NPC Concept: The Veteran Adventuring Party

Overview:

This is another concept that I actively use in my Tri-Panthonic War (TPW) Campaign. I like the trope of the "veteran adventurers" a lot. I think it gives the players something to aspire to, and those NPCs can actually serve a much larger purpose - dead or alive. In my campaign, they're living, and they exist in the form of a group known as the "Chroma Conquerors." They received that name because in the 15 years that they spent adventuring together, they killed over 100 chromatic dragons, including ancient ones. I'll be referring to them here pretty consistently, so I want to put their names, races, and classes here as a reference.

*Please note that I do reuse NPCs across campaigns as a Dungeon Master, especially when I have two different groups playing two different games. Those who are familiar with my "Welcome to the System Space" Campaign will note that Confidence Milton also appears there. This iteration of him is entirely different and separate from that one even though they share similarities. When these campaigns are over, I'll have to make posts about them and truly distinguish between them.*

- Confidence Milton: Tiefling Eldritch Knight Fighter

- Celorfin "Finn" Lihtaur: High Elf Archfey Warlock of The Summer Queen, Pact of the Chain

- Ianlin Jorsif: Forest Gnome Horizon Walker Ranger

- Irienne Yauda: Firbolg Oath of the Ancients Paladin of Artemis

- Helena Cassius: Human College of Glamour Bard

- Simon Cleves: Protector Aasimar of Oghma Conjuration Wizard

Let's dive into the possibilities of having NPCs like these guys!

Function and Motivations:

Depending on your setting, these types of NPCs can serve several functions and have varying motivations.

The Chroma Conquerors serve several roles. If you look at the list of PCs in this campaign (which can be found under "Characters in My Campaigns") you'll notice that some characters share last names with some of the Conquerors. Venus is Confidence Milton's granddaughter. Yera was adopted by Finn and his husband, Caldor, during the campaign. Finn also travels as a diplomat alongside the party, as the voice of their cause against cults. In those cases, the Conquerors take on familial and mentorship roles. Venus even refers to Confidence as "grandpa" and the other Conquerors as "auntie" or "uncle." Yera calls Finn "Dad" or "Dad-Finn" when "Dad-Cal" is also around.

The veteran party can also serve other functions, some of which are far more indirect. Some examples:

- Have this veteran party be the patron of this new party's adventure. Let them fund it. Let them be the quest-givers for once.

- Have this beloved veteran party that has risen to fame and power suddenly go missing. Now the new party has to try and find them.

- Does the veteran party mirror the PC party? Is it maybe just a little creepy? If so, is there a reason why? Let the PCs find it. Maybe the veteran party is dead in this case, and there's some reincarnation stuff happening.

- Always a classic: make this veteran party into the BBEGs of the campaign. Give them a reason to have turned evil. Maybe they were evil all along, and nobody realized it until just now. Make that reveal the plot hook of the game.

- Turn the veteran party into mentors for the new party (much like I did) and then do the classic "kill the mentor" trope. Now the party is super invested in avenging their deaths.

Additionally, I should mention, don't make this veteran party well-liked everywhere or by everyone. Give them a specific region where they have considerable sway. Maybe the world knows their names and has a rough idea of their deeds, but that region knows the specifics. That region has the literature, the artifacts, the soldiers and mages who fought alongside them, etc. In TPW, the Conquerors have the northern continent: Iparnord, but specifically, the country of Midtia. That continent was largely where the dragon problem was. Midtia was the country that gave them an army and eventually knighted them. The rest of the world knows them but has varying opinions about how "heroic" they really are, especially after it came to light that the Chroma Conquerors were the cause of the dragon problem in the first place. In that same vein, there's an air of mystery about a veteran adventuring party, in a way. Much of their story can be played up or down for wider audiences. Some of it may not be true. That was the case with the Conquerors. If this group of NPCs is going to be integral to your story, then this is another angle to look at it from.

Adventuring in D&D is often played as morally gray. Play that up here. Maybe this veteran party wants to help the PCs but they have a completely different way of doing it that doesn't quite fit the PCs' morals. That creates conflict. Maybe this becomes an example of the "new guard replacing the old guard." How do the veterans feel about that? Do they consider themselves "too old for this" at this point in their lives? Are they supportive of the "changing of the guard" or do they oppose it?

Conflict within the veteran party is also an interesting avenue for the PCs to explore. Maybe the PCs' goal is to, for lack of a better phrase, "get the band back together" but there was a falling out. Why? How do the party members feel about each other after that?

If your veteran party has a close relationship with the PCs, give them trauma and stories to tell of their adventuring days. Each of the Chroma Conquerors have stories from their "glory days" that evoke happiness, grief, regret, bliss, camaraderie, and other emotions. 

- Confidence had a daughter (Lydia, Venus's mother) who he left with her mother and pretty much neglected for the first fifteen years of her life so he could fight dragons. 

- Finn had a fiancée who was part of the Conquerors' larger army. She was killed. Finn found out later that she was scheduled to leave the army after that mission due to the fact that she was pregnant. 

- Helena was horribly scarred and blinded in their very last fight against an ancient black dragon. Her injuries ultimately led the Conquerors to make the choice to retire.

These are only some of the stories my players know about. There are several more that they don't know about and I can't recount them all because my players do, in fact, read this blog. Stories like these foster a connection between players and NPCs. They also provide warnings in a more serious campaign setting: sometimes adventuring can lead you to "bad endings." Behind every great victory, there could also be a great loss. The rewards from adventuring are great, but so are the risks.

Why Should I Include This?

I like mentor figures in fantasy settings. I know they're clichéd, but there's something about them and the relationships that come out of them that appeal to me. The "mentor death" trope, in my opinion, is optional, but can be very compelling and emotional if done correctly.

Even so, there's so much other potential with a group like this. There are multiple avenues that you can traverse as a DM. Work with whatever fits into your setting. The Chroma Conquerors are currently serving the purposes that I needed and wanted them to. They've become an integral part of the story and my players joke in-character about them. A veteran party can be a great starting point for a campaign, both from a roleplay perspective and a plot perspective.