My NPC philosophy--
in leu of alignment, I have my own scale of competing dualities for NPCs (Good/Evil on one axis, and Trustworthy/Untrustworthy on another) that I have put in brackets near their name. Good and Evil aren’t cosmological forces here, just positions NPCs take. Good NPCs seek to help Player Characters, and Evil seeks to oppose them. Trustworthiness, here, is how willing they are to put the PCs' needs over their own.
I also don't’ bother with giving NPCs skills outside an example DC for lying or spell saves. NPCs do what they need to within reason. Anything outside that I simply will choose to have the PCs handle it.
NPCs are just tools to further the story of the player, and while they should be complex enough to hold up to scrutiny, aren’t meant to take up a bunch of mental RAM for a Game Master.
[Good/Untrustworthy] Magical Researcher, Liam
HP: 172 (17d8 + 96), AC: 17 (Intellect Field, ring of protection), SPD: 30ft, 60ft fly
STR 17 (-1) DEX 12 (+2) CON 23 (+6)
INT 19 (+4) WIS 10 (+0) CHA 18 (+4) Example DC: 17; CR: 16 (Prof +5)
Saves: INT and CON
Abilities and Attacks—
Multiattack X3. The Wizard makes three sparking dagger attacks; or one sparking dagger and casts one spell.
Sparking Dagger. +9 to hit, Melee or Range 50/90 ft. Hit: 14 (2d10+4) lightning damage. Daggers are visible as they fly through the air, but disappear as soon as they strike the target, leaving them burned.
Legendary Resistances: 3
Legendary Actions: 1
Legendary Reactions: 1
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Spellcasting: DC 17 Saves, +9 to hit
At Will: Detect Magic, Identify, Mage Hand, Misty Step, Remove Curse
2/day: Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Haste, Lightning Bolt, Telekinesis
1/day: Chain Lightning, Teleport, Time Stop
Intellect Field: Liam adds his Intelligence modifier to his AC, befitting his preternatural senses and intuition. Additionally, a field of electricity protects him from harm. Each attack made to him per round is at disadvantage until he takes damage from an attack, then the field disappears and they can be rolled as normal until the start of the next round, where the field automatically returns.
Legendary Actions: 1 Sparking Dagger, or Make a Perception Check DC 17
Legendary Reaction: should a melee fighter get within 5ft of Liam, he will use his extra Legendary reaction to Misty Step as far away from them as he can.
Quick Description: Handsome, trim, and full of energy, this young man’s opulent blue and gold robes mark him as a wizard. His perfectly coiffed hair, and smooth, clean shaven face reveal a meticulous attention to his personal appearance that seems at odds with a life studying indoors. He seems uncannily well adjusted and polite.
More information: Liam is a brilliant researcher and his floating mage tower has information from every corner of the continent. He loves helping to solve complex magical and arcane problems, and allows the use of his tower to do so. He has swift, silent copper and porcelain constructs that can attend to the party’s every need. What most adventurers don’t know is that the information he finds most valuable are the foibles and weaknesses of the adventurers themselves. Research isn’t cheap, and he’ll sell any information he can get his hands on to the highest bidder.
Goal: His only goal, outside knowledge for its own sake, is to learn the secret to consciousness. He secretly yearns to give his porcelain constructs true consciousness like he has.
Complication: Despite his youthful appearance, Liam is hundreds of years old, and he isn’t truly human. In an experiment gone wrong, errant magic touched the well of souls in the space between, and swapped the consciousness of a construct with their master. What had once been L14M, is now Liam. He swiftly destroyed his former master, and assumed his place. The constructs can’t talk or otherwise show their displeasure, but he thinks they approve.
Loot: Liam has vast wealth in the library if one can find it, but on his person is his spellbook, a wand of magic missiles, a ring of protection, three 300 gp diamonds, and a beautiful Cloak of Intellect Field (Legendary, requires attunement) that confers Liam’s intellect Field ability on a spellcaster as long as they do not wear armor.
Combat Tactics: Liam abhors violence, but he is imminently capable of doling it out. Should it come to blows, he will immediately cast Timestop. With his extra turns he will first change the battlefield to better suit his needs, using Telekinesis drag bookcases or debris in front of ranged attackers or box in melee fighters. Then, he will dispel buffs or summoned creatures the party has prepared.
In combat he prefers to use Misty Step and flight to keep melee fighters at bay and rely on his Intellect Field to handle ranged attackers. He will focus exclusively on spellcasters first. On round two he will throw out a chain lightning to see if he can’t finish the fight in one fell swoop.
He will not seek to fight for longer than three rounds, and will attempt to flee deeper into his tower to recover spells. If it seems he may die, he will teleport away and leave the tower for the players.
If the players manage to stay on his good side, he is content to help them to the best of his ability while selling secrets behind their back for the foreseeable future.
