Sidekicks & Sidequests

AI tools are around. Ubiquitous and being forced upon us more and more into our hobbies. Certainly, they can be used for left-brain logistics...but when we surrender our right minds to generative LLMs that scrape the Internet and other peoples' hard work to deliver instant, soulless gratification...we lose that spark that make us us: HUMAN. So this panel will seek to inspire folks to write what they know, borrow what they love, steal what they'd love to emulate, and make a twist for the people at your table. Using my podcast tables, we will randomly generate a NPC, and I will show exactly how I practice what I preach to create a whole NPC with a sidequest with more heart than anything a computer could have done in 3 seconds.

We join the table of Jess Mitchell and roll the dice to create Anton Stodgley. An elderly chap who drives a Tenser's Floating Disc Train...but he tells the missus he still works at the mine. This cabal of wizards is forcing him to tell lie after lie, and all he wants is to ask you help him prepare for a date with Mrs. Stodgley...

We return to the table of the once Fr. Tom Bombadil now christened Fr. Chris once again! With the idea of a halfling courier on the mind, we explore the long and dedicated life of dear Wendell. But as we soon learn, Wendell is getting older and yearns to reconnect with his family before it's too late. Will you help deliver the letter that he cannot?

We join the table of Jeff Stein from The Storycrafters Podcast and mix-and-match. Danver Stargazer is a Verdan, one of the mutant goblinoids found in the Acquisitions, Inc. Setting Guide. By day he's a barback, and at night he's the lute player at The Ivories, a charming tavern of an eccentric owner with a collection of TEETH. And Danver could sure use your aid in finding a replacement and REAL Beholder tooth to replace the prominent fake above the mantle...

We join the table of Mr. (Sean) Shickadance and riff an idea to life! Qbert was once a Gelatinous Cube that became True Polymorphed into...a guy, just a normal, regular guy. Now a tamer of slimes, he calls the sewers home and urban legends of him abound. But if you're brave enough to find him, he will need your help to face an even great threat!