This "dozen" was part of Wave 01 of a kickstarter back in 2021.
It is a systemless book making it excellent for any system at all. I play with 5e, Level Up 5e and Starfinder. I have read Pathfinder 1 & 2 and I could see this book easily fitting to three of these and needing slight tweaking to fit Starfinder. I believe that this book could easily fit any of the other systems out there. Cairn, Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, Daggerheart, DragonBane, 13th Age and so on.
As the title suggests it features a dozen adventurous rivals.
An intro page explaining the premise of the booklet.
a ssecond page including a four step system detailing how to read [understand] the following 12 rivals
- A title to set the mood
- Descriptive text detailing the character's history, info on what the character may or may not be doing when met, and some ideas on how to introduce the rival in your campaign session.
- Each rival includes a single illustration.
- If the character has any special magic items or valuable treasures, they will be detailed here so that you know what tools the rival may possess.
On the same page is the following excellent advice:
Using The Rivals
The characters that follow may be used as random NPCs that the adventurers meet somewhere in the campaign world, as long-time rivals who are often competing with the party for the best rewards, or as friends of the party who will aid them at times or serve as sources of infor¬mation and supplies.
Rivals are divided into three levels of experience:
Novice. An inexperienced non-player character who is often just starting out in the world. Novice rivals aren't all that challenging, even for beginning player characters, but they can be trigger characters who lead the party to an encounter or adventure. Think of novice rivals as plot points and you'll be all set to use them in your game.
Experienced. These are true rivals to the PCs and should often be of an equal power level to the party. Experienced rivals are those NPCs most likely to be the friendly competition, always looking to clear out the next dungeon and find the treasures before the player characters can get all of the good stuff.
Master. These are NPCs who may be significantly more powerful than the player characters. As with the novice rivals, a master rival may be more useful as a MacGuffin, something that is important to your story but is mostly set dressing and not directly in-volved in the campaign's action.
Regardless of how you use these characters, I hope that they make your campaign a little more fun for everyone.
Because there is no sample to download I have included the first Rival. Numbered to help.
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Gegrim Gran, The Claw of Kelrob --> This gives you a good strong name to work with or replace if you think it doesn't quite fit your campaign.
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Human Druid (Experienced) ---> great but succinct backstory designed to evoke a strong image in your players minds or spur you on to alter the description as needed.
Forty winters of age, Gegrim Gran has spent his adult life in service to the gods and goddesses of nature, doing all within his power to protect the forests as well as the innocent, beautiful creatures that live within the woodlands. He is an experienced adventurer, veteran of countless battles, and explorer of several dungeons, and he is often in the company of those he has befriended in his many years of adventure.
Gran is kind and gentle when not pushed, though he transforms into a barbaric and savage warrior when he or his companions are threatened. In combat, the druid relies on his axe (see below) and is not afraid to engage in melee with any enemies he may encounter. He will use spells to aid his efforts, though he turns to magic only when his axe fails to complete the current task.
If encountered alone and asked, Gran will join the party and aid them if he believes that their plans are just and good.
The man will never aid evil and will always, regardless of the danger, take what action he can to defeat evil acts.
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Illustration cant be shown here but its a very evocative tribal warrior type. Its hard to overstate how evocative the image is from a very intricate weapon & armour set, to the bear cape, the tribal make up and even the npc's build.
- Notable Treasure ---> Great flavour text on the magic items open enough to be dropped straight into your campaign or descriptive enough to inspire change to fit your setting.
In his travels, Gran has found many treasures, though only two have remained in his hands for over a decade. The druid wears magical fur armor that protects him against attacks and shields him from damage. His magical battle axe, Claw of Kelrob, can sever the head from a goblin in a single blow and augments the druid’s own magical powers; once each day, the axe grants the druid the ability to cast any one druidic spell (as selected by the gamemaster).
This first description is an excellent example of the entire booklet.
edited for typos
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