NPC: Damian the River Pimp

[Raellus]

Inspired by some of the recent NPC encounter threads (all great stuff, BTW), I whipped up a formal profile for a rather colorful character that popped up in my Pirates of the Vistula PbP campaign a few years back. I probably went a little overboard with the details (I'm still worried that I forgot something), but this NPC/encounter provides several options for side-missions and could be easily modified for almost any post-apocalyptic campaign.

Due to file size limitations, I had to split the write-up into two parts. The really juicy stuff is in the second part. I tried to keep the whole thing as close to PG-13 as possible.

Constructive feedback is welcome.

Feel free to use this in your own campaigns. If, however, if you repost any of it, please give the original author (me) due credit. Thanks and enjoy.

[simonmark6]

Yes!

I've been looking forward to this one since these articles first started, thanks for sharing such a memorable character with us, Rae.

[Rainbow Six]

Rae, well done - this is a brilliant piece of work. Thanks for sharing.

[Tombot]

Awww! Great! I did not travel the Vistula with my players yet...
But i am sure, they will meet that river-pimp!!!
Coool

PS: Might be a stupid question, but whats PG-13

[Targan]

PS: Might be a stupid question, but whats PG-13

PG-13 means the content suitable for viewing by anyone aged 13 or over, or with parental guidance for younger people. In this context it means no boobs or graphic descriptions of sexual naughtiness.

[Tombot]

No boobs

Accchhh... all right, thanks for the explanation (me=german - not used to some english terms)!
But i would have liked it with at least one ti..

[Legbreaker]

Specifically PG-13 is a US thing although most countries probably have a similar rating system for movies, television, computer games, etc.

[kato13]

Awww! Great! I did not travel the Vistula with my players yet...
But i am sure, they will meet that river-pimp!!!
Coool

PS: Might be a stupid question, but whats PG-13

Red Dawn was the first PG-13 rated film so that gives you an idea of what they can show. Violence, little/no swearing, no nudity.

There really was a huge gap between PG and R at that point in time so it was a good addition IMO.

[Adm.Lee]

Red Dawn was the first PG-13 rated film so that gives you an idea of what they can show. Violence, little/no swearing, no nudity.

There really was a huge gap between PG and R at that point in time so it was a good addition IMO.

I was 15 or 16 when the first PG-13 movies came out. One shot of bare female breasts were apparently allowed, if there was no major violence. Believe me, I paid attention to that.

Oh, and well done, this is very realistic in my mind. Yucky, but real.

[kato13]

Apparently "Titanic" is the high water mark for nudity in PG-13.

One note on the original files, the reason the file limit is being hit is the fact that there are embedded fonts. I removed the fonts and the filesize for the second file was only 97kB

[Raellus]

One note on the original files, the reason the file limit is being hit is the fact that there are embedded fonts. I removed the fonts and the filesize for the second file was only 97kB

I don't know what embedded fonts are.

If you would be so kind (and patient) as to tell me how to remove them, I will so that I can re-upload the PDFs as a single file.

@All: Thanks, guys- I'm glad you like it. If you have any other questions about Damian, his operation, or the adventure seeds, please let me know.

[kato13]

I don't know what embedded fonts are.

If you would be so kind (and patient) as to tell me how to remove them, I will so that I can re-upload the PDFs as a single file.

Embedded fonts allow for users to view the PDF the same way even if they do not have the fonts used in the document. For some users it may look slightly different but most users will have a font in the same "family" so it will not change too much.

You need embedded fonts for very unusual things (like my To&E symbol font).

Unfortunately PDFs can be created a dozen different ways so removing them would probably be dependent on the software you are using. I use acrobat pro extended and I saved an optimized version. I then chose Settings->Fonts and then unembeded the fonts.

I have attached my modified version which is about 275kB. You replace yours and remove this link if you want. (I think moderators can do that)

[natehale1971]

My only question, or suggestion... would be to add if the women are there willingly or that he's dragoooned them (like he's done with his sister). Because that could actually tie into complications or plot hooks... Namely if one of the PCs (or one of the NPCs in their group) is an attractive female, and our scumlord here decides to dragoon her into his stable.

[Raellus]

My only question, or suggestion... would be to add if the women are there willingly or that he's dragoooned them (like he's done with his sister). Because that could actually tie into complications or plot hooks... Namely if one of the PCs (or one of the NPCs in their group) is an attractive female, and our scumlord here decides to dragoon her into his stable.

Good thought, Nate. It's one that I wrestled with quite a bit. I wanted the situation to be a little bit morally ambiguous. In other words, I didn't want it to be too obvious what an a-hole Damian is. Otherwise, PCs would almost automatically always rescue the girls. On the other hand, if it isn't clear, he's likely to get a pass.

In my PbP, the PCs didn't even try to talk to the girls. They simply paid Damian some captured gold jewelry for information on what was waiting downriver. They also neglected to tell Damian about a marauder toll station they'd passed upriver. He barely escaped with his life and the girls were all taken. Who knows what happened to them after that. Maybe if I'd made it obvious that the girls were dragooned, they would have pressed a bit. GM's have to tread a fine line lest they be accused of railroading their players.

[Legbreaker]

As a GM I feel it's useful to give players a multiple choice - a couple of options which are really stupid, one which the GM is prepared to go with although it's unlikely the PCs would, and another couple which are the preferred GM options.
There needs to be some structure provided by the GM or else the players tend to wander all over the place without setting themselves any real targets. Too much structure though and players get turned off.

One "tool" I've used in the past to good effect is having a Spetnaz team chasing the PCs. Every time they look like they're settling in and getting too comfortable I have them appear on the horizon to spur them back onto the road. Rumours of powerful enemies are also great for channelling PCs in certain directions without dictating their exact path.