Minor NPC Examples
I created this paired NPC set as a spec quest for an MMO in the spirit of World of Warcraft to demonstrate story-first systems thinking. Jorah is a soft-spoken dwarf miner who doesn’t realize he’s a ghost. He’s ward-bound to the mine’s threshold and literally can’t fix what was broken. Merrick is a Twilight’s Hammer saboteur and provides the counterweight as a motivated antagonist whose ritual uses bound souls to keep a fel focus open.
Jorah Cinderpick
(62, Male, Dwarf, Straight)
Player’s Fantasy/Experience: Pick up a quest chain from an abandoned mining town, investigate a haunted mine, lay restless spirits to rest, and uncover the saboteur behind the town’s fall through exploration, combat, and a few heartfelt choices.
How this character fits within the established framework of the game/world: Jorah Cinderpick is a retired dwarf miner and the last “living” soul of Dustmarch Hollow. Though he’s actually a ghost bound to the mine’s threshold and unable to pass the protective wards deeper inside. A fel-tainted mithril vein detonated after sabotage, trapping his crew’s spirits. Jorah can’t cross the ward line. Being racked by trauma, he hasn’t even realized he’s dead. He begs any passing adventurer to finish what he cannot: free his people and end the corruption in the shafts. This mid-level side-zone opens via a breadcrumb from a nearby hub; Jorah starts a 5-quest chain (investigate, craft ward-keys, cleanse nodes, confront saboteur, release). Completing the chain grants reputation with the local miners’ guild and a thematic trinket.
What this character wants: To free the trapped souls of his crew and see Dustmarch Hollow at peace.
If the character gets what they want: When the last soul is released, the wards drop. Jorah finally remembers the blast and realizes he died there too. He thanks the player, turns warm with relief, and passes on in a gentle fade, leaving a keepsake trinket (Jorah’s Lamp-Stone) behind.
If the character does not get what they want: The souls remain bound, fel seepage worsens, and Jorah lingers at the threshold. Bound by an uneasy, apologetic, and unable to leave state, he occasionally spawns new “Wail of the Hollow” ambient events until the chain is completed.
Merrick Coalmarrow
(53, Male, Human, Straight)
Player’s Fantasy/Experience: Track the source of the corruption, confront the mastermind in a set-piece encounter, and choose between a hard justice or a hard mercy that still resolves the threat.
How this character fits within the established framework of the game/world: Merrick Coalmarrow is a Twilight’s Hammer saboteur who seeded a fel artifact inside a rich mithril seam beneath Dustmarch Hollow. The cult’s aim: crack reality with a networked ritual that uses bound souls as batteries and opens small void rifts across the region. Merrick is a true-believer scholar turned field agent. He’s erudite, fatalistic, and visibly frayed by what he’s done. The player uncovers cult runes and a ritual focus through Jorah’s chain, then enters a sealed gallery where Merrick conducts the final binding. Boss flow: phase 1 (adds/void tears), phase 2 (artifact shield management), resolution choice (shatter the focus and execute Merrick, or sever his pact, disperse the focus, and spare him where he’s exiled and leaves a clue pointing to a higher cultist).
What this character wants: To keep the miners’ souls bound to power the gallery’s focus and complete the ritual, proving his worth to the cult.
If the character gets what they want: The ritual stabilizes; small void fissures open across the zone, spawning elite events. Merrick is promoted to a regional “Vessel,” and Dustmarch becomes a repeatable threat node until undone.
If the character does not get what they want: If slain: the focus is shattered, souls release, and the chain ends in grim justice.
If spared (pact severed): Merrick drops his sigil ring and stumbles into exile, unlocking a follow-up breadcrumb that hints at the cult handler who ordered the strike.
Dialogue Prompts
Jorah Cinderpick
A stranger walks up to your NPC and says hello: “Careful, friend. Ye won’t find much but sorrow in these shafts. If ye’ve a stout heart, maybe ye can help where I cannae.”
Your NPC is thirsty and enters a tavern. The barkeep is busy: “Oi, when ye’ve a tick, barkeep—me throat’s drier than a dusted drillhead.”
Your NPC accidentally bumps into a random person: “Ach! Me step’s not what it was. Me fault, friend. Buy ye a pint to square it?”
A random child calls your NPC stupid right in their face: “Mind yer tongue, whelp. World’s hard enough without barbs from babes.”
Your NPC runs away from a fight: “I’ve seen enough death for one life… I’ll not fill another grave this day!”
Merrick Coalmarrow
A stranger walks up to your NPC and says hello: “Politeness in a place like this? Curious. Tell me… do you ever listen for the thin places, where the world forgets to hold together?”
Your NPC is thirsty and enters a tavern. The barkeep is busy: “When time permits, a glass of water. Unadulterated. I prefer my impurities… elsewhere.”
Your NPC accidentally bumps into a random person: “My fault. Pressure makes even careful hands slip. Consider it an experiment in proximity… one I won’t repeat.”
A random child calls your NPC stupid right in their face: “Insults are the tools of small minds.”
Your NPC runs away from a fight: “Another time. I’m here to complete a ritual, not decorate the floor with bravado.”