Adding NPCs and Monsters to the Dungeon

Ceci n'est pas une elfe

I have a rough idea of the town, the church, and the dungeon, but to flesh any of these elements out further, I will need to think about the people and things the characters will likely interact with.  The picture above features one of the NPCs I have created for the "spaceship level" of the dungeon. A lone survivor of the crash, preserved in green gel (or what passes for green in greyscale).



FULL DISCLOSURE: In two out of three yellow boxes in the image above I am not covering anything up. I simply had no text in place at the time I took the screenshot.

This NPC will convey information to the players/ characters if encountered. She will not be able to communicate with the party in a language they can understand, and I don't have plans to include any universal translator devices, but she will be desperate to change the power source out on her harness. This is one subtle way to clue the players in that maybe they should try wearing some of the harnesses lying around on alien carcases.

Some other rough ideas for NPCs and monsters to place in the dungeon include:

 An agreeable cultist who will task the players to aid him in detonating the bomb. 

The glowing cultist, who has bonded with a wisp (more about wisps later).

Everslumber, a dragon who resides below the starship wreckage, but has not been unaffected by the crash

Goblin archers who fire arrows tipped with shards of starship metal.

Cultists armed with energy weapons.

Cultists turned Ta'ak who are losing interest in the bomb/ Ta'ak who lost interest in the bomb, but have returned to the dungeon for supplies.

A grand cultist surrounded by swirling devils who absorb damage with delight. Once they have soaked significant damage, a more sinister devil is attracted to the suffering...

Wisps: resemble single celled organisms with three nub-like tentacles. They absorb and amplify energy and are used by the Ta'ak as part of the starship's power core./ Weaponized wisps: armored with extending metallic tentacles.

-Aaron