. We call that a knack, it can be anything from a skill to a title to a debt owed. Combine the two and you have an NPC who has something they want and a way to try to get it—you’re ready to go.

100 Instincts

  1. To avenge
  2. To spread the good word
  3. To reunite with a loved one
  4. To make money
  5. To make amends
  6. To explore a mysterious place
  7. To uncover a hidden truth
  8. To locate a lost thing
  9. To kill a hated foe
  10. To conquer a faraway land
  11. To cure an illness
  12. To craft a masterwork
  13. To survive just one more day
  14. To earn affection
  15. To prove a point
  16. To be smarter, faster and stronger
  17. To heal an old wound
  18. To extinguish an evil forever
  19. To hide from a shameful fact
  20. To evangelize
  21. To spread suffering
  22. To prove worth
  23. To rise in rank
  24. To be praised
  25. To discover the truth
  26. To make good on a bet
  27. To get out of an obligation
  28. To convince someone to do their dirty work
  29. To steal something valuable
  30. To overcome a bad habit
  31. To commit an atrocity
  32. To earn renown
  33. To accumulate power
  34. To save someone from a monstrosity
  35. To teach
  36. To settle down
  37. To get just one more haul
  38. To preserve the law
  39. To discover
  40. To devour
  41. To restore the family name
  42. To live a quiet life
  43. To help others
  44. To atone
  45. To prove their worth
  46. To gain honor
  47. To expand their land
  48. To gain a title
  49. To retreat from society
  50. To escape
  51. To party
  52. To return home
  53. To serve
  54. To reclaim what was taken
  55. To do what must be done
  56. To be a champion
  57. To avoid notice
  58. To help a family member
  59. To perfect a skill
  60. To travel
  61. To overcome a disadvantage
  62. To play the game
  63. To establish a dynasty
  64. To improve the realm
  65. To retire
  66. To recover a lost memory
  67. To battle
  68. To become a terror to criminals
  69. To raise dragons
  70. To live up to expectations
  71. To become someone else
  72. To do what can’t be done
  73. To be remembered in song
  74. To be forgotten
  75. To find true love
  76. To lose their mind
  77. To indulge
  78. To make the best of it
  79. To find the one
  80. To destroy an artifact
  81. To show them all
  82. To bring about unending summer
  83. To fly
  84. To find the six-fingered man
  85. To wake the ancient sleepers
  86. To entertain
  87. To follow an order
  88. To die gloriously
  89. To be careful
  90. To show kindness
  91. To not screw it all up
  92. To uncover the past
  93. To go where no man has gone before
  94. To do good
  95. To become a beast
  96. To spill blood
  97. To live forever
  98. To hunt the most dangerous game
  99. To hate
  100. To run away

100 Knacks

  1. Criminal connections
  2. Muscle
  3. Skill with a specific weapon
  4. Hedge wizardry
  5. Comprehensive local knowledge
  6. Noble blood
  7. A one-of-a-kind item
  8. Special destiny
  9. Unique perspective
  10. Hidden knowledge
  11. Magical awareness
  12. Abnormal parentage
  13. Political leverage
  14. A tie to a monster
  15. A secret
  16. True love
  17. An innocent heart
  18. A plan for the perfect crime
  19. A one-way ticket to paradise
  20. A mysterious ore
  21. Money, money, money
  22. Divine blessing
  23. Immunity from the law
  24. Prophecy
  25. Secret martial arts techniques
  26. A ring of power
  27. A much-needed bag of taters
  28. A heart
  29. A fortified position
  30. Lawmaking
  31. Tongues
  32. A discerning eye
  33. Endurance
  34. A safe place
  35. Visions
  36. A beautiful mind
  37. A clear voice
  38. Stunning looks
  39. A catchy tune
  40. Invention
  41. Baking
  42. Brewing
  43. Smelting
  44. Woodworking
  45. Writing
  46. Immunity to fire
  47. Cooking
  48. Storytelling
  49. Ratcatching
  50. Lying
  51. Utter unremarkableness
  52. Mind-bending sexiness
  53. Undefinable coolness
  54. A way with knots
  55. Wheels of polished steel
  56. A magic carpet
  57. Endless ideas
  58. Persistence
  59. A stockpile of food
  60. A hidden path
  61. Piety
  62. Resistance to disease
  63. A library
  64. A silver tongue
  65. Bloodline
  66. An innate spell
  67. Balance
  68. Souls
  69. Speed
  70. A sense of right and wrong
  71. Certainty
  72. An eye for detail
  73. Heroic self-sacrifice
  74. Sense of direction
  75. A big idea
  76. A hidden entrance to the city
  77. The love of someone powerful
  78. Unquestioning loyalty
  79. Exotic fruit
  80. Poison
  81. Perfect memory
  82. The language of birds
  83. A key to an important door
  84. Metalworking
  85. Mysterious benefactors
  86. Steely nerves
  87. Bluffing
  88. A trained wolf
  89. A long-lost sibling, regained
  90. An arrow with your name on it
  91. A true name
  92. Luck
  93. The attention of supernatural powers
  94. Kindness
  95. Strange tattoos
  96. A majestic beard
  97. A book in a strange language
  98. Power overwhelming
  99. Delusions of grandeur
  100. The wind at his back and a spring in his step

Names

Finbar, Hywn, One Eye, Alhoro, Arlon, Yev, Slime, Jocat, Ewing, Lim, Poy, Milo, Deryl, Medlyn, Astrafel, Daelwyn, Feliana, Damarra, Sistranalle, Pendrell, Melliandre, Dagoliir, Baldric, Leena, Dunwick, Willem, Edwyn, Florian, Seraphine, Quorra, Charlotte, Lily, Ramonde, Cassandra, Durga, Aelfar, Gerda, Rurgosh, Bjorn, Drummond, Helga, Siggrun, Freya, Wesley, Brinton, Jon, Sara, Hawthorn, Elise, Clarke, Lenore, Piotr, Dahlia, Carmine, Hycorax, Ethanwe, Sinathel, Demanor, Menoliir, Mithralan, Taeros, Aegor, Tanner, Dunstan, Rose, Ivy, Robard, Mab, Thistle, Puck, Anne, Serah, Elana, Obelis, Herran, Syla, Andanna, Siobhan, Aziz, Pelin, Sibel, Nils, Wei, Ozruk, Surtur, Brunhilda, Annika, Janos, Greta, Dim, Rundrig, Jarl, Xotoq, Elohiir, Sharaseth, Hasrith, Shevaral, Cadeus, Eldar, Kithracet, Thelian, Finnegan, Olive, Randolph, Bartleby, Aubrey, Baldwin, Becca, Hawke, Rudiger, Gregor, Brianne, Walton