NPCs & Locations#

The People and Places That Shape Your Journey#

🗺️ About This Section#

The multiverse is vast, but your story unfolds in specific places among particular people. This section catalogs the locations you’ll visit and the NPCs you’ll encounter—allies, enemies, questgivers, and those whose allegiances remain unclear.

Each location has its own character, challenges, and cast of memorable figures. Understanding these places and the people who inhabit them is key to navigating the crises threatening reality itself.

📍 Major Locations#

Your journey will take you across diverse realms, each with unique atmospheres, dangers, and opportunities:

Bureau of Time and Plane#

Type: Multiversal Organization
Your Relationship: Employers & Quest-Givers

The cosmic bureaucracy monitoring reality’s stability. You’re Contractor #777 working for them. They give you missions, resources, and cryptic information. Whether you trust them is up to you.

What You’ll Find:

  • Mission briefings and contracts
  • Access to multiversal knowledge
  • Strange allies with stranger agendas
  • Answers (and more questions)

Aruendel#

Type: Major City (Material Plane)
Theme: Mystery, Intrigue, Hidden Truths

A city of mages where nothing is as it seems. Ancient secrets, political machinations, and figures who hide behind titles instead of names.

What You’ll Find:

  • Arcane instability and planar disturbances
  • NPCs with hidden agendas
  • Moral ambiguity at every turn
  • Knowledge that comes at a price

Shattar-Kai#

Type: War-Torn City
Theme: Conflict, Honor, Futility

A once-great city consumed by endless war between noble houses. The fighting continues even as reality unravels around them.

What You’ll Find:

  • Active combat zones
  • Fragile ceasefires
  • Noble families locked in generational conflict
  • Civilians caught in the crossfire

The Frontier#

Type: Wild Lands
Theme: Freedom, Opportunity, Danger

Where civilization ends and possibility begins. A weird Western where gunslingers meet wizards and anything can happen.

What You’ll Find:

  • Lawless territories
  • Larger-than-life characters
  • Strange phenomena in the Wastes
  • Opportunities for those brave enough

Verdant’s Maw#

Type: Ancient Forest
Theme: Primal Nature, Fey Influence

A primordial wilderness where nature holds dominion and the forest itself is a character. Old, powerful, and indifferent to mortal concerns.

What You’ll Find:

  • Ancient guardians
  • Planar boundaries worn thin
  • Tests of worthiness
  • Beauty and terror in equal measure

Barovia#

Type: Demiplane of Dread
Theme: Gothic Horror, Inescapable Fate

A realm of mists and darkness. A prison disguised as a land. If your quest brings you here, understand—Barovia takes something from everyone.

What You’ll Find:

  • Oppressive atmosphere
  • Trapped souls
  • Dark powers
  • Tests of sanity and morality

👥 NPC Categories#

The people you meet fall into various roles:

Quest Givers#

Those who send you on missions:

  • Bureau Agents: Official contracts
  • Local Authorities: Regional problems
  • Desperate Souls: Personal quests

Allies#

Potential companions and supporters:

  • Fellow Contractors: Others working for the Bureau
  • Local Contacts: Region-specific allies
  • Unexpected Friends: Found in unlikely places

Antagonists#

Those working against you (or against something you’re protecting):

  • Open Enemies: Clear and present dangers
  • Hidden Threats: Smiling faces with dark agendas
  • Tragic Villains: Those you might sympathize with

Wild Cards#

NPCs whose allegiance is unclear or flexible:

  • Information Brokers: Selling to the highest bidder
  • Neutral Parties: Pursuing their own goals
  • Complex Figures: Neither fully ally nor enemy

🎯 Using This Section#

For Players#

Before Sessions:

  • Review locations your party might visit
  • Refresh your memory about known NPCs
  • Consider which contacts might help with current objectives

During Sessions:

  • Take notes about new NPCs met
  • Track relationships and promises made
  • Record information discovered about locations

Between Sessions:

  • Follow up on plot threads
  • Develop relationships with key NPCs
  • Plan strategies based on location knowledge

For the DM#

Each location page includes:

  • Atmospheric details for setting scenes
  • NPC summaries for quick reference
  • Plot hooks for adventure ideas
  • Thematic guidance for maintaining tone
  • Campaign connections to the larger story

🌐 Navigation#

Click into any location to see:

  • Detailed location description
  • Complete NPC list for that area
  • Thematic elements and atmosphere
  • DM notes and player tips
  • Campaign relevance

📝 Organization Note#

NPCs are organized by location rather than alphabetically. This makes sense for:

  • Context: Understanding NPCs in their environment
  • Plot Structure: Location-based story arcs
  • Quick Reference: Finding NPCs by where you encountered them
  • Worldbuilding: Seeing how locations and people interact
**🎭 For Players**: These locations and NPCs are tools for your story. Engage with them, make relationships, create history. The world reacts to your choices.
**💡 For DMs**: Use these pages as frameworks, not restrictions. Adapt, improvise, and let your players' actions shape these locations and relationships.

“The multiverse is vast, but your story happens in specific places among particular people. Make them matter.”
— GM Malik

Backward **DM Notes to Player:** Aruendel Forward