Creating Memorable NPCs: Osric the Worthy

Summerfort Sunday

Summerfort is home to a number of interesting, unusual, and colorful characters. It’s also home to a number of intentionally bland and unexciting folk. I wrote them that way to draw attention to the more exciting characters, but also to make the city seem more believable.

To illustrate this, here I present one of the major characters in A Darkness at Summerfort.

Osric the Worthy (captain of the town guard)

Personality: Uncompromising, Stubborn

Physical Attributes: Muscular, Strong Jaw, Harsh Eyes

Voice: Strong

Something to note here: each NPC in A Darkness at Summerfort has a full list of game statistics, but also a set of roleplaying statistics like those above. These quick notes are intended to give game masters an idea of how to act the NPC out, should they so choose.

About Osric

The master of Summerfort’s town guard, Osric gained his nickname by besting a gurunil raiding party alone. He’s a handsome man, even in his fifties, and a very capable fighter. Osric is outwardly uncompromising and will not sacrifice the town’s safety for any reason.

In his youth, Osric was an adventurer. As he got older, he decided to retire from a life of adventuring to start a family. His wife Lila, three sons, and two daughters live with him in a large stone house near the North Gate of Summerfort. Osric and Lila had a sixth child, a son named Zutry, who disappeared on a foraging trip fifteen years ago. Though Osric spent almost a full year searching for him, Zutry was never found again. That loss stings bitterly for both Osric and Lila to this day.

Ten years ago, the baron who owns the land Summerfort is built on approached Osric to offer him captaincy of the town guard. At the time, Osric had a poor opinion of Baron Auler, but accepted anyway. He wanted a chance to protect Summerfort, and this was the best opportunity he’d be likely to get. He has been the captain of the guard ever since.