>Enemy mini boss attacks castle PCs are in to kill king>Uses an aoe that kills all but one guard (rolled randomly in front of everyone) because it crit missed only him>PCs and guard attack, guard rolls two critical hits off of no stats, to the point where I just use spear damage numbers for him because why not, and gets the final blow, and another crit miss saves his life, and he kills the boss one round before another aoe was clearly going to kill the player’s warlock>Everyone is now obsessed with “Broguard,” a non-character, and wants to see more of him even though he said no dialogue, they’re leaving the castle and he has no conceivable reason to follow them, and his only actual stat is that he has 1 HPWhat do I do?
Give players no XP for the encounter because it was the NPC who scored the kill.See if they still like him then.
>>97405334If you don't want to contrive a reason for him to springboard off this act of heroics into becoming an adventurer(such as the king tasking him to join the group because he shows potential) I bet it'd still be satisfying if he just became a real NPC now. Give him some class levels for if he ever becomes relevant again, an actual personality, and have the castle celebrate his heroics alongside the PC's. At the very least give him a name so the PC's can boast the event even if they never return to the castle.
just make him an NPC. He doesn't have to follow the heros around, he doesn't have to become a major player in the story. hes just an NPC that the players remember now, and who knows how the ends up becoming useful later. the game is handing you an emergent story opportunity to make a new cool NPC ally, that you didn't have to force. It happened in the best way possible, by letting the dice decide, not GM fiat. In your shoes I'd seize this opportunity.
>>97405334Say no.Why would he go adventuring? That shits lethal
have him say he's honorbound to stay with his king but the next time they go back he's been knighted
>>97405334Wtf do you mean? Flesh him out and give him a reason to cross paths with the player characters. He's the only survivor at yhe qhole castle. Why would he stay there?
>>97405334>What do I do?Depends. You can definitely work with this and lean into the fact that random chance made a new recurring character for you. There's ways to incorporate it. Especially if the king decides to send him along or act as a liaison between them and the king. I'd say roll with it, your players liked it and there's storytelling opportunities here. Even if it's just a regular guy who keeps getting thrown into rough situations and surviving either by pure luck or the party.
>>97405703What anon said. Lean into, find a way to make it work.
have you never had your pcs want to turn a nobody npc into an actual character? I have that happen if I ever throw a wild animal mob at the party and someone has speak with animals.
>>974053341. What system are you running where AoE roll to hit?2. Why does a trained warrior only have 1 hp?>what do I do?You can literally give him whatever stats you want along with a knighthood by the King and his own lands to go with the title. It's impossible to suggest how to tie him into the story when we don't know the story.
>>97405334>>Uses an aoe that kills all but one guard (rolled randomly in front of everyone) because it crit missed only himNot how it works, nogames.
>>97405334So the lone survivor of the guard killed the monster and saved the day?Sounds like he's getting a fief.
